John Gray Slitter V2 Recurve in Blurple Sculpted Titanium
The John Gray Slitter V2 Recurve is a frame lock folder in solid sculpted titanium, anodised to a shifting blue-purple the community calls blurple. The blade is CPM MagnaCut at 63 to 64 HRC in Gray’s Dark Rain acid wash. It runs 8.75 inches open at 4.2 ounces. Condition is excellent, with no wear and no blemishes.
This is a custom knife, and the word means something specific. A custom is a unique, handcrafted tool designed and built by one craftsman, or a team of craftsmen, rather than stamped out in a factory. The steel, the blade shape, the handle material and every decorative choice are tailored by that person, by hand and with the help of specialised machinery. No second one exists.
Gray built this on 19 June 2026 as an exclusive for Bladerunner Outpost, and it sold through Whatnot. It carries the number 002. Our guide on how to choose a custom knife covers what you are buying when a knife is made this way.
MagnaCut at 63-64 HRC, and What That Costs
CPM MagnaCut is a relatively recent American powder stainless, designed to break the usual trade between corrosion resistance and toughness. Most stainless steels buy rust resistance with free chromium that forms coarse carbides and makes the steel more brittle. MagnaCut is formulated so the chromium stays in solution.
The result is a stainless that behaves like a tough carbon steel. That is why it has moved through the custom world so quickly.
Gray ran this one to 63-64 HRC. That is the hard end of the range for MagnaCut, and it is a deliberate choice rather than a default. Harder means better edge retention and a more stable apex, and it means less forgiveness under impact. On a 4.5 inch folder that is the right trade, because you are cutting rather than prying.
The finish is Dark Rain, Gray’s own acid wash. It reads as a mottled dark spatter over the flats rather than a uniform stonewash, and the practical effect is that it hides the scratches and pocket trails a working knife accumulates. See our other folding knives in comparable steels.
The Recurve, and Why It Is the Rare Part
A recurve puts a concave section in the edge near the heel, so the blade curves inward before sweeping out to the tip. It lengthens the cutting edge without lengthening the knife, and it draws material into the belly on a pull cut instead of letting it slide.
The cost is sharpening. A straight stone cannot reach into the concave section, so a recurve wants a rod or a curved hone. Anyone who has owned one already knows this, and anyone who has not should know it before buying.
Most Slitter V2 builds leave the shop with a straight or tanto edge. This is the recurve configuration, which is why it was worth doing as an exclusive rather than as part of a general drop. Compare it against the Slitter V2 in tanto, the same platform with a different blade.
Sculpted Titanium and the Blurple Anodising
The handle is solid 6Al4V titanium, both sides, carved in Gray’s Sculpted Rocked and Barked hybrid pattern. The surface is cut into deep parallel ridges with a broken, bark-like grain running through them, so the hand finds purchase without the sharp texture that shreds a pocket.
Carving that pattern is where the hours go. Each ridge is cut individually, and the depth and rhythm vary across the scale because a person is making the decision rather than a program repeating one.
Anodising titanium is not paint. Passing current through the metal in an electrolyte grows an oxide layer, and the colour you see is interference from light reflecting off that layer. Change the voltage and the thickness changes, and the colour with it.
Because the surface is carved rather than flat, the oxide sits at different angles across every ridge. That is what produces the blurple shift, blue in one light and violet in another, and it is a consequence of the texture rather than a second process applied over it.
The pocket clip is titanium, anodised to match, set for tip-up right-hand carry. The pivot runs on ceramic bearings.
Condition and What’s Included with This John Gray Slitter V2 Recurve
Condition is excellent. There is no wear and there are no blemishes. We inspect every knife in hand before we photograph it. Our published grading standards let you check this description against what arrives.
It came out of a private collection rather than direct from the maker. The certificate is signed by Gray and records the build date, the model, the steel and hardness, the Dark Rain finish and the sculpted titanium.
Both pouches are here, the maker’s own and the Bladerunner Outpost pouch the exclusive shipped in. Read how we handle provenance on pieces that arrive with their original paperwork.
- John Gray Slitter V2 Recurve folding knife
- Certificate of Authenticity signed by John Gray
- Pouch from the maker
- Bladerunner Outpost pouch
John Gray Slitter V2 Recurve Specifications
The model, build date, steel, hardness and finishes are taken from the certificate signed by the maker.
- Overall length, open: 8.75 in
- Blade length: 4.5 in
- Cutting edge: 4 in
- Closed length: 4.5 in
- Blade material: CPM MagnaCut
- Hardness: 63-64 HRC
- Blade style: Recurve
- Blade finish: Dark Rain acid wash
- Lock type: Titanium frame lock
- Action: Manual
- Deployment: Flipper tab
- Pivot: Ceramic bearings
- Handle material: Solid titanium, 6Al4V
- Handle texture: Sculpted Rocked and Barked hybrid
- Finish: Blurple anodised
- Pocket clip: Titanium, anodised to match, tip-up right-hand carry
- Weight: 4.2 oz
- Date made: June 19, 2026
- Country of origin: USA
- Condition: Excellent, no wear or blemishes
- SKU: 00205-JG-SLITTERV2-RECURVE-BLURPLE-20260619
This piece is preowned and came from a private collection. Browse our other preowned knives.
Video Description: Slitter V2 Recurve
The John Gray Slitter V2 Recurve is a preowned custom folding knife in excellent condition. The blade is CPM MagnaCut at 63 to 64 HRC, 4.5 inches long with 4 inches of cutting edge, finished in Gray’s Dark Rain acid wash. The profile is a recurve. He built it on 19 June 2026 as an exclusive for Bladerunner Outpost.
The handle is solid 6Al4V titanium on both sides, carved in a Sculpted Rocked and Barked hybrid pattern and anodised blurple. The lock is a titanium frame lock and deployment is a flipper tab running on ceramic bearings. The clip is titanium, anodised to match, tip-up right-hand carry. Overall length is 8.75 inches open and 4.5 inches closed, at 4.2 ounces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why run MagnaCut at 63-64 HRC rather than the usual 61 or 62?
MagnaCut was formulated so that chromium stays in solution instead of tying itself up in coarse carbides. That is what lets it hold corrosion resistance without the brittleness most stainless steels pay for it, and it is why the steel tolerates being run hard better than its predecessors did.
At 63-64 you gain edge retention and apex stability, and you give up some impact tolerance. On a 4.5 inch folder that is the correct side of the trade, because the knife is a cutter. It would be the wrong choice on a chopper.
What does a recurve actually gain you, and what does it cost?
It gains cutting edge without overall length. The concave section near the heel adds edge in the same footprint, and on a pull cut it draws material into the belly rather than letting it slide off toward the tip. On rope, cardboard and anything fibrous that is a real difference.
It costs you convenience at the stone. A flat bench stone cannot reach into the concave, so a recurve wants a rod, a curved hone or a slack belt. Anyone selling you a recurve without saying that is not being straight with you.
How does titanium get to be blurple, and will it wear off?
It is not paint or dye. Current passed through titanium in an electrolyte grows a transparent oxide layer on the surface, and the colour you see is light interfering with itself as it reflects off that layer. Voltage sets the thickness, and thickness sets the colour.
Because the colour is the metal’s own oxide rather than a coating, there is nothing sitting on top to flake or peel. It can be abraded away by hard contact, and it will come back only by re-anodising. On this knife the carved ridges hold the oxide at varying angles, which is what makes it read blue from one side and violet from another.
What makes this John Gray Slitter V2 Recurve different from the standard Slitter V2?
Two things. The recurve blade, which is not the usual configuration for the platform, and the full sculpted titanium build rather than carbon fibre show scales.
It was also made as an exclusive for Bladerunner Outpost and sold through Whatnot, numbered 002, which makes it part of a short defined run rather than a general drop. Those two facts together are why this one is worth separating from the rest of the model line.
What is Dark Rain, and is it a coating?
Dark Rain is Gray’s own acid wash, not an applied film. Acid is worked across the blade to etch it unevenly, so the surface finishes as a mottled dark spatter rather than a uniform tone.
Because the pattern is already irregular, a new scratch does not read as a scratch the way it would on a satin or mirror blade. That is the practical argument for a finish like this on a knife somebody intends to carry.
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 John Gray Slitter V2 Recurve
We inspect every knife in hand and photograph it ourselves. See what else is available on the John Gray Custom Knives brand page. You can also talk to us about selling your collection.
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