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Koens Craft Riffs on Famous Blade Shapes for Latest Knives

May 28, 2018

Morgan Koens of Koens Craft is turning up the heat with the furious release of three new designs. The custom fixed blade creator riffed on popular blade shapes for these latest additions.

Tanto
Kicking off the blast of blade shape experimentation is Koens’ take on the tanto. The full-tang Tanto is the smallest among the new designs, with a 7-inch blade made from CPM S30V steel and a weight of 15 oz. Koens’ signature fuller is present on this model too, but other than this flourish he ground out a fairly traditional tanto shape. “I do the odd Japanese inspired blade, as a knife maker I think you have to every once and a while,” Koens says.

A customer requested the knife but gave Koens free reign for the details. “The scales on this one were fun to do,” he tells us. “The buyer let me do what I wanted, so I thought I would try something a bit different and in keeping with the Japanese style.” Koens sculpted removable G-10 scales that emulate the undulations of bamboo. The Tanto sold for $375.

Koenscraft Tanto

Witch King
One look at the Witch King reveal its purpose. “Big blades seem to be my bread and butter,” Koens admits. “The Witch King was designed as a heavy chopper, for any type of bushwacking or clearing trails.” Its 10-inch blade is simple A2 steel to endure high-impact cutting chores. Koens drew up a blade shape that fuses a cleaver and sheepsfoot, complete with a massive fuller, etched finish, and complex grind.

Koenscraft Witch King

“The only real challenges to a blade this large is getting your grinds nice and clean, the large freehand fullers are difficult to do,” Koens says. He notes that the end result is worth it, from both an aesthetic and a performance point of view. The fuller shaves off as much unnecessary weight as possible from the 38 oz. Witch King. This behemoth costs $450.

Raven Seax
The seax, a leaf-shaped outdoor utility cutter, is a rite of passage for any bladesmith. “Every knife maker has made a seax at some point or another, it’s just an easy blade to make and an all-around winner,” Koens says of his new 9.5-inch, A2 steel Raven model. “It’s the jack of all trades for a knife.” This isn’t Koens’ first crack at the form, but it is his most experimental, walking the line between seax and wharncliffe, and sporting two massive fullers along the top.

Koenscraft Raven Seax

“I did take some heat calling this one a seax,” Koens admits with a laugh. “In my defense, I said it was my spin on a more modern seax. Some guys just wouldn’t have it.” Nomenclature aside, Koens believes the Raven has the same all-purpose cutting ability as its traditional forbears. “This was made for general use and chopping around a camp.” He prices the Raven at $420.

Knife featured in image: Koens Craft Witch King and Raven Seax

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