Artisan Reveals New Ray Laconico Collab, the Sirius

With Blade Show right around the corner, Artisan Cutlery has shown off the Sirius, a new collaboration with maker Ray Laconico. Options abound on this knife, from deployment methods to handle materials.

In many ways, the Sirius follows in the footsteps of Laconico’s previous Artisan collaboration, the Centauri. Like that knife, the Sirius has a very clean, minimalist design focused on everyday carry cutting. The star of the show is its 3.5-inch drop point blade; like the modified wharncliffe on the Centauri, this is a shape spec’d for EDC chores. But key differences in blade geometry separate the Sirius from its predecessor: it’s piercing capability will be more pronounced, and a long run of straight edge will make slicing and snipping chores easy. Artisan has been focused on budget-driven releases lately, chiefly made from their proprietary AR-RPM9 steel; as the Sirius falls onto the higher end of Artisan’s lineup, it is made from S35VN instead.

Artisan is rolling out the Sirius in several major configurations. The first difference is the lock: the original Sirius was prototyped with a titanium frame lock, but Artisan also created a liner lock version. All Sirius models feature a front flipper, but a model with a show side thumb stud is being demoed as well. All of these knives will be available at Blade Show; Artisan is waiting to see which models first adopters like best before deciding what will go into full, final production.

There are lots of Sirius model prototypes

No matter which configuration you choose, the Sirius’ uncomplicated handle remains the same. It’s a slender, squarish shape, with a mild taper at the end and a fuller-style groove on the show-side scale. In the social media post debuting the knife, Artisan showed off a bevy of handle materials: carbon fiber, Micarta, G-10, and even a full titanium model with a vertical pattern cut into it.

The Sirius announcement follows just a week or so after Artisan revealed the Scoria, the latest knife to arrive under their budget CJRB brand. Prior to that release, CJRB got its first fixed blade as the Silex moved from the main Artisan line into the CJRB corral.

Knife in Featured Image: Artisan Cutlery Sirius