Recently, gun-grip maker extraordinaire, Hogue decided to venture into the knife world. Collaborating with legendary knife maker Allen Elishewitz, Hogue has released it's "Extreme" series of knives. As a big Elishewitz fan, I had to score one of these blades for myself. Shown here is the Tanto version in a stonewashed 154cm steel with G-Mascus G10 handle scales. The knife has some interesting features;

* Button Lock
* Blade Lock (for both open and closed positions)
* No steel liners; this makes for a very light knife.
* Relatively thin profile; this makes the knife easy to conceal in modest attire.

The build quality on this knife is outstanding. From the lock mechanisms to the blade grind lines, each facet is very well executed.

The design shows obvious evidence of Allen's unique style; very impressive!

As excellent a knife as this is, I do have a couple of "knocks":

* The handle is too thin for my liking.

* The knife lacks balance due to the thin handle and lack of steel liners. It is "tip-heavy".

* The G10 need the aggressive texturing evidenced in the "gunner-grip" patch located everywhere except under the pocket clip (which only has a single tip-down location).

* The knife is more expensive than justified though the overall quality is superb.

If Hogue addresses these few weak-spots, their knives will be truly spectacular.