The Swiss Army Knife was designed over 100 years ago. On the one hand, you've got the "If it ain't broke…" explanation for the ancient form. On the other hand, the James Brand reckoned there would be demand for a folding-knife-based pocket tool with modern design attention lavished on it.
They were right. The first batch of the Helton, newly released by the company, sold out nearly instantly. The handsome design eschews both plastic and what the designers saw as extraneous tools. Instead they offer a knife with a partially-serrated blade, a magnetized Philips driver with a bottle opener, a magnetized flathead driver with both coarse and fine files, spring-action scissors, chisel-tip tweezers, a metal pick and a lanyard.
Some knives are about tradition. Some are about innovation. The Helton is about both. We started with one of the most widely used knife formats in history—something everyone knows—and asked what it would take to make it better. That meant careful editing: which tools do people actually use? Which materials would make it last a lifetime? Could we bring our clean, modern design language to a silhouette that hadn't changed in decades? The challenge was real, but so was the opportunity.
Good things take time. Good design takes much more—three years, in this case. What appears simple at first glance is anything but. The Helton is a study in restraint, where every line, edge, and interaction has been considered and resolved. It's a streamlined multitool that feels intuitive and effortless in hand, yet carries a depth of complexity just beneath the surface—proof that the simplest objects are often the hardest to get right.
The aluminum handle is symmetrically tapered and features a machined dot pattern to provide grip. The clip is stainless steel, the washers bronze. Each tool features its own locking mechanism.
The minimal form means some sacrifices had to be made. There are two slots, one on each end, that will accept the pocket clip, the tweezers or the pick; all three cannot be integrated at once.
The Helton comes in three colors. The black-on-black goes for $179, whilst the other two run $169. The company's currently working on the second production run.
Here's an in-depth video review by an EDC enthusiast: