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This Award-Winning Designer’s New CRKT Knife Is a Multi-Deploying Art Deco Dream

Don’t bet against this relatively affordable, smooth-operating silhouette picking up a few accolades of its own.

Black folding knife blade with white CRKT logo and red textured handle held in a hand.CRKT
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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Over the past few years, CRKT has built an ever-stronger reputation for bringing the best work of celebrated custom knife designers to the masses.

From legends like Ken Onion and Kit Carson to rising stars such as Lucas Burnley and Princeton Wong, the Portland-based company’s roster is loaded.

Hand holding a CRKT folding knife with a black blade and red textured handle over a wooden cutting board with sliced food.
The Sero is the latest in a long line of top-notch Richard Rogers designs brought to life by CRKT.
CRKT

Another name not to be overlooked is Richard Rodgers, who has won major Blade Show awards for 2019’s CEO and 2024’s Persian Frame Lock, among other honors.

The New Mexico-based knifemaker may be headed for more hardware with his latest design, a multi-deploying art deco-inspired delight dubbed the Sero.

A Sero will rise

A consistent hallmark of Rogers’ designs is elegant silhouettes whose shapes in no way impede their smooth functionality.

The Sero is no exception. The four Crossbar Lock variants feature 3.02-inch straight-back blades made of S35VN.

Black folding knife with a textured red handle standing upright on a brown surface.
The new knife sustains its designer’s reputation for beautifully blending form and function.
CRKT

This is a nicely priced steel that balances strong edge retention, toughness and corrosion resistance. 

The handle is made of lightweight, long-lasting glass-reinforced nylon, adorned with art deco-inspired grooves that deliver style and grip in equal measure.

Four folding knives with textured handles in black, black, mint green, and red, laid out on dark fabric.
The Sero Crossbar Lock is available with four handle treatments and two blade finishes — satin and titanium nitride.
CRKT

The knobby rear flipper enables lightning-fast deployment off the IKBS ball-bearing pivot, but it’s just one of two options.

You can also pull the crossbar down while lightly flicking your wrist to deploy the blade — and reverse that motion to bring it home, all with one hand.

Hand holding a red-handled folding knife cutting open a cardboard box.
With its reliable blade and grippy handle, the Sero can tackle most everyday cutting tasks with ease.
CRKT

(Note: Two higher-end Damascus and titanium Frame Lock variants offer premium materials but are limited to a single deployment method.)

While two versions of the Sero Crossbar Lock feature satin finishes, the other two (including the red-handled one featured on this page) get a titanium nitride coating.

Hand holding a red folding knife with black clip being placed into a gray pants pocket.
Thanks to a reversible clip, the Sero stashes easily in a left or right front pocket.
CRKT

Not only does it impart a badass matte black finish, but it also boosts hardness and durability (corrosion and wear resistance) while decreasing friction.

Rounding things out is a reversible tip-up pocket clip, which, together with a weight of 2.3 ounces, makes this elevated EDC knife as easy to carry as it is to use.

Availability and pricing

The CRKT Sero Crossbar Lock is available now in four variants for $105. Two premium Sero Frame Lock treatments, featuring Damascus steel blades and titanium with Damascus inlay handles, cost $250.

Folding knife with a black blade and a red textured handle featuring a locking mechanism.CRKT

CRKT Sero Crossbar Lock

The four $105 variants of the Sero (including the red-handled version shown) boast 3.02-inch straight-back blades made of S35VN steel, glass-reinforced nylon handles with Art Deco-inspired grooves, snappy rear flippers, smooth crossbar locks and a weight of 2.3 ounces. (Two $250 Frame Lock Seros, meanwhile, feature Damascus steel blades and titanium with Damascus inlay handles.)
About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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