Kansept's Lichen Hides a Bolster Lock in Carbon Fibre

Kansept's Lichen is named after the organism that is two things at once, which is a fair description of the knife: a traditional-looking folder with a hidden modern lock inside it, at $139.89.

The sheet: 3.02-inch drop point in 154CM at 58 to 60 HRC, 0.118 inch stock, flat grind, stonewashed finish, twill carbon fibre handle in black and grey, fully chamfered contoured edges, 3.52 ounces (99.8 grams), and a lock Kansept calls a bolster lock in the model name while listing it as a liner lock in the spec table. Derek Sharon of D. Sharon Design gets the credit.

That lock naming is worth explaining rather than glossing over. A bolster lock is a liner lock whose release is actuated through the front bolster instead of through a cutout in the scale, so from the outside the handle looks like a traditional slip joint with no visible lock notch. It is a fiddly thing to build — the actuator has to move through a separate piece of material — and it is why traditional-styled knives with modern locks cost more than their steel suggests.

Deployment is an elongated thumb hole, which supports both thumb flick and reverse flick. That combination — a hole plus a hidden bolster lock plus carbon fibre — is aimed squarely at the person who wants a knife that looks like a fancy traditional in the office and opens like a modern folder. The fully chamfered handle is the part that matters for carrying: a 3.02-inch knife at a hundred grams will spend all day in your hand if the edges are rounded, and will not if they are not.

The steel is the weak point of the value equation. 154CM at 58 to 60 HRC is entirely adequate and very easy to maintain, but $139.89 is S35VN and MagnaCut territory — Kansept's own Ptarmigan is $179.89 with CPM S35VN, and its Navaja is $179.89 with S35VN too. What you are paying for here is the bolster lock, the carbon fibre and Sharon's design, not the blade.

Verdict: a well-judged small folder for people who want traditional looks with a real lock and one-hand opening. Buy it for the mechanism and the handle. If blade steel is what you are shopping for at this price, look at the Ptarmigan instead.