Veteran designer Ostap Hel will soon see his latest fixed blade design roll out in collaboration with Real Steel Knives. The Astral is a full-on tactical design, an angular take on the classic two-edged dagger.
The Astral seems designed to be a discreet, low-profile piece, but looking at pictures it’s got a blade shape that’s hard to ignore, a 3.27-inch spear/dagger shape, perfectly symmetrical down the center line. Unlike many dagger-style knives produced today, the Astral does come with an edge on both sides, so be aware of that if you live in an area where that may be prohibited. Every knife company seems to settle on a few ‘favorite’ steels for their models and RSK is rolling out the Astral in one of theirs, Bohler-Uddeholm K110.
Now, the name K110 may not be a super familiar one, but the recipe is, as this is a proprietary equivalent to D2 from the Austrian steel company. Thus K110 offers solid edge retention and toughness, with its only major downside being the fact that it falls short of a full stainless categorization; that shouldn’t be too much of a problem on the Astral in particular, however, because all three variations come with full blade and handle coating, be it Cerakote (for the coyote and green versions) or DLC (for the black option).
Released without scales and heavily skeletonized to be as compact and lightweight as possible, the Astral’s handle is a symmetrical, coffin-like shape. There is extensive jimping on both the top and bottom sides, which work in conjunction with the double finger guard to keep the grip where it needs to be. All of this weight-conscious design pays big dividends in the carry department, because the Astral weighs just 1.87 oz. It comes with a Kydex sheath.
No official release date on the Astral yet.
Knife in Featured Image: Real Steel Knives Astral
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