Lot 1473

Five Lile Knives Associated with the Film "American Justice"

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Five Lile Knives Associated with the Film "American Justice"

Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000

Starting Bid: $15,000

(0 Bids)

by Rock Island Auction Company
August 22, 2026 9:00 AM CDT
Live Auction
3600 Harwood Road
Bedford, TX, US 76021

Grouping of Five Jimmy Lile Knives Associated with the 1986 Hollywood Film "American Justice" with Advertising Posters, Scene Board, and VHS Copy of the Film This grouping contains five knives that were all handcrafted by the late Arkansas Master Knifemaker James B. Lile and were used in the 1986 Hollywood film "American Justice", also known as "Jackals", starring Jack Lucarelli, Gerald McRaney, Jameson Parker, and Wilford Brimley. The action film follows two former police officers who find themselves unofficially investigating a human trafficking ring along the U.S./Mexico border, implicating law enforcement. One of the most influential knifemakers in the world, Lile is the inventor of the famous "Lile Lock" folding knife and is probably best remembered as the creator of the original Rambo knife for the movie "First Blood" which generated a whole new era of knife design and collecting. His customers included Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford and Ronald Reagan, King Carl Gustav IV of Sweden, and the actors John Wayne and Fess Parker. Given Lile's connections with Hollywood, he was a natural choice for producing knives for this particular film. It appears that all five of these knives were made for the character Joe Case, played by Jack Lucarelli, likely providing options for which one the character would use in the film. All five knives are etched on the right side of the blades with "AMERICAN JUSTICE/'Joe Case' No. 01". Two of the knives have fixed blades, while three are folding knives, two of which utilize Lile's patented "Lile Lock". Around 30 minutes into the movie, the character Joe Case appears to be holding the largest of the folding knives in this lot, which is numbered "011s" on the right ricasso. The three folding knives all have ivory grip scale inserts and they measure 8 1/4 inches, 6 3/4 inches, and 6 1/4 inches while unfolded, with the larger and smaller examples both having the "Lile Lock". The smaller of the fixed blade knives measures 7 5/8 inches overall and has wood grip scales, while the larger knife measures 8 3/4 inches overall with a finger-groove metal grip with a synthetic insert. All five of the knives have the "LILE" maker's mark on the left ricasso. The two fixed blade knives include a leather sheath, one marked with Lile's maker's mark. Each of the five knives includes a generic canvas case. Included with the knives is a VHS copy of the "American Justice" film, promotional posters for the movie, and a scene board for the movie.

Manufacturer: None

Model: None

Class: Other

  • Provenance: The Jack Lucarelli Collection
  • Condition: All of the knives are excellent overall with very minimal handling evidence while the other items are fine or better with some showing some light wear. A very attractive set of knives from one of America's most talented knifemakers with connections to Hollywood!

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $199 $10
$200 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000