Budget folding knives usually show you where the money went. You get a molded nylon handle instead of milled metal, a coated blade instead of a polished one, and a house brand steel instead of a name you know. The black Artisan Cutlery Revel 1867P has all three, and it still comes with a button lock and a ceramic bearing pivot.
Price: $39.99
Where to Buy: Amazon
Ray Laconico designed it, it sells for $39.99, and the blade is AR-RPM9 steel hardened to HRC 59 to 61. None of that is fancy, and the spec sheet doesn’t pretend it is. We’re always looking for everyday carry knives we can trust enough to keep in the rotation, and being new isn’t a requirement. The knife also shares its blade shape with the most expensive Revel in the line, which is the part worth explaining.
What AR-RPM9 Buys You at This Price
AR-RPM9 is Artisan Cutlery’s own stainless steel. The company makes it for itself and for its sister brand CJRB instead of buying a steel that other makers use, and it lists the Revel blade at HRC 59 to 61. The RPM in the name looks like it stands for powder steel, but Artisan’s own steel page says the process is spray forming, which isn’t the same thing. When we looked at Artisan’s Sirius folder back in May, the expected edge holding came out closer to 440C than to a powder steel.
So judge this steel on how easy it is to sharpen, not on how long it stays sharp. That hardness is high enough to get you through a week of boxes and packaging, and low enough that you can bring the edge back with a cheap ceramic rod instead of buying diamond plates.
The blade is 3.54 inches (90 mm) long with a 0.13 inch (3.2 mm) spine, and it’s a flat ground clip point. For context, a flat grind leaves more steel behind the edge than a hollow grind does. That makes the edge a little stronger and a little worse at slicing, so the 0.13 inch spine tells you more about this blade than the grind name does.
The finish depends on which color you pick. The black version, listed as 1867P Black, comes with a black PVD coated blade, while the mint green one gets a stone wash. That coating adds a layer of rust protection, which matters if you carry in humid air or sweat through a pocket, and it hides scratches better than a bare stone wash does.
The Button Lock Does More Than Look Modern
Button locks aren’t rare at this end of the market anymore, so the point isn’t that this one is new. It’s that you can open and close the knife with one hand without putting a finger in the blade’s path, and that’s what you notice on the tenth close of the day, not the first.
Artisan pairs that lock with a ceramic ball bearing pivot. Bearings usually mean the blade swings open freely once you release the lock, and that smooth action is what people are paying for when they pick bearings over plain washers.
Where 105 Grams Lands in Your Pocket
The 1867P weighs 105 grams, or 3.7 ounces, and folds down to 4.53 inches (115 mm). Open, it measures 8.07 inches (205 mm). Those are mid-size numbers, not ultralight ones.
The handle is FRN, which stands for fiberglass reinforced nylon. It’s molded instead of cut from a solid block, so it keeps both weight and cost down, and it won’t pull heat out of your hand the way metal does in January. What you give up is the solid feel and the milled texture you’d get from titanium or aluminum.
The pocket clip is steel, and Artisan doesn’t list it as reversible on the FRN model. If you carry left handed, check the listing photos before you buy.
A 3.54 inch blade is also too long to carry legally in some cities and states. Local limits are written in inches, so check that 3.54 inch number against your own rules before you order.
What Changes as You Move Up the Line
Artisan lists seven versions of the Revel, and all of them use the same 3.54 inch clip point blade shape. What changes as the price goes up is the steel, the handle, and the lock, and that splits the line into four price tiers.
| Model | Steel | Handle | Lock | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1867P (black, brown, mint green) | AR-RPM9 | FRN | Button lock | 105 g (3.7 oz) | $39.99 |
| 1867G-BU | S90V | FRN | Button lock | 103 g (3.63 oz) | $89.99 |
| 1867T-AR | AR-RPM9 | Titanium | Frame lock | 113 g (3.99 oz) | $89.99 |
| 1867G | S90V | Titanium | Frame lock | 107 g (3.77 oz) | $199.90 |
| 1867G Limited (200 pieces) | MagnaCut | Titanium | Frame lock | 107 g (3.77 oz) | $249.99 |
That list tells you what the FRN model is for. You’re paying for the blade shape and the one hand lock, not for fancy materials, and the three titanium versions are where the money goes into the handle and the steel instead. If you want this shape in your pocket without paying collector prices, the cheapest one is where you get it.
The Bottom Line
At $39.99, the Revel 1867P asks you to live with a molded handle. You get a button lock, a bearing pivot, and the same blade shape Artisan puts on its $249.99 model. That’s a fair trade if you use a knife instead of collecting it, and it lands on the same shelf as the D2 and crossbar lock folders under $50.
Skip it if you want a metal handle, a clip you can swap sides, or a blade short enough for a strict local limit. The titanium 1867T-AR covers the metal part at double the price, though Artisan lists it as sold out, and a strict blade limit means shopping outside the Revel line.
Price: $39.99
Where to Buy: Amazon
Buy it if you want a mid-size working knife and you’d rather put the money into the blade and the action than the handle. As of July 26, 2026, the black FRN version is the one linked below. If you’re still picking a brand to trust, start with our rundown of EDC knife brands.
Gerber Gear Suspension 12-in-1 EDC Multi-Plier Multitool with Pocket Knife, Needle Nose Pliers, Wire Cutters and More, Gifts for Men, Camping and Survival, Grey
(as of July 26, 2026 09:32 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
