Here's a sad and tragic fact...

I'm probably about to lose the majority of people who have made it this far.

If it's not clear already... I have very obsessive personality traits. The downside to this is that people around me get frustrated. The upside is, when it comes to designing and making products, having a degree of O.C.D. is extremely useful (and, not to beat around the bush, results in a better product hands down!).

I'm about to finally start going into the details of the knife. And I'm talking deep, DEEP details. If that's not your thing, then that's perfectly fine. No harm done and we can each go our separate ways.

BUT...

If you're obsessed about the "little things" like I am, then you're in for one hell of a ride over the next few sections.

And it gets even better for you:

Before we get into the showing and discussing the knife design I have just one more thing to cover...

You may be wondering, "Magnus, how come the knife is already designed ...I thought you were going to show us EVERY little detail?"

Well here's the thing:

Designing is ugly and messy and to be 100% honest with you ...most things don't work out. Typically I design something mostly in my head before I go to the computer. Even once I'm at the computer it's hit or miss whether it will ultimately form into what I'm aiming for.

The designing of this knife was one of those times where I wasn't really expecting the design to come together and work out. And because of this I didn't take any screenshots or such during the design process.

Okay, enough chit-chat, let's get into this design...

It's hard to know where to begin to be honest.

Let's briefly start with with the blade...

The blade is a drop-point style. The reason for this is simple... it's the best shape for function. I never read that anywhere -it's just from my own experience of different blades styles. I could be wrong about this of course. But again, this is just my experience.

I'll get into more detail on the blade design later - but for now I really want to discuss the overall design of the knife. One of the reasons for this is because, aesthetically, you can't design the blade independently of the rest of the knife - it all has to be done together. (well, you could design the entire blade first ...but you're going to have a tough time making the making handle -- not to mention function well -- look good together with the blade).

Here's a secret your learn pretty quickly when you start designing:

The initial shape of whatever it is your designing can come quickly (instantly even, with the first few pen strokes or mouse clicks) ...but it's everything after this which takes at least 99% of the design time. The small adjustments to the design is the real bang-your-head-against-the-wall difficult stuff.

And you know what?

I've designed many, many knives (only four made it as far as physically starting to be made) and knives are probably the hardest product to design in terms of aesthetics. Getting a knife to look good together with function is hard (I mean REALLY hard!).

Here's my "cheat"...

The general design of the blade and handle -- if you want it to be as functional as possible -- has already been designed for you a million times (literally a million times at least). There are some whacky-looking knives on the market. I absolutely love looking at these and, to be 100% honest with you, it's a guilty pleasure of mine to search out and look at these.

BUT, if you focus on only the most functional knives, then you'll find they're mostly all the same. This is unavoidable because our hands are the same (apart from size) and the purpose for which we are using the knife (cutting things) is the same. This results in a handful of functional "choices" you don't have to make ...simply because, if you're going for function first, there is no choice for you to make.

Here's what I mean...

Here's the thing:

I'm not a trained designer. No degree or such. This is simply my interpretation through my own observation and and my own testing. I could be dead wrong in any (or all) of this.

With the above areas essentially already designed for us - it's a case of teasing out the rest of the knife's smaller details (in combination with making it work with the blade).

Now is the time to talk about the blade again...

As I mentioned above - the blade shape will be a drop-point style as I have found this to be the most functional. Now, believe it or not, I have found there is a LOT of freedom in the design of the blade (even within the constraints of it being a drop-point style). I think the reason for this is because even the slightest tweak to a single line or dimensions of the blade will significantly affect how it looks.

The great thing about going for a drop-point blade style is that it's pretty much guaranteed to work well in terms of functionality. In terms of aesthetics - it is astonishingly easy to screw-up and make it look a mess. The slightest tweak of a line here or there can transform it from "oh, that's nice" to "oh my god, it's hideous!".

In addition to the blade style being a drop-point the only other thing I knew I wanted from the start was for the blade to have a bit of "depth" to it. Or, to put it another way, I didn't want any type of skinny-style blade. The main reason for this is because, if we're making the world's best knife, then it needs to be a real user of a knife. I believe it needs to have thickness and general strength.

I might have mentioned this earlier, but...

I'm really designing and making this knife for myself (like most of the products I've designed and made over the last 10+ years). Also, even though I do have obsessive personality traits and am generally meticulous (and all those related traits) in most things, I am hard on knives.

And when I mean hard ...I mean HARD.

I have no problems cutting 60-grit sandpaper with my knife.

If I don't have a flat-head screwdriver at hand, then I WILL use it as a screwdriver.

If I don't have a pry-bar at hand, then you can be damn sure I'm going to pry open whatever I need to pry open with my knife.

People cringe. People wince in pain. They'll walk away. Hell, I've seen people with tears in their eyes.

That's their "issue" not mine. Knives are to be used. I appreciate the collectors of knives and how they curate their collections. I admire their dedication. That's not me though.

So a drop-point blade without being too slim or lacking in heft is just the no-brainer design as far as I'm concerned. The blade (and rest of the knife) is already designed - but there are still some things I'd like to point out on it. I'm going to leave this until the next section though.