Ever since proto-humans first started chipping flint, we’ve been looking for a sharper edge. It’s the problem that entrepreneur Steven Vanden Heusel confronted when he sought a knife that could cut fish as smoothly and cleanly as he wanted. After bailing out on a New York marketing career, Vanden Heusel and some friends decided they’d build the best fishing knife the industry has ever seen.
“The first 7-inch knife was launched in April 2020 to an incredible demand and positive feedback,” said Sord marketing manager Joe Koenraad. “I came to intern for Steve when I got out of college in 2023, and now I’m part of the team. We used the feedback from our customers as a sounding board to launch Sord’s full product line of more than 13 styles of knives, including a rigging knife and free-diving knife, along with other gear.”
The 7-inch blade that Sord launched with is a classic, all-around fillet knife, a ripper, just as good for decapitating hake and gutting cod, pollock and haddock, as filleting the game fish that Vanden Heusel and his friends go after.
“We’ve looked at the commercial fishing market,” Koenraad said. “But our price point is a little high, at $105 for the 7-inch knife; you could buy four of the more common brands for the price of one of ours. The thing is you’ll go through more than four before you go through one of ours, and we offer a lifetime guarantee.”
What makes the Sord knives so special, Koenraad noted, is the material and manufacturing.
“The blades are all high-carbon steel,” he said. “They hold an edge three to four times longer than stainless. And we coat the blades with Teflon and titanium, which keeps them from rusting.”
The handles, Koenraad said, have been ergonomically designed for a good grip and are made of layers of G-10, a high-pressure fiberglass laminate made by stacking woven glass fabric soaked in epoxy resin and compressing it under heat until cured. It has proven to be extremely durable and resistant to moisture, chemicals, and extreme temperatures.
“When you hold the knife and look down the length, you can see the layers,” Koenraad said. “All our knives come with a Kydex sheath. So, you slide it in, and it clicks. Once that clicks, the knife isn’t going anywhere.”
The Sord Fishing Products business model has focused on offering quality and value, and according to Koenraad, it’s working.
“We say we’ve converted over 30,000 fishermen to Sord,” he said. “And we have less than half a percent of our products returned.”
