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Did the Kings of Titanium EDC Just Revolutionize a Whole New Category?

Everything’s better with titanium, right? This notable exception, still precision-engineered, is primed to have a massive impact.

Close-up of a metallic folding knife blade with a visible pivot screw and part of the handle.Titaner
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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From pens and wallets to ratchets and rulers to zipper locks and quick-release carry systems, Titaner has spent the past two decades-plus revolutionizing everyday products with innovative ideas, precision machining and, of course, titanium.

Which is what makes their latest Kickstarter campaign particularly unique and interesting.

Silver stainless steel knife balanced on a person's finger above a wooden surface.
Thanks to premium materials and precision engineering, the Mako knives are exceptionally well-balanced.
Titaner

It’s the rare Titaner product to eschew the brand’s namesake material, for good reason.

Considering the fact that it reimagines a category most of us rely on truly every day, the Titaner Mako culinary knives just might be the brand’s most impactful release yet.

A knife less ordinary

The Mako family, featuring an 8-inch chef’s knife, 6-inch utility knife and 3.5-inch paring knife, is not the brand’s first trip to the kitchen.

Previous foodie-friendly breakthroughs include the Titanium Oven Tray and the 5-Layer Titanium Frying Pan.

As usual, Titaner started by identifying the biggest hangups with existing options: in this case, rapid blade dulling, wrist fatigue, handle decay and “bloated clutter” (a drawer full of so-so knives).

Three stainless steel kitchen knives with silver handles on a wooden tray, surrounded by food items on a wooden table.
From left to right: The 8-inch Chef Knife, 6-inch Utility Knife and 3.5-inch Paring Knife.
Titaner

What’s different here is the biggest decision Titaner’s engineers made to address these problems, replacing its trademark titanium with M390 super steel blades. 

The explanation is pretty, ahem, cut and dried: this premium material, found in high-end EDC and outdoor knives, offers truly exceptional edge retention, especially following Titaner’s meticulous heat treatment, which notches the steel up to 60–62 HRC hardness.

For all its strengths, that’s a number titanium can’t match. That made the decision surprisingly easy for Titaner, because as they state on the campaign page: “we are engineers, not material worshippers.”

Titaner Mako knives in action
This GIF delightfully showcases the cutting, chopping and slicing prowess of each knife.
Titaner

Still, the team has applied its trademark precision craftsmanship to the Mako blades, highlighted by such touches as an ultra-fine 15-degree edge angle and continuous V-tapered geometry.

Meanwhile, a true full tang design eliminates weak points and evens out weight distribution so each knife, Titaner says, “feels like a natural extension of your arm.”

Notes on a handle

While the blade occupies most of the Mako’s exhaustive Kickstarter summary, the handle is also noteworthy, with Titaner taking conscientious steps to ensure its grip, longevity and satisfaction.

Titanium again steps aside in favor of a single block of aerospace-grade aluminum alloy, from which each handle is carved. 

Here, the brand leans into an old standby, precision CNC machining, going so far as to mill out a chunk of space within the handle to lighten its weight.

Silver kitchen knife with a black and silver handle on a wooden cutting board next to a halved avocado with the pit.
The utility knife’s handle offers an ergonomic shape and generous clearance for the knuckles.
Titaner

That hollow section leaves me skeptical about how comfortable the handle is to actually hold, but based on my experience with other excellent Titaner products, I am inclined to trust them here. 

From a design perspective, Titaner also took into account how your hand interacts with the countertop, shaping the handle to offer plenty of clearance for your knuckles, enabling swift slicing without the fear of damaged digits.

Hand holding a knife slicing a lemon into thin rounds on a wooden cutting board.
Like its bigger siblings, the little paring knife offers a user-friendly shape and smooth slicing ability.
Titaner

The handle itself also gets a 3-D tapered profile, micro-sandblasted surface and anodized finish for an ergonomic fit and a tactile grip. 

Even with the material swaps, the brand left a little legacy Easter egg: the screws securing the full-tang core to the handle are made of, you guessed it, aerospace‑grade titanium alloy.

Availability and pricing

The Titaner Mako is available now on Kickstarter, at the Launch Day Special price of $489 for the M390-8in knife and $829 for the set.

More affordable versions featuring VG10 steel are also available, priced at $183 for the paring knife, $201 for the utility knife, $239 for the chef’s knife and 619 for the set.

Estimated shipping is July 2026.

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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