BLADE Magazine

Factory Drops: New Knives Hitting The Market This Spring

Five knives fit for EDC to the outdoors.

Does the flow of new knives ever cease? Lord, I hope not.

Midspring is as good a time as any for knife companies to drop new models, variations and what have you. And with this round, we have five new blades from three manufacturers worth a gander.

These knives range across the board, from a very collectible outdoor option to a bevy of affordable pocket pals. Even if they don’t exactly tickle your fancy, these blades are worthwhile window-shopping fodder.

Kellam Knives Harriet70

Puukos are bread and butter at Kellam but its most recent introduction of this style of belt knife might prove better on the mantlepiece than on the hip.

Dubbed the Harriet70, the classic design is a tribute to Harriet Kellokoski, the wife of Kellam’s headman  Jouni Kellokoski, for her 70th birthday.

There are a lot of nice points on this limited-edition knife, but what jumped out for me immediately was the handle—more exactly its wood.
In this case, it’s arctic curly birch, darkly dyed and lightly oiled for the finish.

The curl pops and plays a beautiful counter to the nickel silver bolster and polished stainless-steel blade.

With 3-inches of wicked-sharp steel to play around with it’d make a solid hunting or fishing option, one dripping with class.

CRKT BOT Deadbolt

I can never complain about a design that puts fast deployment at the forefront of its engineering. Hence the BOT Deadbolt hits a sweet spot for me.

Assisted open with IKBS bearings, the action of this flipper doesn’t disappoint with the drop-point blade winking out in the blink of an eye.

Designed by Flavio Ikoma, the knife also features the Brazilian’s innovative lock—the Deadbolt—which relies on two lugs for extremely strong lockup.

This a much larger knife than what the Deadbolt is usually found on, intentionally so, since Ikoma was aiming for an overall robust system from tip to pocket clip.

CIVIVI Elementum Utility

Quietly, there’s a utility knife war brew in the knife world. I, for one, say it’s about dang time.

An oft-overlooked corner of the blade world is getting some much-needed attention with the latest enhancement coming from juggernaut CIVVI.

Essentially a flipper/folder utility knife, the Elementum Utility offers perhaps the most important aspect of this class of knives—single-hand deployment. And it delivers it not in one, but three ways via kicker, thumb stud and button lock—if you like flicking out your blade.

CIVVI also delivers a bit of panache with the line, offering the replaceable-blade knife in a slew of colorways on its aluminum handle.

CIVIVI Primitrox

Even without looking at the branding, I think most knife aficionados would have sussed out this is a CIVIVI… or WE or Sencut. It just has the look, design points and action of the tirade’s knives and is close to several other options that already exist in the company’s catalog.

The one that comes to my mind is the WE Saakshi.

However, the Primitrox comes in a bit bigger thanks to a larger 3.89-inch drop-point blade.

The extra steel works to the knife’s advantage giving it not only a more robust design but more mass that flings the blade forward when opening.

I have to say, the handle options on the knife are nice as well, particularly the Guibourtia wood scale option, which gives the Primitrox a dignified look.

CIVIVI RS71

I have to confess this knife intrigues me. Of course, you’d have to have a heart of stone not to get geeked up over a dagger—or dagger-style—blade.

A Rob Saniscalchi design, the RS71 takes the deadly-looking blade style and tames it down for EDC with plenty of style.
But plan on having plenty of pocket space to tote it around, because the CIVIVI borders on behemoth with a full 4-inch blade and 9.31-inch deployment length.

The knife fills the hand, yet the contoured handle makes it very manageable.

I also like the grooving on the scale, which gives it more purchase in the palm and a downright distinctive look.

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