Bird of Prey - Create with Nabalis 2024

V2

Aesthetic Innovation

I aimed for an aesthetically pleasing design, as many trainer blades often fall short in this area. I decided to incorporate aluminum inserts in the blade, creating what I call a mosaic blade. This approach also provided unique control over the knife’s balance.

V3

Blade Concept Development

I developed over 20 different blade concepts before committing to the aggressive Bowie profile, featuring a yellow-to-blue lower insert and a black upper insert. This design creates a sense of motion and shifts the blade weight toward the tip, improving flipping performance.

V4

Harmonizing Handle Design

With a blade I was satisfied with, I redesigned the handles to match its thinner, sweeping aesthetic. I reduced the overall dimensions, added a slight taper, and rounded the corners. Additionally, I incorporated a mild blue-to-purple fade on the handles to unify the color scheme.

V5

Refining the Blade Shape

I briefly considered revising the blade shape to emphasize the “beak” by blending features of a Bowie and a kukri. However, I found that subtle changes to the beak geometry while retaining the overall profile yielded the best results.

V6

Logo Development

With the help of my designer friends, we developed a logo that matched the tone of the blade and served as the “eye” of the knife.

V7

Fine-Tuning the Design

After finalizing the main design, I spent weeks in my design software refining small features and fine-tuning the knife’s balance to ensure it performed as well as it looked. This involved finding the perfect weight and balance for fast flipping while maintaining the inertia needed for flow-based tricks.

V8

Exploring Color Patterns

The last major design step was selecting an alternate color pattern. I experimented with a “redtail hawk” design, which swapped the blue-yellow “Kingfisher” palette for a red-based scheme. Ultimately, I wanted a colorway that radically altered the knife’s perception, leading to the creation of the “osprey” pattern, characterized by stark black and white contrasts to the Kingfisher.