Home / Knives / Brous Blades Enlists TJ Schwarz for Icon Folder

Brous Blades Enlists TJ Schwarz for Icon Folder

June 8, 2017

Knife maker TJ Schwarz is working with Brous Blades to launch the Icon, his first production knife collaboration. The sleek new knife features interesting ergonomic characteristics and is Schwarz’s first design to break away from the custom and mid-tech markets. Schwarz is also expanding in other avenues with plans to distribute unique knives and lifestyle goods through his own new product line.

Brous Blades Icon
A clever, layered construction keeps the weight of the 3.3-inch bladed Icon on the lighter side. Each inner handle slab consists of a progressively narrower steel liner which are topped off by the outer aluminum layer. “It’s a hybrid between an inlay and a scale,” Schwarz tells us. The difference in size between the layers actually enhances the grip. “It gives you a more three-dimensional feel in hand,” he says. Schwarz’s vision was a streamlined design and he borrowed from the stiletto profile. “I wanted it to have a lot of blade length for not a lot of knife,” he says.

Although the 23 year-old has no plans to abandon high-end blades, he tells us that the Icon is just the beginning and could open the door to other more affordable, production collaborations. Last time we checked in with Schwarz he had a lot of irons in the fire and he has only piled on more projects in the interim. “It is very exciting. This year is really the tipping point.” A final price for the Icon is still to be determined, but we can expect it to be more affordable than previous low-volume Schwarz designs like the Zenaida.

> > Keep your folders awesome. Grab a Pack of 5 Microfiber Blade Sleeves for $8.99 < <

Standard Issue 1942
Schwarz says that we’ll start to see knives and other products direct from his own workshop, too. His new Standard Issue 1942 line is the beginning of this push. “This is my first step towards my own production company. I do intend to get my own lines going.”

Standard Issue 1942 is Schwarz’s vision for a line of goods inspired by American manufacturing during World War II. “I’m working as if I were designing in 1942,” says Schwarz. “The products aren’t replicas of things that existed, but represent things that could have existed then.” Schwarz is targeting the wider EDC market with the brand. There will be a knife from Standard Issue 1942 by the end of the year, but expect to see a wide array of other goods as well. “For a lot of companies the knife is the focal point and there’s a fringe of EDC equipment around it,” says Schwarz. “I want to spend just as much time on other items as I do on the knives.”

Knife featured in image: Brous Blades Icon Prototype

Related Items