Custom Knife Factory Brings Three New Blades Out

Custom Knife Factory is dropping a trio of new release for February 2019. A new MKAD release and two super premium CKF each bring their own unique vibe to the table.

Krokar
With the Krokar, CKF is bringing Aleksey Konygin’s baroque custom knife, the Raven, to a mid-tech format. As such, this is a knife meant to turn heads and satisfy collectors’ lust for the utterly unique. “I do not think you will use the Krokar as your primary EDC knife, really,” CKF Founder Mike Kulygin freely admits. “It is a high-tech, great-looking, brutal knife with excellent materials, design, and fit and finish, made to adorn your knife collection.”

The central feature on the Krokar, of course, is its 4.84-inch long hawkbill blade, made from M390 steel and accentuated with a hand rubbed satin finish. But the lock is just as striking: called a Tail-Lock, it is operated by pushing a tab at the tail-end of the Krokar’s spine, which moves internal components and releases the blade for closing. Kulygin says getting the Tail-Lock right on a mid-tech scale was a true challenge – especially given the materials CKF was working with. “The most difficult part of the production was the mechanism: matching with all these complicated inner details and machining the zirconium parts.”

MKAD Loro
The Loro is the second knife in CKF’s MKAD line, which was conceived of as a way to push into lower price points while maintaining the high quality seen on their ritzier blades. “The first was the Farko, but we wanted to move away from all these D2/S35VN knives with G-10 handles,” says CKF Founder Mike Kulygin. To combat his fatigue with his combination, Kulygin and designer Serge Ganelonlogrus outfitted the Loro with clearly premium materials: a full titanium build and M390 blade steel. The Loro leans into the CKF penchant for big blades, with a hefty 3.7-inch drop point, cleanly accented by a swedge. The knife weighs 5.44 oz., has a sculpted titanium clip, with a canted flathead pivot screw. “We need more knives like this, as we see people react to the Loro very positively!” Kulygin adds. He also tells us that the wait between the Loro and the next MKAD release should be shorter than that between it and the Farko. “I have many old and new friends with many potentially useful designs, so yes, sure! Two or three more by the end of the year.”

Sukhoi-3
The Sukhoi-3 is the result of long years of collaboration between Kulygin and designer Anton Malyshev.  Working on the third generation of the Sukhoi design, the duo knew they had good bones on start from, but wanted to refine both the design and the materials to the highest possible level. “We have been trying to find our grail knife for the last 5 years,” Kulygin explains. “You know, the knife that will be functional and really beautiful, plus it should be able to continue the Sukhoi design line.” The result is the Sukhoi-3, which takes the organic, streamlined look of the previous Sukhois and refines it further. A flipper knife with no stud or ramp on the blade, it has M390 steel and a handle made from anodized titanium and ‘chaotic’ carbon fiber, with a zirconium backspacer. Kulygin disclosed that the Sukhoi-3 will benefit from other variations in the future – including the possibility of versions with other steels. “I have plans to make it full Ti and with different variations of handle patterns. Plus, we have talks about getting – at last! – CPM S90/125V, ZDP 189 and other cool steels for future CKF releases.”

Knife in Featured image: Custom Knife Factory