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SHOT Day 3: LionSteel Willy is an EDC Fixed Blade with a SOLID Handle

January 19, 2023

LionSteel has their latest SOLID fixed blade on display at SHOT 2023. This is the Willy, which sees the company bringing their signature integral fixed blade construction out on a knife with a look all its own.

LionSteel often blends the old and the new in an interesting way. On the one hand, the Willy channels very traditional outdoors blade motifs, but the company has said this one is meant to be an EDC fixed blade, carried and used like most of us would a folder. Regardless of your personal approach to daily carry fixed blades, the blade is undeniably a useful one. It’s an elegant drop point, measuring 2.55 inches, flat ground with a crowned spine; a time-tested recipe for an all purpose slicing knife. LionSteel’s preferred M390 is on tap here for super steel-grade edge retention and stain resistance.

Meanwhile the handle is a bit more unconventional: very compact, but also quite dramatically arched. This allows the Willy to have a lot of real estate for the hand relative to how much space it actually takes up. A nice, bellied-out scale helps make the grip feel bigger too, but more on that below. Regarding carry, the Willy comes with a leather sheath, as many LionSteel fixies do, with a snapover retention lash and loop for belt carry – although maybe in-pocket carry isn’t entirely out of the question for this one either.

Of course, one element we always look for on any LionSteel release is the machining wizardry, and the Willy does not disappoint in that regard. The handle on this full tang knife is SOLID, LionSteel’s inhouse nomenclature for ‘integral;’ the scale material is one unbroken piece, sculpted around the tang beneath. There’s less of a performance benefit than there would be on a folder, but the aesthetic affect is undeniably striking. The Willy will be available in multiple handle materials, including ivory Micarta.

Knife in Featured Image: LionSteel Willy

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