The Grandfather of Fighting Knives Rarely Comes This Streamlined and Affordable

This new treatment offers the iconic silhouette in a more pocketable size, not to mention a huge price drop from its predecessor.

Close-up of a folding knife with a silver blade marked "Tenable" and a dark textured handle.

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By Steve Mazzucchi

Published April 3, 2026

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Updated April 3, 2026

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Introduced last spring, Kansept’s Bison Bowie-style folding knife was a surefire stunner from the jump.

A design by the renowned Ray Laconico, S35VN blade steel, titanium handle scales and a frame lock all but assured this reality.

Folding knife with a silver blade and black carbon fiber handle resting on a gray leather surface. — Compared to the original Kansept knife, Tenable’s take on the Bison has a similar look but different materials, a less premium lock and a much lower price.

One thing that this knife is not, however, is cheap; the lowest-priced variants cost $196.

But as it did with the Fenrir, Kansept’s budget-friendly brother, Tenable, has stepped in to lower the Bison’s barrier to entry.

With a more pocket-friendly size and strategic material swaps, the knife can now be yours for a fraction of the original’s cost.

Bowie’s bounty

I’ll skip the extended recap (catch up here if you like) and just say the knife gets its name from the 1827 exploits of American frontiersman James Bowie.

In its original form, it’s a large sheath knife characterized by “concave clip point, sharp false edge cut from both sides, and a cross-guard to protect the user’s hands.”

Folded pocket knife with carbon fiber handle and partially visible stainless steel blade on a gray leather surface. — This pricier version of the knife, featuring a twill carbon fiber & G10 handle, still costs just $70.

These days, heritage brands such as Buck continue to put out relatively faithful representations of the style, while a host of others, everyone from Artisan Cutlery to Prometheus Design Werx, iterate and innovate upon the design.

Among the many folding knife form factors, however, I dare say Laconico’s design carries the most hallmarks of the original, as it’s one of the few to retain some semblance of a cross-guard.

Four folding knives with different blade finishes—silver, copper, black, and black—laid out on a tan fabric surface. — All variants of Tenable’s Bison share heritage-honoring traits such as a clip-point blade and a miniature cross-guard.

Also sticking around is the classic clip-point blade shape, appearing on Tenable’s Bison as a 3.24-incher made of Nitro-V steel.

While it is one of the more affordable blade materials, Nitro-V is valued for its toughness, edge retention and sharpenability, three pretty compelling qualities for this style of knife.

Close-up of a folding knife's pivot and handle showing a carbon fiber texture and metal hardware. — Ambidextrous thumb studs make one-handed deployment a literal snap.

The blade is deployed via ambidextrous thumb studs and held in place with a sturdy liner lock.

The ergonomic handle, meanwhile, comes in a variety of materials: G10, aluminum and G10 with a twill carbon fiber overlay.

All but the last of those materials gets what Tenable calls a frag pattern, essentially a textured, grip-improving surface treatment.

Close-up of a silver metal pocket clip attached to a black carbon fiber textured folding knife handle. — James Bowie might roll over in his grave at the notion of a pocket clip, but it sure is handy.

Rounding things out is that staple of modern EDC knives that most definitely could not be found on its centuries-old ancestor: the indispensable pocket clip.

Editor’s note: A fancier Damascus steel and PEI version of the knife will surface down the road for $100, but it’s not available on the site just yet.

Availability and pricing

The Tenable Bison is available now in four variants starting at $63.

Black folding knife with textured handle and partially serrated blade, shown open on a white background.

Tenable Bison

Starts at $63

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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