Priced right and darkly attractive, the Spartan Poros offers a work-a-day option.

It’s been a big year for the folder end of Spartan Blade’s catalog. In June, the North Carolina manufacturer took home Manufacturing Quality accolades from the 2023 BLADE Show Knife of the Year awards. For the record, it was an artistically executed Harsey Folder that earned the company the honor. Now, the company has further expanded this end of its offerings with a wicked-looking flipper, home-cooked by one of Spartan’s founding fathers.

Shake hands with the Spartan Poros, a full-sized option with plenty of versatility baked into the package. The piece was designed by company co-founder Curtis Iovito, who has several standalone designs spotting the firm’s lineup, including Alala, Formido and Zelos, among others. The Poros appears to share a lot of the same lines and design points of auto Zelos, particularly in handle ergonomics. Though, the new knife has much more (pardon the pun) Spartan aesthetics than its predecessor, casting it into a much more work-a-day role.

As to the tale of the tape, the drop-point knife sports a 3.75-inch blade that boasts an understated swedge running nearly its entire length. This adds a bit of character to the otherwise very liner overall blade design. Spartan uses 154CM stainless steel for the blade (58-60 HRC), applies a flat grind and finishes it with Black Titanium Nitride Coating (TiN) for added protection and dark good looks. The knife is a flipper-only affair, with a relative demure kicker that gets the blade into the action. IKBS bearings make it fast opening and give the knife a bit of snap when deploying.

Spartan offers a trio of handle options, each nicely complimenting the blade—black or OD green G-10 or black carbon fiber-G-10 composite. In both cases, the handle adds to the overall sleek looks of the Poros. The liner lock’s aggressively textures the scale but keeps comfort in mind significantly chamfering the edges of the handle so its fairly sharp design wouldn’t tend to bite or create hot spots. Spartan tops it off with a reversible loop over clip with its signature Spartan arrow. Note, the company supplies a steel tab to fill the recess opposite to the side the clip is installed to maintain the overall continuity of the handle.

At 5.4 ounces, the Poros certainly won’t weigh down its carrier. And classified as “Field Grade” by Spartan, the knife comes in at the lower end of the company’s price range. In this case, Spartan lists it at $180 for the G-10 models and $190 for the carbon fiber-G-10 composite model.

Spartan Poros Specs

Designer: Curtis Iovito
Blade Length: 3.75”
Blade Thickness: 0.125”
Overall Length: 9.0”
Blade Steel: 154CM Stainless Steel
Blade Hardness:  58-60 HRC
Blade Style: Folding-Drop Point-Flat ground
Blade Finish: Black Titanium Nitride Coating (TiN)
Frame: Liner lock with black or OG Gree G10 scales, black carbon fiber-G-10 composite scales
Weight: 0.330 LBS
MSRP: $180 G-10 scales; $190 carbon-fiber-G-10 scales

Read More On Folders:

• Best Tactical Pocketknives: Perfect EDC Options
• Civivi Cogent Review: How Versatile Is This Flipper?
• Why Are Flipper Folders So Popular?
• How to Make a Flipper Folding Knife