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Hogue Ballista
The Hogue Ballista is the company's flagship automatic folder family, machined in Henderson, Nevada on the same CNC floor that built its firearm grips. Three platforms share the name, the full size Ballista I, the compact Ballista II, and the HK Ballista XL, and together they anchor the Hogue automatic knives lineup.
Ballista I, II, and XL Configurations
The Ballista I, designed by Allen Elishewitz, runs a 3.5 inch 154CM blade at 4.2 ounces in drop point or tanto, and the partially serrated black Cerakote tanto is the version issued to U.S. military units under its own NSN. The Ballista II comes from Hogue lead knife engineer Scott Bruhns, a 2.6 inch bayonet at 2.0 ounces and 6.4 inches overall, styled after classic Italian switchblades but sharpened on one edge. The Ballista XL is the HK Knives by Hogue build with a 3.75 inch blade.
CPM MagnaCut, S30V, and 154CM Blade Steels
Steel tracks the platform. Ballista I stays on 154CM in tumbled or black Cerakote. Ballista II runs CPM MagnaCut at 62 to 64 HRC in stone tumbled, black PVD, or the two tone Collector Series finish. The XL uses CPM S30V at 58 to 61 HRC in a black Cerakote drop point or partially serrated tanto. Every blade is cryogenically treated, and our comparison of every major knife steel shows how the three alloys differ.
Aluminum Frames with G-10, Cocobolo, Carbon Fiber, and Ultem Inserts
The I and II ride CNC milled 6061-T6 aluminum under hard anodizing in black, blue, or gray. Ballista II adds inserts in G-10, cocobolo, Ultem, or carbon fiber, with gold or green anodized titanium accents on catalog models and blue on the Collector Series. The XL switches to a full ChromaCut G-10 frame in Heckler & Koch red and black. Our guide to knife handle materials covers how each one wears.
Push Button Deployment, ABLE Lock, and Safeties
The Ballista I and II fire from Hogue's button lock, and the Ballista I adds a manual safety beside the button. The XL was the first automatic ABLE Lock, short for Ambidextrous Bar Lock Enhanced, in the Hogue catalog: pulling the crossbar fires the blade from either hand, with a spine safety against unintended deployment. All three are made in the USA and sit among our side opening automatic knives.