Harbor Freight has announced a new ICON-branded EDC folding knife.
They made the reveal via potato camera at SEMA 2023.
The Harbor Freight Icon knife is going to feature a D2 steel blade, a flipper opening mechanism with “ultra-smooth” ceramic bearings, and carbon fiber-inlaid G10 handle.
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It’s going to launch for $39.99 and – from the box art – looks to be covered under a lifetime warranty.
Knife aficionados are going to immediately notice the Icon knife’s resemblance to the Begg Knives Mini Glimpse.
I bought a Begg Steelcraft Mini Glimpse (imported production model) a few years ago, and then returned it. It had the best flipper opening design I’ve ever experienced, but the styling was awful. Then, I came across the same knife with a 50% discount and bought it. At a 50% discount, I could look past the styling.
A few months ago, I noticed a new budget model came out – shown above – and I bought one of those for $79. I haven’t reviewed it yet, but I can at least tell you it’s fantastic.
That Begg Mini Glimpse knife also has a D2 tool steel blade and G-10 handle scales. Its flipper performance is about on-par with the pricier one I ordered a few years ago.
The $79 Mini Glimpse is still a bit outside my personal tastes and preferences style-wise, but it’s just about perfect with respect to function.
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So, now Harbor Freight has the Icon, and it looks a lot like the Begg knife.
Brand collaborations are common – different brands have made folding knives for Snap-on before – and it’s possible that Begg Knives or their OEM (Reate??) worked with Harbor Freight.
Here’s what the older Steelcraft Mini Glimpse looked like.
The Icon knife is not the same, but it at least looks heavily inspired by the Mini Glimpse.
Based on all of this, I see two possibilities.
First, the resemblance to the Mini Glimpse is going to lead to countless discussions in knife and EDC enthusiast circles. Is the Icon a rip-off? A copy? Inspired by the Begg knife? Or are the companies and OEM all working together?
There look to be some differences, and so I’m leaning towards thinking that maybe Harbor Freight contracted with a different OEM to produce a similar-looking knife.
That would also explain the price point – $40 is quite far from $79 for the current generation of Mini Glimpse knives. I don’t think Begg would work with Icon to undercut the prices of their own product lines, and most OEMs won’t transfer one brand’s designs to another label’s products.
Next, IF the Icon knife performs comparably to the Mini Glimpse, or other flipper knives in the $40 to $100 price point, it’s going to be a hit.
There’s no point in speculating about performance until the first knives hit the store shelves and enthusiasts start testing them.
One thing’s for certain is that the Icon knife is going to raise some eyebrows and spark a lot of conversations.
Hopefully Harbor Freight can provide us with some better photos and product details.
Can’t wait for the Icon? Consider the Civivi Elementum flipper at Amazon.
Pablo
I doubt HF sought permission from Begg Steelcraft. It could be that they simply sourced it from someone in China that was partially copying the design. This is why it’s important to obtain design patent protection, or at the least register a copyright on the work. I see a ton of knockoff knives from low end knives all the way up to Spiderco, Benchmade, and Chris Reeve Knives.
Don
I dont think China cares about our patent or copyright laws. They dont have to follow them. LOL
Phillip
China DOES have to follow US law for anything they sell into the US. This includes being liable under our patent and copyright laws.
Bob
You are of course correct. They are supposed to follow patent law. However, in practice they don’t. Unfortunately the lawsuit won’t go anywhere. Too many shell companies, International law, foreign adversarial government etc, etc.
They best you can hope for is to sue a USA based distributer, confiscate and destroy copies and/or block them from shipping more in.
I wish our government would get serious on this stuff. Forgetting about monetary harm, some of these products are legit dangerous. Lead paint, lithium battery’s burning down your house, malicious spyware etc.
Kieran
Mostly
Jp
The problem is China factories copy and make this stuff but by the time its found out about they close up shop and move on to the next venture so there is never any Justice for copyright infringement. I know this because I have battled this on some stuff I used to make that found its way to China and reproduced in mass quantities
Rwmmy
We don’t either when companies use a third party manufacturer snap on has sued harbor freight for rebadging their tools made in the same factories, they loss that case
D
They’re not rebadging. They buy direct from the same manufacturer that snap on uses. That manufacturer sells it to another company that then sells to snap on…its where snap on cost is…whereas you can make a business deal with said manufacturer since you’re ordering them by the thousands…They’re cheaper.
Xrh07
Most of the Icon products people in here are complaining about as copies are made in Taiwan….(ROC is not PRC, believe it or not.)
Maybe this knife isn’t, idk yet. But all the whinging over Taiwanese made pliers and ratchets/wrenches is already kinda funny.
Kieran
But also you can’t really patent something that anyone with basic skills in metalwork could do. Smithing is about passion, precision and art. Which is why I prefer Opinel knives.
Tom
It’s different enough not to infringe on the patents. Where’s the holes in the Icon blade?
That’s all it takes to get past a patent.
It’s also why Harbor Freight won the jack battle with Snap On.
The same thing applies to recipes. Change one ingredient and it becomes your recipe, and not a rip off of someone else’s recipe. I had friends that worked for a local Italian Restaurant. They were mistreated by management and opened their own Italian restaurant using similar recipes. They got sued, and the Court compared the recipes and said they were different. Case dismissed. They went on to buy out the original two restaurants, and then lost every thing to cocaine and partying. Lol
OldDominionDIYer
Gonna have to have a closer look, but I like the value
Maddogrecurve
Be careful, D2 is great steel! But a hollow grind and improper heat treat could mean that the blade will break.
RLS
You are spot on with D2 steel. I actually like D2 alot but the problem is many of cheap knives that use D2 do not properly heat treat it. The numbers is all over the place. It can be a really good blade that holds a decent edge and sharpens quick. Unfortunately even within the same company it changes from one batch to the next.
Nathan
Under 3 inch blade and id consider it
David
I like the bigger knives with Around 3.5 inch blades and 4.5 inch handles. It looks like it has a really big flipper tab though and no thumb studs.
Peter Dickinson
And I want a 3.5 to 4 inche blade with a carbide glass breaker. Average weight or more, strong/thick blade. Takes on a razor edge. To me, the public is obsessed with monster or macro size. I want utilitarian size and performance
Joe E.
Harbor Freight’s ICON copying other tools in typical Harbor Freight ICON fashion.
I’m so glad Northern Tool is opening close to me soon.
Fred flintstone
And Northern Tool only sells USA made brand items. Noted sarcasm.
Joe E.
I’m sorry you’re confused. I never mentioned anything about USA brand items.
Xrh07
Yeah, they just sell a bunch of the same stuff HF does under the Ironton brand instead.
And NT has awful customer service on top of it all.
And if you like having your orders constantly canceled because they don’t know how to run a website then NT is the place to go.
If you want Milwaukee stuff then you should be going to Maxtool or HD or Acme anyways.
Albert G. Martinez
You also failed to mention icons excellent quality at a fraction of the price and a lifetime warranty which leaves the “name brand” buyers feelings hurt.
Bob
Right, ICON is so wild, often literal copies of Snap-on down to the font and part number scheme. Why not change the color at least? Blows my mind. Maybe trying to imply they are “from the same factory”
Bonnie
They probably are from the same factory. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a lot of third shift gear for sale at HF.
Bob
I see this is exactly why they did it lol The pliers/wrenches/ratchets/extensions/sockets from ICON are made in Taiwan, the Snap-on originals are made in USA
Brad
Possibly same factory, but even then, quality can vary greatly, even if it’s made with the same equipment due to quality control, materials, etc.
Robert
When I first read the headline, I thought Harbor Freight’s AI had hacked your website. But reading on I guess it’s possible for HF to rock EDC. I think that price point will be compelling to their customer base and bring in foot traffic, depending on how smartly they market it. Their marketing has seemed to lose steam lately.
Stuart
This product is going to create both controversy and fervorous demand. How would that *not* rock the enthusiast users and online communities?
Robert
Stuart, I was generally agreeing with you.
Stuart
I know – I was stressing the point. =)
A
I don’t think the “EDC community” will even give this thing a second look. It’s just another cheap knife. In a world with Civivi and CRKT I doubt anyone who knows what they are looking will care. It’s gonna sell to some dad’s in harbor freight and that’s about it.
Stuart
We’ll see soon enough.
Chris
That last sentence in your last comment sums it up nicely. You could of started with and ended the whole thing with just that. It wouldn’t be a bad beater to keep in the tackle box for a few less dollars, but at that price, you can aquire a decent budget knife from a good brand. They should put a 29.95 price tag on it, I think it would actually benefit them 😄
Stuart
Why couldn’t this be a decent budget knife?
MM
It might be a great budget knife, we’ll see when they’re in people’s hands and the quality becomes known. Some of HF’s knockoff products are terrible, others are excellent.
But I agree with A here, even if the knife is great value for money I think a lot of the EDC crowd will pass right by it simply because it’s a HF product, because its cheap, or because they don’t like the fact that it’s a ripoff of Begg. For many people EDC gear is like jewelry and they want to flash a premium knife whenever they open boxes.
Stuart
That’s very possible, and I’m betting detractors are going to be very vocal about their feelings.
Consider all the chatter and ranting there is about Olight.
William D Jefferson
You haven’t seen the sale price yet.
Matthew Christensen
Complete trash. I’m a custom maker and talked with Mark from Begg knives and the HF is a total ripoff/Clone! Never support clone knives I don’t care of “affordable” they are. It’s trash
Brad
Do you apply that principle to all products, or just knives? I’m categorically anti-knockoff, although I understand that comes at a premium that not everyone can afford.
Colin
I’m poor and I’d like a knife, I’ll probably get one of these…..
Jack
Yeah that mindset is not practical. Neither is the price point of the Begg. Not saying it’s not worth the price just saying it’s not practical.
For me EDC is about being practical. May not be true to most.
Harbor Freight knockoff here is leaning closer to practical then the Begg.
Harry Davis
Over the years, I’ve found quite a few very good edc knives for under $50, and a bunch of knock-offs that preform just as good as the original and for less money. China has alot of good knives coming to the America, and just because they are Chinese doesn’t make them bad. I have a few in my edc rotation and in my bug out and camping gear. One huge benefit is if it gets lost or broke I’m not out much and I always have a few backups. I say, let’s see how it preforms and holds up.
Rich
I just use a cheap knife. Rather loos a 5 or 10 dollar knife than one more expensive. As long as it cuts n services my needs. I’m happy…
mikedt
Spec wise it seems like a good deal. You’d pay pretty much that for any “name brand” knife out there and the other knives selling at this price point are also made in China so that’s a wash. The only downside is the possible stigma of it being from Harbor Freight.
If it had thumb studs instead of a flipper tab it would probably make it into my collection.
Jared
I think there is value there too. Cf inlays in G10 is already a step beyond most sub $50 D2 flippers – but those scales are contoured too, which is more time consuming to manufacture than flat slabs.
Bruce
D2 heat treat is fairly involved with some pretty high priced tooling required for good production results. I would be surprised if a $40 knife could have that level of time in production to get good results.
Jared
There are plenty of knives around that price in D2. “Sub-$50 D2 Flippers” is now a whole category.
I suspect HF paired with a manufacturer already producing knives. No reason to think they couldn’t make a decent one.
Jack
You realize these aren’t made by Harbor Freight right?
Most store brands you see out there aren’t made by the store. It’s not like Kirkland batteries are made by Costco. Costco isn’t in the battery business for example.
Harbor Freight partners with a manufacturer asks to build something to their spec. They have enough buying power to buy in bulk to reach the price point they need.
Jim
When is this knife going to be available at our local harbor freight?
Stuart
Harbor Freight only says “soon.”
Jared
Is the grey knife what HF will be selling? It looks to have a different blade grind than the black one from the Sema photos (and those scales are a lot more attractive).
Wayne R.
I don’t have any particular feelings against this sort of knife, and admit they appeal to some hormone-fueled part of me (like a big pickup truck does). I have a couple of knives in the overall family of this one.
But I never use any of them. Aside from carcass disassembly, what do you guys do with them?
A few years ago I pulled out a tiny SAK to open some boxes and a co-worker howled at my comedy, and he whipped out a Crocodile Dundee BMF to show me what a “real knife” looks like. But I was just cutting tape on a box.
So, on one hand, I get it, but on the other, I don’t.
James
This. Thanks for asking.
I carry a 1” (25mm) Olfa in one pocket and a SAK (Evolution maybe?) in the other. SAK blade gets used for food but is mostly there for grooming (toothpick, fingernail scissors, nail file) with the odd use of the woodsaw / corkscrew / reamer / tweezers when need arises. The Olfa covers everything else, and I also have mini diagonal cutters in a pocket for zip ties and such.
We have lots of scissors, a full set of Cutco in the kitchen, axes / lawnmower / chainsaw, you name it, but never (ever) have I encountered a situation where I needed (or even wanted) a hunting knife, except when I grew up in Newfoundland and was dressing rabbits or ducks.
I see all the hype around the knives and I sort of see the appeal but other than a collection, what do I need one for?
Stuart
Functional pocket jewelry.
Martinez is selling a batch of 100 polished titanium hammers for $500 each right now.
Folding knives are useful. Most people can stop at $15-20. At higher price points, there are features and functionality benefits. At even higher price points, there are style and taste choices. At even higher price points, it’s all about collecting and, from what I’ve seen online, flexing.
I bought a couple of fixed blade knives from an outdoors company to evaluate. They’re useful in the shop, but it’s a shtick. I bought one of their small kitchen knives, and now – 2 years later – I am desperately waiting for their next production run so that I can buy another. It beats everything else in my knife block.
The difference between a $50 folding knife and a $25 knife is in the blade steel, handle materials, and ease of opening. The same is true at the $100+ price point up to an extent.
And, it’s also pocket jewelry.
A lot of tools can do the same task. I have my preferences, and sometimes they bring a little joy to an otherwise mundane task.
Consider how many styles of watches there are. Shoes. Wallets. Keychains.
Parallels can be drawn to a lot of everyday products. Pens, pencils, etc.
Jared
I mostly agree with this view. I think I count as a pocket knife enthusiast and I would draw a parallel to other tool categories to explain the appeal.
E.g. You can easily spend $100 on a set of 6 PB Swiss screwdrivers. How much better are they at turning screws than a $20 set from Wera? A little, but not a LOT.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t differences though. Tip geometry, steel, handle materials, finishing, etc. The little stuff makes the price rise rapidly but the utility only a little.
On the other hand, how much better is the $20 Wera set than a $10 set from Stanley? I recon that’s a lot more obvious.
The same thing happens with knives. A $40 Sencut in D2 and G10 is noticeably better than a $10 Gerber with a 7cr blade. They both cut (just like Stanley and Wera screwdrivers both turn screws).
Step up to a $200 Knife from WE and it will likely use steel that’s tougher, holds and edge better and is more stainless than the D2 from Sencut, but you will need to use the two for awhile to notice.
I think around $50 the objective “performance” benefits of spending more becomes less obvious. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
Do you need 1000 year old ancient bog oak scales to open Amazon packages? What about a blade steel you can leave in salt water for years without staining to dispatch a few cable ties? Do you want to baton wood with your pocket knife?
Probably not, but it’s fun.
James
I’m all for collecting whatever the heart fancies. I’ve been collecting keychains since I was 3 or 4 and talk about a never ending pursuit…..just add a split ring on……..anything. Lol.
I’m sure I’d appreciate someone’s knife collection given the opportunity.
928'er
Watches!
Paul Newman’s circa 1969 well used (beat up) Rolex Daytona Cosmograph (which Joanne Woodward bought for for him for ~$300) sold at auction in 2017 for – wait for it…
$17,800,000! Yeah, you read that correctly – $18 million for a watch…
Jody
Yea they paid that much to display it next to the1990 bottle of Newmans own salad dressing, it is great iconic conversation pieces when they have social gatherings. You can tell what time the social event gets over and that’s pricless.
James
I went down a YouTube rabbit hole last night on pocket knives. Oh boy. There’s a whole world out there I never knew existed. How (I won’t bother with the “why”) does someone fit 13 pocket knives in one pair of jeans? It was all a bit ridiculous but I now understand this post a little better.
Stuart
I like Nick Shabazz’s reviews and commentary. A lot of others pander, hype, or BS too much.
https://www.youtube.com/@NickShabazz/videos
I didn’t see any about how many pocket knives can be loaded to a pair of jeans, but there’s stuff like that in every industry. You clicked and watched a bit of it, didn’t you? I wonder if that was rage-bait.
James
Haha I dunno what the bait was, but this fish was biting.
Here’s the video I was referencing. I don’t really recommend it but at the end there is an employee at whatever place they’re at and she just starts emptying her pockets. I didn’t actually count the knives but there were way too many.
https://youtu.be/nlds3otwhI4?si=7LOrRBm5SZiDxwQ7
Scary stuff. I’m holding fast to my SAK and Olfa.
Stuart
So, CRKT is a manufacturer, and their products are designed both in-house (I think?) and through collaborations with independent designers.
It looks like the designers were all together at some kind of CRKT event.
I’d expect a knife designer to show up to such an event with a pocket knife. A dozen might be a bit much, but I doubt that’s their everyday carry.
There’s a special term for someone that carries way more than they really need to. There’s EDC, and then there’s being a Mall Ninja.
James
Haha mall ninja. I’m going to use that.
Brad
Nailed it. I have a great Leatherman that’s proved very useful at times, but I can’t recall the last time I felt I needed a fancy knife. My guess is that most people just collect them, and I guess that’s fair game. Hell, I collect antiquarian books and vintage tools, so I have no room to talk, except maybe to puzzle about how something currently being produced for retail can be considered a collector’s item.
Mark M.
Mmmmm I’d go with “yawn” as opposed to “rock”. Offshore-made D2 flippers–good, bad and ugly–are a dime a dozen. Civivi , Off Grid and Kizer as examples . They will sell some and maybe it’ll be a sleeper hit but I doubt it.
Chris
FYI, these knives have been in stores for a couple of weeks now. A few members of my HF Facebook group have them.
Matt
That price range is filled with D2 folder knives from china that have great finish and design (Civivi, et all.).
Also that is around the price range for the Ontario RAT 2 in D2, which is my EDC. The RAT is a great tough knife that works great for me. So that isn’t particularly cheap. Like all D2 takes a lot of touch up to keep a good edge.
Steven Parker
I bought one. With a 20% off Icon coupon it was $32. It’s well made. The blade was centred. It rockets out when you flip it. And it was sharp out of the box. It even has a milled clip. When I checked out, the clerk stared at it long and hard. He didn’t even know they had it. I get why Begg Knives would be upset. But I doubt the average Harbor Freight customer has even heard of Begg Knives. It will be interesting when a YouTuber gets a Glimpse and the Icon side by side and compares them.
Joe Raver
So when does the ICON drop in stores? I read the whole article and all the comments and there is no mention of a release date or anything…
Stuart
Harbor Freight didn’t provide this information. All I’ve seen was “soon.”
There’s no web listing yet. I plan to check local stores over the weekend.
Steven Parker
They’re in stores now. I bought one yesterday. I went in again for some drill bits and checked the Icon knife stock on my way to the cashier. They had seven yesterday. They’re down to one today. I don’t know if they had more stock in the back.
Andres
That’s a hilarious statement. I know quite a few EDC people, they would never look at this knife. I bought a USA assembled edc knife and they all made fun of me. Not saying it isn’t a good product, but EDC people look at knifes/guns or whatever as jewelry. So it’s deff not going to rock the EDC world.
Stuart
Depends on the group. A lot more people are interested and in the market for a $40 folder than a $400+ custom or midtech.
Paul
I live much closer to the HF than Ace or any big box store, so I will buy some stuff there. I’ve purchased some of the Icon branded products using a coupon of course, and for the money spent its really a lot better than it should be! So for the $32 this will cost with the 20% coupon, I’m sure that they will end up selling a lot of these knives, maybe not to the EDC community, but to idiots like me who will stick the coupon in their wallet and go to HF when bored to go look around.
Bobby
For the price it looks solid. Curious how the action is. Hopefully they used something other than the ball clip. I definitely prefer14C28N over D2, but D2 is decent as long as you don’t expect it to be stainless.
Steven Parker
The action is very snappy. And it has a milled clip.
Jeff D Gibson
The thing is that it’s ugly. Little handle, and the blade shape doesn’t do anything for me. I use knives pretty much every day. Cold winter day cutting hay strings with gloves on this knife would be a pain to hold on to. This knife would end up being a drawer knife.
Chaz
Is EDC code word for obsessive? What happened to pick a knife and go with it?
Do knives only last 45 days now?
Jack D
Already sold out at my Harbor Freight. Hopefully I can still use my 20 percent coupon on it when it gets back…a few more days left.
Jason
Ask for a rain check
D
And…They’re selling out..I can’t find one
Beobear
We bought two yesterday, they only had four in stock and the employees said they were selling out as fast as they put them on the rack. As to the question whether they are “that good”? They are better. I am shocked this knife is this good at this price. It’s butter smooth, the blade is very nice, very good edge geometry, every bit is high quality and it’s extremely sharp from the factory. If you can find one, buy one.
Farkleberry
It’s great how HF keeps improving quality and bringing more competition to the budget pro level tool markets.
I find these straight ripoff designs offensive, but I’m not sure they ripped off the right design.
I googled this model, Icon KDP3, and watched a YouTube review by a channel called ThingsMen. It seems like the ergos on this knife are a bit strange, specifically the handle length and shape, and flipper shape and placement.
It looks to me like a knife (and the original it’s based on) shaped to stand out in an extremely crowded market. Obviously I haven’t tried it, and like anything else that interacts with different body shapes and sizes, and applications, YMMV.
I do like how HF omitted the milling in the center of the blade from the original.
I really like a lightweight 3-3.5 flipper blade, with liner lock. I totally agree with this macro trend.
I don’t understand the micro trends though. I thought Kershaw Skyline was a fantastic knife but was discontinued. The Kershaw Chill is even lighter and smaller but less to hold on to for lots of cutting, but it too seems frequently discontinued and brought back.
The Civivi suggested seems like a great design, I’ve wanted to try it out for a while.
I have a couple powdered metal folding knives, but am not sure where they really fit in. If cutting a ton of tough stuff, a fixed blade’s handle will be much more comfortable and easier to keep clean.
Anymore, I really want a blade that won’t rust a ton, takes a nice edge, is easy to touch up and resharpen, and won’t chip with minor abuse, even if it won’t hold an edge forever.
I don’t have any D2 blades , but wonder if the drive for very hard, (and high speed cutting capable) steel is not really representative of most use cases. I’ve had great luck with AUS 8 (=8Cr13MoV) and VG10, but it seems they are getting a reputation as low performance steels. Hopefully manufacturers will continue to produce them with quality heat treatments at low prices.