Hawk Knives and Panchenko Collaborate on Orbit Hawk Lock Flipper

Hawk Knife Designs is teaming up with Serge Panchenko for their first mid-tech collaboration, the Orbit. With a stylish Panchenko design, the Hawk Lock mechanism, and an adventurous new detent, both collaborators believe this EDC knife will stand out in the mid-tech/high-end production market.

Father and son team Grant and Gavin Hawk and Serge Panchenko divided the labor for the Orbit in an unusual manner. “I understand design. Design is easy,” Panchenko explains. “What’s not easy to understand and do are the crazy mechanisms that G&G Hawk continually add to the knife industry!” So Panchenko ran wild on the visual design of the Orbit while the Hawks worked on incorporating the latest version of their Hawk Lock mechanism into the chassis.

The Hawks patented the Hawk Lock in 2012. “Lock up is very strong and it’s safe compared to liner locks because you’re not putting your thumb in the path of the blade,” says Grant Hawk. Other locks limit the knife’s overall shape because the handle needs to accommodate the lock externally. But with all of its components internalized, the Hawk Lock opens the door for daring knife design. Gavin Hawk also points out the Hawk Lock’s synergy with flipper deployment. “It pairs really well with a flipper because unlike most locks, it doesn’t ride against the tang of the knife the whole time.”

This particular iteration of the Hawk Lock packs a new, toggle-style detent (shown below) for singular flipping action. A regular detent works by obstructing the blade until it builds enough force to clear it, but the toggle detent moves with the blade as it is pushed open. It generates tension as it moves until the toggle detent passes center in a frictionless arc. Although tricky to make, the mechanism creates a unique action that early adopters have likened to the action of a revolver or a well-oiled bolt rifle. “I didn’t explain it to anybody, but people noticed it anyway,” says Gavin Hawk. “The gadget factor of opening and closing this thing has a ton of appeal.”

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Panchenko rose to the occasion and drew up a striking knife to house the two mechanisms. The Orbit’s coffin-shaped handle and unconventional curves accommodate a full grip and put the user’s thumb on the spine of the cleaver blade for excellent control. Made from high-performance CTS-204P, Panchenko says he chose the cleaver shape for more than just its trendiness. “It does almost everything as well as more traditional blade shapes, and some things better,” he tells us. “Besides everyday cutting tasks like opening boxes, mail, cutting string, etc., it excels at food cutting tasks, of course.”

You can pick up an Orbit from either the Hawks or Panchenko. The Hawks offer the knife in multiple finishes and materials, and Panchenko’s versions sport his signature antiqued finishes (one example shown below). Prices start at $450.

Knife featured in image: Hawk Knives and Panchenko Orbit