First look, FireAnt folder

Dirk

Dirk

Joined
Mar 19, 1999
Messages
2,277
Here is the FireAnt folder prototype. .125" thick titanium frame lock, 3.75" 154cm steel, MaxxGlide bearing system. This is not in my hands, It is at SHOT. I saw a video of it opening and it is slick. Initially, this will be a plain straight forward folder. As it moves forward we will add some machining to the handle for some style. We are also looking at doing a smaller version. So, we may be seeing a FireAnt Soldier and a FireAnt Worker this year. I don't know about a flipper on this one but, we will discuss it. I can't wait to get a hold of this!









 
Honestly, I dig the plain handles a lot. Personally, I might like a bit of texture for grip, but the knife has an elegant simplicity the definitely appeals to me.

The more I look at this, the more I like it. The symmetry of the blade shape echoed in the handle is a nice, subtle touch.
 
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Thank you. I was trying for a symmetrical balance. I agree on the need for some level of texture. I couldn't come up with anything I liked that fit. So, after discussing it we opted for plain. We also thought it would provide a "blank canvas", so to speak and let us move in any direction we like.
 
I like that a lot. The clean look is nice, in a market flooded with knives that are just way too busy. I personally would go for a flint-knapped look if I were going to do texture though.
 
There were two numbers talked about for price. It depended on manufacturing. I will get the price today and post it.

Flint knapped texture? Interesting. There might be something there.

If you haven't noticed, when the knife is closed you have a handy impact device. I want to test that out.
 
No price at this time. After some feedback at the show, there are some tweaks we are thinking about that would impact the price. Also, it looks like a smaller version with a 2.75" blade is probably coming. So, unofficially it lloks like we will have a FireAnt "Soldier" and a FireAnt "Worker". Looking forward to seeing these!
 
I really like it. Simple, elegant, and highly functional, but with subtle stylistic touches like the handle and blade being "mirror images" of each other as someone else mentioned above. Bonus points for looking cool when closed, too!

As far as texturing, it'd be cool to have some examples posted up for forum feedback. The one thing I'm not a huge fan of on the Lightfoot and Lambert HTM folders are the fishscale and "hand grenade" texturing on the handles, which IMHO don't totally gel with the rest of the knife. Those textures look okay, mind you, but they're just not home runs like the ETAC texturing on the HTM Gunhammer. For this, it'd definitely be nice to have something that goes with the "simple and elegant" aesthetic.

I generally love flippers, but the lines of this knife really look great without a flipper protruding. But I'm sure if you did eventually do a flipper version you'd be able to incorporate it in a way that complements the rest of the knife.

Congrats on your first folder, Dirk! Great work!
 
Dirk said:
Thank you. I was trying for a symmetrical balance. I agree on the need for some level of texture. I couldn't come up with anything I liked that fit. So, after discussing it we opted for plain. We also thought it would provide a "blank canvas", so to speak and let us move in any direction we like.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I thought when I saw it. Symmetry. It's a fantastic design, Dirk.
 
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