Hacksmith Smith Blade 21-in-1: Why This Kickstarter Multi-Tool Is Turning Heads

Introduction

If you follow everyday carry gear, you have probably already heard the noise around the Smith Blade, a new multi-tool folder from Hacksmith Industries currently running on Kickstarter. It has already raised $6 million, making it the highest grossing Kickstarter ever in its category, and it has not even hit the midway point of the campaign yet.

That level of interest comes with plenty of questions, and the biggest one is obvious: is it worth it? Is $250 too much for a folding multi-tool? After looking closely at how it is built, what it competes against, and where it sits in the market, the short answer is that the value case is stronger than most people assume. Here is the full picture.

From Idea to Canadian Production

When Hacksmith Industries first teased this product about a year ago, the plan was a price around $150 with most tools manufactured overseas in China. Things have changed. All of the premium titanium frame lock models in the lineup are now being made in Canada, in house, at Hacksmith itself.

That is a major departure from the original plan, and it explains both the price shift and some of the misunderstandings circulating in the community. It also sets up the most important question: what does a $290 MSRP folder, currently around $250 on Kickstarter, actually buy you?

Why the Price Makes More Sense Than You Think

Let us be clear upfront: $250, or the eventual $290 MSRP, is a lot of money. Nobody should pretend otherwise. But calling it poor value is where the argument falls apart.

A comparison across the biggest folding knife retailers, including Smoky Mountain Knife Works, Knife Center, and Blade HQ, shows how rare this kind of spec is under $300. Sampling titanium frame lock knives in M390, or its American equivalent 20 CV, exactly two models come in under $300 as a base price: the DPX Gear Heat F at $285 in M390 and the ZT 0022 in 20 CV. Both are very small knives with blade lengths below 2.5 inches, nowhere near the same size class.

Expanding the search to all American-made titanium frame lock knives under $300 yields fewer than six currently in stock, and none in anything beyond S35VN or S45 steel. The Smith Blade’s 3.35 inch blade is the longest of anything in M390 with a titanium frame lock in that comparison, and that is judging it purely as a folding knife with no other functionality at all.

In other words, as a folding knife alone, it is technically cheaper than anything comparable being made in America. Considering Canadian labor costs are slightly higher and more materials need to be imported, it is genuinely surprising the in-house version is viable at all.

What Makes It Different as a Multi-Tool

The Smith Blade is not just a knife. The 21-in-1 premium version packs a full implement set into the same frame, including a 15 degree protractor with multiple detent points around the blade. That protractor gives the knife a very distinctive sound and feel when opening, something genuinely unique in the knife world.

The attention to detail extends to international users: there is a non-locking blade option designed to be legal in Europe, under three inches in blade length and compliant with German and UK restrictions. That kind of thorough thinking is rare in the multi-tool market, and it speaks well of the design philosophy behind the whole product.

A Big Deal for Knife Collectors

For collectors, two qualities matter most: exclusivity and uniqueness. The Smith Blade scores unusually high on both.

Searching for any other Canadian-made modern folding knife with premium materials, titanium, M390, or anything comparable, turns up zero production models. The only knives close are semi-custom pieces like Grimmo, starting well into four figures. Over five years and more than a thousand different folding knives passing through review, not a single Canadian-made folder ever appeared.

That makes this potentially the only Canadian-made premium folder you will be able to find at a production price, which carries real weight for the collector’s market. For one of the 40 million plus Canadians looking for a multi-tool to be genuinely proud of, the argument is even stronger: comparable tools like the Leatherman Arc cost dramatically more in Canada, reportedly around $450 Canadian, versus $250 for the Smith Blade.

The Weight Story: 95 Grams With 21 Tools

The most impressive single number is the weight. The 21-in-1 premium version weighs just 95 g, or 3.3 oz, including everything on board.

For context, that is approximately the weight of the Pioneer X, the 93 mm Swiss Army knife, or around the same as the Huntsman. It is even lighter than the Tactile Knife Co. Maverick with titanium scales, which weighs 3.9 oz, 15 grams heavier, and that is a plain knife with no integrated multi-tool function.

The implications go further: combined with a small pocket plier such as the Knipex 100 mm Cobra, the total setup may end up lighter than a Leatherman Skeletool in some configurations. If that holds up, the impact on both the knife industry and the multi-tool industry could be significant.

Buying Advice

If you have been considering backing this one, the timing matters. The Kickstarter price sits around $250 versus the $290 MSRP once it reaches retail, so backing early saves money if the concept appeals to you.

Who should seriously consider it:

• Collectors who want an exclusive, genuinely unique folder in their rotation
• Canadian buyers, for whom domestic production and local pricing make this a far better proposition than imported alternatives
• EDC enthusiasts who want a featherweight titanium frame lock folder in premium steel, with the bonus of 21 integrated tools

Who should think twice: anyone hoping for a $150 budget multi-tool. That was the original plan with overseas production, but the in-house Canadian manufacturing pushed this firmly into the premium tier. At that price the value is defensible, but it is not a casual impulse buy.

Conclusion

The Smith Blade 21-in-1 is unusual on almost every axis: a premium Canadian-made titanium frame lock folder in M390 with a 3.35 inch blade, 21 tools, and a 95 g total weight, priced against knives that offer none of that extra functionality. At $250 on Kickstarter versus a $290 MSRP, the value argument holds up better than the sticker shock suggests. If it fits your collecting interests or your everyday carry needs, this is one of the rare campaigns where getting in early makes real sense.