This Is What You Get When a Teenager Designs a Pocket Knife

What were you up to at 18 years old? Yours truly was tromping around a midwest college campus in an L.L.Bean Field Jacket, desperately trying to shake off the previous night’s dalliance with Milwaukee’s Best.

Meanwhile, a kid named Johnathan Shaw is up in Canada designing production-quality pocket knives, the latest of which is the eye-popping new Kansept Osprey. Man, what a showoff.

Kansept Knives

Hawksbill highlights

While time can bring wisdom and experience, there’s something to be said for raw talent and unencumbered vision. That’s what we’re getting here with Shaw, who has been honing his craft for the past few years, clearly unfettered by any rules about what a pocket knife is “supposed to” look like — in a good way.

The Osprey appears to be the second knife he has designed for Kansept, following the Link, which has a similarly unconventional tanto-shaped harpoon blade.

This new knife, meanwhile, is rocking a 2.22-inch recurved hawksbill. It shares features with the sickle-like karambit but kinda just looks like if a Wharncliffe got up on the wrong side of the bed.

One upside of this shape is that it uses the full length of the blade to cut, meaning you need not apply as much pressure. Another is that even when it loses its edge, the point typically remains sharp enough to pierce and help you muscle through a cut with a dull blade. Lastly, it looks pretty cool, no?

Kansept Knives

The main downsides of the shape are that it is not easy to sharpen (perhaps even requiring professional help) and its concave contour does limit what it can cut, to some extent.

This particular one, rendered in Damascus steel (shown here) or S35VN (three other versions) is still plenty qualified for everyday jobs such as opening boxes and cutting through rope. Slicing an apple is a little trickier but not impossible.

Rounding out the feature set are a lightweight titanium handle, a frame lock and multiple deployment methods — both a thumb hole and a front flipper — popping the knife open quick and smooth on caged ceramic ball bearings.

Jimping toward the back of the blade helps you grip it, while a titanium pocket clip helps you keep it close, which is good because you really don’t want to lose this thing. The now 19-year-old Shaw won’t be designing a follow-up anytime soon, as he recently joined the Canadian Armed Forces. Like we said, showoff.

Availability and pricing

The Kansept Osprey is available now. Three versions with blue, plain and black titanium handles and S35VN blades start at $134.89. The Damascus-bladed edition shown here costs $148.89.

Kansept Knives

Kansept Osprey

• Starts at $134.89

Related Topics