Hoo Knives Gives the People What They Want with New V4 Model

Boutique production knife shop Hoo Knives recently unveiled its fourth knife release, the aptly named V4. This premium flipper answers a long-running demand amongst Hoo Knives followers for a release from the company that sports a tanto blade.

Since it first started doing business in 2021, Hoo Knives, a project from knife enthusiast and community member Carl Pearson, earned its stripes making premium knives targeted at, but not limited to, a European audience, a demographic that typically deals with more restrictions in terms of blade length and lock presence than users in North America. All Hoo Knives releases up to this point have been non-locking, and on the smaller side – and, while these factors don’t require a drop or spear point blade, those shapes have always been associated with smaller knives. A tanto, on the other hand, is something you most often see on larger, tactically-oriented models; but there are plenty of people out there who like the shape a lot for daily cutting work too.

The V4’s tanto blade runs to 2.8 inches – which puts it right alongside its brethren size-wise in Hoo Knives’ catalog. Here at KnifeNews, we’ve been known to waffle on about the differences between American and Japanese tantos; long story short, if there’s a sharp angle between the main edge and the smaller tanto tip edge, that’s an American tanto; if the curve is gradual, it’s a Japanese tanto. Then you have specimens like the V4, which hovers somewhere between these two poles; there is a marked transition point between the V4’s primary and secondary edges, but it’s still more gradual than some of the extremely angular American varietals. Regardless, it’s ready for EDC chores and made from M390, a European super steel with, to say the least, a proven track record at this point.

The handle flaunts the Hoo Knives lineage, with the clean, angular, but accommodating and natural-feeling profile that Pearson has made his stock and trade. Both scales are fully made from titanium, and the Hoo Knives thin, deep carry pocket clip, too, is presented and accounted for. No final weight is given as the knife is still in production but, given its strong resemblance to the V3, we’d be willing to bet it will arrive with a weight similar to that one, which was 3.6 oz.

The V4 is available for preorder now. It is expected to start shipping in late summer of this year.

Knife in Featured Image: Hoo Knives V4

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