Kansept's Orion Brings JB Stout's Customs to Production

The Orion exists because JB Stout wanted a production knife that carried the attributes of his customs. It is loosely based on his SquirrelMaster XL with more curve worked into the profile, and the milling on the blade is the part that gives it away as a Stout design.

It is a 3.07-inch clip point in CPM S35VN with CNC milling cut into the blade face, which is uncommon on a folding knife at any price. The handle is titanium with fine machined grooves on both sides and a machine satin finish on the flats, bronze anodized on this K1089A5 version. Deployment is a flipper or a thumb disk depending on preference, on ceramic bearings with a strong detent. It is $189.89.

The blade milling is not decoration. Removing material from the face of a blade changes how it feels in the cut and how the knife balances, and on a 3.07-inch blade it also lightens the tip. Stout's customs are known for exactly this: surfaces that look sculpted because they are. The clip point itself is a good general-purpose shape, with a strong tip for piercing and a slightly concave belly for slicing.

Against the K9 at the same $189.89, the Orion gives up half an inch of blade and a Damascus option for a better steel and a lighter, more machined handle. Against the Mini Lanza at $263.89 it is cheaper and less exotic. Both remaining Orion variants, the blackwash K1089A4 and the green anodized and machine satin K1089B4, are the same price, so the decision is colorway.

Verdict: the right buy for someone who wants a Stout design without a Stout price, and one of the few production knives with real blade-face milling. Skip it if you want a big knife, and skip it if you dislike two deployment options on a small blade, because a thumb disk and a flipper can get in each other's way.