We Knife Co., in a move that should surprise exactly no one, brought a slew of prototypes to Blade Show West earlier this month. Among the new faces in the hustle and bustle was the Epaulette, the latest collab between the company and Gavko Knives.
Shop owner Mike Gavac has a rich catalog of both custom and production designs – and sometimes a model from the former crosses into the latter. Looking at the Epaulette, we get major impressions of the Spinner, a custom piece that Gavac has turned out with different handle materials, steels, and even blade shapes. He’s also collaborated with other makers on Spinner releases; there is a Gavko/Ferrum Forge Spinner release that, like many such projects (and the customs themselves) are long gone on the primary market.
The Epaulette’s blade is a reverse tanto, or maybe a “modified” reverse tanto? The nomenclature can get hazy if you let it, but this is certainly a unique take on the form, with a sweeping, tapering belly moving out to the reinforced reverse tanto-style tip. Unconventional lines don’t necessarily translate to unconventional peformance, however, and the Epaulette screams daily use, with the appropriate geometry for that role and performance backed by CPM-20CV steel.
Again like the Spinner, the Epaulette has a humpbacked handle that tapers in the opposite direction from the blade, thick at the guard and narrow at the butt end. Naturally, the scales are all titanium, with a steel-capped frame lock on the back end. There’s a sculpted titanium pocket clip, and in total the Epaulette tips the scales at 3.51 oz.
This one isn’t available yet, but physical prototypes were on display at Blade Show West. The market-ready ones are probably not far off.
Knife in Featured Image: We Knife Co. Epaulette Prototype
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