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New Dirk Pinkerton/Artisan Collab Surfaces

July 21, 2020

Artisan Cutlery has just shown off a prototype of a forthcoming model. This as-yet-unnamed knife is another new design from the recently very prolific maker Dirk Pinkerton.

Pinkerton’s work has many dimensions to it, but he certainly loves to play with blade shapes. We saw that on the recently-released Tacit, and it’s again present here on this prototype. And as with the Tacit, the trailing point concept seems to’ve been the initial inspiration; instead of incorporating a tanto-style grind, however, here the profile moves into bowie territory, with an upraised tip that increases piercing potential while simultaneously creating a lot of belly along the length of the edge.

The prototype opens via a squareish flipper tab very reminsicent of the one we saw on the Tacit, but for the blade steel Artisan is implementing AR-RPM9. This is their proprietary, powder metallurgy steel formulation designed specifically to offer maximum performance in more budget-oriented releases.

Elsewhere, on the handle, we see other elements that may indicate this knife will be easy on the wallet. In lieu of a titanium frame lock, the prototype is sporting G-10 scales, letterboxed by steel liners – the off-side of which has a locking leaf cut into it. The prototype debuted in three different colorations: black, blue, and natural. A deep carry pocket clip is in place and, at least on these prototypes, doesn’t appear to be reversible.

Pinkerton has been a major presence in the 2020 production scene, rolling out new designs with Kizer and Artisan. On top of these rapid fire production collabs, Pinkerton is also continuing to work apace in the custom field. Recently he has been turning out a variety of fixed blades in very different size categories.

Currently, there is no ETA on the new prototype folder, even if these early samples look pretty buttoned up. Occasionally Artisan puts prototypes up for sale on their site, so that may eventually become the earliest way to acquire this knife.

Knife in Featured Image: Artisan Pinkerton Prototype

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