Jody Samson (November 4, 1946 – December 27, 2008) was a knifemaker and bladesmith from Burbank, California, who designed butterfly knives for Benchmade and the swords used in movies, including Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, First Knight, The Mask of Zorro, Blade, Blind Fury, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, and Streets of Fire.
Soon after, he was hired by Les DeAsis of Pacific Cutlery (now Benchmade) as a knife designer.
[1] Les deAsis credits Samson with grinding every custom balisong knife produced by Benchmade, Pacific Cutlery, and Bali-Song from 1979 to 1994.
[2] Samson's first design won Blade magazine's Knife of the Year award in 1979.
[6][7] Samson was found dead of pneumonia in his workshop on December 27, 2008, after complaining of cold symptoms for a week.