Brand · Knives & Tools
Havalon knives are folding knives built around a replaceable blade, the kind a surgeon would recognize, for skinning and field dressing. Instead of sharpening the edge, you pull the dull blade off and click a new one on. The lineup adds two-blade folders, a resharpenable everyday knife called the REDI and a multi-tool. Here's the thing: inside this brand the big choice isn't steel or shape. It's how you want to deal with a dull edge. (I taught kids to sharpen chisels for thirty years. I have feelings about this.)
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On this site, Havalon knives fall under two product types: folding knives and multi-tools. Inside those, the grid above splits into four groups:
The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go. So I'll write about the groups and what separates them, not about how many of each are listed this week.
Most of the specs in the grid come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks those values. Many Havalon listings leave fields blank. Where they do, the grid shows a dash, and so do I. For blade names and what comes in the box, I went to Havalon's own catalog.
The Piranta-Edge is the one the maker calls its best-selling knife. Havalon's catalog describes a blaze orange handle in what it calls military grade polymer, and the Piranta-Z as the same design in all black. Both packs include spare 60A blades, a nylon holster and a blade remover.
The Piranta-Z listing in the grid adds the details a shop teacher looks for first: a liner lock, a thumb stud for opening, a pocket clip and a blade a bit under 3 inches. That's a small knife. It's meant to be.
Here's the thing about the 60A blade. It's thin and very sharp by design, a scalpel shape on a folding handle. Havalon says it redesigned the blade to be 20% thicker, with a tab at the base to help removal, so it better resists breaking when you twist it. That tells you what the blade is for: slicing. Not prying, not twisting through a joint.
These two change the handle, not the blade. Per the catalog:
The Forge listing in the grid mentions thumb studs on both sides, which suits a left-handed hunter. Both take the same 60A blades as the Edge.
The bright handle matters more than it sounds. A knife set down on leaves in November disappears faster than a coffee cup at a Sheetz. (Danny once asked if the orange came in a color he'd lose less often. It doesn't. There isn't one.)
The skinning knife page covers skinning shapes across brands, and the pocket knife page covers folders and locks.
The Titan puts two blades on one handle, one at each end. Havalon's catalog describes the replaceable Quik-Change blade on one end and a permanent, cryo-hardened AUS8 blade on the other. The pack includes 60A blades and 70A blades, the blunt-tipped kind for caping.
The idea is plain and simple: the scalpel blade for the fine work, a conventional blade for the jobs that would snap a scalpel. The grid lists Titan versions in more than one color. Same knife, different paint.
The EXP is all black with a tanto-style blade, a shape with a strong, angular point. Its listing in the grid names AUS-8 stainless steel and a blade just over 3 inches. The maker adds the Quik-Change fitment, so the EXP also carries replaceable 60A blades, with a holster and refills in the pack. Havalon's own site calls it a tactical knife, and the catalog says it suits hunting or everyday use.
The Hydra is the kit version of the idea. Havalon says it's the only one of its knives with fitments for both Piranta and Baracuta blades. The Baracuta blades are the brand's larger ones, including a fillet blade. The kit comes with a spread of blade styles and a zippered holster. It's the knife for someone who wants one handle for deer in November and fish in May.
The REDI is the brand's step away from throwaway blades. The maker says it took over three years of development, and that its REDI-Lock system swaps semi-permanent AUS-8 blades that are made for extended use and can be resharpened.
Per the catalog, each REDI includes:
It's also the first Havalon with spring-assisted opening, per the maker. To change a blade, Havalon says you push the button and slide the fitment. That's a knife for the pocket every day, not only for the hour after the shot. The everyday carry knife page lays out that category across brands.
The Evolve is a multi-tool with a Havalon blade in it. The catalog lists:
The maker's pitch is one tool instead of a pack full of them. Rule of thumb: a multi-tool is worth carrying if you'd use the pliers at least as often as the knife. At deer camp, that's the stand hardware, the blind zipper pull and the truck. More on the type is on the multi-tool page.
Havalon also makes fillet knives (the Baracuta and the Talon), taxidermy scalpel blades and handles, and craft blades. This site doesn't list those types, so they aren't in the grid. If you see a Baracuta blade mentioned above, that's why: the Hydra kit uses it.
This is the real decision. The Piranta blades are made to be swapped, not sharpened: when one dulls, you put on a new one. The REDI and the Titan's fixed blade are made to be sharpened like any other knife. If you like a fresh edge with no stone in the pack, the Piranta side is yours. If you'd rather keep one blade for years, look at the REDI.
My one opinion on this page: carry something sturdier than a scalpel blade for the heavy cuts. Havalon itself made the 60A thicker so it better resists breaking with a twisting motion, and built the Titan with a fixed AUS8 blade on the other end for the strength. That's the maker telling you where the line is. The Titan and the EXP put both blades in one handle. A single Piranta plus a sturdier knife on the belt does the same job in two pieces.
Cold, wet hands decide this more than looks do. Hold the knife in a glove if you can, because you'll use it in one.
The Piranta packs come with a nylon holster that holds the knife and spares. The Piranta-Z and REDI listings mention a pocket clip. Rule of thumb: keep the spare blades in the same place as the knife, every time. A replaceable-blade knife with its spares back in the truck is just a dull knife. The hunting knife page covers carry options across brands.
Change blades with the knife closed or locked open, as the instructions for your model say, and with your fingers away from the edge. Havalon's catalog describes its blade remover: snap it around the blade, press and pull. Use it rather than your fingertips. Put used blades in a hard container right away, not loose in a pocket or a pack.
AKTI's knife safety guide says to cut away from your body and to keep your fingers out of a folder's path when you close it. For field dressing, Cornell's Wildlife Health Lab recommends a dedicated set of tools, washed with soap and hot water between animals.
A replaceable blade takes the sharpening off your list. It doesn't take the cleaning off. The handle, the lock and the blade fitment still collect hair, fat and grit. AKTI's maintenance guide recommends:
Pull the blade before you scrub the fitment, and dry the whole knife before it goes back in the holster. Rule of thumb: a nylon holster that goes in wet comes out smelling like the truck floor in March.
Both brands come up in the same searches because both make replaceable-blade hunting knives. The differences are in the system:
Outdoor Edge's about page says David Bloch founded the company in 1988 in Colorado. If blade length is what you're shopping for, compare the blade sizes on each maker's list. The Outdoor Edge brand page has more.
Here's what I could verify from the maker's own pages:
The maker's site doesn't give a factory location or warranty terms, so I left them out. Ask Havalon's customer service before you count on any coverage.
Keep the spares with the knife and the knife with you.
What the maker states is checkable: the Piranta line uses its 60A blade, which Havalon says is 20% thicker and 30% stronger than its older 60XT blade, and every Piranta pack includes spare blades and a blade remover. Whether one suits you depends on the job. A replaceable scalpel-style blade is made for slicing hide and meat, not for prying or chopping.
Havalon's catalog lists the Piranta-fitment blades: the 60A that comes with every Piranta, the older 60XT, the blunt-tipped 70A for caping, a gut hook, the 22 and 22XT for fine caping work, and a saw blade for the Evolve. Baracuta and Talon handles take their own blades, and REDI blades fit only the REDI.
The maker designs the Piranta blades to be replaced when they dull, not sharpened. The REDI is the exception: Havalon says its AUS-8 REDI blades are made for extended use and can be resharpened. The Titan's fixed AUS8 blade, on the other end of the handle from the replaceable one, is a permanent blade too.
Havalon's own about page names Havels, a maker of surgical cutting tools for medical professionals, as its parent company. It says Havalon took that blade experience into a folding hunter's scalpel, the Piranta. The maker's site doesn't say where the knives are made, so that's left out here.
The product grid on this page links to Havalon listings on Amazon US: Piranta folders, two-blade models, the REDI and the Evolve multi-tool. Havalon also sells knives and replacement blades on its own site. Some knives may not ship to every address; Amazon shows that at checkout. Knife carry rules vary by state, so check your state's rules.
