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New PDW Fixed Blade Surfaces this Month

October 12, 2022

Prometheus Design Werx brought out a new fixed blade last week, the OS3. The OS3 evokes some historical knife designs while transmuting them into a modern outdoor work knife format.

The OS3 isn’t quite the first fixed blade from PDW, but it’s not an overpopulated category in their catalog either. According to PDW, their designer took inspiration for the design from his favorite fixed blades growing up – and, while they don’t specify which fixed blades specifically, we’d describe the OS3 a mix between boot knife designs and the OSS Dagger pattern, a knife with a cool history that has inspired some truly diverse modern knives (see Justin Lundquist’s OSS Dagger for instance).

Despite the tactical pedigree, the OS3 is positioned as a knife for hikers and campers. The 4-inch spear blade hits a sweet spot in fixed blade size, with length enough for lots of general cutting, but not so big that it won’t carry comfortably on extended sojourns. Blade steel here is S35VN, a proven standby well-suited to outdoors adventuring, given its good edge retention and ability to work in and around moisture without immediately succumbing to rust. Despite the symmetrical dagger look, the PDW OS3 is not dagger ground; it has a single live edge, which further argues for an outdoor utility role rather than something more in line with its historical precedents.

A traditional OSS knife would be a single, skeletonized piece of steel, but PDW gave the OS3 contoured G-10 scales, black laid on green. Three large holes through scales and frame alike help to keep the weight down, and in total the OS3 comes in at 3.7 oz. You might expect a knife that looks like this to come with a modern Kydex sheath, but PDW opted instead for a stacked leather number, although it does accept their HAL1 straps through the back if you want to mount the OS3 on a MOLLE bag.

The OS3 is out now.

Knife in Featured Image: Prometheus Design Werx OS3

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