Southwick Associates released its third-quarter 2026 Hunting & Shooting Market Pulse, a quarterly subscription newsletter providing market intelligence to industry leaders. The report highlights economic pressures affecting hunters and shooters, NICS trends, and retail shifts, with NSSF members receiving a 15% discount on subscriptions.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) is hiring a Chief Conservation Officer to lead conservation initiatives and partnerships. The position, based in Missoula, Montana, requires eight-plus years of natural resources experience and five years in senior leadership, with responsibilities including advocacy, governmental affairs, and representing RMEF with federal and state agencies.
Knife Rights submitted a comment supporting the ATF's proposed rulemaking (RIN 1140-AA73) to clarify interstate firearm transport protections under the Firearm Owners' Protection Act. The organization noted the proposed rule aligns with their Knife Owners' Protection Act (KOPA – H.R. 60 & S. 346) bills, which extend similar protections to knife owners traveling across state lines.
SOG Knives announces the release of its 40th Anniversary Fat Guard Bowie knife, a limited run of 500 individually serialized knives inspired by the original S1 Bowie from 1986. The knife features a 6.1-inch AUS 8 steel blade and comes with a commemorative Zippo lighter, leather sheath, and handcrafted pine display case.
CIVIVI announced the global release of the Elementum Maze, a reimagined folding knife featuring a CNC-machined maze pattern with a ceramic ball in the handle. The knife upgrades the standard Elementum with Nitro-V blade steel, a Rock-Grind pattern finish, and lightweight Lexan and Ultem handle options.
WE Knife Co. announced the global release of the WEKNIFE Elementum Flipper Knife WE18062XA Series on August 24th, featuring the company's first CPM MagnaCut steel blade paired with 6AL4V titanium handles machined with a three-dimensional topographic pattern. Available in black and gray finishes with an MSRP of $217.60.
CIVIVI introduces the Vyrent folding knife featuring the debut of Nitro-X7 steel in their lineup. The 3.48-inch blade offers enhanced toughness, edge stability, and corrosion resistance with ergonomic design and ambidextrous carry options available in multiple scale materials starting at $82.30.
Amtac Blades has a lot of knives in its catalog. I even own a few, but the Minuteman II has been the one most people reach for first if they’ve decided to plunge into the world of high-end EDC blades. This week, the company started shipping a new version built specifically to make the EDC experience as sleek as it can be.
The Minuteman II Slim keeps almost everything that made the original version popular. It’s still a 4-inch full flat ground blade with a 7 3/4-inch overall length, and it’s still built in CPM MagnaCut steel. What’s changed is the blade stock, down from 3/16 inch to 0.15 inch, a difference of roughly 20 percent. Blade weight drops a little too, from 4.7 ounces to 4.3 ounces, though most people will notice the reduced thickness before they notice the lighter weight.
Handle length stays the same at 3 3/4 inches. That’s a small detail with a practical payoff: the Slim fits the same low-profile belt sheaths Amtac already sells for the standard Minuteman II. If you already own one, you don’t need to buy a new sheath to run the thinner blade.
The blade geometry is unchanged as well. It still has a swedge for added strength when thrusting, and it still has that 1.3-inch section of flat, semi-sharp spine just forward of the handle, useful for striking a ferro rod or other fieldwork.
In a recent email note to past customers, Amtac Blades said:
We are excited to announce we have some of the new Minuteman II Slim ready to ship now! This every day carry blade is thinner and lighter than our previous version.
The knives are in production so this isn’t a pre-order.
It’s worth spending a minute on the steel, since it’s a big part of why the Minuteman II has stayed popular. MagnaCut was developed specifically for knives and released by Crucible Industries back in 2021. It was designed to give up less than most steels do, holding onto toughness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance altogether without trading one for another.
That said, the story behind MagnaCut has changed a bit since 2021. Crucible Industries, the company that owned the MagnaCut name and the CPM trademark, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2024. The case later converted to Chapter 7, and Crucible’s CPM steel business was sold to a company called Erasteel.
Production has since moved overseas. Raw powder from a Swedish supplier is processed in France by Erasteel, then finished into bar and sheet stock in New York. By most accounts, MagnaCut has held up to the same specifications through that transition, so buyers shouldn’t notice a difference in the steel itself.
Amtac Blades lists the Stonewashed MagnaCut Minuteman II Slim at $550 on its website. A black stonewashed finish is available first, with a regular stonewash finish coming later. This is about $100 more than the typical asking price of a NorthmanX (my current favorite blade from Bill), which typically runs $450 to $479 depending on configuration.
For buyers who want to test the grip and profile before committing to a live blade, Amtac also sells a Minuteman II Slim trainer. The trainer ships in September and runs $99 separately; note that it doesn’t fit the original Minuteman sheaths, so it comes with its own storage sheath.
The Minuteman II Slim doesn’t reinvent what made the original popular. It just takes some of the bulk out of it which, for a lot of everyday carriers, might be exactly the update (or excuse) they were waiting for.
