CRKT M16 Law Enforcement and Military Series

Wear Special Colors with Gary Paul Johnston’s 1* Logo

Gary Paul Johnson knows what it's like to put your life on the line daily. He did it as a commander with the Shaker Heights Police Department, and tell the story of the creation of his 1* logo this way: "Back in 1986, my SWAT unit was fortunate during actual raids, but we seemed to average at least one minor injury per practice session. Other teams had similar problems, especially during SWAT competitions, so I decided to create something to remind everyone to be more careful. The idea for the 1* logo came from a joke I heard as a kid."

That joke has many variations, but perhaps the oldest version tells of the teacher in a one room schoolhouse who first covered the American history lesson, and then went on to grammar and punctuation. She asked, "Can anyone here use the word 'asterisk' in a sentence." A boy's hand immediately shot up, and he blurted, "We just covered that in the history lesson. It was patriot Nathan Hale who said, 'I regret that I have only one-ass-to-risk for my country."

Gary went on to design the logo in a shield shape similar to the U.S. Army's Big Red 1. It not only looks sharp and reminds one to be careful, but it provides the important stress relieving element of humor to police, fire, medical emergency and military teams who find themselves operating in a high risk environment and living on the edge.

M16 Law Enforcement

The M16 LE models are identical in construction to CRKT's popular aluminum M16, offering the same sure-grip contoured handles of 6061 T6 aluminum, hard anodized in Law Enforcement Blue. The stainless steel locking liners with friction grooves are also black Teflon® plated, and give positive locking with limited access, for superior safety.

M16 Military

The M16 M models are identical in construction to CRKT's popular construction to our popular aluminum M16, offering the same sure-grip contoured handles of 6061 T6 aluminum, hard anodized in Olive Drab. The stainless steel locking liners with friction grooves are also black Teflon® plated, and give positive locking with limited access, for superior safety.