Evolution of the Knives by Nuge Chickpea

Written by Nick Italiano

Just over two years ago, Tom from Knives by Nuge reached out to me about testing his Chickpea, a compact outdoor knife that he had originally designed for the Boy Scouts. After some testing, I wrote a review of this very capable little knife. It was the first of many reviews and first look articles I wrote about KBN Knives. Over the next two years I have had the pleasure of watching Tom retire from his full time job as a police officer to expand his knife making business, and introduce a number of new models including the wildly popular Wicket line. Despite all his success with new models the Chickpea always stood out as a favorite in my collection, the slim form factor and great ergonomics kept it as a staple in both my everyday carry and trips to the woods for hiking and foraging.

The Chickpea also held other people’s interest, and we’ve seen a few variations come out including a cord wrapped handle version called the Bad Chick, a friction folder variant called the Snap Pea, and versions of the original in a full flat grind and a scandi grind. As the Wickets grew in popularity the Chickpea went to the wayside for a little while, but I am very happy to say that more Chickpeas are on the way and they are better than ever!

One thing I can say about Tom is that he never stops innovating, his designs are in a constant state of research and development to improve upon them so that his customers can get the best possible knife. As an avid outdoorsman, Tom spends a great deal of time testing his knives in real life situations while hunting, fishing and camping. He also works with a trusted group of professional outdoors people to get perspective from their experiences with his designs. In addition he is also very aware of the feedback that his customer base has. By combining all three of these data sources together Tom frequently makes design changes to improve his existing designs and make his already great designs even better.

This process is exactly what happened with the Chickpea. In November of 2021 the first Chickpea was completed, and while it was designed for the smaller hands of Boy Scouts, Tom realized that it was also very comfortable in an adult’s hand. Despite the small size the blade shape and robust saber grind made this knife excellent for a slew of outdoor tasks from wood processing to cleaning a fresh caught fish. He started making more of them and they were quickly bought up by outdoors people eager to put the Chickpea to work. Thanks to his posting on social media, the Chickpea began to grab the attention of an unexpected group of people, the EDC Community. While the knife was designed for outdoor use the small size and slim profile also made it ideal for everyday carry.

The increased interest from the EDC Community led Tom to making some making some changes to the sheath design. He created a super slim kydex sheath that was designed to be carried scout style on the belt. The slim knife combined with the super slim kydex sheath allowed for the Chickpea to be carried discreetly on a belt and easily covered by a t-shirt. A slight handle redesign emerged which expanded the handle scale beyond the finger choil making it more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. As time went on Tom started to get creative trying a few different variations that I mentioned earlier as well as the two current iterations of the Chickpea which have been met with great enthusiasm from the outdoor and EDC communities.

Desert Ironwood Chickpea

The first variant of the modern Chickpea features gorgeous Desert Ironwood handle scales that are hand cut and shaped then blasted. This process not only provides suburb grip, but it really brings out the grain pattern in the wood making this a very rugged yet classy looking piece. The blade is made from Nitro-V stainless steel which provides a great balance between corrosion resistance, toughness, and edge retention. The High Saber grind on the 3/32 inch blade stock makes this knife super “slicey” while providing more tip strength then you find in a typical full flat grind. The Chickpea has a 90 degree spine, making it ideal for wood scraping task and striking a ferro rod. The Desert Ironwood handle scales are chemically bonded to the handle and fitted with brass hardware that adds to the classy appearance of the knife. The knife is custom fitted for a slim kydex sheath designed for scout carry, but can easily accept any clip you would like to put on it for other carry options.

Specs

6.5″ Overall Length

3″ Blade Length

3/32″ Nitro-V Stainless steel 

90º degree spine

High Saber Grind

Blasted finish

Desert Ironwood handle, brass hardware

Kydex sheath

Slim G10 Chickpea

The newest version of the Chickpea takes a slim package and makes it even slimmer! This version was born from feedback a friend had. He was looking for something that he could easily tuck into his front of his waders while fishing. While most of  the specs remain the same as the Desert Ironwood version, this variant features ⅛ inch slab G10 handle scales with color contrasted G10 pins and tubes. The significantly thinner handle scales keeps this Chickpea slim and light while still retaining the great in hand ergonomics. The super compact kydex sheath allows for pocket carry, belt carry, or the attachment of paracord to wear on your neck.

Specs

6.5″ Overall Length

3″ Blade Length

3/32″ Nitro-V Stainless steel 

90º degree spine

High Saber Grind

Blasted finish

G10 handle and hardware

Kydex sheath  

These new variations of the Chickpea definitely breathe new life into one of KBN’s original designs. While the Chickpea is a similar overall length to the immensely popular Wicket XL, it is a totally different knife. While the Wicket XL is a robust knife well suited for heavy duty tasks the Chickpea’s slim profile makes it a great option for finer outdoor tasks and an exceptionally easy to carry EDC fixed blade. The Slim G10 models are debuting in a small drop on May 3rd 2024 on the KBN website and you can also expect to see both versions at the Knives by Nuge booth at Blade Show, Atlanta in June 2024.