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Serge Panchenko Upgrades Popular Micro Folder

July 5, 2018

Serge Panchenko has just refreshed one of his most popular knives, the Coin Claw, with a Gen3 redesign. The diminutive folder now sports a redrawn cutting edge and improved ergonomics.

“The Coin Claw remains one of my best sellers because it’s such a fun knife,” Panchenko tells us. “[It] is long overdue for an upgrade!” The previous Coin Claw got its name from a curving blade shape. Panchenko straightened out the edge on Gen3 to help users maintain their tool, turning it from a karambit to a sheepsfoot. “The blade edge is now straight, which makes sharpening easier.” He also enlarged the knife overall by about half an inch. The Gen3 Coin Claw is 2 inches in diameter, and to better utilize the increased size, Panchenko chose to make the handle itself an oblong shape, rather than a circle. The knife still retains its signature coin shape when closed, though.

Other details remain the same. Panchenko constructed the Coin Claw Gen3 mainly from titanium, with a Timascus pivot ring and thumbstud. Blade steel is CPM-154, and the overall weight is just 1.5 oz. Even with the bump up in size, this is a micro knife. As with other recent Serge Knives products the Gen3 uses a ball bearing slipjoint mechanism, where a lockless detent ball holds the blade in the open and closed positions as opposed to a backspring.

Panchenko tells us the Gen3 model retains all of the charm and originality of the original Coin Claw. “The biggest attraction of the Coin Claw, I think, is the fidget factor,” he explains. “This knife is for the person that has a lot of knives already and wants something different.” Users can carry the Coin Claw Gen3 in a watch pocket, or even around their neck on a chain if they want to take the “knife jewelry” concept literally.

Panchenko is one of a handful of makers who regularly returns to popular designs for updates. He says there are two major reasons for doing this. In some cases, as with the Coin Claw, Panchenko wants to enhance usability. But as a maker of highly collectible custom pieces he also acknowledges that it’s a great way to keep a well-loved design fresh for diehard fans. “The second reason to release new versions of a design is for collectors. I have made four versions of my DogTag model so far, and Gen5 will be out soon.” In addition to the DogTag, Panchenko is working on new versions of both the EDC and Bean models in the coming months.

Knife featured in image: Serge Knives Coin Claw Gen3

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