Hawk Talon Auto Exclusive: One Configuration, One Show
Hawk built this Hawk Talon Auto Exclusive for Blade Show West 2026 and at the time this knife was uploaded, it was the only one available online. A DLC-coated titanium frame and a matching DLC Bohler M390 blade. Then solid titanium inlays anodized light gold, each milled into a honeycomb of raised hexagons.
We bought it at the show from the Hawk Knives. We have looked since and found no other listed in this spec.
The gold is the only color on the knife. Everything else runs black or dark grey, so the inlays read like brass fittings on a blacked-out tool. That contrast is the entire design argument.
From a Gold Claim in Idaho to the D.O.G. Lock
Grant Hawk spent twenty years prospecting and building mining equipment before he made knives. He worked on a principle he stated plainly: make everything you need out of anything you can find.
So the habit came with him when he started building blades in the mid-1990s. He worked alongside his son Gavin, in a small gold mining town in the Idaho mountains. Customers wanted folders. Grant designed the D.O.G. Lock, and CRKT licensed it. Then came the Ti Lock, developed with Chris Reeve Knives, then the Hawk Lock, then the Deadlock OTF.
Grant died in November, aged 82, at home in Idaho City. Gavin runs the company now and designed this piece, working on mechanisms the two of them built across thirty years. The same lineage runs through our brightwashed Talon Auto in Black Ops Marble. The rest of what we hold sits on the Hawk Knife Designs brand page.
The Slide That Sits Below the Scale
Most automatics put the firing control where a pocket can reach it. This one does not. The thumb slide sits below the surface of the inlay, down in a milled pocket. So firing it takes a deliberate press and drag rather than a brush.
That is the safety. Not a switch you remember to set, but the geometry of where the control lives. A seam, a key or a car seat cannot find it.
Once open, the Hawk Lock holds the blade. It is ambidextrous and it engages with no play in either direction, which is the trait the family built its name on.
Hawk Talon Auto Exclusive Blade: DLC M390
Bohler M390 is a powder stainless with high chromium and vanadium, so it holds an edge and resists corrosion well. Hawk ground it here as a sheepsfoot, closer to a modified Wharncliffe, with a straight edge running to a dropped point.
Over that sits a DLC coating, diamond-like carbon, which is harder than the steel beneath it and cuts glare to almost nothing. Our Poikilo Blade AL-Khem runs the same M390 in a very different piece.
One thing worth knowing before you look at the gallery. DLC photographs unreliably. In direct sun the blade reads mid-grey, and out of it the same blade reads near black. The frames here show both.
Hawk Talon Auto Exclusive: Gold Honeycomb on DLC Titanium
The inlays are solid titanium, not an overlay bonded to something cheaper. Hawk milled a honeycomb into them, leaving raised hexagonal flats separated by cut channels, then anodized the whole inlay light gold.
Anodized color on titanium is an oxide layer grown by voltage rather than a paint or a plating. Nothing sits on top to chip, and the hue shifts slightly with the angle you hold it at.
The frame underneath takes the DLC treatment too, as does the hardware. The Gripclip is the exception, left in bare tumbled titanium with deep scalloped jimping where the thumb lands.
Hawk Talon Auto Exclusive Condition and What’s Included
This knife is new. We bought it at Blade Show West 2026 directly from Hawk, and nobody has carried it since. The action fires crisply and the lock engages without play. Read how we assess a piece on our grading standards page, and browse the rest of our direct from maker inventory.
It ships in the full factory kit, including the box label that names the configuration.
- Hawk Talon Auto, Blade Show West 2026 exclusive configuration
- Factory box labelled Talon Auto DLC Anodized Honeycomb Titanium
- Zippered Hawk Knife Designs pouch
- Pivot tool
- Hawk Balm
Hawk Talon Auto Exclusive Specifications
The model, finish and configuration come from the factory box label that ships with it. Browse comparable pieces in automatic knives.
- Overall length, open: 7.90 inches
- Blade length: 3.50 inches
- Cutting edge: 3.30 inches
- Closed length: 4.60 inches
- Blade thickness: 0.15 inches
- Weight: 4.40 oz
- Blade steel: Bohler M390 powder stainless
- Blade finish: DLC, diamond-like carbon
- Blade style: Sheepsfoot, modified wharncliffe
- Edge: Plain
- Action: Automatic
- Deployment: Subsurface thumb slide on the show side
- Lock: Hawk Lock, ambidextrous
- Frame: DLC-coated titanium
- Inlays: Solid titanium, light gold anodized, 3D-milled honeycomb
- Pocket clip: Hawk Gripclip, tumbled titanium, tip-up right-hand carry
- Date made: October 2026
- Country of origin: United States, Idaho City, Idaho
- Condition: New
- SKU: 00221-HKD-TALONAUTO-BSWEXCL-GOLDHNYCMB-20261001
- Included: Factory box with configuration label, zippered pouch, pivot tool, Hawk Balm
Video Description: Bladeshow West Exclusive – Hawk Auto
This new Hawk Talon Auto Exclusive is a Blade Show West 2026 configuration from October 2026. The blade is Bohler M390 powder stainless at 3.50 inches, finished in DLC. Hawk ground it as a sheepsfoot, closer to a modified wharncliffe. The cutting edge measures 3.30 inches. The titanium frame takes the same DLC treatment, so the knife reads dark everywhere except the inlays.
Those inlays are solid titanium, milled into a raised honeycomb and anodized light gold. A subsurface thumb slide fires the blade. The ambidextrous Hawk Lock then holds it open with no play. A tumbled titanium Gripclip carries it tip-up. It runs 7.90 inches open and 4.60 inches closed. Gavin Hawk designed it in Idaho City, Idaho. It ships in the labelled factory box.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes this configuration scarce?
Hawk assembled it for one show. Blade Show West 2026 pieces come off the bench in small numbers, go onto the table, and the spec is not repeated afterward. We bought this one there and have found no other listed in DLC with gold honeycomb inlays since.
Why does the blade look grey in some photographs and black in others?
Because DLC reflects differently depending on the light. Shot in direct sun against a gloss background, the coating reads mid-grey. Away from the highlight, the same blade reads near black. Nothing differs between those frames except the angle.
Can a subsurface slide really prevent a pocket misfire?
That is what the geometry is for. The slide sits down inside a milled pocket rather than standing proud, so a finger has to reach in and drag it. Fabric pressing flat across the scale cannot apply that motion, which is why Hawk recesses it rather than fitting a separate safety.
Will the gold anodizing wear off?
No, because it is not a coating. Anodizing grows an oxide layer in the titanium itself, using voltage. So the color is part of the surface rather than sitting on it. Deep scratches can cut through the layer, but normal handling will not lift it.
How does the Hawk Lock differ from a frame lock?
A frame lock uses a cut section of the handle as the lockbar, so it works from one side. The Hawk Lock is a separate mechanism that releases from either side, which makes it ambidextrous without a second cutout. Our knife knowledge section covers mechanisms in more depth.
Does We Buy Knife Collections actively support the broader knife enthusiast community?
Yes. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, We Buy Knife Collections is a curator and purveyor of fine custom made folding and fixed-blade knives. We are dedicated to the high-end custom knife community and we support knife rights advocacy.
Following our commitment upgrade in April 2026, we are proud to hold an AKTI Premier Membership, supporting the American Knife & Tool Institute’s vital advocacy and lobbying for knife owners, makers, and the future of the industry.
Buy This Hawk Talon Auto Exclusive
We photograph and describe every piece honestly, and we bought this one from the maker’s own table. See what else we hold on the Hawk Knife Designs brand page, or talk to us about selling your collection.
Automatic Knife Legal Notice
This is an automatic knife. Laws governing purchase, possession, and carry vary by state, county, and municipality.
The buyer must know and follow the laws that apply where they live before ordering. We do not give legal advice. For current state-by-state information, consult the American Knife and Tool Institute.
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