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Böker Drops Flipperless Kwaiken and New Matsuno Design

November 7, 2019

The two latest releases to join the titanic Böker lineup are a new, two-hand opening version of Lucas Burnley‘s Kwaiken Mini and the Nori, latest super clean number from Japanese designer Kansei Matsuno.

Kwaiken Mini Flipperless

The Kwaiken, custom maker Burnley’s most famous design, is back once again. After many other iterations Böker and Burnley have created the Flipperless model.

This version is devoid of any traditional opening mechanism: no thumb stud, no nail mark, no opening hole. Instead, users open the Flipperless by pinching the pivot end of the blade and twisting, thus rotating the blade out far enough to be pinch-opened.

Other than the departure in opening method, it is very much business as usual with the Flipperless: it has the same liner lock, 3.15-inch blade length, and D2 steel as the standard, flipper’d model. It does weigh ever so slightly less but, as can be imagined, the weigh savings achieved by cutting off a small metal tab is marginal: the Flipperless weighs 2.79 oz. compared to 2.82 oz. on the standard version.

Nori

Matsuno has been on a roll in the production realm lately; the Nori follows shortly after the Takara and LRF. As with its predecessors, the Nori’s minimalist aesthetic carries across the entire design. The blade shape is clearly informed by historical Japanese blades, but (obviously) shrunk down and modified to become a suitable everyday carry cutting edge. It measures 3.15 inches long and opens with Matsuno’s preferred, hook-style front flipper.

There won’t be any surprises in store ergonomically for those familiar with Matsuno’s other Böker designs: the Nori’s slender handle shoots straight back from the blade, terminating in a symmetrical lanyard hole. Contoured carbon fiber scales are laid over steel liners, but even with that extra rigidity the Nori is extremely light at 1.62 oz.

Both the Nori and the Kwaiken Mini Flipperless are available now. The Nori retails for $99.95 and the Flipperless goes for $159.95.

Knife in Featured Image: Böker Plus Kwaiken Mini Flipperless

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