Max Knives KUBATON5 — Hand-anodised titanium kubaton, OTF pick, key ring

Overview

This KUBATON5 was made by hand in France, in the MAXKNIVES workshops, and only one exists like it: anodising gave the body a blue-violet that then tips over into rose copper, and the gesture is not repeated from one piece to the next. The rest belongs to the series: titanium body, single-action automatic OTF pick, tungsten carbide point serving as a glass breaker, key ring. The shop states that several colours are available.

What titanium brings to the object

Titanium is markedly lighter than steel for the same volume, which counts on something hung from a key ring and pulled out several times a day. It covers itself spontaneously with a thin protective oxide skin, so it neither rusts nor pits, even after a swim in the sea or months against perspiration. That same oxide explains why the metal sits so well against skin, including for wearers whom nickel bothers. And it is that skin the anodising thickens in order to obtain the colours.

Technical specifications

French workshop manufacture in the MAXKNIVES ateliers: titanium body, anodising done by hand, here blue-violet moving into rose copper. Single-action automatic OTF pick mechanism, mechanical travel out through the nose of the body and manual return of the point. Tungsten carbide point acting as a glass breaker. Key ring at the end of the body. Several colours appear in the catalogue, each from a treatment run piece by piece.

Care

A microfibre cloth is enough to lift fingerprints from the anodised titanium. Aggressive solvents and polishing creams should be kept away: they attack the oxide film and take the copper shade with it. After an outing in the rain, dry the carbide point and the nose of the body before putting the piece away, and run the pick out once to check that it travels freely.