COMMEMORATIVE LIBERTY TREE KNIFE Model 001 by Browning
In the pre-Revolutionary times, Great Britain sought to prevent colonial rebellion by forbidding colonists to meet privately. To be found meeting in secret was punishable by death. In response, each of the thirteen colonies selected a special tree, called a liberty tree, and designated it as their secret meeting place. Under the haven of Liberty Trees, leading colonists devised plans of rebellion against British control. The 9" blade of this special knife is hand-forged steel with brass bolsters and two brass stars set in the 5" long handle. It is engraved with "The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America," and has a certificate of authenticity. Only 1,776 — to honor the year of America's declaration of liberty — have been produced.

If you were given a chunk of America's past, a piece so rare its likes will never be seen again, and you wanted to make a lasting memorial that paid homage to the past, was beautiful and reverent, you would make the Liberty Tree Knife. The nation's last remaining Liberty Tree, a towering tulip poplar, stood in Annapolis, Maryland on the grounds of St. John's College. The tree was about 400 years old, had withstood time, lightning strikes, bug infestations and student pranks, but disease and old age, combined with Hurricane Floyd in 1999, finally took its toll. The tulip poplar was 100 years older than a typical tree of this kind is expected to live. A Maryland landscaper salvaged the wood and sought organizations who would utilize it with reverence.

In 2001, The Providence Forum, a Philadelphia based non-profit educational organization, purchased the remaining Liberty Tree wood and began a preservation and educational program through the development of gifts honoring American history and American heroes. World renowned artisan, Eugene Landon, was commissioned to craft a series of historic items to be presented to American citizens and organizations that best represent duty to country and honor to God. The Providence Forum incorporated the Liberty Tree wood into Liberty Tree Bible Boxes that were presented to President George W. Bush, President James Earl Carter, and the United States Naval Academy. A large piece was chosen to make the yoke for the Spirit of Liberty Bell, a full-sized traveling replica of the historic Liberty Bell, cast to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the original Bell, which had been commissioned in 1751 to celebrate religious liberty in America. A substantial portion of the remaining Liberty Tree wood was given to American Forests to be used in products like the Liberty Tree Knife.