This Super Affordable EDC Knife Has No Business Looking This Good

Artisan Cutlery follows up the luxe original Revel with a much more approachable treatment that might be even better.

By Steve Mazzucchi

Published April 11, 2025

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Updated April 11, 2025

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Earlier this year, Artisan Cutlery made news with a head-turning minimalist knife called the Revel.

Designed by the great Laconico, this limited-edition flipper spared no expense with regard to materials, boasting a MagnaCut steel blade and a titanium handle.

artisan cutlery revel ar-rpm9 full — The new Revel retains the original’s good looks while incorporating a user-friendly button lock.

As gorgeous as it is, the knife’s accordant $250 price tag limits its approachability.

Thankfully, AC has addressed that issue with a treatment that costs less than 1/5th of that figure, looks fantastic and offers a subtle functional upgrade.

Let’s get to know this new, more wallet-friendly Revel.

Material swirl — and more

As you might guess, there’s a pretty limited number of ways you can shed more than $200 from the price of a commercial knife.

Artisan Cutlery wisely chose the most direct route, which was to largely retain the sleek silhouette while substituting some of the key ingredients.

Materials aside, Ray Laconico’s streamlined design largely remains, with one notable change. Whereas the original features a frame lock — common to high-end knives — this new version boasts a very trendy alternative: a button lock.

Toward that end, the new Revel’s blade is still a lovely 3.54-inch clip-point with a thumb slot for deployment and light jimping on the spine for improved grip during detail work.

However, now it is rendered in the brand’s proprietary steel, AR-RPM9, which on the grand spectrum probably sits somewhere above 8Cr13MoV and below D2.

That being said, AR-RPM9 is balanced and easy to sharpen while carrying solid edge retention and corrosion resistance, making this knife plenty capable as an everyday carry blade.

artisan cutlery revel ar-rpm9 brown handle folded — The FRN handle is available in black, light blue and brown (above).

Meanwhile, this Revel’s handle trades titanium for fiberglass-reinforced nylon, with a bit of texture incorporated to improve grip.

Abbreviated as FRN, this injection-molded substance is respectably durable and resistant to impact, abrasion, and moisture.

It’s also quite light, which helps explain why this knife actually weighs less than the higher-end version, 3.7 ounces versus 3.77 ounces.

artisan cutlery revel ar-rpm9 blue handle off side — While the two other versions have black PVD-coated blades, the light blue-handled Revel gets stone-washed steel.

Materials aside, Laconico’s streamlined design largely remains, with one notable change. Whereas the original features a frame lock — common to high-end knives — this new version boasts a very trendy alternative: a button lock.

AC and the knife industry as a whole have been employing this mechanism more and more lately, and it’s no secret why: it’s super cool and fun and user-friendly.

artisan cutlery revel ar-rpm9 spine — This top-down view provides a nice look at the blade jimping and the easy-breezy button lock.

Press the button and flick your wrist, and you have a secondary deployment method. Press it again and use another wrist flick or gravity itself to return the blade to its handle — all with one hand.

All these qualities add up to a knife that’s likely to find a home not on your desk but in a much more promising place — your pocket.

Availability and pricing

The Artisan Cutlery Revel with AR-RPM9 blade steel and FRN handle scales will be available beginning April 18th. The three different colorways will cost $45 each.