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Outdoor Element Phoenix Knife Set Launch

Created by Joe Brown

Outdoor Element's Survival Hunting knife with a full-tang fixed blade, replaceable gut hook, G10 handle, Kydex sheath, D2 steel, EverSpark tech, and much more. Great add-on items also available.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Headed to the finish line! ...need your help in a quick survey.
almost 5 years ago – Sun, May 12, 2019 at 02:12:06 AM

While we have the factory in full production mode, we are working out final details for logistics and packaging. 

We were also able to see samples of the Talon handle hand-dip option. We thought it looked pretty cool. The factory also showed us another option for hand-dip. (we can only choose one option). 

While we are happy with the original option (as seen below), Mojica was actually pretty fond of the other one as well. So we wanted to ask you what you thought. If we have over 50% ...like 60% or more that are in favor with the second option we will move to that option. If you have chosen to get the camo handle, please leave a comment.  

Option 1 (as seen below with the Talon)

Option 2 Tree (as below the Talon Images)

We were also able to finalize the artwork for the boxes that the knives will be delivered in.  Below is a flat pattern for each knife. 

As far as logistics goes, we are trying to go the extra mile and make up for some of the lost time due to the steel change (from 9CR18 to D2). We will have our factory make 2 shipments. We are planning on the first being air freight and possibly the second one via "slow boat". We will have all of our KS community be on the first air shipment ...and the boat will follow with the rest of the first production run. 

Thanks for all of your support. 

Mike and Joe

Factory site inspection
almost 5 years ago – Mon, Apr 22, 2019 at 02:53:49 PM

Mojica has been out on a site inspection and things have gone great! Warning, this update is rather long but contains lots of good info.

Yup, Mojica was very excited to get his hands on some tooling, like a kid in a candy shop. I imagine they had to drag him out of the factory otherwise he would have stayed and played all week.

It turns out the factory remade the tooling for the talon 3 times to get it perfect. This did cause some delays, but the point is, they got it right! Our factory has been a great partner all throughout this process and we wish we were able to get Mojica out there sooner. Nothing beats face to face meetings and factory visits, especially when engineer gets to talk to engineer.

There are many more tools than we expected as 1-3 features are stamped out. 

This tooling shows how the larger hole in the Talon gets stamped out. (There is a post CNC process to add the round/fillet to give it the smooth edge).  

Here are the upper and lower dies for the Feather. 

The knives were pulled part and and inspected. 

Same process for the sheaths. They were inspected and configured. 

All of the samples came together nicely. We are very excited that we will be able to deliver a great finished product to our backers. 

We also did a quick sharpness inspections with the Feather and both sides of Talon. They are looking sharp! (pun intended). We can't wait to do more real field testing with these production units.

Each blade will be hand sharpened and individually tested before they get packaged.  

The inspection process continued with hardness testing. We also did some bend testing. The knives performed as designed and desired. 



Mojica also went over some packaging details. We will make a few tweaks here but overall the packaging in the foam works perfectly. 

Mojica had a great visit and has confirmed again that we are in good hands. Production is underway. We are now working the logistics side to ensure a smooth delivery.

Thank you all for your support, patience and understanding. We can't wait to get these into your hands. We now expect to make delivery in June. We will provide more updates as we solidify the logistics side, now that we have all production points finalized.

All the best,

- Joe and Mike

The process continues and all surveys locked!
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Apr 06, 2019 at 03:04:18 AM

Hey Kickstarter backers! 

As most of you know all surveys are now locked. If you need to change your address or have any other concerns feel free to reach out at [email protected] we will take care of you. 

Let your friends know they can still pre-order on BackerKit

Quick updates: 

The EVA foam inserts are looking great (that will be placed in box for delivery)

The Knife molds are almost finished and ready for first run sample testing. Mojica will be there to work on any fine-tuning so we get exactly the high quality we are expecting.

We also mentioned last time that the Talon Handle kits (made by Go Prepared Survival) were arriving soon. They are now here (thanks GPS). We placed them in the Talon handle and they fit great! You can always go to BackerKit and add them to your deliverables.  

We also mentioned last time that our firebiner® was mentioned in Backpacker Magazine!  The digital copy is now out ...it was pretty awesome to have it labeled 2019 "Best gadget" under knife and tools. The article can found here. 

Mojica is scheduled to be with our manufacturer during our next update so we will have much more info to share! We should have lots of pictures to show you as well.

Thanks for your support in this project!  

 Mike and Joe 

Trip planned, tooling in process, packaging getting close
about 5 years ago – Wed, Mar 20, 2019 at 02:06:52 AM

We know, it's been too long for an update. 

We endured Chinese New Year and are working with the factory to get this project completed! There has been a lot of moving parts (pardon the pun) as expected, but we are finally getting some firm dates. There is definitely good progress and our factory is doing very well making sure things are done right.

Production samples with the new D2 steel will be completed in the next 2 weeks. 

Packaging is also part of the plan. We don't want to just throw some pointy things in the mail wrapped up in newspaper. We have designed some nice boxes for the Talon and Feather. They won't affect the delivery date, but it is something we have to manage and we want to keep you informed.

The Talon will be tightly nestled in some EVA foam along with the other components, and put into the box, as shown here:

The top of the box will look something like this:

The bottom of the box will look something like this:

The sides will also have useful information and images as well, but you get the idea. The Feather will have a similar designed box with the same length and width (smaller depth) for merchandising reasons. If we have any packaging designers/engineers out there, we would love some feedback.

Mojica is currently planning a trip in mid April for Quality Inspection. 

The factory indicated that the bulk of the production should be completed in May. Then the product will be packaged and on its way in June. 

This is later than we expected with the new material but we did not want to sacrifice quality for schedule. 

On a side note, our American Supplier, Go Prepared Survival, has delivered their Talon handle kits early. They look great and are ready for delivery.

We have decided to post an update at least every two weeks regardless if we are waiting for questions to be answered. We feel it will keep us more transparent and you better informed. 

On a random note with another product of ours: the firebiner®  was just listed as one of four essentials for knives and tools as part of their best gadget section in Backpacker Magazine (page 116, April 2019 Gear Guide)! Please look for it as it comes out! Likewise, are keeping to our standard to produce a quality product with our Phoenix Talon and Feather set!  

Thanks for your support 

Mike and Joe. 

Meeting with supplier ...first delay and handle options
about 5 years ago – Mon, Jan 28, 2019 at 09:47:42 PM

We had a great meeting with our supplier at the Shot Show in Vegas last week. They were very transparent and brought up things to work through, including manufacturing hurdles, design tweak suggestions, and overall schedule. 

We will get straight to it.  After several samples they concluded that the 9CR18 material has a larger span for hardness than what we anticipated. The HRC scale ranged from 58-62 across our first set and latest set of samples. 

We presented you with hardness in the 60's and felt that we need to do our best to deliver what we stated. The supplier is trying their best to deliver a consistent product and is working diligently to refine the heat treatment process accordingly. After some serious discussion, we have decided to change materials to D2. D2 will give us a consistent HRC 61 (+/-1). 

The good news is: this is a better and well known steel in the knife industry. And the other good news is, we will not be charging any up fee for this change. We just want to deliver a quality product. 

The bad news: Our supplier is currently stocked out of D2 and has placed an order. The order will likely cause around a 30 day delay. 

We felt it was worth the delay. We hope you feel the same way.  

The image below with the "dimples" near the finger guard are the result of Rockwell Hardness testing. 

In the campaign, we also discussed the possibility of offering the G10 handle in a different color-way...namely a bright camo option. We have had several backers reach out and express that they would like to have this option available. We listened to you and brought this idea of hand-dipping some hydrographics with our supplier. They are willing to do a small or large run as needed.

Below is a pic of the Phoenix Talon with the standard black G10 handle:

Below is the Prym1 "Fire Storm" hydrographics:

Below is an image of how we think the scales should turn out! We think it looks awesome! 

Click on the this link to be redirected to BackerKit and select the $5.00/Talon add-on for this hand-dipped camo option. 

We also ask you to leave a comment on this update so we can get some quick feedback and get the ball rolling.

Thanks again for your support and patience as we continue this journey together! 

Mike and Joe