Artisan Cutlery has returned to Kickstarter to fund the production of a folder from a new designer. The Wizard is the first production release from Dustin Rhodes, and it comes in four different configurations.
According to the Kickstarter copy, the core concept driving the design of the Wizard was to create a folder with a full-sized blade in as small a package as possible. Thus we see a blade measuring 3.47 inches long, ready for chores both big and small. The blade shape is at its core a drop point, one of the most user-friendly blade shapes, but it’s been spiced up here with a harpoon-style swedge. Also spiced up are the opening methods, as this is a knife that can be deployed three different ways: via thumb stud, front flipper, or by doing the button lock wrist flick.
Artisan notes that the handle is just over 4 inches in length, which means it’s big enough to secret the blade away and accommodate a full four-finger grip, but not any bulkier than it needs to be. The profile is a proven one, with its large forward finger groove, beefy finger guard, and pointed back end, but the line work and finishing gives the Wizard’s handle a lot of character. The aforementioned button lock is situated right where you’d expect: behind the pivot on the show side.
We haven’t talked about materials yet, and that’s because they vary across the four different Wizards on offer. The “Sorcerer” edition has titanium scales, Fat Carbon inlays, and a blade made from S90V steel. The “Mage” edition swaps out the Fat Carbon inlays for timascus ones, and has a timascus clip to go along with them. The “Magna-Mage,” of course, has a MagnaCut blade, but otherwise all the fixings of the standard “Mage” model; it’s limited to 200 pieces. Finally, there’s the “Enchanter,” which has a handle made entirely from timascus and a mirror-polished S90V blade.
The Artisan Wizard Kickstarter is live now.
Knife in Featured Image: Artisan Cutlery Wizard
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