Designed merely as a prototype for TikTok, the Sliding Knife by Midgards Messer seems to have broken the EDC world by proposing something that’s equal parts ridiculous and intriguing. You see, when someone says “sliding knife”, chances are, you think of a switchblade or an OTF knife. What Midgards Messer’s knife does is something vastly more interesting. It’s your regular folding knife, but instead of having a standard pivot mechanism, it has a pivot-and-slide system. Open the blade out, and before you use it, slide it down to lock it in place. Why is it interesting, you ask? Well, it helps the knife achieve the power of a much bigger blade, while still being fairly tiny. Let me explain…
Designer: Midgards Messer
A big blade is usually better for heavy-duty tasks. It’s bulkier, adds more weight, and holds its shape without warping or bending. Think of an axe blade versus a sword – one of them is clearly surviving being used against a tree bark, right? Well, the bad thing with bigger blades is that they aren’t really portable. Try to incorporate a big blade into a small pocket knife isn’t easy. Making the blade big means the handle needs to fit the folding blade too – and a thicker handle isn’t easy to grip.
So the folks at Midgards Messer came up with a pretty cool-looking workaround. Keep the blade big and the handle small, but incorporate a sliding mechanism that allows the blade and handle’s spine to align while in use. The blade’s edge sits inside the handle when shut, with the rest of the blade peeking out. Open the blade and you notice that it sits at an offset, with the jimping being a little higher than expected. Push the blade down and it locks in place, creating the aesthetic of a fixed-blade knife with a larger, heavier front, while still being foldable and portable.
Although having a pivoting AND sliding mechanism isn’t ideal, this knife isn’t meant to be hyper-practical. It’s designed as a proof-of-concept and a prototype for a unique format that can be refined further. As far as this ‘Sliding Knife’ prototype goes, it’s fairly mid-sized, which means you’ve got an easy-to-grip handle (made presumably from metal), while the blade itself has a drop-point design that’s a lot ‘taller’ than your average folding knife. This makes it perfect for cutting, slicing, and piercing, but also holds up well to more heavy, sustained use.
Midgards Messer made this as a one-off prototype (which promptly sold out instantly on their website), but is open to taking reservations for future models it manufactures. The Sliding Knife starts at $349, which is pretty reasonable for something this game-changing, and even though I don’t recommend it as an everyday-use tool, it definitely belongs in the EDC collector showcase!
