This blog is an overview of one of Steambow’s latest releases. Yes, it’s sharp, but no, it doesn’t fly through the air. It’s Steambow’s newest knife—the K2.
Steambow—driven by personal passions
As the saying goes, do something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. With that, it should come as no surprise that each member of Steambow’s team is a big fan of archery and all things arrow-based. That’s one of the sources for all the innovative ideas and the new ways of using archery that they’ve had over the years.
Another area that several team members are fond of (Gerald, the CEO, being one of them) is well-made, well-designed knives. When your company has great designers, knowledge acquired through personal interest, and great contacts with all manner of high-quality precision parts manufacturers, getting your own design on the market becomes a lot easier, and that is what Steambow did in the K1.
All the same, a producer of consumer goods who doesn’t listen to its customers is going to have greater problems succeeding than one who does. And Steambow does its best to keep a finger on the pulse of popular demand. That is why there is now a K2 to follow on from the K1. So what’s new?
A great design, refined
At a glance, the K2 will look very similar to the K1, and in that sense, why fix something that isn’t broken, given the fundamental design was a hit from the start? Indeed, there are introduction videos to the K1 on the Steambow YouTube channel in English, German, and French if you’re interested.
The differences, therefore, are subtle for the knife but significant for the owner. The most immediate difference is affordability. It is significantly cheaper than its predecessor. You’ll be glad to know this is not at the cost of quality; it’s been done simply by exploiting that production network we mentioned earlier.
Unlike the K1, which was manufactured in Italy, the new country of production is Taiwan. Those of you who know a thing or two about the EDC knife market will know that several of the industry leaders have production facilities there, and the blades from that region have a cult following amongst collectors and enthusiasts. Taiwan is known for its excellent blade manufacturers.
Low maintenance, high satisfaction
In addition to a change of manufacturer, the chosen steel is now less demanding to work with. The K1’s blade with skeletonized tang was made with N690, whereas the K2 uses AUS-8. Japanese AUS-8 outperforms N690 in the areas that make day-to-day living with a blade easier: toughness and ease of sharpening while maintaining almost the same degree of corrosion resistance. The result is a knife that is hassle-free. The heat treatment and edge geometry, as the real bastions of blade performance, pick up from there to deliver the best possible experience.
Moving on, you can look at more specific design features. For those enjoying a bit of self-reliance, it is worth noting that the K2’s spine is far sharper now, meaning it will throw serious sparks with a ferro-rod. Add to that the ability to produce nice feather sticks and a campfire after a day in the field is achievable. For anyone who wants to carve, finer jimping on the spine provides comfort and ergonomics, which, in turn, complement the same full-bellied blade profile that was so good for woodwork in the K1’s design.
Well-balanced tool
The result is a knife that still has the same hunting knife origins to effectively dress a carcass in the field, with an added tip-of-the-hat to bushcraft tasks an outdoors enthusiast may enjoy doing. As with the K1, the scales are removable and can be replaced with versions in other materials. While polymer is standard, aluminum and wood are also available.
The screws holding the scales have a good pitch and lead and a wide head. This means they stay on snugly while being easily loosened with a coin, a key, a flat pebble, or even a piece of wood you, yourself, can carve for the job. This then allows you to plan ahead by storing a small supply of waxy cotton or some fatwood shavings in the cut-outs of the tang to make starting campfires far easier.
The K2, despite the reduced cost, still ships with right- and left-handed polymer sheathes and the ability to mount them to a belt clip or Picatinny rail so that whether on the hip, pack, or AR-Series crossbow, your Steambow knife will be secure and safe until you need it.To get your Steambow knife, just have a look at the webshop to see the full range of knives and scales.
