Fast-Swap Handle Scales: Knafs Launches First Knife on Kickstarter

At its launch, the Knafs Lander knife has the ambitious goal of offering custom knife handle scales in G10 at a very affordable price.

No stranger to the wild world of blades, Ben Peterson spent 8 years in the knife industry full-time before leaving to take his own slash at things with his brand, Knafs.

You may remember the poster he created and put out to the world a few weeks ago. It describes numerous parts of a knife in a clean, sleek presentation. Fast forward a few weeks, and Knafs is now launching what may be its most ambitious knife yet: the Lander EDC pocket knife.

Made by a knife guru who cut his chops with years in the business, the Lander is tooled with Peterson’s taste as a knife connoisseur.

“I’ve carried hundreds of different knives,” notes Peterson in the Kickstarter campaign. “I’ve sold thousands of them. And somewhere along the line, I got particular and choosey. I knew what I liked. I knew what customers were buying. And I knew I could take a swing at creating my own knife.”

Introducing the Knafs Lander

The Lander has fast-swap handle scales, D2 steel, a 2.75-inch blade, a G10 handle, and a deep-carry clip. D2 steel, while not new, is a good, common, inexpensive tool steel that holds an edge well and is fairly tough. It won’t measure up to modern powder steels, but it’s an excellent performer for the price. 

“It’s my next generation of simple, ergonomic knives that feature deep-carry clips (and recessed pocket screws!), flat grinds, and thumb stud openers. It runs on ceramic ball bearings in the pivot, and it has an ambidextrous pocket clip,” reveals Peterson.

Fast-Swap Scales

Perhaps one of the most notable things about this knife is the easy-to-remove scales. As a result, you don’t need to disassemble the whole thing. Instead, the scales are made to be fast-swapped, which therefore opens up the chance for total customization. 

“We’ve made the scales Open Source via Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) — users can distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the scales in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator,” wrote Peterson. “The license allows for commercial use. We just ask that you link back to Knafs.“

While we love the idea, it’s unclear how exactly Knafs will deliver custom scales. The brand does not mention a printing process or other method of creating them. And it seems, at least for now, a little nebulous.

So while very unique, we’re a bit skeptical about the brand’s ability to deliver these scales. We also don’t see any pricing or digital tools listed on the brand’s website for custom scales.

So what’s this knife going to set you back? On Knafs’ Kickstarter, it looks like you can reserve one of these Lander’s for $58, a pretty reasonable price for a D2 steel knife.