GiantMouse’s compact classic fixed-blade GMF1-MG updated with some top-notch materials.
GiantMouse has a knack for creating “giant” utility in small packages, and the company’s latest announcement proves they aren’t finished perfecting among its most recognizable designs. On January 22nd,the company will officially release the GMF1-MG, an evolution of the compact fixed blade that originally put the brand on the map for many EDC enthusiasts.
While the original GMF1 (the 2024 BLADE Magazine Imported Fixed Blade Of The Year®) was a skeletonized tool designed for minimalism, the MG (Micarta/Green) version enhances the user experience without sacrificing the design’s signature compact footprint.
GMF1-MG CPM MagnaCut
The most significant technical leap here is the move to a CPM MagnaCut blade. Finished in a clean satin, the super steel has become the industry benchmark for its ability to offer high-end toughness and edge retention while remaining nearly immune to corrosion. For a knife designed to live in a pocket or on a belt through all seasons, MagnaCut is the perfect choice to elevate the GMF1’s punch above its weight reputation.
Ergonomics And Personalization
While the original GMF1 was often used with an aftermarket paracord wrap or custom scales, GiantMouse is now providing that grip straight from the factory. The GMF1-MG comes standard with Green Canvas Micarta scales, offering a warm, secure feel excelling in both dry and wet conditions.
In a move that will surely please the modding community, GiantMouse is also launching a line of interchangeable scales. Users can now personalize their GMF1 with options in burlap Micarta or even milled titanium, allowing the knife to shift from a rugged outdoor tool to a premium gentleman’s fixed blade in minutes.
Italian Made
Despite the upgrades, the GMF1-MG remains a masterclass in discreet carry. It stays lightweight and nimble, shipping with a handmade black leather sheath crafted in Italy. It’s a setup designed to challenge the traditional pocket folder for a spot in your daily rotation.
Robin Askew reflects on being the daughter of Bob Loveless.
It was intimate and distant. It was warm and aloof. It was youth, adulthood, hope and memory—all at the same time.
Robin Askew is 70 years old now. She lives a quiet life in Sacramento, California, and her recollections of growing up as the daughter of a legend offer insights into years of experiences that few could imagine. Her father, BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bob Loveless, was and remains one of the titans of the custom knife industry. He has been gone more than 15 years, but his imprint on the past, present and future of custom knives is unmistakable and not about to wane.
Bob Loveless (center) talks with David Crosby (right) of Crosby, Stills and Nash at the 1989 California Custom Knife Show. The two were good friends, with Loveless an inveterate harmonica player who at times would play with CSN at a local bar or night club. At left is a young, mustachioed Steve D’Lack, coordinator today of the New York and Nashville Custom Knife Shows. (John Denton image)
Likewise, those who knew him remember his unforgettable, often larger-than-life persona. Creative genius, irascibility, generosity and unique perspective came together in Loveless, the man who shaped custom knives and literally changed the landscape in tangible ways, including steel and its components, and in intangible ways such as the sweep of the blade, its flow and form, and the aesthetic qualities that characterized his legacy.
Robin experienced the evolution, both in the life of Loveless and in the industry that he forever altered. From her earliest memories, her father was a busy man building a future one knife at a time, crafting a legend—whether he knew it or not—one innovation after another from a basement in Delaware to his shops in California. In the midst of it all, growing up Loveless was a complex, frustrating, fallible, forgiving and ultimately joyous journey.
David Crosby owned this ivory-handled Loveless utility knife fully engraved by H.H. Frank. According to John Denton, it sold for $22,000 a few years ago. (Cory Martin image)
“Some people were actually frightened of him,” Robin smiled. “They might have been put off. But his bark was so much worse than his bite. Over the years, my father was so amazed by the fact that others regarded him with such a high standard. He didn’t embrace that at all. One time he said to me, ‘They still think I’m the greatest.’ That was something that he had never imagined and never really came to terms with.”
Bob Loveless made contributions to the knife industry on multiple levels. He was instrumental in the formation of The Knifemakers’ Guild and in establishing the custom knife market in concert with other great men like the incomparable Cutlery Hall-of-Famer A.G. Russell. Loveless reached across the globe and developed relationships in Japan that eventually brought ATS-34 stainless steel, a staple in blade construction, to other markets. He was a metallurgist who concocted his own steel composition and made Micarta® a handle material of choice. The curve and the sweep of the drop-point hunter and other Loveless creations touch the senses and influence generations of admirers even now.
Robin Askew is alive and living well today at 70.
For Robin, more than half a century of a legend in the making is remembered in light and shadow, the image of her father at work tirelessly building and brainstorming and striving to make his way, and in turn taking care of those close to him. It was, at times, both turbulent and tender, but always something new.
“Daddy was super, super busy,” Robin recalled. “I never made a knife, just swept the shop floor. He would do things in batches and stages, and one of the most fascinating things I remember was when he would cut the leather and make the sheaths on a big stitching machine. He did everything with the knives, from drawing out the patterns to grinding the blades down and shaping them and putting the Micarta, stag or ivory handles on them. After he ground batches of blades, he would test them, pointing them down and dropping them onto the concrete floor of the shop. If the tip cracked, the whole batch of blades would be thrown away—but that never happened.”
Through the years, there were times when the family fractured, quite probably due at least in part to the stress and strain of a one-man enterprise that was on the rise, moving through uncharted territory and challenges. While something incredible was eventually gained, there was a cost to be counted. But such is true in life, true for everyone and in every relationship.
Lawndale & Riverside
For much of her young life in Lawndale, California, Robin lived in a small house with her mother and sister while her father lived in a studio apartment just down the road and worked in his basic shop.
“At the time I grew up with my dad, Allison and I were the oldest, and then Mary came along nine years later,” Robin commented. “Dad was getting to be known while the shop was in Lawndale, and when I was a senior in high school in 1973, the shop in Riverside, California, was not quite ready.
Taken on Christmas 1982, Loveless’s three daughters appear together, in back from left, Robin, Alison and Mary. Bob has his arm around Alison’s daughter Anna, the first Loveless grandchild.
“Still, he was getting telephone calls all the time. We would answer them in the house when he was working, and finally he put a phone in the shop because we had been taking all the calls,” she laughed. “He hired me to be his little secretary, and I would send out the catalogs and address them and seal them and take messages. It was a little weekend job, nice and fun.”
The relocation to Riverside occurred about 1974, and Robin remembers the dramatic change from Lawndale in terms of shop sophistication. “I had moved away,” she said, “and when I came to the shop in Riverside, it was so much more advanced than the little Lawndale shop with so many machines and things to look at. I was fascinated by everything he did, and it was fun to sit in his office.”
Along For The Ride
“Some people were actually frightened of him,” Robin said of her father. “They might have been put off. But his bark was so much worse than his bite.”
By that time, though, the Loveless mystique was already established. Bob was well on his way to custom knife stardom. And those around him? Well, they were along for the ride.
“People had started to come over and meet my dad,” Robin smiled. “There were so many people, different people, ordering knives. He would hang up the phone and say, ‘OK, John Wayne just ordered a knife.’”
Bob Loveless became a friend to the prominent, the eclectic and a diverse spectrum of admirers. Although they may have shared little else, they were each drawn, like moths to a flame, to the world and work of a master. Loveless met David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, stars of the pop music scene with their fame growing exponentially in the late 1960s. Crosby was a frequent visitor.
“When Dad first met them, the three were playing the circuit,” Robin remarked. “They were performing in bars and night clubs, and Dad would sit in with them on stage and play his harmonica. He loved to play the harmonica and had a lot of fun with them. Crosby would come to where Dad lived in the studio apartment about a quarter mile down the street from the house in Lawndale and just hang out. One time, he came to the door and said, ‘Is your dad here?’ and I yelled, ‘Dad, David Crosby is at the front door!’ They would just talk and enjoy themselves and do their thing.
“One time Crosby came into the kitchen and said, ‘Robin, can you make me a cup of coffee? You’re the only one who knows how I like it.’ This is 1973. These guys are really hot. And I’m a senior in high school!”
Vietnam
Robin visited her dad after he set up shop in Riverside, California, where this shot was taken in the backyard. She was 18.
During the 1960s and ’70s, Bob made many knives for military personnel, but Robin says he was sensitive to the situation when it came to his children. “My war was Vietnam,” she reflected, “and Dad made a lot of combat knives for Marines and Special Operations people who went overseas. I never knew that until I was an adult, and I don’t think Dad wanted us to know that. The war was so horrific in my eyes, but I supported everyone who ever went there. Some of them were my schoolmates.
“Dad was not a part of the California culture of that time,” she continued, “because he was always making knives. He had a lot of them on back order, and he would tell me the wait time was five years or six years, and later it got up to 10 years. He didn’t ever really have time to leave the shop, and he never discussed political things unless I called and asked his opinion about something. I do know that he made fighting knives—and these were like ‘killer knives.’ They were unbelievable. Then, his mother and stepfather were murdered in Ohio in 1985. They were stabbed to death in a robbery while he was in Japan.
According to John Denton, Loveless made this fighter in tulip wood with skull-cracker in Lawndale, California, for CIA operative Harry Archer. (Hiro Soga image)
“The decision was made not to tell him about it until he came home. He had already had a heart attack. So, after he was given the terrible news, I believe he felt bad about making knives because sometimes knives took people’s lives. Afterward, he no longer made combat knives.”
The life and times of Bob Loveless were surreal, energized and unequalled in excitement. “I remember once when a gentleman from Japan visited us in California,” Robin added. “My dad was instrumental in helping the Japanese Guild get started, and they would send makers over to work with him. I had no idea who this gentleman was, and you’ve got to remember that the Lawndale shop was just a tiny square box, not fancy but where he had put everything he had into it. This Japanese gentleman bowed to me. I was 16 at the time—and honored that he would bow to me. I didn’t really understand, but Dad said, ‘That’s what they do. They respect us, and they copy us because they respect our work.’”
Bob’s Beehive
Bob also cultivated a relationship with his one-time landlord, Dr. Dixon. He rented a house from Dixon and subsequently bought it. He made knives that Dixon collected, even naming a fighter style after his friend, this one with the Loveless signature logo. (John Denton image)
The Loveless shop, in Lawndale and then Riverside, was a beehive of activity. First, Bob was a solo act, and then great partnerships and friendships emerged. “In the morning, I would go to school, and he was busy all day,” Robin said. “Steve Johnson came in and was his partner. Steve was like an older brother to me. He was a very good boy, very shy and dedicated to learning the craft from my dad. He is maybe five years older than I am, and he grew into a wonderful man.
“Steve had a Camaro, and he would let me drive it,” she continued. “It had a manual shift, not an automatic. I went for the test to get my driver’s license in that car, and it didn’t go too well. The instructor said, ‘Are you all right? You turned too much!’ When we got back to the DMV, I told Steve I had flunked. But he still let me drive his car back home.”
The most famous Loveless knife of all, the drop-point hunter or, as he called it, the dropped hunter.(Dave Ellis/Exquisiteknives.com image)
Bob also cultivated a relationship with his one-time landlord, Dr. Dixon. He rented a house from Dixon and subsequently bought it. He made knives that Dixon collected, even naming a fighter style after his friend. Bob’s buddy Ray Randall was a frequent visitor as well. Robin recalled, “Ray was a sales representative, and he would bring us girls all kinds of shampoos and cream rinses for our hair when he came out to visit Dad.”
Read More On Bob Loveless:
Bob Loveless: The Icon’s Indelible Mark On The Knife Industry
Tips on handle materials, shaping/layout, grooves and flutes.
A good knife requires a handle that not only feels right in the hand but also complements the blade’s intent. For daggers especially, few embellishments capture both technical skill and aesthetic elegance like a spiral-fluted handle paired with inlaid twisted wire.
Fluted, wire-inlaid handles trace their lineage to medieval Europe, where 9th-to-12th-century knives were often bound with spirals of wire for both decoration and basic grip enhancement. By the Renaissance, Italian and French artisans had refined this into a sophisticated embellishment. They carved shallow, evenly spaced flutes into hardwoods, stone, ivory or other materials, then inlaid twisted wire into the channels in a demonstration of their mastery of contrasting textures and precise tool control. The grooves not only trimmed handle weight for better balance but also improved the gripping surface so that daggers felt responsive and secure in the hand.
In modern times, this technique remains a key hurdle in the path to attaining the level of master smith from the American Bladesmith Society. Flawless execution of fluting and wire inlay is essential—each flute must be crisply defined and identical in depth and spacing. Each wire strand must be uniformly twisted and fitted without gaps.
When choosing your material for a fluted, wire-wrapped dagger handle, think beyond mere function. You’re going to put in a lot of time on this project, so use something nice.
In the following paragraphs, we’ll walk through choosing handle material, laying out the spirals precisely, and cutting the wire grooves and flutes.
Handle Material
When choosing your material for a fluted, wire-wrapped dagger handle, think beyond mere function. You’re going to put in a lot of time on this project, so use something nice. G-10 and Micarta® are outstanding materials from a purely functional perspective, but they lack the organic warmth and storytelling power found in natural materials. On the other hand, black Richlite and black or ivory-colored paper Micarta can be appealing and affordable substitutes to African blackwood or natural ivories.
Most hardwoods should be stabilized but the various rosewoods, desert ironwood, African blackwood and other similarly hard and dense woods can be used as they are. For collectors seeking rarities, ancient mammoth and walrus ivories are beautiful and carve cleanly, though they can crack if too much heat is allowed during shaping and can expand, contract or crack with changes in humidity. Mammoth ivory can also be difficult to find in large enough sizes without cracks.
Both layout and shaping are made easier if the drilled handle is held between nuts on a long bolt or piece of threaded rod as a fixture.
Consider in advance what type of wire you’ll be using and choose the handle material accordingly. Silver and gold both look great against dark and light materials but consider matching the warmth of the color of gold with warmer-colored materials, and the cooler color of silver with lighter or cooler-colored materials. Think about chatoyance and orient your flutes to highlight the patterns under various types of light. The wires will be the visually dominant part of your completed handle, so the drama and color variation of certain burls and mammoth tooth will be outshone at best and visually distracting at worst.
Costs vary dramatically. Rare hardwoods and ancient ivories carry premium prices and should be ethically sourced. In contrast, G-10 or Micarta balance performance and cost-effectiveness but lack the luxury you’ll want in a signature piece. It’s a good idea to order materials for practice, especially if you’re planning to work with expensive ones. Antler, bone and paper Micarta all work similarly enough to ivory and the harder woods to be valuable for practice. Time spent in practice will not be wasted.
Layout & Shaping
You have carefully chosen the perfect material that fits your well-thought-out, cohesive vision for what impression or statement you want your knife to make, and now it’s time to lay the groundwork for some precision carving. While not strictly essential, it can be helpful to begin by squaring your blank on all faces—accurate squaring guarantees precise drilling and layout alignment for every step. The ends must be square to the tang slot and perfectly parallel to each other to ensure tight fit-up at the end. It will be harder to do this after you’ve shaped the handle, so do it before you start.
Gold and silver are the colors of choice for dagger handle wire wraps. ABS master smith J.W. Randall opts for the gold on the fluted handle of the warmer-colored mammoth ivory core of his art dagger. Overall length: 16 inches. (SharpByCoop image)
First, drill the tang hole. You can use a drill press but a lathe equipped with a four-jaw chuck to hold the squared blank makes it easier to ensure that the hole is dead-center and straight. Both layout and shaping are made easier if the drilled handle is held between nuts on a long bolt or piece of threaded rod as a fixture. With this in mind, it’s useful to drill a clean quarter-inch hole all the way through and save the broaching for the tang until later.
Shaping the handle profile requires some forethought into how it will mate up to the guard and pommel. The simplest transition is to make the ends of the handle and the fittings it meets round, but there are limitless options here. The handle itself doesn’t have to be round, and an oval cross-section makes it easier to index and orient the finished dagger in your hand. Assuming you’ve planned the design thoroughly before starting, shape your handle and sand it up to an even 200-to-300 grit. You’ll have some slips and scratches during the fluting process that you’ll have to sand out later, and your layout lines will be more durable on a rougher surface; there’s no need at this point to polish your handle to its final finish.
The next step is cutting the grooves for your wire, and the most important part of this process is accurate layout. There are a lot of ways to do this, but after trying most of them there is only one that has proven adequate. Luckily, it’s the easiest and the fastest method as well.
The most important part of cutting the grooves for your wire is accurate layout. Though it need not be fancy, a jig of some sort is essential here.
A jig of some sort is essential here, but it doesn’t have to be fancy. Fundamentally, all that is necessary is some means of indexing so that longitudinal lines are evenly spaced, some sort of rest or tool holder allowing the lines to be drawn perfectly straight down the length of your handle, and the ability to rotate your handle to draw evenly spaced lines around the circumference. The number of longitudinal lines is the same as your planned wire count. The number and spacing of circumferential lines around the handle determine your twist rate, and the number of resulting spaces should divide evenly into the wire count.
Once these lines are drawn, connect the corners of your resulting rectangles. Tracing each intersection gives you repeatable spiral guidelines for groove cutting and wire placement. Using a pencil is a good idea, but you can use ink if you’ve verified that it won’t permanently discolor your handle. This is the time for experimentation—you can draw new lines to test new twist rates, but once you start cutting, you’re committed.
Grooves & Flutes
When you’re satisfied with the layout you can begin cutting the wire grooves. With your handle anchored by tightened nuts on a piece of threaded rod, clamp the rod in a vise and start by precisely scoring each guideline with a fine blade in a jeweler’s saw. If you leave the handle slightly loose, you can turn it with one hand while cutting with the other. A blade size of 1/0 is good for this step. Deeper cuts will make the next step easier, so go to the full depth of the blade or slightly beyond. Alternatively, use the corner of a fine triangle file to mark and deepen the lines precisely. In either case, if you have an OptiVisor or, even better, a microscope, this is the time to use it.
With your handle anchored by tightened nuts on a piece of threaded rod, clamp the rod in a vise and start by precisely scoring each guideline with a fine blade in a jeweler’s saw.
Once the line is scored, shape each scored wire groove line with an Olson #4 36 TPI spiral scroll saw blade in a jeweler’s saw. It doesn’t have to be this brand, but since I like my inlaid wire to be made up of two twisted 24g wires, this specific saw blade’s .041-inch diameter is a perfect match for the .040-inch diameter of the combined wire. The resulting half-round groove ensures a very snug fit. Cut carefully until the depth of your grooves reach about half the combined diameter of your twisted wire, in this case approximately 0.020 inch. A single untwisted scrap of your wire can serve as an impromptu depth gauge.
Once all the wire grooves are clean and complete, it’s time to carve the flutes themselves. Lay out flute edges with dividers. Adjust the dividers to the width you need, place one leg in the wire groove, and scribe marks with the other leg to keep the spacing even. Bulk material can be removed with a coarse round file before refining with finer round files to uniform depth and width. It simplifies matters greatly if you plan your groove size to correspond to the diameter of a standard-sized file, though this is not strictly necessary. Ensure all flutes stop at an identical distance from each end of the handle. Each groove ending should be shaped so that every ending is identical—this is the trickiest part.
When filing and finishing flutes, keep the ends identical in length and shape. Any variation will stand out.
If achieving consistent flute endings is the most difficult part, sanding and finishing the grooves is the most tedious. You can start with 220- or 320-grit paper wrapped around a file or rod of the right size. Progress through all the grits until you reach the desired level of finish, ensuring that you remove all scratches from the previous grit before moving to finer paper. Eight-hundred grit leaves a nice matte finish. If you plan to buff your handle to a high gloss, keep sanding up to 1500 or 2000. You can buff out 800-grit scratches, but not without compromising the crispness of the edges of your channels. When the grooves are done, sand the flats between them as well, using a hard backing block to keep the transition between lands and grooves nice and crisp. A lathe makes this last step very fast, but it can be done by hand as well.
With these steps complete, now is the time to broach the handle to fit the tang of your knife.
A stealthy reimagining of a GiantMouse icon featuring MagnaCut steel and brass accents.
GiantMouse is kicking off the new year by leaning into a darker, more sophisticated aesthetic. The company has announced the next evolution of one of its most popular designs: the ACE REO—Black & Brass. This isn’t just a simple color swap.
The ACE REO has always been a staple for those who appreciate clean, purposeful lines, but this version dials up the contrast. Set to release on January 13th the Black & Brass model is designed to feel solid and intentional from the moment you pick it up.
CPM MagnaCut and PVD Titanium
At the heart of the folder is a blade crafted from CPM MagnaCut. By now, most enthusiasts know MagnaCut is among the gold standards for balancing toughness and corrosion resistance. GiantMouse has finished the blade with a sleek PVD coating, adding an extra layer of durability and a stealthy, non-reflective look.
The handle matches that energy with a PVD-coated titanium frame lock. The result is a monochrome, “blacked-out” profile that serves as the perfect canvas for the knife’s standout hardware.
Brass and Patina
What really makes this version pop is the inclusion of a brass backspacer and pivot collar. The warm gold tones of the brass provide a sharp contrast against the dark PVD titanium. Perhaps more importantly for collectors, the brass is designed to age. Over time, it will develop a natural patina based on how you carry and use it, ensuring that every knife eventually becomes a one-of-a-kind reflection of its owner.
Versatility and Carry
True to the GiantMouse ethos, the ACE REO is built for the pocket. It features a reversible steel wire clip for versatile carry and runs on a smooth bearing pivot for snappy deployment. Manufactured in Maniago, Italy, the craftsmanship is exactly what you’d expect from a collaboration involving Jesper Voxnaes and Ansø.
Not only could you carry knives on flights, you could buy them in airports.
Operated by Darlene and Don Couchman half a century ago, The Knife Shop sold factory and custom knives, sharpeners, knifemaking supplies and more—all in a 15-by-15-foot store in the El Paso International Airport.
A knife shop in an airport is not exactly something you would expect to see today, but such was not always the case in 1976. It was then that Darlene and Don Couchman operated The Knife Shop in the El Paso International Airport.
Airline passengers on their way to parts unknown could stop and avail themselves of knives of almost “every major brand of commercial household and sporting cutlery,” antique knives, straight razors, sharpeners, cutting boards and various knife displays, along with a full line of custom knives that included Don’s custom models.
Of course, as writer/then The American Blade editor L.V. Baker noted in his story “Knife People,” how Don found time to both make knives and help tend the store was “problematical.” Moreover, the Couchmans provided a special packaging and delivery service through the air carrier so passengers could take their newly bought knives on their flights.
“The biggest-little knife emporium in the Southwest, if not the world,” The Knife Shop had a 15-by-15-foot sales area that somehow also found room for a cigar store Indian. What’s more, the Couchmans sold parts to make knives, including finished blades, brass for guards and buttcaps and more, all in neatly arranged drawers so you could find it all easily. Now boarding!
We dive into the new additions to the CRKT 2026 catalog.
Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) has officially pulled the curtain back on its 2026 lineup, and it’s a diverse spread that leans heavily into premium materials and clever engineering. By collaborating with some of the biggest names in the custom knife world, CRKT is continuing its push to bring high-end design language to the production market.
According to Kyle Stuart, CRKT’s VP of Marketing, the goal this year was to pair “smart innovation with practical, purpose-driven design.” Here is a breakdown of the standouts from the new collection.
Sero
Designed by Richard Rogers, the Sero is where high fashion meets the everyday carry world. It’s a low-profile flipper that takes inspiration from Art Deco styling but doesn’t skimp on performance. The blade is S35VN—a favorite for edge retention—and it rides on an IKBS™ ball bearing pivot for snappy deployment. The lines are incredibly clean, with a flipper tab that disappears into the bolster when open. It also features a Crossbar Lock, making it fully ambidextrous. MSRP: $140 ($250 damascus/titanium version)
Princeton Wong brings his award-winning custom vision to the production line with the Orochi. Named after the mythical eight-headed Japanese serpent, this knife features a distinct clip point recurve blade made from 14C28N steel. You can deploy it via a discreet “hidden” flipper tab or dual thumbstuds. The G10 handle and stainless-steel bolsters give it a solid, ergonomic feel that punches way above its weight class in terms of refinement. MSRP: $140 ($200 damascus/titanium model)
When you see Ken Onion’s name on a knife, you expect smooth curves and real-world utility, and the Counterpart series delivers. This is a collection of purpose-built folders available in four different models. Most feature 12C27 drop point blades, though there is a D2 tanto version for those who prefer a more tactical edge. All of them utilize an ambidextrous Crossbar Lock and a reversible deep-carry pocket clip. MSRP: $89 – $99
The late Kit Carson’s M16 is perhaps one of the most recognizable silhouettes in the knife industry. For 2026, CRKT has taken that DNA and moved it into the world of butterfly knives. These aren’t just “fidget flippers”; they are serious, American-made tools crafted in Colorado. Featuring MagnaCut steel—the current “super steel” king of corrosion resistance—and titanium handles, these are available in both tanto (M16-02) and drop point (M16-03) configurations. MSRP: $300
Matthew Lerch is known for clean lines, and the Zephyr is a perfect example of his philosophy. It uses a sheepsfoot blade profile which is ideal for the sort of controlled, precise cutting most people actually do on a daily basis. The G10 handle keeps it light, while the IKBS pivot ensures it’s fast. For those who want something a bit flashier, a premium version offers an acid-etched Damascus blade and titanium scales. MSRP: $100 – $130 ($160 damascus/titanium version)
CRKT isn’t just about the blades this year. Designed with Joe Wu, the ToGo Driver is a compact maintenance tool for the person who likes to keep their gear in top shape. The anodized aluminum handle hides an internal compartment for seven precision micro bits. It even features a ball-bearing spinner on the end, making those tedious takedowns and reassemblies significantly smoother. MSRP: $50
Technically a late-2025 arrival, the Provoke X is still a major head-turner for 2026. Using the Kinematic® technology that made the Provoke karambit famous, this is a “morphing axe” that fits in a pocket and snaps open with a flick of the wrist. It’s secured by the Deadbolt® lock and features a titanium nitride-coated SUJ2 steel blade. It’s easily one of the most unique tools we’ve seen in recent years. MSRP: $350
From Ancient Inspiration to Modern Innovation: A First Look at the Year’s Most Anticipated Custom and Production Blades.
The new year kicks off with a formidable array of steel, ranging from primitive-inspired spears to high-tech tactical folders. This month’s selection highlights the incredible versatility of the modern cutlery world, showcasing the work of veteran masters with nearly four decades of experience alongside award-winning new makers. Whether you are looking for an ultra-premium custom Bowie for a collection or a hard-use MagnaCut automatic for daily carry, our January 2026 roundup proves that the industry’s innovation shows no signs of slowing down.
Jean-Pierre Potvin Short Spear
Blade length: 3.5” Blade material: Damascus of 1084 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels Blade grind: Flat Handle: Ash w/burnt and oiled finish Furniture: Bronze and copper Overall length: 18.5” Knife to know: Jean-Pierre Potvin created the texture for the blade steel by forging damascus and using a rotary tool to accentuate the details … he “wanted the texture to be similar to the flint spearheads that existed long ago”; he has been making knives for 36 years Maker’s price for a similar piece: $2,500 Maker: Jean-Pierre Potvin (SharpByCoop image)
Grant Cunningham Trench knife
Blade length: 8” Blade material: 52100 carbon steel Blade grind: Double convex Handle: Handmade brass knuckles, vulcanized fiber liners S-guard: Brass Overall length: 13” Sheath: By Grey Leather Co.; black leather w/snap strap Maker’s price for a similar knife: $1,250 Maker: Grant Cunningham, cunninghamcustomshop.com (Jocelyn Frasier image)
Rian Doudle Doudle Streetfighter Bowie
Blade length: 7.1” Blade material: W’s pattern damascus in 1084 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels Blade grind: Flat Scales: Western myall, an Australian hardwood Guard: Wrought iron Overall length: 12.6” Maker’s price for a similar knife: $1,200 at press-time exchange rate Maker: Rian Doudle, Fallen Forge, fallenforge.com.au (Rod Hoare image)
Frank Edwards Push Dagger
Blade length: 3.25” Blade material: Twist-pattern damascus of 1084 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels Blade grind: Dagger Scales: Carved interior mammoth ivory Overall length: 6.5” Maker’s price for a similar knife: $2,550 Maker: Frank Edwards (Jocelyn Frasier image)
SOG Knives Gambit XL
Knife type: Fixed-blade karambit Blade length: 4” Blade steel: CRYO AUS-10A stainless Blade @the thickest: 0.19” Blade finish: Black stonewash Blade finish: Hawkbill Handle: Green paracord wrapped Weight: 4.75 ozs. Overall length: 8.75” Sheath: Kydex® w/Safe-Lock clip Country of origin: China MSRP: $139.95 Company: SOG Knives, sogknives.com
APOC Wallace Small Puukko
Designer: Mike Wallace Blade length: 3” Blade material: D2 tool steel Blade @thickest: 0.118” Blade pattern: Drop point Blade finish: Titanium coated Scales: Black G-10 Weight: 3 ozs. Overall length: 6.88” Sheath: Kydex®; comes w/fire steel Knife to know: Specs vary from piece to piece Country of origin: China MSRP: $82 Company: APOC, casiberia.com
CRKT Xolotl OTF
Knife type: Out-the-front auto Designer: Michael Rodriguez, U.S. Army Green Beret Blade length: 3.5” Blade steel: MagnaCut stainless Blade @the thickest: 0.13” Blade pattern: Spear point, ground on both edges Blade finish: Titanium nitride Scales: Aluminum Opening mechanism: Dual action Pocket clip: Sternum shaped, reversible Weight: 3.2 ozs. Closed length: 5.31” Knife to know: An Aztec deity, Xolotl is “the guide of souls to the afterlife” … the handle has 21 ribs, one for each of the designer’s years in service Country of origin: USA MSRP: $324.99 Company: CRKT, crkt.com
Cold Steel Frenzy II
Knife type: Tactical folder Knife designer: Andrew Demko Blade length: 5.5” Blade steel: S35VN stainless Blade polish: Satin Scales: G-10 Pocket clip: Yes Lock type: Tri-Ad® Weight: 5.7 ozs. Closed length: 6.75” Country of origin: Taiwan Knife to know: Design based on the kabutowari, an ancient Japanese design MSRP: $239.99 Company: Cold Steel, coldsteel.com
TOPS Knives A-Klub
Designer: Amanda Kaye Blade length: 12.38” Blade material: 1095 carbon steel Rockwell hardness: 56-58 HRC Blade @the thickest: 0.19” Blade finish: Acid Rain Scales: Green canvas Micarta® Weight: 23.8 ozs. Overall length: 17.88” Sheath: Black Kydex® Sheath clip: Dangler Weight w/sheath: 33 ozs. Country of origin: USA Knife to know: The A-Klub is the first TOPS knife designed by a woman, Amanda Kay, a past participant on TV’s Naked and Afraid; design influenced by American Indian war clubs MSRP: $409.95 Company: TOPS Knives, topsknives.com
Geoff Keyes Pirate Bowie
Blade length: 16” Blade material: 1080 carbon steel Blade grind: Flat Scales: Buffalo Furniture: Integral bolster, steel and copper Extras: Silk tassels handmade by Marianne George Overall length: 22” Maker’s price for a similar knife: $1,500 Maker: Geoff Keyes, 5elementsforge.com (Jocelyn Frasier image)
Taran Ma Sanctum
Knife type: Utility folder Blade length: 3.5” Blade steel: MagnaCut stainless Blade openers: Blade oval and ambidextrous thumb studs Scales: Titanium Lock type: Framelock Pocket clip: Yes Closed length: 4.25” Knife to know: Taran Ma has been making knives for 1 year Maker’s price for a similar knife: Contact maker for information Maker: Taran Ma (SharpByCoop image)
Josh Davis Sgian Dubh
Blade length: 3.46” Blade material: 80CrV2 carbon steel Blade grind: Hollow Blade thickness @ricasso: 0.118” Blade @the widest: 1.8” Scales: Ebony, mosaic pin, TruStone and brass Overall length: 7.9” Sheath: By the maker Maker’s price for a similar knife: Contact maker for more info Knife to know: Josh Davis won Best New Maker for his sgian dubh at the 2025 Adelaide Cutlers Expo; he is also a member of the Australian Knifemakers Guild Maker: Josh Davis, CSC Knives (Rod Hoare image)
