Overview & First Impressions
Historic timber framing is a discipline of joints: mortise and tenon, scarf, dovetail and peg. A restoration carpenter spends most of the day marking, paring and fitting oak that was cut two hundred years ago, and the tools must be sharp enough to cut across the grain without crushing the fibres. Between the chisels and the slicks, a modern folding knife earns its keep on layout work, gasket trimming and the endless small fittings a repair generates.
Materials & Construction
The Bestechman Cicada's Wing-TL BMK24-W-2 pairs a 10Cr15CoMoV blade with a wood and resin handle, and that combination is unusually well suited to a heritage site. The steel takes a fine, aggressive edge and holds it through repeated paring, while the handle looks as though it belongs on a bench of hand tools. Bestechman knives has leaned into that aesthetic across the range, which is why the Cicada's Wing photographs so well next to old timber.
Design & Details
The geometry is the interesting part. This is a top liner lock, which means the lock bar sits on the spine side of the handle and your thumb releases it without crossing the blade path. In a workshop where a knife is opened and closed dozens of times an hour, that small ergonomic detail is the difference between a tool you reach for and one you leave in the drawer. Add a thin clip and a slim profile and it disappears into a tool belt.
Real-World Use
On a frame repair the knife cuts lead flashing, trims oakum, opens gaskets, sharpens a pencil to a chisel point and shaves a peg flush. It is used one-handed while the other hand steadies a beam, which is why a smooth opening action matters more here than in a collector's display case. The same applies to any folding knives carried onto a scaffold, and it is the reason experienced carpenters buy steel they can sharpen.
Ownership Notes
Vintage timber is abrasive. Century-old oak carries grit, sand and sometimes nails, so a restoration knife works harder than its owner expects. Strop the edge every evening rather than grinding it monthly, keep a diamond plate in the toolbox for the day you find a hidden nail, and never pry with a folding knife where a small bar might do the job. Dry the blade before closing it if you have been cutting damp oakum. Be honest about the steel. The 10Cr15MoV family is a high-chromium stainless that takes a keen edge and resists rust, but it is not a supersteel. For a restoration bench that means sharpening is a two-minute job rather than an evening, which is why so many EDC knives in professional toolkits use this class of alloy.
Who Is This For?
This suits restoration carpenters, joiners, oak framers and anyone working on listed buildings. It also suits the woodworker who wants a knife that matches the rest of the bench. Skip it if you need a heavy pry or a demolition tool, because a folding knife is neither. Choose it when the work is precise, the material is precious and the knife is going to be seen by clients standing in the same room.
Final Verdict
The Cicada's Wing BMK24-W-2 brings a bench-tool sensibility to heritage carpentry. 10Cr15CoMoV gives a keen, maintainable edge, the wood and resin handle suits the setting, and the top liner lock is genuinely quicker in the hand than a rear release. Keep it stropped, keep it dry and keep it away from prying jobs, and it will serve through a whole restoration project and the next one after that.
