French martial-artist Fred Perrin unleashes his skills as a knife maker!

The custom knife creations of French martial artist turned knife-maker Fred Perrin represent a balance between function and design. Drawing inspiration from his background in the savate system of martial arts, Perrin has designed a series of knives that attempt to allow the user to store and engage his blade designs without excessive or awkward body movement. The most notable of these designs is Perrin’s La Griffe.

For the March 2014 issue of Tactical Knives, Michael Janich, himself a martial-arts and self-defense expert, explored the Perrin line of knives. Janich was immediately impressed with Perrin’s movement-conscious designs, particularly with the La Griffe models, which feature an index-finger hole in the knife’s ricasso. “This feature allows the knife to remain securely in the hand while the fingers are free for other work,” noted Janich. “It also allows the knife to quickly pivot around the index finger from a cutting grip to a palm-reinforced thrusting grip to work like a push dagger.”

Perrin’s larger knives include a “Compact Street Bowie,” a 2.5-ounce boot-style knife with a 4.375-inch blade. According to Janich, “…It combines all the salient features of the Street Bowie design with the sleek skeletonized construction of [Perrin’s] other mid-tech pieces to yield an amazingly flat, lightweight and concealable knife that offers full-service performance.”

For the full review, check out the March 2014 issue of Tactical Knives, available on newsstands and digitally November 19, 2013. To subscribe, go to /.