This week we got our first peek at images from NASA’s new James Webb telescope, so astronomical talk has been in the air. But those of us in the know when it comes to knife stuff have had the stars on our mind for a bit longer than that, anticipating the release of the Ray Laconico-designed Andromeda through Artisan Cutlery.
The Andromeda is closely related to the Artisan Sirius, with a similar look to its spear point blade. At 3.42 inches long it’s just a tad smaller than the Sirius, but still falls into a mid-sized workhorse category, with lots of workable edge and a powerful-looking, center-aligned tip. It’s a thumb stud opener, and also the first time a Ray Laconico/Artisan collaboration has been outfitted with a button lock mechanism.
As they have done with other knives, Artisan is releasing prototype versions of the Andromeda ahead of the full production release. We’ve seen protos in both budget and premium configurations, with different steels suited to the different price points. Premium Andromeda comes in 20CV, a highly capable super steel; meanwhile the budget Andromeda comes in AR-RPM9, Artisan’s in-house powder metallurgy formulation that actually appeared on a non-Artisan knife recently, through new knife company RoseCraft Blades.
For the handle, Laconico gave the Andromeda a sort of modified hourglass body shape, with no no finger grooves or cutouts, but a flared butt-end to prevent the hand from sliding back. Two handle materials are on offer, a G-10 for the budget model and full titanium chassis for the 20CV variation. The clips differ too: a stamped steel, loop-over option on G-10 Andromeda, and, naturally, a sculpted titanium one for the premium variation.
You can get one of these prototype Andromedas now, directly from Artisan, if you act quick. Artisan has said that the model will be entering full production “very soon.”
Knife in Featured Image: Artisan Cutlery Andromeda Prototype
