Fox’s 2021 Lineup Puts Designers Center Stage

Fox’s 2021 lineup has been revealed, bringing a balanced mix of folders and fixed blades to shelves this year. The 2021 knives illustrate the diverse styles of Fox’s collaborators – while also showing off the abilities of its in-house crew.

Italico

The Italico is a rugged-looking little flipper designed by Antonio Di Gennaro. It brings a snubby, 2.36-inch sheepsfoot blade to bear on EDC tasks – and with M390 for the blade steel and a titanium frame lock in place, the Italico falls on the premium end of Fox’s offerings. The front scale choices are several, with titanium, natural canvas Micarta, or OD green G-10 on offer.

Black Roc Knives Twofer

Black Roc Knives is the shop name for custom maker Ken Vehikite, who is making his Fox debut with back-to-back fixed blades. The Ryu is an amped up take on the Japanese tanto, with a 5.12-inch cutting edge. Meanwhile the Monkey Thumper also has a lot of attitude with its bulbous, 3.54-inch harpoon blade. Both knives have ridged, topographical handle scales and use Niolox steel.

Yaru

Jesper Voxnaes iterated on his popular Suru knife this year with the Yaru. This one has a different blade shape, S90V steel, and a larger blade – albeit one that, at 2.76 inches long, is still well within EDC territory.

Markus Reichart Fixed Blades

If you only follow the production scene, you’re probably most familiar with Reichart‘s work through his We Knife collaboration, the MRF. In the custom world, he’s known for his fixed blade work, and showcases that side of his output with three Fox collabs: the 140XL is the biggest of the three, with a wide, hearty 7.06-inch drop point; the 103 keeps the drop point, but in a more compact 4.33-inch-bladed form and a tactical flavor; finally, the 143 breaks away a bit with an almost bird and trout-style design and manageable 3.54-inch blade length.

Explorator

The Explorator is the sole new fixed blade for Fox’s entry level BlackFox line. It is designed by Alfredo Dorrichi and, with its nearly 4-inch 440C drop point blade, looks to be a work-ready outdoors companion.

Kit

Fox has an unabashed love of tiny folding knives, and the Kit is their latest in that line. It has a 1.97-inch sheepsfoot blade, opens with a large thumb cutout, and locks up with a dinky little frame lock.

Ciol

Denis Simonutti, the man behind the award-winning Fox Radius, contributed this slippie to the 2021 BlackFox lineup. As a slipjoint, the Ciol is obviously less mechanically-innovative than the Radius, but does have a quirky, recurved blade shape and multiple handle materials on offer.

Revolver

The Revolver is another in-house design, but like the Ryu fixed blade it has a distinct Eastern bladecraft vibe to it. The Japanese tanto blade measures 3.54 inches long, opens with a flipper, locks up with a liner lock, and, interestingly, is the only BlackFox release this year made from D2 blade steel.

Knife in Featured Image: Fox Knives Italico