This New Knife from a Notable Designer Boasts Some Choice Ingredients

Five long years ago, a 33-year-old mountaineering and photography enthusiast named Denis Simonutti took the knife world by storm. Hailing from the Friuli region of Italy, known for the stunning Dolomites as well as white wine vineyards, Simonutti had nine years of cutlery experience when he designed a clever little folder for Fox Knives called the Radius.

It featured a stud set into a cutout that arced around the top of the pivot screw, enabling the user to open and close the modified Wharncliffe blade with a flick of the thumb. The unique look and fidget-friendly mechanism so impressed judges at the 2019 Blade Show, the Radius won Overall Knife of the Year and Imported Knife of the Year.

Now a bit older and wiser, Simonutti is turning heads again with his latest design, the Oniro. While it boasts some cleverness of its own, the Oniro is perhaps most notable for what it’s made of.

Viper Oniro

Produced by Viper, knifemaking face of Friuli-based company Tecnocut, the Oniro is the brand’s first knife to carry an Axis-style cross-bar lock. Slide the thumb studs back to release the blade, give it a flick and let them go to lock it in the open position, then reverse the motion to return the blade to its sheath.

Not the first of its kind, but a fun mechanism nonetheless. And though the deep carry pocket clip is permanently affixed to one handle, because there are thumb studs on both sides, the knife is largely ambidextrous/lefty-friendly.