This post contains affiliate links. We may get paid an affiliate commission if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of the links on this web page.
Last Updated: September 12, 2018
The CRKT Folts Minimalist is an intriguing design from acclaimed custom knife maker Allan Folts. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Folts and one of the big topics of conversation was this little knife. Allan is a classically educated designer and artist, and he takes both form and function very seriously.
Buy the CRKT Minimalist at BladeHQ
No products found.
Apparently, the Minimalist took over 2 year to design. It rode with him on trips around the country to various knife shows and exhibitions. He got feedback from hundreds of people and carefully tweaked the design before arriving at what you see here today. It may sound a little extreme, but I’ll tell you, pick this knife up. Hold it for a second and let me know what you think – the attention to detail should be obvious. This is a small knife, but it fits the hand better than some knives I own that are three times the size.
Anyhow, I have a certain methodology to all the reviews, so I don’t want to too far ahead here. Suffice to say, this is an exceptional little knife from the mind of a great maker offered at a phenomenal price.
Purpose
One of my favorite things about the Minimalist is the exceptional utility. It is a stout design that can also be a great option for EDC. Even if you you don’t normally carry a fixed blade knife, the Minimalist is discrete and can be easily slipped into a pocket.
I also think it’s a great knife for the truck, for your bug out bag, as an absolute last ditch tactical blade, as a backup backup survival blade, for camping trips, fishing, etc etc etc. I’m not saying you can baton logs with it, but at under 2 ounces it’s cheap insurance if your primary blade(s) fail. An all around workhorse, this little knife can pretty much do it all.
General Dimensions and Blade Specifics
The Minimalist is just over 5 inches long and sports a 2 1/8″ blade ground from 2.4 mm stock. The weight of this knife is 1.6 ounces.
As far as steel goes, the Minimalist is a full tang knife made of 5Cr13MoV. This steel is chemically very similar to 8Cr13Mov which personally, I do not mind. In my experience, 5Cr13Mov behaves a lot like 8Cr13Mov too. Both steels are a little softer than high end steels like VG10, S30V and the like, thus they tend to lose their edges faster, but I find it to be entirely adequate for my purposes. I will say, this steel can take an edge and the knife came surprisingly sharp. Out of the box I was able to shave hairs off my arm with no problem – not what I was expecting from a sub $20 blade!
The Minimalist is currently offered in 3 blade shapes. The original knife came with a wharncliffe blade. Shortly thereafter a tanto and bowie made their way on the scene. I love the shape of the bowie so I had to have that one. Folts took the classic bowie design and gave it a few tweaks to fit with the overall look of the knife. There is plenty of belly and the tip is reinforced thanks to a large swedge. The blade (and all of the metal) was given an attractive stonewashed finish. The kife has a shallow hollow grind that starts about 3/4 of the way up the blade.
Handle and Ergonomics
The handle, like most fixed blade knives, is pretty simple. CRKT actually sprung for some linen micarta scales here which is a material that you wouldn’t expect on such an inexpensive knife. The scales are actually a deep forest green, which is pretty cool color that I didn’t expect either (most pictures make the handle appear black). No complaints with the handle materials or the color. The scales are bolted on with torx screws so you can take the knife apart and remove the lanyard – another nice feature.
The ergonomics of this knife are outstanding. I pulled this blade out of the sheath and the knife literally fell right into place. It was like my hand was made for this knife. All it took was a second of contact and suddenly I “got” it. Allen told me about how this knife took 2 years to design, and that is something you can easily dismiss. I tell you, it now makes sense.
So as you can tell, this is a 3 finger style knife. A small lanyard is attached to the butt of the handle which provides a little extra grip (I think it’s a nice touch actually, works well). There is a nicely designed thumb ramp with some aggressive jimping. The micarta scales have also been very well finished. Everything is flush and the knife feels amazing in hand. The handle comes apart with 4 small torx screws, which is great if you want to swap out the lanyard or do your own custom scales.
Sheath
The sheath is made of Zytel, a hard plastic similar to Kydex. The retention on this sheath is excellent and the blade locks into place with a soft “click.” I tried to shake the knife out, and that simply was not going to happen – it is very secure. There are 6 eyelets for various methods of attachment to stuff.
Billed as a neck knife, a few feet of cordage is included to wear the knife around your neck. I’ll be honest here, I’ve never had a neck knife before, and my lifestyle usually doesn’t permit me to wear one. This was a problem because I couldn’t put this knife down, so I took off the cordage and slipped the knife in my pocket. It actually carries really well this way. It’s a slim design that I didn’t notice as I went about my daily tasks. The lanyard on the handle gave me a little extra to grab onto when I needed to fish out the knife for a task. I carried the knife around my neck on the weekends, and well, it’s not really for me. Convenient enough I suppose, but I’m not accustomed a knife around my neck.
A detachable belt loop is also included. It attaches with two bolts (also included) and adds to the versatility of this simple yet entirely adequate sheath.
CRKT Minimalist Review – Final Thoughts
Lets be honest here, I fell in love with this knife the second I took it out of the box. The ergonomics are fantastic. It’s a compact blade that fits the hand like nothing else. I’d love to see this in a slightly better steel, like say some 440C, but the 5Cr13MoV is actually holding up really well and for less than $20 shipped to my door, this was really a no brainer. I think it is a very high value knife. There are a lot of details in this blade that make it special. In conclusion the Minimalist is aptly named: it’s a simple knife, done right.
- Easy To Sharpen: High carbon stainless steel blade takes an edge well
- Minimizes Reflectivity: Bead blast finish reduces reflection
- Strong and Visual: resin infused fiber handle combines strength with visual appeal
- Gear Compatible: Durable thermoplastic sheath with mounting options
- Compact Utility: Lightweight and easy to carry
I recommend purchasing the CRKT Minimalist at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
Nice review. I’ve eyed these several times. I love the grip on this knife. I’m a big fan of subhilts and other styles that let you get your fingers in deep and secure like this. Knives of this size can be easily carried by the addition of a single keyring into a eyelet and then hooking this to a carbiner that can be clipped onto your pocket or a belt loop. This is how I can anchor my Cold Steel mini-tacs.
Thanks RK. I tell ya this one is a winner in my book. That is an interesting way to carry, I may have to try that. Thanks again for the comment – I might take a stab at a video review tonight so I should have a lot of footage of this knife in hand shortly.
Thanks for the review. I have the Tanto version of the Minimalist. The belt loop attachment works very well for me. I wear it in the horizontal position at 11:00 on my belt (in Church). It pretty much disappears on my person, but is very accessible. The only person to ever notice it was an LEO who gave me a wink and a smile.
Hah! That is a pretty cool way to carry the Minimalist. I typically let mine just ride loose in the pocket (with the sheath on of course!). This is such a nice little neck knife, I think it gets overlooked sometimes and that’s really a shame. So happy to hear you have been enjoying yours – In my opinion this is an absolute home run for CRKT.
Man, this is a sweet looking knife. When I saw the first image, I immediately thought – backup backpacking knife. The weight makes it an option for even the purest of ultra-lighters. I think I’m going to pick up one pretty soon as a general backup knife: for the glove box, backpack, fishing vest, or back pocket. Thanks for this find!
Sahil, my pleasure man! I think you will like this one a lot. I carried the bowie version for some time before I gave it to a friend. It’s a very nice little knife, and easily rides in a pocket. I don’t doubt that it would make a great backup in a camping, fishing, or daily carry situations! And for under $20 it’s really well done.
First time I saw the CRKT version of the Minimalist, having never heard of Alan Folts, I thought he must be nuts. The handle looked to me like it would be incredibly uncomfortable in use. After seeing one at my local Lowe’s, I started watching reviews on youtube and everyone said the same thing: the design of the handle melts into your hand. Eventually, I went back to Lowe’s and got one. And I discovered that all those people were right and I was wrong about that funny-looking handle.
I’m really loving this little knife. Loving it even more since I polished that bead blasted finish to oblivion. Looks like a more expensive knife now and even the handle scales look different know that the steel is nice and shiny. Only problem is that now fingerprints show up like crazy. LOL
Hey Chris,
Glad you like your Minimalist too. I still have mine and it occasionally rides in my pocket. It’s a nice little fixed blade and an excellent value, really.
If you get a chance, snap a couple pics of your polished version and email it to me. I’d like to check it out!
Best,
Dan
Hey Dan, thanks for the great review on this one! I bought the original Wharncliffe design about eight months ago and like you and many others, I fell in love with the shape and overall utility of this little gem. I manage print production for FedEx Office here in Des Moines and I use this knife all the time for making detailed cuts to oversized printing projects, and even with my big hands, the scale design works perfectly.
BTW, did ChrisC ever send you the pictures of the polished blade? I’d love to see those too! I think that I once saw a picture of one of these that Alan made that had a polished blade, too, but I can’t recall.
At any rate, keep up the great work! The reviews are incredibly helpful!
Best,
Ryan
Ryan,
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am glad to hear you have been enjoying your Minimalist and that it is holding up well under what sounds like some pretty intense use. I don’t think ChrisC ever did. That said, Alan does make these with a polished blade and if you search you can find lots of pictures of them on Google. Thanks again for the nice comment. So happy to hear you find the reviews helpful. Take care.
Dan
I am thinking about buying the custom titanium version of this knife. What do you think?
Go for it! I have handled some of Alan’s custom work at Blade Show and it is top notch!
Dan
I as well carry the mini in the horizontal at the small of my back…..out of the way of side carry phones and 45 holsters. Exceptional draw capability in a small package.
I’m an avid sportsman and typically clean & dress game with a simple trapper folding knife….till now. This little fella is all it takes to cleanly dress and skin out harvested game, and without the heft of those larger drop point versions with a full length tang of 10″ or so.
Works great on a whitlin’ twig when things get boring as well….:)
Thumbs up on this minicreation
Hey Robert,
Thanks for the awesome comment detailing your use of the Minimalist in the field. It is awesome to hear someone is using this small knife to clean game – that is pretty wild! Thanks again and take care.
Dan
I’ve had the Bowie version of this knife almost since it came out and love the little thing to pieces. I like it so much that I’m getting the newest version, an all black Stonewashed Drop Point blade, that’s on it’s way to me as I write this comment. The only things I didn’t like and changed on the Bowie were the neck carry disconnect system and the pinky lanyard.
I thought they were both sub-par and kind of cheap. So, being the Mexican-MacGyver that I am, I made new ones with better cordage and it’s now the perfect little knife it was meant to be!
Hey Dano,
Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad to hear you have been enjoying your Minimalist! The blacked out stonewashed version looks especially appealing. I hope you enjoy it.
Dan