Custom remake of an old factory design (pikal related)

[R.W.Clark]

Wasn't sure if this knife was ever going to happen but it finally all came together. So with the blessings of the original designer of the Kershaw Talon and Ernie Emerson; I am happy in introduce a custom remake of the Talon/Pikal.

This is not an exact remake. So what has changed?

The blade with a cutting edge of 3.5" is longer and has been re-shaped. It is also made from S30V with Paul Bos heat treating.

In the handle area. It is now tip up carry allowing the bottle opening hook to auto open the blade on the pocket, which is why I needed to clear it with Emerson. The pocket clip can be mounted for left or right hand carry. The liners are a beefy 0.125" titanium and the stop pin in hardened 1/4" steel. Yes, it is built bomb proof. Solid titanium back spacer and titanium scales cap everything off. The detent ball is 3/32" instead of the normal 1/16" in order to provide a much more crisp action.

The photos are very poor quality and were taken over a dinner table at the SHOT show in Vegas two weeks ago. The prototype sold in about 5 minutes so I never got a chance to get really good photos taken.

The down side is that do to my agreements with the Talon designer and Emerson, I will only be able to produce these in very small numbers and only as a complete custom (no production or MidTeching allowed). But, at least they both were nice enough to let me do it at all. Both were great guys.

So let me know what you think.

 

[nico]

Good improvements of the Talon, I like the design of the blade!!!
Price and availability?

Thanks,

Nico

 

[R.W.Clark]

Price is set to start at $350 as shown in the photo. I will have two at the Pasadena Expo show at the end of the month. After that, only about two a month will be made.

 

[Alpha Knife Supply]

Kudos Ron!

I'm glad to see you pull this off. I'm sure getting cooperation was not easy.

 

[R.W.Clark]

Thanks Chuck. Actually, it was tracking everyone down that was the hard part. Everyone was surprizingly easy to work with. Funny how things work out. The places you think you will have problems go smooth and the places where you had support all along go sour.

 

[Laceration]

Why'd you have to clear it with Emerson when it was a Kershaw design in the first place? The Talon was around before Wave openers. Did Emerson get approval from Kershaw or the Talon designer to make knives using that bottle opener/pocket grabber?

 

[R.W.Clark]

Simply a matter of good manners and to cover myself later. Last thing I wanted was to start a big bruhaha so I covered everything I could think of before I started making them.

Plus, the Talon did not "wave" from the factory. Because it was tip down carry the "bottle opener" would not catch. So the wave is functionally differant from the Talons bottle opener.

 

[Laceration]

I thought there was a version that came tip-up and could be waved open. I guess I'm confused. I can't see why they'd include a bottle opener on what is essentially a SD knife. I can see why you'd get permission though. Thumbs up on having respect for fellow Knife Makers. Nice work on that knife too.

 

[fishmonger]

Hi All,

It is my understanding that the talon was available to "wave" as an option , there is an indepth study of the talon over at don rearics site.

jim

 

[R.W.Clark]

That is a aftermarket conversion that consists of the handles and liners being redrilled and tapped in order to move the pocket clip to tip up carry.

 

[fishmonger]

I wasnt sure but I would like one of these new custom versions :thumbup:

 

[Death's Head]

Great rendition of the original R.W.Clark. $350 is a sweet deal for a custom with those features. Here's a picture of the original with tie-dyed titanium scales and tip-up conversion by STR.