Blade Show 2022: New Bali, Karambits, and More from Fox

Maniago, Italy’s Fox Knives brought the heat this weekend, with a slew of new mid-year models. There’s a production collaboration with a famous Italian balisong maker, a new line from returning designer Doug Marcaida, and more on the way.

Phi Balisong

The Phi is big news in the balisong world, because it’s the first production iteration of custom bali maker Vincenzo Fiore’s pinless balisong construction. By getting rid of the central top pins (with hardened parts of the handle itself taking over stop duty), Fiore’s balis have fewer internal components and allow the user to get their grip closer to the center point of the knife, for better flipping and more control during use.

In addition to the headlining pinless construction, the Phi comes with a whopping huge 4.88-inch blade, done up in a wild futuristic tanto shape. It’s made from M390 in the standard model, with a Damascus option slated to be available as well. The Phi is expected to arrive in mid-July.

Tribal K

Doug Marcaida, knife designer and judge on Forged in Fire, created a new karambit line for Fox this year. The Tribal K comes in both fixed blade and folding formats. The biggest difference between the two is a mechanical one, with the actual knife design and specifications almost identical between the two. They both have a sharply curved blade measuring 3 inches long, with a serrated portion of spine near the tip, made from either N690 or M390. The latter steel comes with correspondingly upgraded bronze titanium scales, while the former’s scales are made from G-10.

The folding Tribal K is equipped with the Kinetic Opening mechanism, which is an extended, textured ramp on the blade that can be used to open the knife by dragging it across a surface (including an adversary’s body). A liner lock, it’s also sporting the Michael Walker/Ron Lake L.A.W.K.S. secondary lock, which you may recall from its appearances on some older CRKT models. They’ll be arriving at the end of the year.

Buddy Blade

Fox is so good at making cute knives. A few years ago the Ka mini karambit stole our hearts at SHOT Show, and now at Blade ’22 they’ve introduced the adorable Buddy Blade. Designed by Rod Hunwick, the Buddy Blade is an egg-shaped device made from aluminum, with a 1.45-inch M390 blade. The Buddy is designed to keep your fingers directly on the blade spine for ergonomic and control purposes. Fox says the Buddy will be available ‘Soon.’

Jupiter

The Jupiter sees Fox returning to the Denis Simonutti-designed Radius Lock for the third time, following the Saturn and the original Radius. This time a 2.85-inch modified wharncliffe is the star of the show, made from either Magnacut or Hakkapella pattern Damasteel.

The handle is all titanium, and three different inlay options are available: blue ano titanium, timascus, or malachite. The main Radius Lock mechanism is exactly where you’d expect it to be, but the Jupiter also comes with a secondary safety toggle – a first for any knife in the Radius Lock trinity.

Knife in Featured Image: Fox Knives Phi