Poltergeist Works Takes a Crack at the Karambit

It continues to be a busy year for Poltergeist Works‘s Jakub Wieczorkiewicz. After debuting the second Phenomena custom and rolling out multiple production models for Real Steel Knives, Wieczorkiewicz is back with the RSK Shade, the first karambit in the Real Steel lineup.

RSK bills the Shade as a an ultra-safe and rugged folding karambit design. Its hawkbill blade is 2.36 inches long and less curved than many hawkbills. D2 semi stainless, an increasingly common sight on RSK designs, is the blade steel here, and the sole opening method is a thumb hole; Wieczorkiewicz consciously avoided any sort of Wave-like mechanism so that there would be no risk of opening the knife accidentally.

RKS’s Luna model, the previous release from Wieczorkiewicz, played up an uncluttered visual style, and the Shade follows a similar direction. Complementing the relatively straight cutting edge, the handle showcases only a minor arc trajectory – although it does terminate in the classic karambit finger ring for non-conventional grip options. Its stainless steel frame has been chamfered and is held together by twin symmetrical oversized screws that are a through line across Wieczorkiewicz’s work, both custom and production.

For a pocket clip, the Shade is set up with a reversible, loop-over wire clip – the same clip RSK has played with on the Archangel and the Terra (another Wieczorkiewicz joint). While the stainless steel construction does add a little tonnage, the Shade keeps things in the reasonable realm, tipping the scales at 4.52 oz.

RSK says that the Shade will be available on November 11th. The knife is aimed at affordability with an MSRP of $79.50.

Knife in Featured Image: Real Steel Shade