Keys, wallet, phone, Gent: Our third collaboration with Ferrum Forge Knife Works, the Gent is the classiest, most portable, and most affordable to date—and this upgraded Select version comes with your choice of high-quality rosewood, lightweight carbon fiber, or G-10 scales. Made to fit just as well in a pair of blue jeans as a pair of slacks, it’s also small enough that you’ll hardly notice it in your pocket. The 3-inch blade, made from premium CPM-S35VN steel, is suitable for anything from opening packages and cutting loose threads off a shirt, to slicing an apple and removing staples. Crafted with a 6AL4V titanium frame, the handle features a deep-carry pocket clip for tip-up carry on either side.

Measuring 6.6 inches long and weighing just 2.4 ounces, the Gent Select is a take-anywhere folder that outperforms its small stature. Thanks to the caged bearing system—a mechanism used in nearly all of Ferrum Forge’s custom knives—it flips open effortlessly with a press on the flipper tab. Once open, the blade won’t close on you: It locks in place by way of the titanium frame lock, a characteristic not found on many gentleman’s folders. Like the Crux, the Gent Select sports a single clean line from the tip to the pommel, which, in combination with the thick blade and lightweight frame, creates superb visual and physical balance that you’ll feel right away when handling the knife. And, thanks to your input, we’ve redesigned the pocket clip, too. It now supports tip-up deep carry for both righties and lefties. Made from stainless steel, it’s polished to a satin finish.

Developed by Crucible Industries (one of the leading manufacturers of specialty steels for the cutlery industry) and Chris Reeve (pioneer of the integral frame lock, featured on the Gent), S35VN is perhaps the most balanced blade steel ever created in terms of all-around performance. It’s made through a process known as Crucible Powdered Metallurgy, which results in near perfect consistency in the distribution of carbides. Compared to conventional melting practices, the CPM process produces a steel characterized by superior dimensional stability, grindability, and toughness.

Founded in 2009, Ferrum Forge started from humble beginnings in Elliot Williamson’s garage in Southern California. Using found pieces of steel like old files and leaf springs, Elliot gradually taught himself the art of knifemaking and metallurgy. As his skills and passion grew, so too did the demand for his work. Luckily, Elliot’s brother Chris joined the team in 2012 to help expand Ferrum Forge to what it is today: a small operation dedicated to designing and producing custom knives through a rigorous process of development, machining, iteration, and quality control.