From the beginning, I’ve wanted to make the Talon an automatic. The Hawk Lock is uniquely suited for an automatic knife because the lock can hold the blade both closed and open. The mechanism does double duty, which makes for a simple and efficient design.

The first Hawk Lock automatic was built about 15 years ago. It used what I called the Crossfire Safety, a mechanical button integrated into the lock itself. The idea was that a side-opening automatic should have a safety to prevent accidental deployment in your pocket. The Crossfire required two separate motions to fire the knife, but because the safety was integrated into the lock, both actions could be performed naturally in a single movement.

Over time, I started thinking about the problem differently. Instead of adding a safety, what if the button itself was protected? The Talon Auto solves that problem by placing the Hawk Lock below the surface of the handle. This recessed, subsurface design makes accidental activation difficult while still keeping the lock easy to access when you want it. Pull back on the Hawk Lock and the blade deploys automatically. Release it, and the lock engages.