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New Designer Enters the Field with Hard Use Fixed Blade

October 24, 2018

New knife designer Alessandra De Santis is releasing her first production model, the Hecate. The multifunctional fixed blade aims to fill several roles and be able to stand up to hard use.

The Hecate’s blade length lands squarely in the mid-size bracket, measuring 5.5 inches long. Italy-based De Santis conjured a drop point blade with a sturdy, stubby tip and long length of straight cutting edge. A staggered guard has the top quillion canted forward to allow for a thumb ramp, while the bottom one is more perpendicular to the handle, keeping the user’s finger in place during demanding cutting chores. De Santis hopes that these design details add up to a knife that is both deft and utilitarian.

She sums up the Hecate project by saying that she was “trying to create a multi-purpose knife with a refined design, but at the same time one that was extremely robust and able to withstand even heavy uses.” Materials are kept simple and reliable to adhere to this straightforward purpose. The Italy-made Hecate has D2 blade steel, available in both a stonewash or a darkwash finish. G-10 scales sit on top of the full tang handle and have been given a honeycomb-esque patterning.

De Santis tells us that the Hecate is the culmination of a lifelong love for knives. “It’s my first project as designer, but I’ve been a knife enthusiast for as long as I can remember. I’ve been collecting knives since I was 14 years old.” In university she studied Industrial Chemistry to develop her knowledge on steels and polymeric materials. The original idea for the Hecate started as a doodle during a less-than-exciting work call. “Once the call was over, I realized the idea that had emerged was not so bad, and I decided to continue with the project.”

That was in 2015, and it has been a long and bumpy road getting the Hecate into production. But now that it’s out in the world, De Santis has no intentions of slowing down. “I love drawing blades so I will certainly keep doing this,” she tells us. “For the next one I’m doing a collaboration with a well=known knife manufacturer which is recognized for their build quality and excellent finish.”

Knife featured in image: Alessandra De Santis Hecate

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