Since the 1980s, taxidermists had been buying surgical blades from Havel's Inc., Havalon's parent company. They used these blades for skinning and caping due to their strength and ability to hold a long-lasting edge. After several years, the idea of creating a folding pocket scalpel came to fruition, and the Havel’s team soon realized that hunters might also enjoy this kind of knife for skinning and field dressing wild game. From there, the company used their years of knowledge and expertise to create a blade that was strong enough to handle the tougher materials hunters frequently work with. In order to distinguish the two, a new brand was launched that would offer surgical-edge technology exclusively to hunting and outdoor markets. And with that, Havalon was born.