Home / Knives / Jesper Voxnaes Draws From History for New Belone Folder

Jesper Voxnaes Draws From History for New Belone Folder

June 29, 2018

Jesper Voxnaes is teaming up with Viper for the Belone, his latest production collaboration. Voxnaes broke away from his signature style for this thin, hard-working folder.

The Belone is a mid-size, all-purpose cutting tool. Its slim clip point blade, made from M390, curves out in a gentle belly before terminating in an acute tip. Users kick out the blade with a flipper tab that Voxnaes reduced to the bare minimum of space necessary for accessibility. It vanishes completely when the liner lock knife is open. A deep carry pocket clip and weight-saving titanium construction maximize the slender 3 oz. build’s potential for subtle, easy carry.

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Voxnaes points out that the Belone differs from much of his output. Many of his recent pieces, like the Pilar, TUR, and Lille, brought wide blades to the table. That style has become something of a signature for Voxnaes. “A strong broad blade, with a good thin edge, is my favorite for most tasks,” Voxnaes acknowledges. “But I really do enjoy the qualities of a slim pointy blade without it becoming a ‘gentleman’s knife.’” He took a very rugged inspiration for the Belone: the folding knives carried by the shepherds and fishermen of Southern Europe. “A knife was a bare essential for getting through a hard day of living,” Voxnaes says. “They lived, loved, drowned and had babies (not in that particular order maybe), and I am certain none of them ever went without a knife. The Belone is kind of a tribute to men and women like that.”

To that end, Voxnaes ensured that the Belone would stand up to long working hours and a multitude of hard cutting chores. “These knives would be used to prepare your food, eat a meal, gut a fish, slaughter a lamb, whittle, etc.,” Voxnaes goes on to say. “The Belone was meant as an EDC knife, a great tool for getting stuff done all day. Just like the knives that inspired the design.”

Voxnaes has earned a reputation as one of the most prolific knife designers in the world. The Belone is the newest, but in just the last few years we’ve seen multiple releases from Viper, CRKT, and Fox, not to mention his co-creations with Jens Anso for GiantMouse. “This is who I am, knife making is not an 8-4 job at a designers desk for me,” he tells us. “Knives are ‘my life,’ have been since I was a kid. This may be why people like my stuff.”

Voxnaes teased a few more projects on the way later in 2018. “If you’re a CRKT Pilar fan, you should be excited for what we have planned this fall/winter. Also, Fox will be revisiting the TUR and I will be working with Boker on a tiny project. That is all I can reveal now, but not all that is coming.”

The Viper Belone is slated to arrive this fall with a price tag around $170.

Knife featured in image: Viper Belone

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