In December of last year we covered the Bestech Ququ, a cute knife designed by Ostap Hel and Gogo, the 8-year old daughter of Bestech’s owners. Now, Gogo’s 12-year old brother Lucas is getting in on the knife design action with the Mantidae, a hawkbill blade folder inspired by his pet praying mantis.
A praying mantis, in addition to being one of the coolest insects around, is also a good inspiration for a knife, with its slender form and blade-like front appendages. Lucas made the original concept drawing for the Mantidae and then, once again, Ostap Hel took a look at it to help it along. And the collaborators translated the look of a mantis’s claw quite faithfully into a folding knife blade. The Mantidae’s blade profile is usually called a hawkbill, and, at 2.96 inches in length, users can experience the EDC capabilities of this uncommon shape; with that low point and arcing edge, it excels at pull cuts in particular.
The Mantidae is the first Bestech release to be offered in both plain edge and fully serrated options. In fact, up until now serrations have not been a major part of the Bestech portfolio at all. Serrated or no, all Mantidae models open with a thumb stud, and secure up with the liner lock beneath the off-side scale. The blade steel is 14C28N, a common stainless choice in the Bestech line, well-suited to indoor and outdoor use, whether users are slicing up boxes or out tromping through the wilderness, looking for insect specimens.
Lucas devised a very insect-like handle, with a pinched thorax and a wider abdomen beneath. Some of the detailing in the G-10 or Micarta (depending on which Mantidae you opt for) scales evokes the segmentation on a real life mantis body, too. A wire pocket clip is attached on the off-side, which is not something you see on a praying mantis, but very much a welcome sight on any pocket knife.
The Mantidae is arriving at the end of the month, July 26th.
Knife in Featured Image: Bestech Mantidae
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