The revolutionary high-tech statement by Knifemakers' Guild member and designer "Daddy K.I.S.S." Ed Halligan stood for Keep It Super Simple." It inspired many other knife designers, some to copy it, and some to suggest additional features, as with our K.I.S.S. Two-Timer™. In this case, the question was, could we make such a compact and elemental knife into an assisted opener?
It took some thought and a lot of precision machining, but we're proud to introduce the K.I.S.S. ASSist™. We found a way to build in our patented OutBurst® assisted opening with the patent-pending* Fire Safe mechanism. When closed, the blade is safely locked by a special cam-over pin that extends from the assist spring. It cannot be opened until the safety button on the end of the thumb stud is firmly depressed and the thumb stud is nudged outward.
It is both very fast, and very safe, because simply pressing the Fire Safe button does not open the knife. You must both press down and nudge the blade outward deliberately.One-hand closing is also fast and easy. The mechanism is covered by a thin lightweight layer of inset carbon fiber. When closed, the single-sided blade is securely sealed by the single Zytel® guard. The AUS 4 stainless steel blade receives a high satin finish, while the 420J2 stainless steel frame has a contrasting non-reflective bead-blast surface. Two blade grinds are available, a single-side drop point grind, and a singleside Tanto grind. Both blades are available with razor-Sharp or Combined Razor-Sharp and Triple-Point™ Serrated edges. All models have a removable bead-blast stainless steel pocket/money clip.
The result is a handsome new line of K.I.S.S. knives with fast assisted opening, rigid lock-up, and a sophisticated high-tech mechanism that is integrated into the frame, all with a weight that is only slightly more than the original K.I.S.S. Ed is a remarkable innovator in his own right, but we can't imagine that when he started this design over a decade ago, that he envisioned this new wrinkle.
