Does This Stunning New Knife Live Up to Its Looks? We Found Out

You’d be hard-pressed to meet a pocket knife aficionado who is not well acquainted with Chris Reeve Knives and the brand’s most iconic offering, the Sebenza.

While it’s stunning to behold even today, it’s important to remember how groundbreaking the Sebenza was when it first appeared way back in 1987. 

In addition to super clean aesthetics and otherworldly craftsmanship, it was the first knife to employ the now vaunted frame lock, wherein a piece of the handle itself drops into place behind the butt of the blade to keep it securely open when deployed.

These days, the Sebenza remains the gold standard by which all premium pocket knives can be measured. 

So naturally, my eyebrows went up a centimeter or two when GP received an email from an independent designer who wanted us to check out a new knife with distinct Sebenza vibes.

Naturally, we asked Sherif Manganas to send a prototype of the Aurelia on over for a look-see. What follows are my first impressions of a knife that made, well, quite an impression.

Photo by Mykim Dang for Gear Patrol

Discriminating design

Just looking over the ingredients of this knife, I knew it was one I could take seriously. The handle scales are made of stonewashed and contoured titanium, with a super smooth finish, integrated pocket clip and wonderful heft in the hand. 

This stands to reason based on the process Manganas uses. A classically trained industrial designer who started out in the automotive industry before his passion for knives drove him to create Manganas Steel, he believes in the feel of the real.

“My process still starts with sketching and hand shaping prototypes out of foam,” he explains. “Despite utilizing 3D printers in my personal and professional life for over a decade, I still feel that this approach is faster and gives better results for ergos.” 

Photo by Mykim Dang for Gear Patrol

His care when it comes to materials carries over to the hinge point of the knife itself, which he calls MSK Dual Way Pivot because it’s designed to run on both Skiff brand phosphor bronze washers (better for heavy grit and dirt environments) and ball bearings.

The prototype I got to check out is on bearings, and while deployment was a little sticky at first, after several break-in flicks, the blade was swinging out in a smooth and satisfying matter. 

The frame lock is quite secure and yet the design is such that it’s fairly easy to return the blade home with one hand. (See both elements at play in the video below.)

Manganas says that production Aurelias will come with bearings, but he’s working with Skiff to add a bearing and washer upgrade option so that users can customize their own knives to their liking.

Speaking of the blade, shape-wise it’s a beauty — and refreshingly distinct from the Sebenza in that it’s a clip point. (The classic Sebenza is a drop-point, and Insingo and tanto blade shapes are also available, but no clip points.) 

Why did Manganas go this route?

“I took inspiration from my childhood kitchen,” Manganas says. “My parents, who immigrated to this country, used LaGuiole knives as our kitchen knives. LaGuiole knives have a distinctive look — an elongated clip point with minimal belly and a long flat section, all qualities that I like in my EDC knives.

“So I took to integrating these basic cues with what I had envisioned for a daily use utility/gentleman’s hybrid. After three months of non-stop sketching in my free time, the Aurelia was created.” 

While this point of difference might not affect everyday usage all that much, it’s a clean, striking silhouette that scores major style points in my book.  

Precise performance

The blade is deployed via ambidextrous thumb studs, and there’s a bit of jimping at the rear to enhance grip for making more detailed cuts — two unsurprising features that are nonetheless notable for their sensible placement and reliable functionality.

The one area where it’s a little trickier for me to comment is with the blade still itself. As is fairly common with prototypes, the steel is of a different variety than what will be in the final product that Manganas has contracted Reate OEM to produce. 

The metal in this review unit (as you might have guessed from the photos) is M390, which is a super steel in its own right, but the consumer product steps things up to the next level.

That’s right, it will be MagnaCut, which as you are probably sick of me saying by now, is basically unmatched in terms of its combination of toughness, edge retention and corrosion resistance. 

While I can’t speak to how this particular knife will perform with MagnaCut, I can sort of triangulate on this topic. This particular form factor — 3.6-inch blade, 4.8-inch handle, 4.4 ounces — feels incredibly balanced in the hand.

Photo by Mykim Dang for Gear Patrol

It has worked well around the house tackling everyday chopping and slicing — everything from packing tape to tomatoes to chicken — and my past experience with MagnaCut has always been incredibly satisfying from a performance standpoint. 

In other words, I believe it’s safe to say that this same design with a MagnaCut blade is unlikely to leave any consumer wanting.

One final point I’d like to make concerns price. Because while the Sebenza 31 Plain Drop Point costs $425, the Aurelia has a pre-order price of $280. The latter is not exactly small change, but it is roughly 34 percent less than the former. 

Granted, with this new knife, you are not getting the Chris Reeves Made in Idaho pedigree and general Sebenza street cred — nor can you really put a price on the innovation the brand began bringing to the space nearly 40 years ago. 

However, in my limited time with this brash young upstart, I’ve found plenty of satisfaction and even stoke not only admiring it on my desk and toting it around, but also flipping it into action and you know, simply using the damn thing.

Safe to say, it’s got the look and feel of the best premium pocket knives you can get for less than $300. That means it’s well worth adding to your collection alongside the Sebenza — or even, if you’re just starting out and every penny counts, in place of it.

Availability and pricing

The Manganas Aurelia is available for pre-order now for $280.

Photo by Mykim Dang for Gear Patrol

Manganas Aurelia

• $280 at Manganas Steel

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