The Montana is a mid-sized folding EDC, and set to drop in early June.
Clearly not feeling the need to walk far for the name, the Montana Knife Company’s first ever folding EDC pocket will be called the Montana, and seems to have been meticulously engineered to be a hard use knife.
The MKC product page is very detailed, but here are the quick specs:
- 7.625″ overall
- 3.25″ blade
- Magnacut steel
- G10 handle scales
- Deep carry pocket clip
- 2.84 oz
- Made in Montana
What’s a Little Different: Hard Liners and Big Bearings
Outwardly, it looks like a decent pocket knife with a slight trailing point blade, but they’ve apparently done some careful work with the internals to get the knife as strong and snappy as they could:
They made the liners slightly harder than average in order to avoid the handle bending under tightened grips. That would also follow to the liner lock itself. They took some pains with the geometry of the liner lock itself as well to get it to interact more gently with the blade tang for the purpose of increasing the life.
They also claim they use “oversized silicon nitride ball bearings” in a bronze cage for the pivot to make it feel more rigid and stable and create a stronger bias toward being closed when closed without making the action too stiff.
It’ll be a Custom Feeling for a Custom Price
While this is a first for MKC as a company, it’s not exactly a new design for the designer and Master Bladesmith Josh Smith, who has a long history of making custom folders. This is just the first time he’s put this kind of design into production, and MKC seems keen to make sure the production version still has some of the custom feeling to it as they are taking some pains with the engineering and machining of it.
All that work will come at a price. Currently they have listed for $390. That number probably isn’t surprising for those already familiar with MKC, though.
The Montana folding knife will drop on June 6, 2026, and based on the way MKC’s knife drops tend to go it will sell out fast, so keep your eyes peeled.
It looks like MKC set out to produce a tough knife with premium materials. That challenge with expensive knives is that many of us tend to avoid using them in hard-use type situations. MKC may have just manufactured the knife that solves that dilemma. We will see.
I’ve been shying away from expensive folders for a few years now. Blame it on having them lost, stolen, or confiscated. Mostly due to being drunk, and then waking up the next day realizing I lost that $200-plus folder. No bueno.
So, I wised up and spent the equivalent amount of money of one high-end folder and picked up a few of a less expensive model. That would be the Buck 345 Vantage Select. Since it was discontinued a while ago, I was able to find a few used ones off of eBay and restored them to almost new. Providing me with a nice, little stash in the event one is lost, stolen, or confiscated. All of which have happened to my beloved folders.
But wouldn’t you know it, the nostalgia bug has imbedded it’s head deep into me as of late. So now I’ve returned to my trusty ole Buck 112 Ranger for my EDC. The knife that I was first smitten by as a young, budding cutlery junkie back in the 1980s and carried into the mid 90’s.
Anyhoo… It’ll be interesting to see how the MKC Montana does. I’m sure it’ll make a great Safe Queen for a lot of folks… LOL.. And I’ll be looking forward to y’all’s review on it.
See y’all on the Gram,
Jaime
@jldarchery
Yeah, we’re curious to see how this goes for them. The Montana seems cools, but it’s a rough time to release a new knife that costs over $200. MKC seems to have done okay in their price range up to now, though.