Klecker Knives has, like many start-up companies, has closed
its door and gone out of business.
I never like hearing about businesses failing. They, I’ve always believed, are the engine of
American prosperity. While the mega
companies spend and hire more, I’ve always believed they have no loyalty to a community
other than the financial balance sheet.
The small companies, with its roots in the community, hiring from the
community is better for the community.
Enough of my soap box on that.
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| Like many emergency tools, the KLAX offered a limited assortment of wrenches, a hammer head, a knife edge and what appears to be a gut hook or seat belt cutter-style edge. |
Klecker Knives was started by Glenn Klecker, former Marine
who started the company in 2011 with his son, Nathan. They made a range of interesting products,
ranging from plastic knife-making kits for children to his award-winning KLAX,
a folding axe head. The KLAX was his
headliner.
I remember the excitement about this axe head at the Blade Show
when it was first announced. The axe head
uses an ingenious clamp system to allow you to slide the relatively thin head
down a split wood branch and then rotate the clamping arms out of the plane of
the axe head. Tightening the clamping
arms fixed the axe head to the branch.
The implication being all you need to pack, when traveling
light, is the light axe head and you can make an emergency hand axe. The few videos and examples I saw were made
with branches that were sawn off, which suggests an important limitation. Even so, the concept is very intriguing.
The only difficulty I saw was in harvesting the branch and
splitting it, both activities would benefit from having a hand axe. A prepared wooden shaft would solve that
complication and allow for easier packing in bug-out or three-day pack.
Their inventory has been auctioned off but I don’t know
about the name rights, I suspect Glenn will keep ownership to Klecker
Knife. Many companies are interested in
purchasing designs so we may see Glenn involved with sharp edges in the future
again.
Will the KLAX become a collector item? Find one and let me know in a decade.
