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YouTuber Behind Blade Banter Founds His Own Knife Brand

August 18, 2020

David Kam, who reviews knives on the YouTube Channel Blade Banter, is establishing his own knife brand, Orion Knives. The fledgling label’s first release is slated to be the Solaris, an EDC folder with lots of enthusiast-friendly features.

For Kam, the biggest talking point on the Solaris is the lock, which is a button lock – a mechanism that isn’t very common on sub-$100 knives. In addition to providing the necessary rigidity and reliability that we expect of any lock, Kam says that the button lock also increases opening options and massively improves the fidget factor.

Envisioning his knife as an EDC tool, Kam gave it a 3.17-inch drop point blade, with a large half and half finger choil at the base of the cutting edge. The drop point shape gives the Solaris lots of flexibility when it comes to cutting jobs, and makes sharpening a breeze. Aiming to provide as much performance as he could at an affordable price point, Kam settled on 14C28N for the blade steel.

The ergonomic details continue past that generous choil. The round, sinuous lines create a comfortable and neutral grip, and the G-10 scales provide all the necessary traction. Additionally, a spineside dip just before the blade begins facilitates a pinch point and a way to guide the blade through trickier cuts. The sculpted clip is reversible, and the Solaris weighs 4.8 oz.

Kam began reviewing knives two years ago. reviews fed into, and informed, the entire design of the Solaris. Appropriately enough, his very first video review was of a button lock folder: the CRKT Tighe Tac Two. Kam says that his many knife reviews have informed the entire Solaris design. He hopes to move Orion Knives forward with additional models in the future.

The Solaris is up on Kickstarter now, with an estimated delivery date of February 2021.

Knife in Featured Image: Orion Knives Solaris

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