**DISCONTINUED***

"They Laughed When I Said I was Making A Knife

- Until I Showed Them This..."

From: Magnus Macdonald,

Dear Friend,

I have a confession:

The knife I’m about to reveal to you is something I designed and made purely for myself... because I couldn’t find the exact knife I wanted.

Before I even started the design process for this knife I had an ultra-strict criteria it had to meet:

-- Lightweight (even before I started this project I knew I'd be using titanium for parts of the knife)

-- High-end stainless-steel blade (this was a non-negotiable!)

-- Compact and strong (because I am VERY hard on knives)

-- One-handed opening and closing (I use a knife in my workshop every day ...and being able to open a knife with one hand is a must)

-- Simple "friction folder" style (I didn't want the complications of bearings, and lock-bars, etc.)

-- Simple and clean look (I'm a total minimalist ...and really don't do well with anything that's "fancy")

After a ton of designing, prototyping, testing and tweaking... I finally managed to get the knife to look and perform like the knife I had envisioned.

Truthfully, it took a lot more work than I thought – but the result was well worth it.

I call this friction folder knife the Flixx™:

There is a lot more to this knife than you'll see with just a look at some photos - so I really need to take the time to go a little in-depth with you:

Titanium Scales

In case you’re not too familiar with knives… ‘scales’ is the term used for what is essentially the sides of the handle.

From the start I pretty much knew, to be light-weight, the scales needed to be made from Titanium (Grade 5 of course!).

Not only that, but…

To make the scales even more light-weight I’ve ‘pocketed’ the internal side to remove material. (Yes, I know this may seem extreme – but we’re making the ultimate friction folder here!)

Blade Steel

Okay, so you want to know what steel I'm going to use for the blade, right?

Well, I'll be totally up-front with you on this:

I know the type of steel I'm going to use - but I do not know the specific steel yet. There are a few reasons for this:

I don't know the final quantity until the project is over (and this will affect where I source the steel). Part of the issue is that, living here in New Zealand, I have to import almost everything ...and I will have to import the steel for this project too.

What I'll do is list below the types of steels I'm considering using at this stage (and, if you know your steels, you'll recognize these are all rock-solid steels):

--S35VN

--RWL34

--Nitro-V

--CPM154

--AEB-L

The above steels are all stainless and have excellent balances of hardness, wear-resistance and the ability to be sharpened without difficulty.

Update Jan 2019 - Nitro-V was chosen as the blade steel.

Friction Folder

One of the main reasons for the compact size of the knife is so it can be used in most countries (the 2” blade is small enough to be legal in almost every country).

In addition to that…

The style of the knife is a friction-folder… which means it cannot be "flicked out" automatically or anything like that - which is ideal if you live in a country with strict knife laws (this knife is almost guaranteed to be legal where you are ...but I cannot 100% guarantee this).

Compact and Rock-Solid design

I’m not scared to admit this:

I am hard on knives. Actually, I am DAMN HARD on knives. I use them as pry-bars and levers. I'll use the back of the handle as a hammer. I’ll often chip the blade from time to time too.

Now, because of this, I’ve built the Flixx™ from the ground up to be rock-solid. It is compact – but it’s also got a ton of grunt!

Titanium Hardware

If you've not picked up on it already - I'm holding almost nothing back in the designing and making of this knife. The knife uses the best materials and in the design and manufacture it enjoys an incredible attention to detail.

And, in line with that...

EVERY piece of hardware on the knife will be made from Grade 5 Titanium.

The front pivot-screw, the rear back-spacer screws and the back-spacer itself ...all titanium. Like I said... this is a no-holds-barred and nothing-held-back knife.

And the other thing...

I did not want to make the screws a “feature” on this knife. The screws are simple, flush-sitting and totally unobtrusive.

This is a no-nonsense, clean-looking knife and so the hardware had to be this way too.

Flat Grind Blade

The Flixx™ has a flat grind on the main bevel. This is a simple, classic grind which is perfect for what I wanted to achieve with this knife.

Drop-Point Blade

The blade design on the Flixx™ is a classic “drop-point”… because it just works so damn well.

However, I’ve given the blade more ‘depth’ than you would typically find on a blade of this style. Together with the handle shape this maintains the robust and strong design.

3.5mm (0.14”) Thick Blade

I’ll be honest here…

I’ve not settled on the final thickness of the blade because, as I mentioned earlier, I'm still undecided on the exact steel we're going to use.

But for now, I can confirm the blade will be around 3.5mm (or 0.14") thick (give or take a little). This results in a rock-solid blade that, if you’re like me, you can use and abuse!

Finger Choil

In case you’re not familiar …the ‘choil’ is typically known as the area between the blade and the handle.

What I’ve done on the Flixx™ is design a finger choil (this is the kind of super-functional thing my obsessive-compulsive personality loves!)

Not only does the finger choil protect your fingers from the blade… but it helps you grip the handle better on a small-form knife like this (once you get the knife in your hands you'll feel exactly why!).

Phosphor Bronze Washers

The Flixx™ will run on phosphor bronze washers - because they are, quite simply, the best option for this knife.

These washers are super-smooth to use and do not compress (unlike something such as nylon).

Matte Finish

Both the blade and scales of the Flixx™ will be finished with my – now famous – matte surface finish. This finish is bright, smooth, and wears well.

And it gets even better:

Because I "just can't help myself" ...the hardware for the knife will also have the same surface finished processes done (yes, I am fairly obsessive about this kind of stuff and will be surface finishing each individual screw!).

Contoured Scales

To further push the limits of the functionally of this knife I’ve contoured the scales.

In other words…

Rather than having plain, flat scales… I’ve shaped them so the knife feels better in your hand (trust me… it makes all the difference!). It makes production a lot more difficult - but we're going for the best here, right?

Dimensions

The blade length is 50mm (or around 2").

Thumb Chamfers

On the pocket clip I’ve really tested and tweaked the design for optimal functionality for you. One of the main features is the large chamfers on the pocket-clip to aid your thumb in opening the knife.

"Disappearing" Pocket Clip

When the knife is in use the pocket-clip “disappears” into the body of the knife.

The knife does not ‘lock’ (because it is a friction folder). However, because your hand covers the top of the handle, the knife cannot close when in use as your hand holds the clip in place.

Fully CNC Machined In-house

Unlike most other knives… 100% of this knife will be CNC machined.

This results in each knife coming out just as I designed it… down to 0.001mm (or less than 0.0001” if you're more familiar with the imperial system).

The design and prototyping of the Flixx™ was done entirely by me on my CNC-Milling Machine.

And, likewise, we will be doing the production in house too. .

Handmade Custom Leather Sleeve (Optional Extra)

I've designed a leather sleeve for the Flixx™.

The sleeve is custom made for this knife and is crafted entirely by hand by my friend. My friend has made hundreds of other pouches for me (for titanium tweezers and titanium pens which I also make) ...and I'm always impressed by the quality of her work!

NB - Sleeve currently unavailable (Nov 2019)

Flixx™ - Titanium Friction Folder Knife

To impossibly high standards,

Magnus