Abstract: A knife including a handle, a blade, and an enclosed blade action is configured to have an optimized weight ratio of the blade to the handle when the blade is extended, the handle can be kept relatively smaller and lighter with a slimmer profile, but without sacrificing rigidity and durability. The slimmer and lighter handle allows a longer blade but without the increased weight resulting from a bulkier handle typically necessitated by the longer blade.

Abstract: A knife includes a blade and a handle attached to the blade. The handle includes a liner and a handle scale adapted to be removably secured to the liner, such as by screws. The handle scale has an inner side facing the liner and having a shaped region to secure a weight in a selected position along a length of the handle scale. In one approach, there are multiple discrete positions in which one or more weights can be secured. The weights can be metal discs, for example. In the case of a two-handed knife such as a butterfly knife, both handles can have a similar structure for storing weights. The knife allows the end user to easily customize the weight distribution of a knife without interfering with the envelope or exterior surfaces of the handles.

Abstract: Embodiments include a knife with an ideal blade length to weight ratio, with a body configured to save weight over known designs to achieve the ideal ratio. The weight savings to obtain the ideal ratio can be obtained by various space and weight savings features of the handle and its contained action mechanism, allowing the handle to be manufactured with a slimmer profile, but without sacrificing the rigidity of the action or handle. The slimmer and lighter handle allows a longer blade but without the increased weight resulting from a bulkier handle typically necessitated by a longer blade.

Abstract: A knife having a latchless locking mechanism having a handle half with a left handle portion and a right handle portion held apart to form a blade groove. The left handle portion and the right handle portion each include a liner including a pivot slot and a first lock pin disposed between the first left handle portion and the first right handle portion. A blade having a tang that is pivotally and slidably coupled to the handle half with a pivot pin, the tang including a tang slot configured to accept the locking pin and a hook portion extending over the tang slot, the hook portion configured to capture the lock pin when the blade is in a locked position and thereby prevent rotation of the blade from the first locked position to the open position. A latchless locking system is also provided.