Helle Raud (M) Folding Lock Knife

Helle knives are amongst the most respected and desirable brands of blades available to the hunter and outdoorsman. Mostly known for their handmade fixed-blade knives, they also offer a growing number of folders.

One of the latest additions is the Helle Raud (M) Folding Lock Knife. Breaking away from its usual build materials, specifically the blade, Helle hasn’t this time installed this knife with its own patented triple-laminated stainless steel. Instead, Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel is used for the super sharp 2.7” blade, while the red birch handle measures 3.7”. The latter makes the knife very cosmetically attractive but it’s equally highly functional.

Hard & tough

Red birch is essentially the heartwood of the black birch tree, which has a creamy yellow sapwood and a darker reddish-brown heartwood. The wood has a fine, even texture and is heavy, strong, and very hard, so no worries about standing up to the knocks it can endure out in the field. It also readily accepts staining for finish and more importantly, is highly resistant to water and temperature changes.

Sustainable renewable

Due to the trees that the handle material is taken from being a fast-growing species native to northeastern Europe, their abundance and speed of growth mean that there is minimal devastation or destruction of biodiversity when they are cut down. Woods classed as sustainable materials are such not only due to their fast-growing potential but also their carbon sequestration potential and the carbon offset value at the end of any product made from such wood.

Well-designed

This relatively compact lock back weighs 3.8oz and feels solid and secure in the hold, furthered by the ergonomic contoured handle design. The handle has forward contouring for the fingers to securely wrap around, and at the front, the company have thoughtfully integrated a finger choil into the design.

The strong and quite thick spined (0.106”) blade deploys with a single but deep thumb nick, plus it uses an incredibly secure lock back mechanism (familiar to other Helle folders), while the handle has an integral stainless-steel liner and a lanyard hole.

Conclusions

It’s heartening to see a company such as Helle Norway embracing the use of sustainable wood and renewable resources wherever possible. It did the same with the Kletten K by way of materials used in the build. However, coming back to the Raud (M), it’s an extremely well-built and solid folding lock knife that also has a removable pocket clip that’s cleverly designed to be adjustable for left and right-handed use. In fact, in this design, Helle has merged classic work knife durability and usability to make an ideal general-purpose field folder. Incidentally, there’s also a smaller version of the Raud (M) available that’s called the Raud (S). It carries all the same build qualities and features but obviously is smaller in handle, blade size, and weight.