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Maciej Torbé Returns with Folding Sequel to the Doppler

May 21, 2020

Maciej Torbé is rolling out the Echo, his latest production model with Real Steel Knives. Torbé’s new model translates the Doppler, his last fixed blade release with RSK, into a large-sized folder.

The Doppler was Torbé’s first foray into production fixed blades, and was designed to blend outdoor hard use applications with an updated, technical look. To that end it had a 4.43-inch blade with a semi-tanto shape, allowing for strength near the tip and plenty of useful edge geometry. The humpbacked handle provided a comfy ergonomic setup that also managed to carry forward Torbé’s particular visual style.

With the Echo, Torbé tranlated these characteristics in into a folding format. This new knife is sporting the same semi-tanto blade shape, although it has been shrunk down to a more pocketable 4.02 inches. Obviously with that kind of length, the Echo still easily qualifies as a large class folder, able to tackle big cutting chores. It opens by flipper and flipper alone, and RSK is using Böhler-Uddeholm’s K110 steel for the Echo’s blade. This is the European steel giant’s equivalent to D2 steel, so the Echo’s performance should be comparable to that of its fixed blade predecessor.

It can be hard to recreate a fixed blade handle for a folding knife due to the obvious mechanical differences between the two styles of knife, but Torbé managed to stay faithful to the lines of his first design. There is the same arching spine and super deep finger groove as before. The Doppler had smoothly contoured G-10 scales, but for the Echo RSK implemented some more angular machining, giving the folder a bit of a visual pop.

One of the other distinguishing factors of the Doppler was that its extremely robust build, which made it one of the heaviest knives that RSK had produced up until that point, tipping the scales at 10 oz. The Echo maintains that overbuilt quality, with a weight to match. RSK lists the weight for the Echo as 7.76 oz. It carries with a simple, straightforward stamped clip and is a liner lock.

RSK says the Echo was originally supposed to release in June but managed to roll off of production ahead of schedule.

Knife in Featured Image: Real Steel Echo

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