LYCAN An elegant EDC tool designed to cut, write or smash! by Sander Bakker SplinterSeed — Kicks

LYCAN - An elegant EDC tool designed to cut, write or smash!

A beautifully crafted compact pen that can turn into a handy knife and a tungsten carbide glass breaker. Made from titanium or aluminum.

While designing Lycan, my goal was to create another beautiful yet functional every-day-carry blade, which can also become a pen. Its subtly curved sleek silhouette opens at precisely the golden ratio point, revealing the blade or pen. A silicone rubber seal provides just the right amount of friction to keep the cap screwed on when the Lycan is not in use. The hole in the cap is sized to accommodate a carabiner key ring, or a ball chain necklace. Both are included.

Lycan’s exterior comes in different varieties, all precision machined from either high grade titanium (Ti6Al4V) or aluminum (6063). The aluminum versions have a smooth satin finish with a slight sparkle and are available in six carefully selected colors. The coloring of the aluminum is achieved through an anodizing process. It is absolutely permanent and will not rub off over time. The red color is bold and bright. Conversely, the olive is muted and understated. The teal and ocean colors appear fresh and cool, while the natural and black appear lush and classy.

A light and strong material like aluminum is perfectly fine for crafting a product like the Lycan. But some might prefer the increased strength and heft, along with the luster of polished titanium. I am offering custom electro anodizing on the titanium Lycan only. It is a manual process which allows for unique color combinations and even a rainbow version. Since this is a manual process that I personally perform, each Lycan treated in this way will be unique and will display slight color and pattern deviations. Titanium electro anodizing is also permanent but can fade a bit over time. However, its lushness can be revived with a thorough cleaning.

All versions have a tungsten carbide car glass breaker tip, which is permanently attached to the butt of the shaft via a friction mount, ready for action. Car windows are notoriously hard to break, and for good reason. But tempered glass does not stand a chance against the tungsten carbide back tip of the Lycan, Obviously, this particular use of the Lycan is intended for emergency situations only. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to use it in this way, I do want to stress that you protect your and any bystanders' eyes and limbs from the shattering glass. In addition you should be aware of your local laws regarding damaging other people’s property in emergency situations.

The blade design of the Lycan is robust and beefy, but sleeker than previous designs of mine. It is five times thicker than a disposable Exacto blade, and much more suited for puncturing stubborn packaging materials. The blade is screwed into the holder by hand and can be exchanged effortlessly for the pen or a replacement blade. The steel shaft of the blade also extends quite far into the blade holder to ensure a reliable transfer of lateral prying forces you may want to exert on the blade, The size of the Lycan is carefully chosen so that it can be held firmly in the hand when using it as a knife. Its length also allows it to be held comfortably as a pen and yet it is still small enough to be carried as a keychain.

The unique geometry and features of the blade require a mass production process, which is limited to using certain types of steel stock. From experience I have learned that unlike larger blades, the usefulness of a blade as small as this relies heavily on its geometry, and less so on the type of steel used. The 420 stainless knife steel stock offered by our manufacturer is cut into its basic shape while in the soft state. After this it is hardened, polished and shipped to me. This allows me to control the final and crucial part of the blade production.

I will grind the cutting edge of each blade by hand to the exact angle I want it to be. I have gained a lot of experience grinding edges from previous projects, It is one of the few processes in modern mass production which still requires the human touch. The result is a blade that performs its task of light every day cutting perfectly fine. I designed the Lycan to be upgradeable, since the blade is replaceable. In the future I would like to explore offering different blade shapes and possibly also different materials.

You have to order one of these before it's too late!
https://lycan-an-elegant-edc-tool.kckb.st/shop-express