There are a lot of excellent custom knife makers out there. Many of them are relatively "undiscovered". Then there are those few who rise above even the most talented of fellow craftsmen. Their names are well known to serious collectors. Indeed, they have a status that can best be described as "legendary". Such is the case with custom maker Allen Elishewitz.

His designs are extraordinarily unique. His approach defies the mindset of many; he hand builds his knives without the use of CNC equipment. Old-school, manual stock-removal is the method Allen favors. Some would think that such an approach would result in a flawed product. Not so with Allen! Such is the incredible skill that this maker possesses!

People who have delved into my photo page have probably seen the photo of my Elishewitz Anubis folding knife. Truly, this is an absolutely incredible piece of blade artistry and craftsmanship.

The knife shown here is Allen's Omega M2. This design is the second folding knife that Allen created. Recently, he decided to revisit this design with a VERY limited run. These are not production knives...so the word "limited" has an even more "special" meaning than we're used to seeing in the knife world. Prior to the limited run of the M2, Allen did a similar run of his Omega M1 design (which is a breathtaking folder). I had the painfully horrible experience of missing an opportunity to land an M1. I've been kicking myself ever since. Allen's designs are so sought after that his small runs sell out so fast that if you aren't right on top of it, you'll miss. Well, I nearly missed on the M2 shown here! I contacted Allen as soon as I heard that he was releasing (or re-releasing) the M2. Unfortunately, his site showed them all as being "sold out". Well, God blessed me abundantly! Allen informed me that another buyer "fell through" and that he had one M2 available. We'll, needless to say, I was on it like white on white rice! I scored the knife the same day. Talk about a cliff-hanging experience!

So...lets talk about this ABSOLUTELY SCINTILLATING KNIFE:

* It's good sized folder at 9 1/4" overall with a 4 1/4" blade. I absolutely love the shape of the blade; elegant and yet aggressive. Made out of 154CM steel, this knife came scorching-sharp. Take a good look at the blade. See that it features a two-tone finish? Simply incredible (it is a mixture of stone-tumbled and satin). Now...if you blow the picture up and look "even closer", you may be able to make out the very subtle etching of Omega M2 and the knife number (each knife is uniquely numbered). Notice the brass Elishewitz emblem on the left-face of the blade. Pure class. Nice touch! The thumb stud is unique...and illustrates Allen's very unique sense of design. In terms of function, I've never felt more perfect spine jimping than is included on the M2. It's a magnificent feeling folding knife!

* The same stone-tumbled finish on the blade is applied to the titanium bolsters. AWESOME! The handle scales are OD (or ranger) green G10 and nicely textured. Note the smooth joining of the G10 and the bolsters. Hallmark workmanship! The knife features other unique elements. Perhaps the most unique of these is the bolster-lock. This system works very similarly to a frame-lock. And...OF COURSE...the lock-up on this knife is immaculately perfect. The handle spacers (which can't be seen in the photo) are a wonderfully enjoyable design that really provides strength to the knife.

Allen's M2 opens like lightning on steroids. This is every bit as fast as the Anubis model that I have in my collection. In other words, the Elishewitz folders are the fastest-opening knives that I've ever handled.

Even early-on, Allen's incredibly unique design sense was apparent and the M2 is an incredible testament to this! Equally unique is the absolutely mind-bending level of quality evident in Allen's knives. I've never seen better. Ever.