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This New Butterfly-Inspired EDC Knife Deploys Like No Other Blade

The beauty of the balisong-like mechanism is, you can flick it around like a maniac without risk of losing a digit.

Close-up of a black folding knife handle with a bronze pivot screw and visible screws securing the handle. The blade is partially visible, showing a sharp edge and the words "MASER" and "SWEDEN" near the pivot. The background is a textured brown surface.Kansept Knives

By Steve Mazzucchi

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Like any kid growing up at a time when the notion of adolescent martial arts-practicing humanoid amphibians did not seem weird at all, I was pretty fascinated by ninjas.

This obsession manifested many ways — not only checking in with my pizza-chomping half-shelled friends on the page and screen but also multiple Halloween costumes, plus throwing stars, swords and, of course, butterfly knives.

Black folding knife with a matte finish blade and a black handle featuring a pocket clip and a bronze pivot screw, resting on a brown textured surface. The blade has a small logo and some text near the pivot.
At rest, the Hazard masquerades as a semi-typical pocket knife. However, once it starts deploying (see below), it quickly becomes clear this thing is one of a kind.
Kansept Knives

I had a totally rad gold-handled, plastic-bladed one, but I never graduated to real steel because I kinda decided eight fingers and two thumbs was a ratio I did not want to jeopardize.

To this day, though, the balisong beckons. Now, thanks to Kansept, I can safely answer the call. 

Because the brand’s somewhat ironically named Hazard boasts an innovative new deployment mechanism that offers butterfly thrills without blood-will-fly spills.

Flip fantasia

Though Kansept only recently introduced the knife for purchase, it’s been on my radar for several months now, ever since videos surfaced of prototypes in motion.

The one below pretty swiftly does justice to the action of this knife and the spontaneous maniacal joy it inspires.

So what exactly is going on here? Developed by Long Beach, California-based knife designer Steven Dunnuck, the Hazard features a unique locking mechanism called, fittingly, the Bali Lock.

A hinged hanger nestles in a cut-out on the back of the handle. The end that attaches to the handle features a knobby protrusion that holds the blade in place, open or closed.

Black folding knife with a partially serrated blade, a bronze pivot screw, and a black handle featuring a built-in pocket clip, resting on a brown textured surface.
Look closely and you can see the hanger’s knobby protrusion, which interlocks with grooves on the bottom of the blade to hold it open or closed.
Kansept Knives

Grasping this hanger with your thumb and forefinger, you can pop it open and release the blade. The tension is light enough that you can even let go of the rest of the handle and flick your wrist to deploy the blade in a butterfly-like fashion. 

Once you get the hang of that, you can get even more advanced, holding the hanger and spinning in a mesmerizing fashion, as Dunnuck himself demonstrates at the end of this video. 

Now you may be wondering, is this deployment mechanism better than what has come before? 

Who can say, really? All I know is, this thing is fidget-friendly and fun as hell — and I still have two fully functional hands.

Brass tacks

It’s worth noting that even without this unprecedented feature, the Hazard is a real beast of an EDC knife. 

Available in four variants, the 5.07-ouncer boasts a robust 3.63-inch drop-point blade made of S35VN steel. 

Two folding knives with different colored handles and blades are placed on a granite surface. One knife has a silver handle with blue accents and a silver blade, while the other has a black handle with a bronze blade. Below the knives is a bottle of Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA beer.
This image helps illustrate just how robust the Hazard is. For the record, the open length is 7.92 inches.
Kansept Knives

One of the first CPM steels developed specifically for knife making, it offers a compelling balance of hardness, toughness, edge retention and corrosion resistance.

Opposite the business end is a tough titanium handle, ergonomically shaped and easilyy big enough for a full four-fingered grasp.

The hanger and the section of the handle right below it are ridged, offering a bit of additional grip that helps with not only standard holding but whatever crazy stunts you try to pull with the Bali Lock. 

Four folding knives with different blade finishes and handle colors are arranged diagonally on a brown leather surface and a dark brown leather notebook. The knives feature sleek, modern designs with metal clips on the handles and a small logo near the base of each blade. The blades vary in finish: black, brushed silver, stonewashed, and matte black. The handles range from black to metallic gray with subtle variations in hardware color.
All four Hazards carry the same materials and price tag; only the colorways differ.
Kansept Knives

Rounding things out is a sturdy tip-up clip, which is handy but maybe not that useful, because a knife this magical is unlikely to spend too much time idling away in your pocket.

The Kansept Hazard is available now for $160.

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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