Unlike some of the other brands, Condor Tool & Knife releases far fewer models each year. This has some upsides and downsides. The upside? You can better digest the new stuff. The downside? There are fewer new things to marvel at.

Last year, Condor TK released a small selection of new items, a few of which turned out to be pretty huge hits. Let’s see what they have in store this year.

Cloudburst Axe

The first item on the docket is the Cloudburst Axe. This looks like a pretty classic axe with a naturally finished 1060 high carbon steel head. The 23-inch handle is American Hickory.

Compact Dagger

The Compact Dagger is exceptionally thin and narrow with a dual-edged blade made of 1075 carbon steel. It has black traction powder coating and features Micarta handle scales. The Kydex sheath has a ball chain, so you can wear it around your neck.

Eco Survival Golok Machete

The Eco Survival Golok Machete is another entry into their “eco” series. They previously released the Eco Parang and the Eco Survival El Salvador Machete. It’s 14.5 inches long with a natural blade finish and a high impact polypropylene handle.

Continue reading

We’re closing out the unofficial SOG Week with a look at the knives they’re releasing in their 30th year. It’s a pretty exciting slate of folders from SOG this year, so let’s dive right in.

Quake

The SOG Quake is a knife that made plenty of people pretty excited when people got to see an early look at the beginning of the year. The Quake is a tactical folder with a dual-tone VG-10 steel blade. The 3.5-inch blade engages using SAT 2 opening mechanism with something pretty cool. Instead of a thumb stud, a cross guard folds in when the knife is closed and helps engage the knife when opening.

Quake XL

The knife also comes in a larger Quake XL iteration. With a blade length of 4.5 inches, it’s one of the largest models released by SOG. It has much of the same features as its smaller brother, including aluminum handles, a deep carry pocket clip, and stainless steel liner.

Targa – Satin

Continuing SOG’s foray with better quality folders is the Targa. This model has a satin 3.5-inch VG-10 blade with an interesting modified tanto shape. It uses SOG’s Arc-Lock. Its stainless steel handle has a minimalist framework that helps reduce the overall weight, making this a great EDC.

Targa – Black Tini

The Targa also comes in a version that uses a black TiNi finish on the blade and handle. All the other specs are the same.

Sideswipe

Next up is the Sideswipe. This folder has contoured anodized aluminum handles with textured GRN inserts to offer a stronger grip. Its 3.4-inch blade is made from bead-blasted 7Cr15 stainless steel.

Continue reading

We’ve barely cracked the surface of the new knives for 2016. If you want to see some of the other new knives for 2016, you can see all the posts here.

This week, we’re looking at the new Spyderco knives. There are only a handful of new models with a selection of upgrades/sprint runs. We thought it’d be a good idea to take a look at those going the way of the Dodo too.

Brand New Knives

We’ll kick things off with the new models from Spyderco.

Introvert

If you’re a fan of some of the weirdest Spyderco knives, then you’ll love the Spyderco Introvert. This folder was designed by martial artist and knifemaker Chris Knutson with the idea of making a knife that can open quickly and offer a secure grip. The index hole not only offers a strong grip but it also doubles as a flipper when closed. It has a 2.79-inch blade made from VG-10 stainless steel and G-10 scales.

Lil’ Lum

Billed as a gentleman’s folder by Spyderco, the Lil’ Lum was designed by the late Bob Lum. It has a leaf-shaped VG-10 steel blade that’s 2.38 inches long. It has G-10 scales and full skeletonized stainless steel liners.

Mantra

Mantra 2

The Mantras are great-looking knives made with quality materials. The blades are made from CPM M4 steel with full-flat grinds, and the handles are stonewashed titanium. The Mantra has a classic Spyderco blade with its iconic Spydie hole and leaf-shaped blade.

Continue reading

We’re making our way through the new knives of 2016 with CRKT up next.

There’s a lot of new knives to get to, so let’s stop wasting time and look at the CRKT knives coming out this year.

Amicus

The Amicus is a folder designed by Jesper Voxnaes. With an 8Cr13Mov steel blade that’s 3.4 inches long, the Amicus is meant to excel in the great outdoors. The blade has a cutout for ambidextrous opening and a frame lock to keep it securely open. The handle looks like stonewashed stainless steel.

Birler

The Birler is a fairly lightweight tactical axe with an overall length of 16 inches. The axehead is made of 1055 carbon steel and the handle is hickory.

Bivy

The Bivy, Niad, and Hyphenate are a trio of knives and tools designed specifically for climbers. We wrote about these three before, so we won’t go into too much detail. This is a multitool with features like screwdrivers, a knife, spring-assisted pliers, and more.

Niad

The Niad is a lightweight and compact folder with a blade that’s a mere 1.56 inches long. The handle is titanium and has a circular cutout to attach to your gear.

Hyphenate

The Hyphenate is basically a fixed-blade version of the Niad. It has a 2.23-inch serrated blade and the whole thing is made of 8Cr13MoV steel. It comes with a glass-reinforced sheath.

Buku

The Buku is another interesting design from Lucas Burnley (also the designer of the CRKT Achi). The subtle but noticeable curve of the Buku is reminiscent of a kukri machete. The curvaceous 3.75-inch blade is made from 8Cr13Mov steel.

Continue reading

Since Kershaw Knives was first created by Pete Kershaw and his wife back in April 1974, the company has been putting out some of the finest knives around.

The early 2016 batch of new knives proves that Kershaw still knows how to make a great knife with some cool features.

There are currently 27 new knife models and a couple of new accessories, like the Jens Carabiner. We’re only focusing on the knives in this post.

Barge

The Barge is a manual folder with a 2.6-inch 8Cr13MoV stonewash-finished blade. What makes the Barge so unique is the presence of a prybar at the butt of the handle. It extends from the backspacer of the knife. Most people pry as often as they cut, so this is a surprisingly useful tool, especially since prying with a blade is one of the worst things you can do with a knife.

Cathode

The Cathode is billed as a knife that’s not fancy but functional. It has a 2.25-inch tanto blade, a flipper with SpeedSafe assisted opening, and a patterned stainless steel handle. It uses a frame lock.

Cinder

The Cinder is a small knife that can fit on your keychain. It has a 1.4-inch blade with a liner lock and a bottle opener on the butt. It has some nice contour on the glass-filled nylon handle, which makes holding the small knife easy.

CQC-9K

Ernest Emerson and Kershaw’s relationship continues with the CQC-9K. The original CQC-9 had a hawkbill blade design, but the CQC-9K is a large folder with a drop-point blade. The blade measures 3.6 inches and is made from black-oxide-coated 8Cr13MoV stainless steel.

Continue reading