I’ve mentioned Kyley Harris of cKc Knives before and how he seems to enjoy solving problems that aren’t actually problems. Today I’d like to talk about his non-locking folder that comes with a lock.

One of the things Harris set out to solve is the problem of friction folders. For those who have interests other than pointy stabby things, a friction folder is a knife that doesn’t lock into place when the blade is open. Instead it relies on friction and/or the hand of the user to keep it open.

The problem with friction folders is that over time they lose friction and don’t stay open. Users have to be careful when using them, lest the blade close on their fingers. The other problem is that they traditionally have an extended tang that sticks out when they’re closed allowing the blade to be opened more easily.

A Japanese Higonokami friction folder. You can see the extended tang off to the left.

Harris spent a few months experimenting with designs and consulting with fellow knife makers in order to create an updated friction folder that had a lock that didn’t count as a lock. At one point he even tried magnets and rods on lanyards that could be inserted and removed as necessary.

In the end he came up with the cKc Victorious. It has a small sliding bar built in the blade that can be slid into place. Because it holds the blade in place but doesn’t actually lock it, I prefer to call it a “restraint.” It adds a level of safety if, for example, the blade gets stuck during a cut. As you pull back, a regular friction folder will try to close on your fingers, but the “restraint” prevents that.

cKc Victorious. You can see the sliding restraint and the slot for it at the top left.

The design itself is terrific. The blade is nine centimeters (3.5 inches) long and made from AEB-L Stainless. Open the knife is 20 centimeters (7.87 inches). The handles are anodized titanium.  The blade shape is almost a wharrencliffe but has a rounded edge (perhaps making it more of a sheepsfoot). Fully open and restrained, it looks great. Harris has rounded the handles and off set them from the blade so users can slice without dragging their knuckles across the cutting board.

My cKc collection. The Victorious is third from the top. Note the great handle shape and the restraint. (knives list below)

The other safety feature is the choil where the index finger rests. If the blade tries to close, the index finger will act as a blade stop. This is good because, as always, Harris has sharpened the blade into a scary sharp convex. Although the handle is metal, and Harris prefers a rough, unfinished look to his knives so that people won’t be afraid to start using them, there are no sharp corners to play havoc with your hands. The knife is a lot of fun to hold and cut with with.

I only have two minor complaints about the knife. First, it’s heavy. It weighs 124 grams (or 4.37 ounces) which makes it too heavy to carry in the pocket. Also, the look is slightly ruined by the random hole at the top. This is a legacy from the early days of experimentation.

As I’ve said before, Harris is leaving knife making for more secure work. He will fulfill the last of his orders and then make a few personal knives and then retire from knife making. Those of us who admire his knife making skills and his sense of design will miss his work and we all hope he changes his mind.

Note
Here is a complete list of the knives in the picture, top to bottom:
–3″ Utility
–Slipjoint
–Victorious
–Streamline 2.0
–EDC
–Bait Utility

A couple years ago, on the recommendation of a guy I’d only seen on YouTube I sent money to another guy I’d only seen on YouTube. Oddly, I think I got my money’s worth.

The Knife Maker:
As part of the tithing I’ve talked about before I ordered knives from a writer and knife maker named William Collins the founder of WC Knives. Collins is based in Texas and at the time I ordered my knives had only been making knives for about eight months. (He began in December 2012.)

One of the interesting features of sending him your money (he insists on partial payment up front to cover materials) is that he sends you frequent videos of the progress of your knives. This includes his mistakes–he made one on mine which slowed things down–and the answers to any questions you may have.  He then includes the videos as part of the package he sends with the final product.

In my case, his charming nature actually helped sell the purchase to She Who Must Be Obeyed. I was mostly impressed that his workshop seemed to be mostly outdoors.

The Knives:
I ordered two knives, the WC Knives Woodlore Clone and the smaller Woodcarver.

The Woodlore Clone (top) and the Woodcarver with their sheaths.

The knives have single bevel or “Scandi” grind drop-point blades and are made from 1095 steel which sharpens easily, holds an edge reasonably well and rusts at even the mention of water. They have hunter orange G10 handles with black G10 liners, brass pins and brass lanyard holes. The Woodlore Clone has a 4 inch blade and is 8.67 inches long over all. The Woodcarver has a 3.16 inch blade and is 7.16 inches long.

I chose Kydex sheaths with leather loops. Collins gives you a choice of sheaths, although it’s also possible to get them without sheaths.

For a new knife maker Collins did a terrific job. There are a few flaws: the “Scandi” grind is uneven on both knives–annoying mostly because it affects cutting–and the lanyard hole is partially blocked on the Woodlore Clone as if the G10 liner slipped after it had been drilled.

I’m also discovering I’m not a big fan of “Scandi” grinds, but that’s not Collins’ fault.

A close up of the blades before any use.

The best part, though, is the handles. Collins does a terrific job producing beefy handles that don’t seem to have any hot spots and there are no gaps where the handle material meets the tang. They are easy to hold barehanded or with gloves and are so comfortable you actually want to go out and cut stuff with them. (Meaning I need to repatriate them to the USA so I can actually use them more.) I’ve used them as much as I can around the house and used them enough on wood and cardboard to dull them but they are really meant to be used outdoors.

I like them enough I’m considering another purchase. Until then, I can’t recommend his knives strongly enough. He’s always coming up with new designs and tests them on his YouTube channel. Lately he’s been working with better quality steels which has driven up the price some, but he’ll make whatever you order.

He’s also an avid hunter who’s not afraid to use one of his knives to butcher a squirrel or pig on camera. He will also show you the time he spent in the woods without getting a deer.

That said, anyone interested in ordering a knife should know that he has a large backlog and that he takes deer season off until he fills his tag.

Detail of the WC Knives logo, which he hammers in with a sledge hammer and the G10 handles. Note the thumb grooves in the handles.

I own a knife that solves a problem that probably wasn’t a problem. It’s still an awesome knife, though.

First some background: After I started renewing an odd interest in knives, I discovered cKc Knives. cKc Knives is run by Kyley Harris, a part-time knife maker in New Zealand who made videos that were one part humor, one part profanity and one part awesome. (In one great video, he proved a metal ruler could cut paper as part of a response to ludicrous claims from another YouTuber.) He also had one of the greatest sales videos I’ve ever seen when he proved his awesome sharpening skills by slicing a computer manual in half as easy as cutting warm butter.

He also approaches knife making from an attitude that’s best described as a mix of scientific curiosity and “why the hell not?”

As such, his knives don’t look like anyone else’s and have features that seem more like responses to other people’s claims. To prove that the shape of handle matters more than the handle’s material, he made a knife out of a material that’s slipperier than Teflon.

My favorite knife (although just barely) is the cKc EDC framelock. It was his first framelock and it was his attempt to make a lock that wouldn’t fail.

Note to non-knife people: One of the favorite past-times on YouTube is to take a folding knife and slam the blade spine on a table to see if the lock will fail, causing the knife to close on the user’s hand. The theory being that if it fails like that it will fail and close on your hand when you’re whittling a stick or opening a box you got in the mail. (Something like that.)

The cKc EDC from the side.

The cKc EDC, though, has a lock that’s designed to never fail. Harris designed the lock with a groove that, in theory, will act like a catcher’s mitt and catch the lock bar. He tested it by locking different knives and the EDC in a vice and hitting them with a broomstick. He sheered a piece of one knife but the EDC didn’t fail.

The problem is, though, that it’s unlikely anyone would ever hit the back of a knife like that unless I was, for some inexplicable reason, using a folding knife to hammer a nail. As such, the lock on the EDC solves a problem that’s not a huge problem on most knives.

Also, the trade-off is that the lock design leaves the knife with a slight rattle. To allow for the groove, the blade has to move a little. This goes away when you grip it and start using it, but it’s still a bit disconcerting the first time you shake the knife and it rattles. I bought it used and had to take it apart and clean and oil it a bit to make the blade open smoothly.

That said, I like everything else about the knife. The ELMAX steel holds an edge well, although, because I live in Japan, I haven’t had as much chance to test it out as I’d like, and the titanium scales and handle shape are surprisingly comfortable. It has a 3.1 inch blade (8 cm) and is 7.4 inches long (18.6 cm) it’s the prefect size to carry around the house.

Unfortunately, Harris has taken a hiatus from making knives. However, if you’re interested, check out his shop on Gearbastion, where you can also find a lot of other new knifemakers, from the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

I hope he starts making knives again soon. Until then, keep watching Gearbastion.