Hypercut MFG Dharma Automatic Serial 0287 - 3.2" S45VN Tanto, Natural Scale Milled Titanium, Zirconium Pivot - Made in USA (HC-DHARMA-AUTO-0287)

The Dharma Automatic is Hypercut MFG's push button auto, machined by Dylan and his crew in Mills River, North Carolina. Serial 0287 runs a 3.2 inch CPM-S45VN tanto in a natural titanium frame with scale milling, and it is the only one in this batch with a zirconium pivot.

The Zirconium Pivot

This is the detail that separates 0287. Zirconium is harder to machine than titanium and it finishes to its own color, so the pivot reads as a separate element rather than disappearing into the frame. It is the kind of upgrade a maker does because he wants to, not because a spec sheet called for it.

Scale Milled Titanium

The frame is left natural and milled in an overlapping scale pattern that runs the length of it. No anodizing anywhere. This is the most understated knife in the batch, and the one where the machining has to carry it, because there is no color to hide behind.

Specifications

• Model: Dharma Automatic
• Serial Number: 0287
• Blade Length: 3.2"
• Blade Steel: CPM-S45VN
• Blade Shape: Tanto
• Frames: Natural titanium, scale milled
• Pivot: Zirconium
• Spacer: Titanium
• Clip: Titanium
• Action: Push button automatic
• Country of Origin: Made in USA (Mills River, North Carolina)
• SKU: HC-DHARMA-AUTO-0287

Hand Ground, One at a Time

Dylan grinds every bevel by hand on a belt sander rather than sending them out. As he puts it, a lot of makers believe the soul of the knife is in the bevel, and that is where his blood, sweat, and tears go. Building one means assembling and disassembling the same knife something like a hundred times before it ships.

S45VN and the Tanto

S45VN is the updated S35VN, with more chromium for better corrosion resistance and a finer grain that holds an edge longer. The tanto puts a second, shorter edge at the front at an angle to the main one, which leaves a lot of steel behind the point.

Made in North Carolina

Dylan started Hypercut with one used 1996 mill he bought off Facebook Marketplace and wired in himself. That machine still runs. Asked why he builds in America, his answer was short: because that is where he lives.

Why This One Stands Out

The only zirconium pivot in this batch, on the only all natural titanium Dharma. One of one.

Proudly carrying American