Spyderco
FB35PBK
ARK – PlainEdge

The ARK or “Always Ready Knife” is a purpose-designed personal-defense knife conceived by US. Army combat veteran John Shirley and his friend Sam Owens. While deployed to Afghanistan, Shirley learned that an alarming number of US. personnel were falling victim to sexual assault, particularly while showering. Drawing from his knowledge of the Japanese martial arts and with the help of Owens’ skills as a craftsman, they developed the ARK as a lightweight self-defense tool that can literally be carried anywhere.

The heart of the ARK is its deeply curved clip-point blade ground from H1 steel, a nitrogen-based alloy that is completely immune to rust. The curved edge packs impressive cutting power into the compact blade and the clip-point profile ensures a strong, extremely sharp point. The ARK’s fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) handle is molded directly onto the tang and features Spyderco’s proven Bi-Directional Texturing pattern and an index-finger groove to guarantee a secure grip, even with wet hands.

To ensure universal carry, the ARK includes an injection-molded polymer neck sheath with a breakaway ball chain. Best of all, the ARK and its sheath together weigh only 2.0 ounces (57 grams), so you’ll hardly know it’s there—until you need it.

SPYDERCO SALT SERIES –

Rust is the nemesis of all cutting tools—particularly those designed specifically for use in and around the water. Spyderco’s remarkable Salt Series tackles this age-old problem through the groundbreaking use of nitrogen-based blade steels like H1 and LC200N. The result is a diverse selection of knives that are incredibly resistant to corrosion and ideally suited to the needs of divers, fishermen, military personnel, and water sports enthusiasts.

H1 is a specialized austenitic alloy that uses 0.10% nitrogen instead of carbon to achieve its steel-like qualities. In addition to making it extremely corrosion resistant, it also makes it a “work hardening” material. Unlike the heat-based hardening and tempering used for conventional steels, H1 hardens through the mechanical processes of shaping and grinding the blade. This unique property also makes it significantly tougher than carbon-based steels.

LC200N is a nitrogen-rich martensitic steel that achieves its hardness through a conventional heat-treatment process. While it does contain a trace amount of carbon, its high nitrogen and chromium content give it superior corrosion resistance and toughness, even at the high degrees of hardness required for knife blades. By using these extraordinary alloys, other corrosion-resistant materials, and the latest advances in technology and manufacturing methods, Spyderco continues to wage a relentless war on rust. And like everything else Spyderco does, the more they learn, the better their products get.