Design

Microtech Signature Series

One of the good things about being a direct dealer for so many knife brands is the opportunity to get some limited edition or rare knives to bring to our market. And this is true with Microtech more than almost any other company.

Microtech has their Core Series of knives, and they are all constructed from some of the highest quality materials available. Blade steels, handle materials, even the proprietary hardware, are the best around

And then they take it one step further.

The Signature Series is a Microtech ready for both the battlefield and the opera at the same time. Sometimes, a Signature Series is a limited edition theme, such as the Star Wars or Momento Mori line up, including the ever popular Mandalorian color pattern. Sometimes, they use the Signature Series to re-introduce an older model, such as when they brought the sterile Makora back to market.

By far, the most striking members of the Signature Series are the Damascus steel options. If you take the normal frame of say, an Ultratech, make the handle scales out of great materials like carbon fiber, and top it off with a beautiful Damascus blade, you really have a beautiful knife that is just as at home in a display case as it is clipped to duty uniform pants or serving down range.

Another part of the Signature Series is a regular Core Series, but with differing handles, like the ladder or step side Ultratechs, which adds a bit more security to the grip. This is also where Microtech will do different coatings and color ways. One of my favorites we have in stock now is the Combat Troodon with the Coyote Ceracoat camo pattern, which gives it an overall very tactical look, while still standing out from the all black all the time that has become kind of a standard.

In closing, Microtech Core Series knives are the gold standard in the industry, bringing a lot of innovation, and raising the bar for the industry as a whole. And by having the Signature Series, they raise the expectation for what a production knife can be. It is a perfect halfway point between regular production (Core Series), and high end custom (Marfione Custom Knives), and brings some very beautiful knives to market at a very reasonable price point, while allowing some good experimentation with new technologies that will make their way into the entire production knife field.

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Microtech Knives & Station 9 Knives

In this latest blog post, we wanted to shine a light on some new products we have received recently. We have carried both brands previously, and now a whole new product line up we recently picked up.

Of course we carry the OTF models, like the new Makora, with its sterile blade, a new Star Wars themed Exocets, and some new colors in the Ultratech line up. But, we’ve also got the Borka Blades/Microtech collaborations; the Stitch, in both plain edge and fully serrated, as well as the SBD, which is the first Microtech fixed blade we’ve carried. All of it is really good stuff.

Our new product line comes to us from Bozeman, MT by way of Europe. Knifemaker Tony Lopes and combatives/survival instructor Vol West have teamed up to create Stati9n USA (Station 9), which is a product line for survival in austere environments and combatives situations. It is a relatively new brand, which seemed to be a big hit at the last Blade Show, and limited in offerings, but what they offer is superb. From the big WW1 inspired Partisan, good for fighting, camping and hunting, the #3 Knuckles based on an Austro-Hungarian design, or the Fred Perrin inspired #5 Scorpion, a pikal ready LaGriffe style blade also suited for field use, I see a lot of good use and success from this brand growing and offering more good, mission oriented product.

Microtech Knives
Station 9 Knives
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Knife Maker Spotlight – Fred Perrin

Our very first blog post here was on French knifemaker Fred Perrin, which you can find here: Fred Perrin article. So I guess this could be considered a throwback. The reason for the throwback is because we just received a new shipment of knives from Fred, some old favorites, some new things, and some new twists on a few classics.

 

If you’re looking for an affordable, comfortable, easy to carry small fixed blade, you’d be hard pressed to do better than these knives here. The Peeler, Fruit Knife, and Pocket Tanto are compact, come with a well fitted kydex sheath, and have a level of finish normally associated with a more expensive knife. The Peeler has a two finger handle, which includes a lanyard hole, if you wish to add one, and a nice, shallow hawkbill style curve to its blade. Great for utility use, and as a concealable hide away defensive knife. The Fruit Knife has a coffin shaped handle that presents neutral, so you can use it in any grip style you wish, and a more aggressive curve on the short blade. Next we have the Pocket Tanto, which, as its name implies, has an American Tanto style blade on a three finger handle, and is beefy enough to handle just about anything you need such a small fixed blade to do.

Following Freds appreciation for all things WWII/OSS inspired, he sent us his Mini-Pic, and the new Mini-Slasher. Both are extremely minimalist claw type blades, with a big nod towards the OSS Tire Slashers. Both are shipped with kydex sheaths, and are perfect for covert carry.

Over the last few years, Fred has started doing some collaborations with other people in the knife world, and we have two of the latest.

In conjunction with Michael Janich of Martial Blade Craft, or MBC, they have produced the Confusion. The Confusion has the trademark Wharncliffe blade that Mr. Janich advocates, this is an aggressive, short but thick defensive knife perfectly suited for the urban environment. Along with the wharncliffe blade, the Confusion has a unique pistol shaped handle that reduces the overall length while still being fully functional, but also allowing deployment as a push knife if you’d like to use it that way. Available in both 440C stainless or in titanium, a kydex sheath, and a nice padded pouch, this limited edition knife does a great job.

The next collaboration we received is the Griffed, from Fred and custom knife maker Ed Schempp. This knife is all the good things about a LaGriffe, but bigger. It has a hybrid blade that looks like a recurve spear point, the trademark Perrin fingerhole, and a large pistol grip handle with nice finger grooves, and micarta handle scales. The sheath carries and presents the knife in the same manner as a snubby revolver, so the drawstroke will be familiar. All the corners are nicely chamfered and rounded to provide great comfort, even during long term use. As with all of the LaGriffe family, the Griffed is ready for both defense and utility use.

And, speaking of the LaGriffe family, ours in-store has expanded. First, there has been a change in the regular LaGriffe production. Instead of being chisel ground, the new models are V ground on both sides. There is also more variety in this supply. Skeletonized black, titanium, the black LaGriffe with nice thick G10 scales, and the new Shorty, in black, which has G10 scaled handles similar to the LeShark, but a wharncliffe style blade closer to the size of the Griffe.

FRED PERRIN KNIVES
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Karamibt Guide

Karambit, or alternately, kerambit, loosely translates from Bahasa as “tiger claw”, it is also known by other names, depending on size, or place of origin, such as lawi ayam (spur of the chicken) for smaller versions, or sangot for the large versions from the southern Philippines.

Originating in the kampongs (villages) and jungles of the Indonesian Archipelago as a small, every day carry/utility knife, it has garnered a reputation as a fearsome weapon, so much so, that they were illegal in parts of Indonesia as an assassins weapon. Closely associated with the indigenous martial arts of Southeast Asia, particularly Pentjak Silat and Kali, it has deserved much of its fearsome reputation.

BASTINELLI: KALINOU
BASTINELLI: PIKA

Looking at a karambit, it is a very simple concept, finger ring on the end, a handle that is curved to be comfortable in the palm of the hand, and a claw shaped blade. The blade shape is very important in a small knife. By being curved, you maximize the cutting efficiency by gathering or pulling the material into the blade edge as you are cutting. In essence, the curved blade fits a longer straight blade into its smaller size.

The finger ring provides a few benefits. First, a secure draw. By hooking your finger into the ring, you have begun your draw, and by design, the knife becomes married to your skeletal system. Next, it allows an increase in grip security. Because of the way it is held, the kerambit becomes very hard to dislodge or disarm while the finger is through the ring. And finally, as with other ringed or holed blades, the ring on a kerambit allow you to keep the knife secure in your hand, while using that same hand to perform other tasks. And then, a quick twirl or spin, close your hand, and the knife is ready for more work.

The final aspect of the finger ring is its use on the kerambit as a fighting weapon. By securing the knife to your hand using the ring, it increases the force with which you can safely cut and thrust with the kerambit, especially on pull cut motions. This is where its likeness to a claw really becomes noticeable.

BASTINELLI: MAKO
BASTINELLI: ANOMALY
RUIKE: F181-B1

 

Now, we move into modern versions of the kerambit. There are plenty of knives out there with finger rings, but there are a few attributes that really make one usable in the manner intended.
If it is a fixed blade kerambit, you want it to be on the smaller side. The bigger it is, the more trouble you will have drawing and manipulating it safely and efficiently. You want a simple sheath setup, preferably made from kydex, or some other hard, friction fit material. Excessive straps, loops, or safety buttons like those used on nylon or leather sheathes, get in the way of quickly drawing your weapon. Preferably, you would want your sheath capable of concealed or IWB(inside the waistband) carry if you are intending to carry it for self defense.

 

If you are carrying a folding kerambit, aside from the above considerations, you need to look at how the kerambit opens, and the position of the clip, in order to get the most out of it for the job you assign it. The best folding kerambits will will have the clip located right below the finger ring, so the ring is accessible for you to draw into a proper grip, the clip should be reversible to allow you to carry either right handed, or in left hand support position. As far as opening a folding kerambit, hands down, the best option is to purchase one that incorporates the Emerson Wave Opening system. This way, as you draw the kerambit from your pocket, the wave catches your pocket edge and opens the blade, so the knife is open and ready for use as soon as it clears your pocket. Any other method of opening does not lead to rapid, secure deployment, and requires more manipulation to be ready for use. There are plenty of available models from Fox, Bastinelli, Emerson, and Spyderco that employ the wave feature.

FOX/BASTINELLI: BLACKBIRD
FOX/BASTINELLI: BLACKBIRD

In closing, kerambits are definitely a niche tool, but very effective in both a utlity or combative situation. Buying a good one, with the features discussed above, and seeking proper training is well worth it.

To see the kerambits discussed in the article and video, please visit our two locations in Lubbock, TX, or click on the link below to the Karambit page.

KARAMBIT SELECTION AT CE BLADES
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