The Suricate® pocket knife: simplicity as an art
The hardest thing in design is to keep it simple.
We've all looked for that simple, reliable object, always ready to be useful. The one you slip into your pocket or bag without even thinking about it, but which turns out to be indispensable in a thousand and one situations. It's exactly in this spirit that we designed the TB-1648 Suricate® pocket knife. More than just a knife, we imagined it as a true life companion: one that goes everywhere with you, from small domestic tasks to outdoor adventures. Everyone is capable of creating something complicated. We wanted to break away from this approach and do the exact opposite. We wanted a product that was obvious at first glance, once in hand. The Suricate® knife is the embodiment of this philosophy of favoring minimalism.
Why was simplicity our biggest challenge?
Folding knives have existed for millennia. So, how do you bring something new, fresh, without simply copying what already exists? That's the challenge we faced. We wanted to create an object that, while respecting the codes of the genre, offered true innovation. That's where the idea of the side wheel was born. It was the central element, the one that would differentiate Suricate® from other products on the market. But turning this idea into reality was a long journey, not without pitfalls. For us, keeping it simple is the secret to a great folding knife.
"The knife is one of those objects that all designers dream of, just like a chair or a lamp. It was a real challenge: to create a product that is both simple and sophisticated, where technical complexity remains invisible, masked by the beauty of its design."
– Jonathan, the Designer of the Suricate® knife
How was the wheel the key to success?
The wheel is somewhat the heart of the product. We wanted it to be intuitive. A single gesture, a simple rotation, to open and close the blade. The mechanism is so well integrated that one might wonder if it even exists! The secret? We've hidden the entire locking system. When you see it, you only see three main elements: the handle, the blade, and the wheel.
The designer worked closely with our design office, which we affectionately call the "BE." The former puts forward multiple proposals while the BE translates them into reality. It was an incessant game of ping-pong, where we exchanged ideas, sketches, and models to find the perfect solution.