Soldier Systems Daily
| EDC, Industry News / New Products, Production Knives
Prometheus Design Werx releases their newest iteration of the Invictus folding knife design featuring a unique handle machined from a solid block of titanium billet. This form of folding knife handle construction required the brand several years and as many machining centers to finally develop, produce, and deliver the highest quality of make in this folding knife. Other high-level details include a Böhler M390 alloy blade, ceramic pivot bearings, signature 5 fullers, lock-bar limiter insert, dive watch grade luminous inlays in the dual thumbstuds, and precision machined, fine details throughout this knife. The Invictus-IL is a purpose driven edged tool painstakingly made with state-of-the-art multi-axis CNC machines and the highest level of precision refinements found only in the best production tools.
It reminds me of another knife but I can’t put my finger on it.
I wrote about my first large batch of 48 different steels (some with multiple heat treatments) in this article. I had another set of blanks cut out ready to heat treat basically right after that article was released but it has taken some time until they were all ready to test and now they are finally completed. The knives were ground and initially sharpened by knifemaker Shawn Houston. First I will give a rundown on what was tested.
The Steels:
The selection is a bit random here though there are some themes. Maxamet, CPM Rex 45, CPM Rex 76, CPM Rex 121, and CPM T15 are all powder metallurgy high speed steels. 420, XHP, and SPY27 are all stainless knife steels. XHP and SPY27 are both powder metallurgy steels while 420 is produced conventionally. 420 has better corrosion resistance than the other two.
KnifeNews
| EDC, Industry News / New Products, Production Knives
The GiantMouse ACE Sonoma is returning in a second, more affordable version. Dubbed the Sonoma V2, this line expansion comes with alterations to the materials and mechanics, but retains the core Jens Anso/Jesper Voxnaes design that has been in GiantMouse’s lineup, in one form or another, since 2017.
Released in 2019, the original Sonoma was a spiritual sequel to the GM3, a premium GiantMouse design that came out in 2017. At the time, the GM3 was a pretty stark departure from the prior GiantMouse folders; the slim design looked more gentlemanly, while still being something that could function in the outdoors. The Sonoma made some minor tweaks to the GM3’s design: the lanyard loop was moved, the clip changed, the blade length altered, and the secondary nail mark opener removed. Despite its entry into the more price-conscientious ACE line, the Sonoma still came with full titanium scales and M390 steel, just like its older brother.
I need to make a point of visiting with GiantMouse at Blade Show.
First thing first. That Kapara factory’s edge was just a perfect razor but the geometry was not at the same level as…. the Manly‘s…
Some gaffer to protect the knife from scratches and diamonds get into play. The idea is not to touch the factory edge which is perfect but just to erase the edge’s shoulder by gently convexing.
As usual…
EverydayCommentary
| EDC, Knife & Accessory Review, Production Knives
Front flippers are hilariously polarizing in the IKC. In fact, a lot of things are hilariously polarizing in the IRC. People have strong opinions about a lot of stuff that, in the final analysis, doesn’t really matter. Some people are loyal to brands (which strikes me as silly), some people are loyal to steel (Heaven’s offended by those who dare like mere S35VN), and some people REALLY like traditional flipper tabs. So the pushback on front flippers, like most tempests in a teapot, is kinda dumb.
The first really prominent front flipper was the Gareth Bull Shamwari. That knife itself has been a polarizing topic in the knife community for some time, but I think part of the reason people dislike front flippers is a spill over in hostility towards the Shamwari. But since then a number of really sterling front flipper designs has hit the market. The Kizer Feist was good (and has gotten better since its release), the Pena X Series of modern traditionals have been outstanding, and it appears that the Reate Tribute (damn it, do I wade back into the muddy and turbulent waters of in-house Reate designs yet again?) is pretty decent.
The Exarch—a front flipper from Civivi—however, does not belong in that group of knives. Not only is it significantly cheaper with materials that match its price, it is also not a particularly good front flipper. This knife, unfortunately, bears all of the critical problems folks have with front flippers. The rest of the knife, from the blade finish to the clip, is outstanding, but this is not a fun knife to fidget with nor an easy to deploy knife. Such is like when you design and release 35 knives a year—some are good, some are meh. The Exarch is meh.
I love how Sculimbrene can write a “meh” review of a knife that isn’t a hit job.
A knife-wielding attacker stabbed five people in a New Zealand supermarket Monday, critically injuring three, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it appeared the rampage was not terror related.
Police said the attack — highly unusual in the normally peaceful South Pacific nation — occurred at a Countdown supermarket in central Dunedin at 2:30pm (0230GMT) and a man had been taken into custody.
Witnesses told local media a man carrying two knives stabbed staff in the supermarket and bystanders who tried to stop him were also injured…
…At this stage, there’s nothing to suggest from the police’s perspective that this is what they would define as a domestic terror event,” she told reporters.
Ardern also said police were not looking for anyone else in relation to the attack.
“I want to acknowledge early reports of bystanders who have taken action in order to protect those around them… these are courageous acts and we are thinking of the families,” she said.
KnifeNews
| Custom Knives & Makers, Production Knives
Some sad news: after a long and distinguished career, knife designer and artist Helmut Jermer passed away last week. Jermer leaves behind a rich legacy within and without the knife world.
Jermer’s work made it into production most recently with Real Steel Knives. He collaborated with the company on the RealSlim, an EDC knife that approached the popular “slicer” concept from a unique direction. But Jermer also worked with Boker on the award-winning Jermer EDC fixed blade, and Puma Knives on the Tac-1. The former is a stout companion knife that blends traditional iconography with modern elements; the latter departs from Jermer’s EDC-oriented designs and leans into a tactical or military application instead.
Not a name your casual knife fan would know offhand, but an influential loss nonetheless.
Red State
| Knives in the News, Photography, Podcasts, & Videos
From Red State:
This video popped up on Twitter during the day on Sunday. From the accents and other objective indicators — like license plates you can see on the cars — this seems to have happened in Great Britain somewhere.
That’s where King Arthur and his Round Table Dudes made this kind of stuff famous, right?
This does not appear to be any type of “LARPing” episode — at least not based on the way it ends (no one dies …I don’t think).
But there is some blood spilled along the way, and if either combatant had been a bit more proficient in striking blows with their swords, the images might be viewed a bit differently. Both need to spend a bit more time watching Forged in Fire to pick up some tips.
It is probably a good thing these morons didn’t have a firearm because they would have likely sprayed gunfire into every house on the street without hitting each other in the process.
I wrote about my first large batch of 48 different steels (some with multiple heat treatments) 
The GiantMouse ACE Sonoma is returning in a second, more affordable version. Dubbed the 
First thing first. That Kapara factory’s edge was just a perfect razor but the geometry was not at the same level as…. the 
Front flippers are hilariously polarizing in the IKC. In fact, a lot of things are hilariously polarizing in the IRC. People have strong opinions about a lot of stuff that, in the final analysis, doesn’t really matter. Some people are loyal to brands (which strikes me as silly), some people are loyal to steel (Heaven’s offended by those who dare like mere S35VN), and some people REALLY like traditional flipper tabs. So the pushback on front flippers, like most tempests in a teapot, is kinda dumb.
A knife-wielding attacker stabbed five people in a New Zealand supermarket Monday, critically injuring three, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it appeared the rampage was not terror related.
Some sad news: after a long and distinguished career, knife designer and artist 
