Here is how it works.
The body of the knife is completely closed around the blade with no gaps. When you squeeze the release the two halves of the body seperate just enough to clear the blade, center the blade and allow the blade to float freely. A slight flick or pointing downward allows the blade to swing out into position. Once at dead center it stops. Release the button and the two halves of the handle close back down around the blade while locking it into position both intenally via 2 steel lock pins and externally via the 6061-T6 frame closing back around the blade. It's pretty simple in concept but a little trickier to make work.
If you don't know how it works and you don't hold it properly pushing the "button" does nothing. You have to squeeze the button while also squeezing the opposite side. The handle doesn't open on a hinge, it parts all the way around then closes back up all the way around with it's shoulders supporting the blade both horizontally and laterally. VERY good blade support.
It's NOT going to be a toy. It's a SOLID design with great support of the blade. Better than most knives because the frame acts as a secondarry locking system.
It's opperation is very and smooth. You cannot look uncool deploying it or closing it like you can with a butterfly knife. It opens and closes easily with one hand and a short quick flick.
When open the knife looks like a fixed blade, when closed it looks like,.....well, anything BUT a knife. That gives it that "covert" factor.
Blade style and size changes are down the road. the dagger just gives it great symetry and looks bad ass. As a tool a single edge flat ground blade will be offered next but as a defensive weapon the double edge is devestatingly effective.
We are calling the knife "The Pharaoh" because it resembles a sarcophagus or a mummy. The final knife will have criss cross patterns to resemble a mummy wrap and improve grip. We might turn the Paragon Phoenix logo around on the button so it resemble a Sphinx to further enhance the "Pharaoh" image.
The Pharaohs were also a street gang in the movie American Graffitti. I'm sure the name "Pharaoh" conjures up imiges in many guys minds. The name has a "recognition" or "feel" to it. It fits the knife in so many ways and is familiar.
I'm pretty stoked about this one. It's a unique design and a new release style that I think will apeal to gadget guys everywhere. It's kind of a switchblade and kind of a butterfly and kind of a gravity knife all in one.
The other thing is that from a legal standpoint it doesn't fit the deffinition of a switchblade or gravity knife as described in some state laws. Things are just different enough to make it's illegality questionable.
So now that it's more clear how it opperates what do you think? Bare in mind that this is the first, and an incomplete, rendering.
