Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Back the Lander 5 on Kickstarter: kickstarter.com/projects/benbanters/knafs-lander-5-small-edc-pocket-knife
I wanted to design a "first knife." You know the one: when someone asks, "What's a great first knife?" That's what I wanted to create, and I wanted it at a price point anyone can afford, especially smiley 12-year-old kids like I was.
Enter the Lander 5. The baseline price is $29. It's for the kid just learning to whittle. It's for your neighbor Larry who likes knives, but enthusiastically ruins them. Or anybody looking for a great $29 knife.
The design process on the Lander 5 wasn't straightforward. And I failed pretty hard core initially. See, I design for four different brands: Knafs, WE, Civivi, and MKM. There should be common design language between all my models, but they should not feel like copies of each other. Which became a pretty big problem in the middle of this project. When we received the first round of prototypes, I realized it was too much Baby Banter. So, Matt Fitz and I went back to cardboard to restart the process with a slimmer design and a thumb hole.
Where we landed is a knife that is delightfully different from my previous models. For one, it's my first thumb-hole opener. As a guy who loves a drop point and thumb stud, this is a big deal. It's also a frame lock -- a first for me. And it's my first sub-$40 knife. Plus, I'm perfectly pleased with how it turned out. And that's exactly what we wanted.
Back the Lander 5 on Kickstarter: kickstarter.com/projects/benbanters/knafs-lander-5-small-edc-pocket-knife
I wanted to design a "first knife." You know the one: when someone asks, "What's a great first knife?" That's what I wanted to create, and I wanted it at a price point anyone can afford, especially smiley 12-year-old kids like I was.
Enter the Lander 5. The baseline price is $29. It's for the kid just learning to whittle. It's for your neighbor Larry who likes knives, but enthusiastically ruins them. Or anybody looking for a great $29 knife.
The design process on the Lander 5 wasn't straightforward. And I failed pretty hard core initially. See, I design for four different brands: Knafs, WE, Civivi, and MKM. There should be common design language between all my models, but they should not feel like copies of each other. Which became a pretty big problem in the middle of this project. When we received the first round of prototypes, I realized it was too much Baby Banter. So, Matt Fitz and I went back to cardboard to restart the process with a slimmer design and a thumb hole.
Where we landed is a knife that is delightfully different from my previous models. For one, it's my first thumb-hole opener. As a guy who loves a drop point and thumb stud, this is a big deal. It's also a frame lock -- a first for me. And it's my first sub-$40 knife. Plus, I'm perfectly pleased with how it turned out. And that's exactly what we wanted.
