Baikal D2 (black titanium coating)

A 2020 novelty from Kizlyar Supreme, designed by the Kalashnikov Concern. I say supposedly because it's probably just a joint marketing project, where Kizlyar Supreme provides the product and Kalashnikov lends its brand name. Regardless, the knife is quite clever: a reasonably sized blade with a high grind and a ground spine resembling a sabre hilt feather. In this variant, the blade has a black titanium coating and characteristic cutouts like those on Kalashnikov rifles. This is purely a design flourish (I'm talking about the cutouts, not the coating), with no practical use (unless someone is slicing bread at four thousand slices per minute). Like most Kizlyar Supreme Baikals, it's full tang. The tang scales are made of Caucasian walnut root with knurling that improves grip and resembles the knurling on firearm stocks. The sheath is black leather.

The Dagestani company Kizlyar Supreme (not to be confused with Kizlyar, also from Dagestan) is one of several Russian knife manufacturers known widely outside of Russia. Kizlyar Supreme focuses on combining old Caucasian knife-making traditions with the latest production technologies. Kizlyar Supreme products are the result of the work of craftsmen who have been making knives for generations, but today they have access to state-of-the-art programmable machining centers and heat treatment furnaces.

Overall length: 245 mm

Blade length: 120 mm

Blade width (max): 35 mm

Blade thickness (max.): 3.8 mm

Handle scales: wood

Steel: D2

Leather sheath.

Manufacturer: Kizlyar Supreme, Dagestan, Russian Federation