Elmer Keith (1899-1984) was a legendary hunter and one of the foremost authorities on handguns and ammunition. He was a regular contributor to gun magazines and he authored 10 books on handguns and hunting. Elmer loved experimenting with ammunition and guns. His experimentation led to the introduction of the .357 Magnum in 1934 and the .44 Magnum in 1956 bringing handguns into the modern era. He was also responsible for a number of bullet designs still popular today, and collectively called "Keith style" bullets.
Elmer Keith pioneered hunting with handguns. Until Elmer came along handguns were mostly consider short range weapons and not suitable for hunting. Elmer changed peoples minds when he constantly brought back game downed with his handguns. Elmer gained legendary fame after shooting a buck at 600 yards with a short barreled .44 magnum revolver.
The story goes that an editor of "Guns and Ammo" magazine, for whom Elmer was a regular contributing writer, decided that Elmer should have signature knife for skinning his game. In 1964 they called upon Hall of Fame knifemaker Gil Hibben to design and make the knife.
Gil's unique design features a 5/16 inch thick blade with a flat on top for pounding it through joints when field dressing and skinning game. It also has unique front and rear guards that cradle your hand. The hook on the rear guard facilitates hanging the knives on your finger or belt to allow free use of your hands.