Pinoy Steel.
The best handforged Filipino blades right to your door.
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Kamagong and molave kerambits.
1. These West Javanese-style karambits have been hugely popular with my customers. This particular knife has a 300-series stainless blade. It is mirror polished and highly corrosion resistant. This knife is sharp along both edges, but please note sharpening 300-series stainless steel is no easy task without a bench grinder, so this kind of knife would be best suited to emergency use. It will not have to be oiled constantly like carbon steel, so it is ideal for a knife that will be carried a lot or stored and only used when needed. 300-series stainless has higher corrosion resistance than any of the 400-series stainless steels (440A, B and C, for example).
These karambits are larger and thicker than their Indonesian-made counterparts. They are better suited to Western hands and will really fill up your hand nicely. The rings are well shaped and smoothly finished. This is an issue for the West Javanese makers, who often weld their karambits’ rings to the tang. Like the Javanese karambits, these are full-tang and pinned through.
The sheath is also Javanese-style and is made of molave wood that has a good amount of flash in the light. This is beautiful wood that is often overlooked in the Philippines since everyone wants kamagong and narra knives. Molave is beautiful in its own right. Please note the sheath has a tiny hole in it and a few minor dings from storage and transportation in the Philippines.
This karambit weighs 6.5 oz, or 7.5 oz with the sheath. $79.This second full-tang karambit has a blade that was handforged from 5160 carbon spring steel. Spring steel is what is used on the vast majority of FHM balisong offered here at Pinoy Steel. It is tough and holds and takes a great edge, but it will rust if not kept oiled. It is by far my favorite steel because of its usability and how easy it is to get nice and sharp.
This is a one of a kind karambit that I may not be offering ever again. The handle is very well done and has had finger grooves carved into it. Both the handle slabs and the sheath are made of outstanding pieces of molave with incredible chatoyancy.
This knife is a real beauty that will serve you well as long as you take minimal care of it (keeping the blade and wood oiled). It weighs 7 oz (8.25 oz with the sheath). $85.
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Molave kerambit.
SOLD.
These West Javanese-style karambits have been hugely popular with my customers. This particular knife has a hand forged and ground carbon spring steel blade. It is razor sharp along the main edge and close to razor sharp along the back edge. Carbon spring steel is my favorite. It is excellent blade steel because it is tough, holds an edge well and is easy to get laser sharp. The downside is it will need to be oiled or it will either develop a patina or rust. Most Filipinos allow their carbon steel working knives to develop a healthy dark patina through use, which seals the blade off from rust. This knife has a few forging marks that are often an inevitable result of being forged and quenched the traditional way (hammered to shape and then dunked in water). This makes for very tough steel that is still flexible.
These karambits are larger and thicker than their Indonesian-made counterparts. They are better suited to Western hands and will really fill up your hand nicely. The rings are well shaped and smoothly finished. This is an issue for the West Javanese makers, who often weld their karambits’ rings to the tang. Like the Javanese karambits, these are full-tang and pinned through. The handle is molave with stunning figure and chatoyancy. The sheath is also Javanese-style and is made of molave wood that has a good amount of flash in the light. This is beautiful wood that is often overlooked in the Philippines since everyone wants kamagong and narra on their knives. Molave is beautiful in its own right.
Please note the clip has a few minor dings from storage and transportation in the Philippines. There are a few imperfections with this knife as with any handmade product, but they are minor. Still, I would like to point them out since when buying online, it’s difficult to know exactly what you’re going to get. There are a few tiny pitting marks from forging on the ring and blade. The handle slabs and the tang are not perfectly flush (but very close). There is also visible epoxy between the handle slabs and the tang and between the two halves of the handmade sheath. The blade grind isn’t factory perfect and the blade and sheath aren’t a perfect fit (the sheath still holds the blade absolutely securely). Despite these flaws (all handmade knives have some), this is an excellent knife. This karambit weighs 6 oz, or 7.25 oz with the sheath.
SOLD.
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Large kamagong kerambit.
Here’s a very special kerambit I know some of you will be all over. 9” long with a hand forged carbon spring steel blade. This blade was very nicely ground and is absolutely hair popping sharp along both edges. This, is a modern take on a traditional Javanese design. There are two or three minor forging marks on the blade. There is also some minor surface pitting, but you’d have to really look to see it.
The handle slabs are beautiful, thick, dark kamagong and are pinned to the full tang with a total of four pins. This is a big karambit. I have large hands and it fits my hand quite well. Please note the pins are slightly raised and the tang and handle fit isn’t perfectly flush. This is a great tool if you know how to use it.
The sheath is crafted from beautiful molave wood with lots of figure and chatoyancy. The guys who make the kerambits I offer love the stuff, and it’s easy to see why!
The size of the handle and ring allow for a multitude of grips—more than most other karambits out there. The raised portion on the grip also aids you in finding the correct position on the handle. Great when you want to shift grips under stress. There is deep jimping on both sides of the blade to ensure a secure grip if you decide to choke up on the handle.
The loop on the sheath is PVC (synthetic leather) and is riveted to the sheath through an aluminum plate. This is a secure setup and keeps the sheath nice and light.
Please note there is also a minor crack in the ring from when one of the pins was peened. This is common on custom knives and even American knifemakers frequently encounter these issues. I’ve had this kerambit in my inventory for a few months now and the crack’s been perfectly stable. You could of course fill it if so desired.
The kerambit fits into the sheath nice and tightly and there is a snap on the loop to keep it in place. This is the only kerambit in this style I have and I will probably not have any more, so if you want it, don’t hesitate!
The kerambit weighs 10.5 oz (13.5 oz with the sheath).
SOLD.
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Kamagong and Molave Kerambits.
The first karambit is SOLD. The second one is still available.
Two beautiful karambits for your eyes today: both are solid and well made. Both, however, have a little surface rust and pitting from storage. I have buffed most of it off, but some still remains.
1. 7” overall with a carbon spring steel blade that is sharp along both edges, terminating in a perfect point. Full-tang construction (5/32”) with a distal taper. Thick kamagong scales with beautiful figuring. This karambit really fill your hand up nicely. The scales swell to 7/8” in the middle.
The main edge is 2 1/8” and the back edge is 3.5”. Both edges are sharpened.
The sheath is crafted from beautiful molave, truly an excellent wood for a sheath or knife handle due to its toughness. It is more durable than kamagong. The clip is 1/8” thick aluminum and it is pinned to the sheath.
There are a few forge marks on this karambit and there was some very minor surface corrosion I buffed off. Some light pitting remains.
The scales are pinned through the tang twice.
The handle on this karambit is large enough that I can hold it comfortably even without using a ring, which to me is a definite advantage.
This is a beautiful karambit that will serve you well! 6.7 oz, or 8 oz in the sheath. SOLD.
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This second kerambit is in the traditional Filipino pattern. I only have a few of these and they are not currently being made, so if you want one, now’s your chance! Nice, thick blade (between 3/16” and 1/4” thick at the spine). Beautiful molave sheath too.
There are multiple pins through the kamagong slabs on this knife, and no cracks anywhere in the wood.
There was a small amount of rust on the liners and spine of this knife, but I have cleaned most of it off and will polish it again before it goes out.
The kamagong scales are really beautiful.
This is a top quality karambit in a rare pattern. Definitely a style you want to have if you’re a kerambit aficionado! $85.
