This knife was designed by Flavio Ikoma. It has a ball bearing pivot and is perfectly balanced when you flip it. The blade steel is Chinese 8Cr13MoV which I don't love, and the stainless steel handles are on the heavy side. I wish they had been skeletonized to bring the weight down. That said, I really love this knife. It is absolutely gorgeous and flips open like a drew. The thumb hole is a tad awkward, but who cares, it is so much fun to flip open.