The Folder From Zero Tolerance Knives Looks Ready To Attack Tasks Big And Small Thanks To A Sweeping Blade And Carbon Fiber Handle.
Innovative and durable, the 0762 from Zero Tolerance Knives is packed with features to help it stand out in the EDC market. For starters, the knife looks fun to use. The reverse tanto blade appears both classy and aggressive. The two-tone stain/stonewash finish on the CPM 20CV stainless steel blade helps with that. It flows and screams out that it’s ready to slice into whatever you put before it.
Beyond the steel, the 0762 features a carbon fiber handle with blue anodized accents. It provides a great grip without feeling heavy or bulky.
The tuned detent system allows you to adjust the detent how you like it. This means you can flip the knife open even when pressing down on the lockbar. The ZT Sub-Frame Lock is in the same anodized blue as the other accent pieces and confidently secures the knife in place.
This piece is pricier than many others on the market today, but with so many features and style touches it’s easy to see why.
The Boker Gnome Is A Fun Little Fixed Blade That’s An Excellent Neck Knife And Can Serve You Well As An EDC.
Sometimes bigger isn’t necessarily better. The new Boker Gnome fixed blade is a little gem that can be your trusty sidekick in the home and elsewhere.
It starts with a 2.2-inch wharncliffe blade of D2 tool steel. The knife comes in two different handle types. The one featured above is made from olivewood, and there is a slightly more expensive green Micarta® version. The big lanyard hole at the butt of the handle comes in handy if you want to lash the Gnome to your pack or hang it around your neck. Everything is kept safe thanks to the included leather belt sheath.
Even though it’s small, the handle is rounded in such a way that the knife is easy to grip. It weighs just 1.6 ounces so is light and simple to use. So many neck knives trade quality for convenience. The Boker Gnome is high quality as it is convenient.
The Kershaw Interstellar Is The Company’s Newest OTF Knife. The Piece Is An Excellent EDC Designed For All Sorts Of Utility Tasks
Folders? No thanks. One of Kershaw’s newest releases is a sliding OTF (out-the-front) automatic that’s great for utility tasks indoors and out. The Interstellar is a partially serrated 8Cr13MoV stainless steel blade that comes out the front of a glass-nylon handle thanks to a sliding button on the front of the knife.
It looks great thanks to the blackwash coating, and it feels good to use thanks to the button lock keeping everything secure and snug when deployed. The blade is just 2.7 inches long, and the tip-up pocket clip allows you to carry the knife with ease.
The Kershaw Interstellar is a simple knife, and that’s a good thing. It’s a no-nonsense piece that can serve you well for a long time. Oh, and the bottle opener built into the backspacer is the cherry on top of it all.
Women Bladesmiths Thrive And Continue To Shape The Knife Industry.
Women’s pocketknives? Can’t anyone buy any type of pocketknife?
Sure, but knives designed and marketed specifically for women are few and far between even among the big knifemakers.
Enter Brighten Knives, a small, upstart knife company based in Utah. Founded by Diane Carver and her daughters Kristy, Katie, and Kimi, Brighten has grown into a successful maker thanks to a strong vision and some good luck.
“We worked with [the Salt Lake Tribune],” Diane said. “They wrote an article about us because aside from being women’s knives, which is kind of a cool product, it was also a human-interest story where it was a mom and three daughters starting a knife company.
“It was unique and different. They put an article out and it kind of snowballed from there. A radio station picked up on it, and our Utah Senator Mike Lee even sent us a letter.”
All that good press, along with a Kickstarter that raised almost $14,000 (almost triple the initial $5,000 goal), and Brighten has been on a roll ever since.
Brighten’s Inspirational line of knives all come in bright, bold colors.
The company is built on Diane’s decades of experience in the industry. She was the knife product manager for Browning for 17 years and has worked with Fox Knives, along with marketing* household cutlery for companies like Traeger.
Diane’s experience in the industry is complemented by her daughters’ work. Kristy created all the original designs and colorways of the company’s knives. Kimi has worked in product development and sales, and Katie has a background in sales and writing as well.
As the quartet designed their knives the hard question to answer was: What exactly does a woman’s pocketknife look like?
“Being in the industry for so long I know that most women, and I don’t want to generalize because there are a lot of women that carry it in their pockets, but a lot of our pants are made where they can’t even hold a knife,” Diane said. “The one thing that we did that kind of separated us was including the case. The case comes with all of our knives no matter [the product line] so that you can throw it in your purse or your glove compartment.”
Brighten has two original lines of knives: the Inspirational line and the Not So Heavy Metal Series. They all come with a case that’s roughly the size of a wallet that is easily portable. Additionally, all of the knives are available in a smaller keychain variety.
All of the blades are made from 8Cr13MoV stainless steel. For the larger varieties, the blades are between 2.5- and 2.56-inches long, and the keychain knives are between 1.6- and 1.65-inches long. The knives open with a thumb stud and feature a linerlock.
The Inspirational line is the company’s original line of knives. Each blade is married to an aluminum handle resplendent in brightly colored designs. The blades all also have a different inspirational word on the steel, words like “Faith” and “Hope” and “Brave.”
“All of the designs on the knives and cases are originally designed by my daughter Kristy,” Diane said. “I know it’s kind of unusual to see words like “laugh” and “faith” and “love” on knives, but we wanted it to be something fun. On the packaging, there’s a quote that goes along with each one. One thing we’ve seen is people like purchasing them for specific things. Our Hope knife is a breast cancer knife, and the quote on it is ‘When the world says give up, hope whispers try one more time.’”
Diane’s market research showed there was a large segment that wanted more muted colors and streamlined designs. Enter the Not So Heavy Metal line. Every color is named after a popular rock-and-roll band or song.
The knives in the Not So Heavy Metal line come in more muted, monochrome colorways with a steel bolster.
Diane laughed, mentioning the generational differences as her daughters recommended Green Day while she mentioned names like Purple Rain and Blue Oyster Cult.
“There was about 25 percent [of women] that said they were more of a minimalist and wanted more plain, solid-colored things,” Diane said. “We want Brighten to be the premier knife company for women and so we wanted something that would appeal to everyone. That’s how we came out with our Not So Heavy Metal line. We had a ton of fun naming the colors.”
The full-length knives retail for $29.99, and the keychain knives sell for $19.99.
As Brighten Knives has continued to expand, the press and publicity around it has swelled. YouTubers such as Neeves Knives have reached out and produced content about Brighten, as have other digital creators.
Carver said the goal is to make knives that are women-forward that take care in their design and construction rather than just slapping some pink scales on the side and calling it a day. She did speak positively about the Kershaw Chive and some of Spyderco’s knives but that she hadn’t seen any marketing directly for women from those factory makers.
There is also the Femme Fatale line of women’s pocketknives from Defense Divas which are marketed as spring-assisted self-protection knives.
The Sneakerhead rescue folder is an example of the types of knives, both in terms of utility and style, made by Defense Divas.
While all of Brighten’s knives have a story and purpose behind their design there is one question Diane and her team get regularly: Can these knives be used in self-defense?”
“We have a lot of questions about whether these are self-defense knives,” Carver said. “Obviously, any knife can be used for self-defense in a pinch, but that’s not what these knives are designed for. They’re in a case in your bag. We are coming out with some designs for self-defense but that’s another story.”
That “another story” will feature self-defense videos made by the company featuring self-defense experts with military backgrounds. Everything is one step at a time as the company looks to grow and sustain itself going forward.
For now, the company started by a mother and her three daughters continues to grow and thrive, and make fun, exciting pocketknives for women.
Female Knifemaking Standout Audra Draper
Few women in the field are as accomplished as Audra Draper. The Wyomingite was the first woman to earn master smith status in the American Bladesmith Society back in 2000. Since then she’s made pretty much everything and, along with her husband Mike, taught countless new makers the craft of making knives.
“Back in the day it was hard to get people to acknowledge that yes, a girl can do this, too,” Draper said. “But now it’s not a big deal, people don’t react so crazy anymore and that helped, because if you’re a young girl and walk up to a knifemaker’s table at a show and tell them you want to make knives, you need them to react like ‘Sweet, what can I do to help you?’ which everyone does now.”
While Draper is as experienced as it comes, one thing has both eluded her and caused her very little concern: making knives specifically for women. She said that she just wants to make beautiful, functional knives that people will want.
She said the only key difference can be making knives with a smaller handle since a woman’s hands are usually smaller than a man’s.
Audra Draper’s Turmoil is a beautiful damascus fixed blade. (Image: SharpByCoop)
“Most women that are interested in knives don’t want a woman-specific knife,” Draper said. “They just want what the guys are carrying. I’ve made some knives that I was so certain would be purchased by a woman, and a man buys them 99 percent of the time. The women are usually hunters and fishers or they want it for the kitchen. The only difference if you’re a woman or a man is maybe a smaller handle.”
She laughed thinking about the times she’d made knives designed for women utilizing materials like turquoise, and when they hit the table the piece was scooped up by a man. She stressed that knives are neither feminine nor masculine–they just are.
And for young women interested in learning the craft she had one simple bit of advice–reach out and ask people to help.
“Just ask questions. Talk to people,” Draper said. “There’s plenty of info our there now and plenty of courses to take. I would highly recommend before buying expensive equipment to take a course with an established maker because that’s going to tell them right away if this is something they want to do.”
Young Women Shining In The Knifemaking World
Raegan Lee and Karis Fisher are two young makers establishing themselves in the world of bladesmithing. Lee, an Idaho native, is just 21 years old but has been making fixed-blade knives for years from CPM 154 stainless. Are these specific knives for women? No, but having an enthusiastic, creative woman making knives will help craft what a “woman’s knife” becomes.
“I want to get into folders, specifically slip joints,” Lee said when we talked at BLADE Show West. “That’s where I’m heading. To be one of those makers that can bring three knives to a show and sell out on a lottery is a great feeling. To really be known in the community would be a huge, huge thing.”
Raegan Lee’s “Cow Poke” with red fiber Micarta® handle. Her price: $200
Lee went on to say how important it is to have female makers creating knives and being mentors and examples for young artisans entering the field. She said Audra Draper was an inspiration for her.
“I think it’s extremely important,” Lee said. “I do knives most of the time, but I’m also an aluminum welder at an off-road company, and that’s also a male-dominated world. I just think there has to be one of us, and the rest of us can see [what’s possible]. The more we have the more it’ll be great for us.”
Fisher is the daughter of ABS master smith Josh Fisher. Even though just a recent high school grad, her fixed blades are stunning and show off her skill in the forge and with the hammer.
A hunting knife with an ironwood handle made by Karis Fisher
For Fisher, the biggest way to grow the base of female makers is simply by exposing more people to the craft of bladesmithing. TV shows and numerous YouTube channels have certainly helped a lot in bringing knifemaking more into the mainstream in recent years, and Fisher said that can only help.
Fisher even said that if her dad wasn’t a successful smith she probably wouldn’t even know about knifemaking.
“I think not too many people really know that knifemaking’s out there,” Fisher said. “If more people knew about it, it might be more [popular]. Forged in Fire does quite a bit for it.”
The Navaja Is A Sleek, Svelte Folder Originating From Spain Hundreds Of Years Ago. Today It Remains Popular In Both The Real And Digital Worlds.
The Navaja is one of the most interesting knives in the world. Its history can be pinpointed to the Andalusia region of southern Spain, and its growth and evolution since its creation more than 400 years ago has been well-documented.
The History Of The Navaja
The first Navajas that resembled the modern version came to be in the 1600s. The name is derived from the Latin word “novacula” which means razor, and you can see the resemblance to a straight razor in its construction with the long, thin blade that folds away neatly into the handle.
The knife became popular during a period when, unless you were a nobleman, there were many restrictions on swords and other blades. This meant that the Navaja developed as a peasant’s knife and was used for all sorts of utility tasks. One thing that made using it a bit difficult was the fact that it didn’t lock when opened. Later Navajas would have locking mechanisms, but the first versions didn’t. Most notably the Navaja made a distinctive cracking/popping sound as the blade was opened, differentiating it from other knives.
Thanks to the steel innovations that allowed the knife to lock, the Navaja spread its wings and made its way out of Spain and to nearby countries like France. As the knife continued to evolve it was banned by rulers, then became a popular tool for rich and poor alike, and was used as a versatile combat knife. In fact, it became the knife of choice among muggers who would rob people in alleyways and other dark urban areas. Victims knew they were about to be robbed when they heard the unmistakable popping sound the Navaja made when a mugger opened it.
Roughly a century ago, the Navaja began to fall out of favor with knife lovers. However, it continues to endure thanks to a handful of makers crafting their versions, and, in an extremely modern twist, it has become a popular knife to use for players of the video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Kings County Tools Navaja-Style Knife
A great modern representation of the Navaja is seen in this folder from Kings County Tools.
The blade is not just razor sharp but also razor thin. At three inches in length and just .25 inch wide, the stainless steel knife is excellent at precise, detailed tasks. The brass and steel handle is both handsome and provides an excellent grip while cutting.
Not quite a razor and not quite a penknife, this Navaja shows what the knife can be and how different it is from other folders on the market.
MSRP: $34.75
Castillo Knives Navaja
Castillo Knives Navaja – Olive Wood Handle
A different interpretation of the Navaja comes from Spain-based Castillo Knives. Their Navaja is similar to contemporary lockback knives in many ways and is an all-rounder in every sense of the term.
The blade is made from Sandvik 14C28N stainless steel and the handle comes in a variety of materials, from two types of Micarta® to four types of wood. Every version looks great, and the 3-inch straight-back blade has a small bit of deep jimping on the spine to aid in grip and force when cutting. Every knife comes with a leather pocket sheath and a 240-grit bonded ceramic sharpening stone.
The Civivi Sinisys Comes In Three Styles And All Are Excellent. This Classy Clip Point Would Make A Great Addition To Anyone’s Collection.
Sometimes simple is the way to go, and the Civivi Sinisys is elegant in its simplicity. This sharp clip point enters the EDC fray and stands out thanks to its sharp lines, multiple models, and ease of use.
The version above features a micarta handle scale and a satin-finished blade. There is also a more tactical version in all black with a G10 scale and a carbon fiber version with a damascus blade. This one and the tactical version have blades made from 14C28N, and all of the models have a stainless steel handle on the lock side of the knife to partner the scales on the presentation side.
The burlap micarta looks great, and the flipper is easy to use while feeling good in the hand. This version is the lightest of the three knives at 4.94 ounces, which is hefty compared to many other EDC knives. The other versions are a shade heavier at 5.02 ounces.
The blade is long on all versions of the knife at 3.7 inches and is .12 inches thick. Closed, it’s 4.82 inches long, and the tip-up clip lets you carry it securely and discreetly in your pocket.
Overall, the Civici Sinisys is a quality piece that will make any knife user or collector happy and proud to show it off.
The New Rescuehawk From White River Knife & Tool Is An Excellent Fixed-Blade Multi-Tool That Will Make Any Outdoorsman Happy.
Not every multi-tool folds up and fits in your pocket, and that’s a good thing. For someone looking for a more robust multi-tool, the new tactical Rescuehawk from White River Knife & Tool is exactly what you’re looking for.
Made from quarter-inch thick 80CRV2 steel, and designed by Kurt Delia, the Rescuehawk does a little of everything. The head features a 2.6-inch splitting edge with a strong piercing point horn on the opposite end.
The handle is incredibly versatile with a half-inch gas line channel wrench and split chisel pry point and textured G10 handle scales to provide excellent grip. The included bottom-eject Kydex sheath keeps the blade safe and secure in transit.
Overall, this tool is excellent for any outdoor lover and is great to have in case of an emergency or survival situation.
