Available in your choice of AEB-L or Damascus steels, the Cael Lockback is versatile and customisable.

Note: the Cael v2 Lockback maintains the same legal standing as its fixed-blade counterpart.

The Cael Lockback answers a question our stalking customers asked for years: could the knife they trust for game work learn to fold?

The Cael, folded

This is a fully folding adaptation of the renowned Cael AR v2, meticulously honed for the same precise processing of game — the slender, controlled blade in a form that slips into a pocket rather than onto a belt. For the walked-up day, the grouse moor, or simply the drive home from the butcher, there are times a folder is the right answer, and this one gives up nothing in capability.

Steel and standing

It is offered in AEB-L — the razor steel, superbly suited to a folding game knife — or in our own in-house Damascus, and remains widely customisable in handle and fittings. One point worth knowing: the Cael v2 Lockback maintains the same legal standing as its fixed-blade counterpart — it is a working tool, carried with the same purpose, and we are always happy to talk through what that means for your circumstances.

Who it suits

Stalkers who already know the Cael and want it in a second format; shooting guests who prefer a pocket to a belt; and anyone whose sporting life is better served by a folder that takes game work seriously. Commissioned alongside a fixed Cael, the pair can share handle materials — a quietly satisfying set.

Steel, handle, detail

The blade can be ground from RWL-34 or PMC27 — our everyday stainless steels, chosen for edge retention and low maintenance — from AEB-L when outright keenness matters most, or from traditional O1 carbon tool steel for those who enjoy a blade that asks a little care in return for a superb edge. Our own stainless Damascus, pattern-welded in-house from RWL-34 and PMC27, is available for commissioners who want the pattern of the steel to carry the story.

Handles run from stabilised timbers and burls through to fossilised mammoth ivory, pinned in stainless, brass or copper — or with mosaic pins when you want a flourish that only shows itself on close inspection. Initials, a family crest, or a lifelike species study can be laser-engraved in-house on the blade or bolster.

Numbered, recorded, guaranteed

Every Cael Lockback is numbered and entered in the workshop ledger — steel, handle, date, owner — and carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects. It arrives sharpened and papered, sent signed-for and insured. Decades from now, the number on the blade will still tell its story.

Commissions start with a conversation, or with a design: the design tool lets you set out the steel, handle, pins, engraving and sheath, and send the draft straight to the bench.