Great Recent Brands

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Nov 20, 2018
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So I was admiring my new Hogue EX-A01and it started me thinking of what could be a cool discussion. What are some of the more recent brands that have made a name for themselves in a short time and why?
 
Based on the quality of the Laconico Keen I'd consider buying another WE knife for sure.

Handled them for the first time at Blade West, and went nuts. Henck was very gracious. The designs were a big turn off, except for the Rectifier.

...but when they build something for a good designer... WOW.

The Keen is the only knife I’ve ever bought twice, and I’ll keep both for life.
 
WE has a more budget friendly lineup that looks good called Civivi. I don't know either but I hear great things about WE, and a few videos I've see of the Civivi it looks like their top notch as well.
 
WE will likely be at the top of this list. The sheer amount of knives they've made, both for themselves and for other people, is one thing, but the quality is out of this world. My 40 dollar civivi basically blows every other 40 dollar knife out of the water.
 
Three Rivers Manufacturing has put out some great new releases this year. The Neutron is a well-made thin, slicy liner lock with swappable scales.
k9UKyso.jpg
 
So I was admiring my new Hogue EX-A01and it started me thinking of what could be a cool discussion. What are some of the more recent brands that have made a name for themselves in a short time and why?

Monteray Bay Knives, Alliance Knives, Milit knives, CKF knives, Giant Mouse Knives, Gaurdian Tactical Knives, Heretic knives, Viper knives, Koenig knives; the list goes on and on.

What makes them popular? They make good knives
 
Three Rivers Manufacturing has put out some great new releases this year. The Neutron is a well-made thin, slicy liner lock with swappable scales.
k9UKyso.jpg
Came here to post about TRM. I think they built their bones somewhat slowly, with very high quality and good word of mouth, but since teaming up with Halpern Titanium they seem to have very quickly turned that good rep into a much broader variety of incredible knives at really good prices. The Neutron is near the very top of my want list.
 
Manly and Giant Mouse. They may have been around longer than I'm aware of but I think both are fairly recent.
 
just bought a
bestech shrapnel
and a
Maxace Ptilopsis

love them both
Bestech manufactured one knife I have, the Factor Iconic Compact, which was ignominiously discontinued when its being a close copy of a Giantmouse knife became known, but the quality of construction and materials on the knife is great. I think Bestech is on the rise.
 
^^^ I was also going to mention Manly. I think they’ve been going a while, but their modern lines are very recent and of great value. Love those guys. :thumbsup:
 
Three Rivers Manufacturing has put out some great new releases this year. The Neutron is a well-made thin, slicy liner lock with swappable scales.
k9UKyso.jpg

Came here to post about TRM. I think they built their bones somewhat slowly, with very high quality and good word of mouth, but since teaming up with Halpern Titanium they seem to have very quickly turned that good rep into a much broader variety of incredible knives at really good prices. The Neutron is near the very top of my want list.

Yup, haven't had a chance to handle a TRM but the Neutron is near the top of my wish list. Mostly I'm just waiting for the flavor I want to come available.

I've also had a chance to check out Millit. They make a nice product, both knives and after-market clips.

I'm not sure if it's a discrete brand or just a label but JE Made makes a nice knife. They're doing some great stuff with slipjoints in modern designs/materials.

Elijah Isham has come on strong, mostly with knives made for him by someone else. I have his Blackstar in my pocket today and it's such a wonderful little knife.

As others have said, the obvious choice is WE, although to me they're not that new. I think the most amazing thing about WE is the number of knives that they've produced in a short time. If you don't happen to like the fairly bright and cartoony look of most WE designs, keep on looking. They make so many knives for other designers it's hard to NOT run into a WE produced knife these days.

I recently nabbed a Berg Blades Iron Pup. Finding out that WE makes the knife for Berg sealed the deal on buying one sight unseen.
 
Stedemon, while not a particularly new player, has really broadened their catalog with some solid knives as of late - and their budget lines (Vouking and ZON) are just very good. I recently picked up a Stedemon C06 for about $50, and it has all the mechanical hallmarks of a much more expensive knife.

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How recent does "recent" have to be?

I mean, there are some companies that have been around for 20 years like RAT/ESEE and TOPS that have made major waves in the industry, but are nowhere near the same age as established large old companies like Kabar, Ontario, Case, Buck, etc...

20 years is still a relatively young company in this industry, and in that short time the two I mentioned really have made a tremendous name for themselves in the industry.

Edit for clarification:
I guess what I'm getting at is that 20 years certainly isn't brand new. But just because it isn't a baby company, doesn't mean it isn't a toddler compared to companies that have been around since the beginning of the 20th century.
 
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Koenig Knives has definitely jumped way up on the scene the past couple of years. The looks of the knives, feel in hand, and incredibly smooth action are a big part of the reason. I think also because Bill Koenig has shown he crushes it when it comes to customer service.
 
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