Artisan Cutlery Serves Up a Cleaver with a Twist

Up-and-comer Artisan Cutlery‘s latest release is the Corsair, an EDC-sized knife with an eye-catching twist on the cleaver blade shape.

The Corsair’s stylized cleaver shape takes on elements of a trailing point, with a concave front end that flares the actual tip way out ahead and creates a measure of belly without losing the cleaver vibe. Its blade length comes in at just under 3 inches. Artisan outfitted this first version of the Corsair with S35VN blade steel, which won’t surprise followers of the brand (or indeed the current knife scene), but shouldn’t disappoint them either.

A long, undulating handle provides plenty of room for users to find the right grip for the task at hand. The front scale is 3D-machined, dimpled carbon fiber, but the back is an eye-catching blue anodized titanium frame lock. A blue anodized pivot collar color-coordinates with the lock side and offers a little bit of flair to offset the monochrome carbon fiber.

Cleaver shapes are a hot commodity right now. Everyone from Kizer to Gerber has taken a crack at the blade shape, and before the Corsair Artisan put out two other, more traditional cleavers in the smaller Tomahawk and the larger Osprey. The Corsair falls right in between these two models.

One of the core concepts of Artisan’s brand is to offer most of their designs at varying price points, catering to different needs and budgets. Whether or not the Corsair will get this treatment remains to be seen; for now, only the premium model is available.

Knife in Featured image: Artisan Cutlery Corsair