Max Knives MKH04 IKE anodised — integral titanium folder, 20 of 120

Overview

Out of the 120 pieces in the IKE first run, only twenty carry the anodised slide, and this version is one of them. Everything else is the IKE drawn by Jérôme Hovaere under the Torpen name: an integral folder in one-piece titanium, without a single screw, which comes apart and goes back together without tools. A 92 mm blade in CPM154 steel, 208 mm open, frame lock and flipper opening, pocket clip fitted.

Twenty pieces out of one hundred and twenty

What sets this variant apart comes down to one part: the slide, anodised, which throws blue and multicoloured reflections along the flank of the handle depending on the light and the viewing angle. Anodising titanium does not lay down paint, it thickens the oxide layer at the surface, and it is that thickness which decides the colour you see. Against a sober grey stone wash body, the coloured band does all the work. Only twenty pieces out of the one hundred and twenty of the first run are fitted with it.

Technical specifications

Integral titanium body, natural-colour stone wash finish, with an anodised slide in blue tones. CPM154 steel blade of 92 mm, 4.3 mm thick. Handle of 112 mm, which is the closed length of the knife; open, the IKE measures 208 mm. Frame lock, flipper opening, pocket clip. Screwless construction, taken apart and rebuilt without tools. First run of 120 numbered pieces, of which 20 carry the anodised slide.

Care

The anodised layer keeps its colour if you stay away from abrasives and aggressive cleaners: clear water, a soft cloth, and the colour stays. The stone wash titanium of the body asks for nothing more. The CPM154 blade is wiped after use and stored dry; the pivot appreciates a drop of fine oil. And since the knife comes apart without tools, a full clean of the inside of the handle calls for no driver and no complicated strip-down.