Knife Community Member Establishes His Own Knife Brand

Carl Pearson, longtime knife enthusiast, is living the dream and creating his own knife brand. Called Hoo Knives, this UK-based brand’s first release caters to British knife laws while packing in all sorts of enthusiast-friendly elements.

Pearson says that Britain’s rich history of cutlery made him a lifelong knife nerd. “I have always had a deep-rooted interest in pocket knives from an early age,” he tells us. That history also inspired him to throw his hat in the ring this year. “Coming from Great Britain where we have such a rich history of knives, steel and innovative designs, it’s been hard to watch the steel and knife industries become a shadow of their former selves size-wise, although the quality never died.”

Lots of us in the knife community have fantasized about designing our own knives. Maybe we’ve even put pen to paper once or twice. But for Pearson, the dream became a reality when his fellow enthusiasts connected with his designs. “[It] started as a bit of fun to design the ‘perfect’ UK EDC knife in my eyes, but quickly became more serious when I realized the potential of the design, and others in the community asked if they could also have one.”

The first Hoo Knives model, the V1, is that ‘perfect’ UK EDC. “The design I have been developing is specifically designed to allow for carrying in the UK & Germany,” Pearson notes. That means a non-locking, 2.9-inch drop point blade – although Pearson still wanted something very modern and slick. “One-handed opening is a must for versatility and quick use in my eyes,” he states, and thus outfitted the V1 with a flipper-only deployment – and while it is non-locking, it uses a double-detent leaf to stay safely open during use.

“I tend to sway towards knives made with premium materials such as titanium with nice EDC-ready blade steel,” Pearson continues; so he saw to it that the V1’s superclean handle and reversible, removable pocket clip were both made from titanium. The blade steel is M390, a reliable upper-tier stainless that’s well-suited for EDC use. These details are aimed at pleasing other lifelong fans and collectors of knives. “I must admit coming from the knife community heavily impacted the development of the design and aided me a lot,” he says. “I have been extremely lucky and grateful for all the help in this respect.”

The first production V1s will be available later this year. They’ll be limited to a 200-piece batch at first, but if there is demand, more runs will follow. And now that he has established his own brand, Pearson’s got more ideas in the pipeline/ “I am already working on other knife designs, I hope will interest pocket knife and EDC enthusiasts…and hope we will be able to offer unique and innovative pocket knives for a fair cost.”

Knife in Featured: Hoo Knives V1