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This Gorgeous, Compact New EDC Knife Boasts Premium Materials and a Rare Locking Mechanism

With an offbeat shape and unique design, it overdelivers on capability and conversation-starting potential.

Close-up of a folding knife handle with textured carbon fiber and black metal parts with bronze screws.Kansept Knives
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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Having been stripped of its full planetary status in the solar system, Pluto, it is safe to say, doesn’t get much respect.

Now classified as a dwarf planet, it has arguably become even more beloved in the 20 years since the International Astronomical Union formally excommunicated it. 

Hand holding a folding knife with a brushed steel blade and a black carbon fiber handle with gold accents.
Thanks largely to the shape and materials of its blade, the Pluto is as capable as it is simply interesting.
Kansept Knives

Taking the former ninth planet as its namesake, a funky new EDC knife aims to earn a similarly special place in our hearts. 

Thanks to its materials, design and looks, I for one would not bet against Kansept’s Pluto.

Small size, big edge

As you might guess from the moniker, this knife is also a bit smaller than average. But unlike, say, the Disney dog of the same name, this Pluto’s bite is bigger than its bark. 

That starts, of course, with the blade, a 2.5-inch drop point made (in three of four variants) of S90V super steel, prized for its edge retention, durability and corrosion resistance.

Close-up of a hand holding a folding knife with a partially serrated blade and a black textured handle.
The uniquely shaped bolster gives you easy access to front and rear flipper tabs.
Kansept Knives

That material, combined with the blade’s full belly and squat shape, makes this knife’s cutting, slicing and piercing ability more potent than you might expect.

Designed by Paul Munko of Munko Knives, the Pluto is multi-deploying too, thanks to snappy rear and front flippers made accessible by the bolster’s clever cutouts.

Close-up of a folding knife with a carbon fiber handle, black and gold pivot, and partially serrated stainless steel blade.
Rarely seen on this type of knife, the bolster lock incorporates traits of more common liner and frame locks.
Kansept Knives

The bolster is also the source of this knife’s somewhat rare locking mechanism; that would be a bolster lock, which blends traits of the more popular liner and frame locks. 

A portion of the lock bar is concealed by the bolster while remaining somewhat exposed, which tends to make it stronger than a liner lock yet easier to disengage (to retract the blade) than a frame lock.

Four folding knives with textured handles and different blade finishes laid on a dark surface.
The Pluto comes in four variants, all of which feature either S90V or Damascus steel blades.
Kansept Knives

This approach is most commonly used with custom, high-end and/or Italian switchblade knives, which makes it surprising to see in a knife whose more affordable treatments cost less than $150.

That said, the most expensive version, the $222 K3129A1 skew showcased on this page, is arguably the most aesthetically interesting, though the $155 Damascus steel-bladed ain’t too shabby either.

Close-up of a black and gray carbon fiber knife handle with gold screws on a textured brown surface.
The eye-popping handle is the main reason this particular skew tops $200.
Kansept Knives

What stands out here is, of course, the handle, thanks to Snake Skin Gold Fatcarbon, a scaly pattern accented by goldish bronze flakes that gives luxury vibes while offering natural corrosion resistance.

Measuring less than four inches closed and weighing 3.28 ounces, the capsule-shaped, tip-up clip-equipped Pluto rides easily, like a dwarf planet in the solar system of your pocket, too.

Availability and pricing

The Kansept Knives Pluto is available now in four variants, ranging in price from $139 to $222.

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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