Buyer's Guides

The TiNy packs hefty performance into a light package.

Despite hailing from Germany, Philipp Utsch and Jan Gierse are fluent in the basest American vernacular—Twinkies and violence.

To say smashing a knife weighing all of two of the spongy confections through an 8-by-8 pine post was heard loud and clear at BLADE Show 2025 is an understatement. Aside from wowing some of the most discerning knife collectors, makers and users in the world, the tandem of Teutonic toolmakers also took home the event’s most coveted hardware.

It’s rare for fixed-blade knives to reach the pinnacle of edged tool accolades—BLADE Magazine’s Knife of the Year®. Yet, the German-made gem proved to have the edge over nearly 400 other knives clamoring for the singular honor. How?

Quite simple. Utsch and Gierse’s burgeoning knifemaking concern—UG Tools—and its award-winning knife—the TiNy—took the world’s oldest tool and firmly planted it in the 21st century.

UG Tools TiNy Specs

Total weight: 2.82 ounces
Total length: 8.27 inches
Blade length: 3.94 inches
Blade thickness: .11 inches
Blade steel: MagnaCut @65 HRC
Handle material: Titanium
Handle weight: 1.34 ounces
MSRP: ~$380

Rise of UG Tools

One of the more interesting aspects of the TiNy’s meteoric rise is that this was UG Tools’ first official appearance at the BLADE Show. Utsch and Gierse were in attendance at the 2024 edge-stravaganze, but as attendees, not exhibitors.

The duo’s concern is also relatively new, founded in 2021. Not that knifemaking, fabrication and manufacturing were mysteries to UG’s founders.

Utsch has 20 years of knifemaking under his belt, but his daytime gig was a maintenance manager* in the founders’ hometown of Sundern. And Gierse’s career aspirations were focused on manufacturing, as he was pursuing his PhD in mechanical engineering.

It turns out, there was a lot of serendipity in those backgrounds.

Gierse’s topic focus is 3D printing—in particular, Selective Laser Melting (SLM). When he first moved into this field academically and got access to an SLM machine, a titanium knife handle was among his initial projects.

Down the line, that handle ate at him. He saw its potential, something revolutionary. He was acquainted with Utsch and approached him with the idea of teaming up to create a complete knife.

The bladesmith was instantly intrigued.

“[W]hen Jan suddenly sent me a photo of the first titanium handle out of the blue in 2021, I knew immediately what I was looking at. The potential was immediately clear to me,” Utsch said.

Getting A Handle On The TiNy

Funny as it might sound, the handle is the belle of the ball on the tiny. It’s where much of the innovation lies.

Additive manufactured, and hollow, the human-tool interface cuts the knife down to a scant 2.82 ounces—or two Twinkies. For a practical-tactical knife, this opens up a wealth of potential.

The old saying for backcountry hunting, military campaigns or just plain hiking is “Ounces make pounds, and pounds make pain.” At 8.27 inches in overall length, weight savings are substantial for a full-sized hunting, camping or military knife (the TiNy could fill all three roles).

However, keeping things light isn’t the only advantage of the 3D printed handle.

TiNy’s Big Ergonomics

The sky is nearly the limit when it comes to SLM manufacturing, allowing for the TiNy’s advanced—if not nuanced—ergonomics. From the Pango model, I spentd time testing, which isit’s the most enjoyable aspect of the knife.

Plain and simple, in my medium-sized mitts, it feels good to hold.

Well thought out, the handle swells and recesses at the right spots to form-fit my medium-sized hands. Yet, but for my money, the integral grip texturing gets the most accolades. A mixture of dragon scale and linear elements—with a fine pebble finish—the handle stays in place no matter what axis force is applied.

A final point, the knife is extremely well-balanced. Using my finger as a fulcrum, it’s right behind the guard, making the blade very agile and easy to manipulate.

TiNy Blade

The 4-inch drop-point blade is very clean and understated, but well-formed for a general outdoor knife. Given UG pulled out all the stops and used MagnaCut steel, it’s also more than ready for hard use.

I appreciated the long, straight cutting surface just behind the belly. It is ample enough to facilitate larger push cuts and gives it plenty of edge on pull cuts.

The drop on the point was just right for me to index when choking up on a pinch grip, like you might use field dressing a buck or the like. And the blade’s stonewashed finish gives it a level of tackiness, as well as hiding inevitable abuse.

TiNy Ruggedness

Interestingly, the TiNy is neither a full nor a classic tang knife, a fact that might get some traditionalists to clutch their pearls. Utsch and Gierse whacking it through an 8-inch by 8-inch post should put to rest any concerns about durability. But what’s going on to keep the blade and handle happily married?

“The extreme load-bearing capacity is achieved by the very precise press fit, in which the oversized blade is pressed into the undersized handle,” Gierse said. “This type of connection has been proven in industry for well over 100 years and transfers forces through a permanently elastic, form-fitting connection.”

UG has done its testing on the knife, as well as sold several thousand and has yet to encounter a blade-handle separation.

“So far, we have not been able to damage the connection between the handle and the blade, even under extreme stress tests,” Gierse said. “This makes the knife behave like an ultra-light, fully integrated knife. Of course, the blade can break under excessive overload, just like any other knife. Despite the best heat treatment and steel, there are natural physical limits that even we cannot overcome.”

Testing The TiNny

I would have liked to have tested the TiNy during hunting season, to really put the knife through its paces. However, I received my test model during the summer and deadlines call.

In turn, I put it through a small, very unscientific laboratory evaluation that included:

• Initial sharpness test on 20-pound bond paper: The tiny passed my initial sharpness test with flying colors.
• Push-cut test on 1/8-inch thick1/8-inch-thick leather: It snapped straight through the leather with an audible pop.
• Pull-cut test on ¼-inch double-wall cardboard: The knife made quick work of the cardboard, through 100 some cuts.
• Durability Test Battoning Siberian Elm Log: Had no problem passing through a seasoned 3-inch diameter log, splitting it roughly a third of the way through. Will note, this did mar the blade finish some.
• Follow-up sharpness test on 20-pound bond paper: No edge loss from the initial test.

Overall Impression

I was impressed with the cutting performance of the TiNy; however, I wasn’t too surprised given the blade material. There’s a reason why MagnaCut continues to demand respect in the marketplace and this was proven out by the blade maintaining its edge after moderate use.

I walked away most impressed with the comfort and controllability of the knife, thanks to a well-thought-out handle. I did wonder if the linear aspects of the texturing would prove hot with extended work. This wasn’t the case. I could have worked all day with the TiNy and not thought twice.

I’m not the only one.

James Rodebaugh met Utsch and Gierse in 2024, when they attended the BLADE Show as attendees. The duo gave the ABS Master Bladesmith and custom knifemaker a TiNy for field testing, with Rodebaugh taking it on hunting trips in both Alaska and Wyoming.

Dressing game and spatchcocking fowl, the knife proved resilient. He also tested a concern I have with any metal-handled knife—performance in cold weather.

“The printed titanium handle surprised me,” he said. “I thought it would be cold to the hand but warmed to body temp from approximately 20 degrees Fahrenheit in a heartbeat.”

Good to know you won’t take off palm flesh if you’re gutting a deer in the bowels of winter.

Final Cut

Rarely do knives—even ones deemed top-of-class—vastly change the manufacturing landscape. Is the UG TiNy one of those sea-change pieces of cutlery? Only time—and likely mimicry—will tell.

What can be said is that Utsch and Gierse have concocted a version of the age-old fixed blade that firmly plants its feet in modern manufacturing. And they’ve done so at a level that should make the TiNy a useful and trustworthy piece of kit, be it in the backwoods or battlefield.

For two Twinkies’ worth of knife that’s pretty sweet.

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