SARK The SARK ( Search and Rescue Knife ) or NSAR ( Navy Search and Rescue ) is a folding knife designed by Knifemaker Ernest Emerson for use as a Search and Rescue knife for the US Military . It features a hawkbill with a blunt tip in order to cut free trapped victims without cutting them in the process . A variant with a pointed - tip designed for police use exists , known as the P - SARK ( Police Search and Rescue Knife ) . History . After a helicopter crash in 1999 , which resulted in the deaths of six Marines and one sailor , the United States Navy performed an assessment of their equipment and decided , among other things , that they needed a new search and rescue knife . The KA - BAR knives issued to the SBUs ( Special Boat Units ) had catastrophically failed to cut the Marines free from their webbing . The Navy went to Emerson Knives , Inc . , where the owner , Ernest Emerson , designed and fabricated a working prototype within 24 hours . The Navy found that the knife met their needs , and the model was dubbed the " SARK " ( Search and Rescue Knife ) . The SARK is a folding knife with a wharncliffe - style blade and a blunt tip designed so a rescuer could cut trapped victims free without stabbing them . Seeing another need in the police community , Senior Corporal Darryl Bolke , a police officer of the Ontario Police Department , approached Emerson and asked for a modification to the SARK . Bolke ' s request was to make the tip of the blade pointed rather than blunt . Emerson replaced the blunt end of the SARK with a pointed end and named it the " P - SARK " , or Police Search And Rescue Knife . Bolke wrote the knife policy for his department , the first of its kind in the United States . The P - SARK has been adopted by a number of law enforcement agencies since that time . In 2005 , the Navy changed the requirements on the SARK to incorporate a guthook on the back of the blade for use as a line - cutter . Emerson made the change on this model , which was designated the NSAR ( Navy Search And Rescue ) Knife and only made available to the United States Navy . Specifications . The SARK , PSARK , and NSAR , like all of Emerson ' s knives are made in the USA . All three models feature a wharncliffe shaped chisel - ground blade that is long and hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 57 - 59 RC . The handle is long , making the knife in length when opened . The blade steel is Crucible ' s 154CM and is thick . The butt - end of the knife is square - shaped and features a hole for tying a lanyard . Some models are made with partially serrated blades to aid in the cutting of seatbelts or webbing . The handle material of the SARK is composed of two titanium liners utilizing a Walker linerlock and a double detent as the locking mechanism . The reasons for using titanium as a linerlock material were due to its exceptional strength - to - weight ratio and corrosion resistance . The handle ' s scales are made from black G - 10 fiberglass , although models were made for a few years utilizing green G - 10 . A pocket clip held in place by three screws allows the knife to be clipped to a pocket , web - gear , or MOLLE . Each model is equipped with Emerson ' s Wave opening mechanism . The Wave is a small hook on the spine of the blade designed to catch the edge of a user ' s pocket , opening the blade as the knife is drawn .