Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) is an American knife company based out of Tualatin, Oregon. Founded in 1994 by Paul Gillespi and Rod Bremer, CRKT is known for making high value knives, but the company also makes multi-tools, sharpeners and other related products.
CRKT Knife Reviews:
CRKT CEO Review
I knew I had to have the CRKT CEO as soon as I saw it. A miniature katana blade hiding inside of a package that resembles an elongated cigarette lighter? Sold! Over the better part of a year and since that impulse buy, I’ve come to appreciate what CRKT’s knife represents, and I’ve additionally come ...
CRKT Provoke Review
Where to begin with the CRKT Provoke? This is a knife that defies convention, and it hardly relates to any other knife that has crossed my desk. Buy the CRK Provoke at BladeHQ If I were to draw a comparison to a knife in my collection, the Provoke most reminds me of the HALO VI. Not ...
CRKT Crossbones Review
It has been a good while since I have reviewed a CRKT knife. I wanted to remedy that situation, but struggled with selecting a knife. I like a lot of their designs, but sometimes weight gets in the way. For example, I like how they paired up with Eric Ochs to create the CRKT Avant, ...
CRKT Pilar Review
For a long time, I didn’t really ‘get’ CRKT. When I first got interested in knives, the company was well behind the curve. It seemed stodgy, outdated. Companies like Spyderco and Benchmade opened my eyes to what a modern pocket knife could be; CRKT just confirmed the pedestrian image I had of knives before I ...
CRKT Compact Batum Review
Last Updated: August 11, 2019 By the time this review is published SHOT Show 2017 will be old news. But as I write this introduction, the releases from SHOT are still fresh in my mind. After perusing everyone’s catalogs, I’ve noticed something; something that I’ve been waiting to see for some time. You see, it appears ...
CRKT Squid Review
I’ve listened to Gear Geeks Live practically since its inception. My commute is around 4 hours round trip, so that’s a lot of time spent in cars trying not to look at my smartphone, and podcasts help with that. One particular episode is always easy to recall, and that’s the episode where Thomas W. (of ...
CRKT Homefront K270GKP Review
Last Updated: August 12, 2019 One of the hallmarks of a quality folding knife is to be able to take it apart and put it back together without any problems. That is one of the qualities I find most admirable in my Spyderco Sage 1, which remains one of my all time favorite EDC knives to ...
CRKT Hootenany Review
Last Update: March 4, 2018 Hootenany, noun, a social gathering or informal concert featuring folk singing, and sometimes, dancing. I don’t read too far into names, but I had to look Hootenanny up in an attempt to gain a little context. If you ever meet Ken Onion, the designer of the Hootenanny, you will quickly learn ...
CRKT Eros SS Review
Last Updated: August 7, 2019 It is cool to see the trickle-down effect at work. 5 years ago, if you wanted to buy a bearing equipped manual action framelock flipper you either forked over the dough for a custom knife, or it simply didn’t exist. 3 years ago, if you wanted one you had to shell ...
CRKT Chanceinhell Review
Last Updated: September 7, 2019 Through his many collaborations with production knife companies Ken Onion has become one of the most recognized names in the cutlery industry. The Kershaw catalog is still chock full of Ken Onion classics like the Blur and Leek, Zero Tolerance landed him as their first big collaborator with the 0300 and ...
CRKT Obake Review
Long time readers know that I have always had a soft spot for pocketable fixed blade knives, and CRKT has proven on a number of occasions that they know how to make them. So the announcement of the Obake, a compact fixed blade collaboration with CRKT and custom knifemaker Lucas Burnley, definitely caught my attention. Buy ...
CRKT Swindle Review
I have been on a bit of a high value folder kick recently, focusing especially on the $30-40 segment. I’ve neglected this part of the market over the past year or two, favoring fixed blades and higher end folders, but a good deal of interesting stuff has come out in the $30-40 arena, hence the ...
CRKT Eraser Review
The Eraser is a relatively new offering from CRKT and is arguably their most ambitious knife yet. Designed by Liong Mah, this large tactical folder is his first knife collaboration with CRKT although Mah has collaborated with numerous custom makers in the past. Mah’s designs typically blend old styles with modern materials, and he maintains ...
CRKT Ikoma Sampa Review
Last Updated: November 28, 2019 The CRKT Ikoma Sampa designed by Brazilian knife maker Flavio Ikoma is dubbed a “gentleman’s tactical folder” by the fine folks over at CRKT. If I had to give this blade a one line review, I’d say CRKT pretty well summed it up themselves. The Sampa was primarily designed by Flavio ...
CRKT S.P.E.W. Review
Last updated: May 13, 2018 Ah, the CRKT S.P.E.W…. would a knife by any other name sound so sweet? Buy the CRKT S.P.E.W. at BladeHQ With that out of the way, lets get down to business because I really like this one. The SPEW (really, the S.P.E.W.) stands for Small Pocket Everyday Wharncliffe, and it is a really ...
CRKT Shenanigan Review
Last Updated: September 6, 2019 I find myself typing this review as I usually do, in the wee hours of the morning. Dregs from a once cold beer are drying on the side of the glass at my desk, and knives scattered across the room are glinting faintly under lamp light. I had trouble with the ...
CRKT M16 Review
Last Updated: July 16, 2018 My recent reviews of the CRKT Minimalist and the Drifter have proven that CRKT is legitimate contender in the affordable EDC game. But for many this is old news as knives like the popular CRKT M16 have been around for years delivering excellent every day performance at a price that can’t ...
CRKT Nathan’s Knife Kit
As a guy who runs a website that revolves around knives, I feel responsible to set a decent example for the knife community. While I try not to make a huge deal out of it, it’s something I do take seriously. So nothing ...
CRKT Drifter Review
Last Updated: August 8, 2019 For those who can’t get enough high value EDC knives, or simply need a tool for every day use that is both well made and inexpensive, I think it’s going to be tough to ignore the CRKT Drifter. For some, this may be their first “real knife” that sends them down ...
CRKT Ripple Review
Last Updated: August 4, 2019 The CKRT Ripple is a design that had me doing a double take. The flowing lines and sharp looks were very “Ken Onion-y” and upon closer inspection the knife was in fact designed by Ken Onion. It turns out Mr. Onion has parted ways with the folks at Kershaw and he ...
CRKT Folts Minimalist Review
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 ...
More on CRKT
CRKT is an American company that has their knives made overseas. This keeps the cost down while delivering quality knives and tools to the consumer. Because you can buy some of their knives at retail outlets like Wal-Mart, I find the brand to be most synonymous with inexpensive folding pocket knives, and EDC blades. But really that isn’t fair and CRKT makes a number of larger tactical knives, hunting knives, survival knives, etc.
I feel like lately CRKT has really been targeting the enthusiast crowd a bit more, and have come up with some really nice products. So far I’ve handled a number of their knives and have been impressed with the knife you get for the money. I hope to expand my familiarity with their blades and check out some of their more unique offerings in addition to the bread and butter EDC size folders many associate with the brand.
CRKT has teamed up with a number of well known knife designers and custom makers producing some very interesting designs. Many well known names in the knife industry have or are engaged in ongoing collaborations. This list includes Doug Ritter, Alan Folts, Ken Onion, Glenn Klecker, A.G. Russell, Pat and Wes Crawford, and many more.
CRKT also makes some interesting multi-tools. While I haven’t done any multi-tool reviews, they are something I use and am interested in. Anyhow, it’s cool to see that CRKT doesn’t just make knives. Who knows, maybe I will do some multi-tool reviews down the road.
I bought a ckrt knife and it fell the blade broke in half is it a normal thing cause the supplier can’t help me .
Did you contact CRKT’s warranty department? If the supplier cant help then maybe the manufacturer can. What happened to break the blade?
Dan
I have a brand new CRKT M16-14ZSF
I now understand why a tang or flipper is on both sides , that is to prevent users hand from sliding up onto the blade.
My only critique is lack of serrations on the entire surface of the opening flipper.
Any suggestions? I can not picture the manufacturer doing this after purchase as a warranty.
Unless they acknowledge that this is an issue with me and have a replacement blade available with increased serrations.
Thank you for your input and advise.
Tom
I honestly dont know what model crkt I have. It was a christmas give last year and it holds a great edge and zero problems. It is with me every day and an important piece of tool for my job. Ive dropped it off a scissor lift and a couple scratches but still works like a champ. Highly recommend these knives and will buy more.
Robert,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on your CRKT knife. I think they generally do a great job delivering a high value blade, and some of them are extremely nice.
Dan
I bought a CRKT Model #6782 folding clip knife a looong time ago and used it as a work knife and it gave me years and years of good service. Then eventually some screws got loose and I lost the clip and so I tossed it in the drawer and got a new work knife.
Recently I came across it in the drawer and wanted to replace the missing screws and clip and contacted CRKT about it. Sadly, they had discontinued this model and so could not send parts for it. But they offered to send me a new knife as a warranty (up to 59.99) if I sent in this knife. Super cool!
I drug my feet sending it in, but a few months later I decided to to do it…but in the meantime, the knife that I had chosen as a replacement from their website had went up in price by 10 bucks. So what? So I pay the difference and get what I wanted. Wrote them apologizing that I delayed and told them I still wanted the Sting 3B, and when they were ready to ship, call me and I would give them a card # to pay the difference.
About 3 or 4 days later I wondered why I hadn’t even heard from them at all in the email. But when I came home from work, the knife was in my mailbox! They never even called me for a card number! Just sent it. That is about the coolest level of Customer Service that I have seen in awhile! Those guys rock! And they make bad assed knives!
The new Sting 3B isn’t going to be a work knife lol! It will fill a different niche for me! This is a well made knife. The blade is pret-ty darn thin…But! That is a good thing! Thin blades will take a sharper edge. Not that it needs sharpened yet, but it will eventually.
Super cool knives, Super good Customer Service from CRKT! I will be a CRKT customer for life!
Can I recommend you try the CRKT Fossil?
Great write ups
Tyler
Much like Edward K mentioned earlier, I had an M16-14T that I’d carried for over 15 years. Over that time the blade lock started to get sloppy (expected wear and tear), so I returned it for repairs. Since the knife was no longer in production, they did not have the parts necessary to make repairs. So instead of the repairs, I was given credit to purchase a replacement from them, equivalent to the MSRP of my knife, when it went out of production. This amounted to roughly twice the amount I paid for my knife in 2004!
Somebody name another company that stands behind their product as well as CRKT. You’ll be hard pressed to find one. I just purchased another knife for my niece who’s deployed. Any guess what brand it is?
Most of their knives are made in China now. The company’s has put cheapness over quality. Look at the back of the packaging.. low end junk!! The only 2 companies leafy that are 100 percent USA are BUCK & CASE!
I purchased a CRKT Ceo and absolutely love it. Perfect little office or business knife that still functions as an EDC and won’t draw too many funny looks from associates and colleagues in a business/office setting. I went with the CEO Bamboo version and the quality is just phenomenal for a $40 knife.
Hey Brently, Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment about the CRKT CEO. I’ve heard good things about that knife and appreciate your feedback on it. Carry it in good health!
Dan
I screwed up and allowed my thumb studs on my M16-14SFG to back out/ loosen, and lost em… I reached out to CRKT and they replaced them NO questions asked and entirely free of charge. Super easy process. It is refreshing to see an American company take care of their customers as well as you do. Awesome knives and amazing customer service! CRKT, you’ve definitely won me over with your actions! Thanks guys!
My knife is awesome, unfortunately the Sheth is not so good the velcro belt ring is junk the stiching came undone the firstday, its a poor design the metal loop and the velcro strap makes it a uncomfortable thing to use so had to go back to my old browning knife which the knife is no way near as good but the sheth works perfectly and is comfortable all day long Chris