One of the finest blade makers today is Serge Panchenko, who is famous for his dynamic collections of folding knives that are each extremely unique, and each a piece of art. I’m a big fan of knives, especially when it comes to the more unique takes on EDC (everyday carry) blades, and of course I am constantly working with fixed survival blades in my travels, and yet, nobody that I’ve worked with has made something like Serge Panchenko’s Orbit Cleaver, which I will be featuring today, alongside Serge’s tiny EDC, yet equally dynamic Bean folding knife.
The Orbit is a fancy style cleaver blade in a small yet powerful form which can be carried in a pants pocket or on a belt that provides the user an everyday blade capable of handling just about any everyday activity, to where weight and budder of size are no issue. While Serge’s design is indeed elegant, his work is always eye-catching, with a typical dark and grungy feel paired with a crisp finished blade and high quality hardware. Upon initial inspection and testing, the Orbit cleaver took me by surprise, for its light and small feeling, its machined precision, and for its attractive design and stonewashed finish.
Serge’s Orbit is the brainchild of Serge and Gavin from G&G Hawk, built as a collaboration project that marries Serge’s design with Gavin’s input, along with the Hawk Lock locking mechanism hardware. The Orbit is made by Millit Knives in Idaho, who does all the finish work except for the antiquing that Serge is famous for. The blade is stonewashed CTS-204P and the handle is a titanium frame which can be finished with copper or titanium overlays. When the Orbit is open, it measures at 7-inches, closed at 4 3/8-inches, with a blade length at 3-inches. The back of the Orbit is fitted with a titanium belt clip for tip-up carry. The flip open works smoothly, opening in a split second, and locking with a slide lock from Hawk.
Serge’s Orbit is the brainchild of Serge and Gavin from G&G Hawk, built as a collaboration project that marries Serge’s design with Gavin’s input, along with the Hawk Lock locking mechanism hardware. The Orbit is made by Millit Knives in Idaho, who does all the finish work except for the antiquing that Serge is famous for. The blade is stonewashed CTS-204P and the handle is a titanium frame which can be finished with copper or titanium overlays. When the Orbit is open, it measures at 7-inches, closed at 4 3/8-inches, with a blade length at 3-inches. The back of the Orbit is fitted with a titanium belt clip for tip-up carry. The flip open works smoothly, opening in a split second, and locking with a slide lock from Hawk.
The Bean is about half the size of the Orbit, measuring in at 5-inches open, 3 1/4-inches closed, with a blade length of 2-inches. The Bean is a brilliant little everyday carry type of folding blade that can easily fit in just about any pocket, or belt, as it does come fitted with a metal belt clip. The Bean opens with a quick snapping mechanism that is a ball detent, non-locking mechanism, that works surprisingly well. I wasn’t sure about the non-locking aspect, but once you work with the Bean, it comes apparent that the fact that it doesn’t lock adds some ergonomic, speed use ability. To close the blade, you simply push against the flat edge of the blade and it will free the blade to be safely stored back inside the body. The steel blade is CPM 154, W-2 Damascus, and the handle is 6al4v Titanium, Bronze, G-10.
Overall, I fell in love with the Orbit and have a great amount of respect for the Bean. The Bean is quite small and very light, and will work best for folks who don’t wish to carry an EDC knife that adds a lot of weight and size to ones burden. But the Orbit is the star, as far as I’m concerned. Why? Because the Orbit has a unique cleaver blade, it looks amazing, photographs amazing (as you can tell), and works so smoothly. The look and feel for both is quite sharp, eye-catching and adds a dynamic design to an already unique style of pocket folding blade.
If you would like to learn more about Serge’s Knives, click here.
Article written & Photos by Brandon Scott / Eye & Pen
Overall, I fell in love with the Orbit and have a great amount of respect for the Bean. The Bean is quite small and very light, and will work best for folks who don’t wish to carry an EDC knife that adds a lot of weight and size to ones burden. But the Orbit is the star, as far as I’m concerned. Why? Because the Orbit has a unique cleaver blade, it looks amazing, photographs amazing (as you can tell), and works so smoothly. The look and feel for both is quite sharp, eye-catching and adds a dynamic design to an already unique style of pocket folding blade.
If you would like to learn more about Serge’s Knives, click here.
Article written & Photos by Brandon Scott / Eye & Pen
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