Personalized Knife

• Based on a Guardian Tactical Recon Elite
• Cerakoted by Desert Cerakote
• Daily carried

Sal is an avid collector of knives with special interest in out-the-front (OTF) automatics. He owns a few of Guardian Tactical’s OTFs in their 25 (2.5-inch blade) and 35 (3.5-inch blade) model variants, and wanted to add to his ever-growing knife collection.

While looking for the company’s 40 series (4-inch blade) he had a hard time finding them stocked with the color, finish, and blade combination that he wanted. After some more time on the hunt, he saw that they had a new model called the Recon Elite that comes furnished with a tanto blade and aggressive fuller. He knew he had to have one.

Initially they were difficult to find, but he found a local retailer that had a black and silver two-tone unit in stock. He snapped it up immediately. The knife was in his circulation of daily carries for about a year, performing tasks of cutting open Amazon boxes and the dreadful bills that arrived in the mail. From day one, he was not completely fond of the text and some of the graphics that come emblazoned on the knife. Wanting to refresh the look, he set out to find a local Cerakoter to create a new custom look.

As he searched, he found most Cerakote applicators had a massive turnaround time of four-plus months, or didn’t even bother to reply to his inquiry. One day while shopping at his local gun store, New Frontier Armory, he asked if they knew anyone locally that they could recommend. He was introduced to Chris, the owner of Desert Cerakote.

Chris usually works with firearms but took on the challenge of a four-color Cerakote job on a rather large knife. The color combination was discussed as a random dark-pattern camo with some earthtones mixed in. His usual turnaround time is about four weeks, but for this project he had it completed in just two.

Sal was very happy with the Cerakote job and is even more pleased that he can carry such a handsome knife now. With its new customized look, this auto will be kept in daily circulation for a long time to come. Text by Chris Lee & Images by Carlo Cabrejos

Owner: Sal D.
Custom Knife Based On: 
Make: Guardian Tactical 
Model: Recon-Elite OTF Tanto (Two-tone black/silver)
URL: guardiantacticalusa.com
Cerakote: Desert Cerakote (owner: Chris Marsh) 
IG: @desert_cerakote