The knife industry typically kicks off the new year at SHOT Show, the largest annual trade show for the shooting, hunting and firearms industry. Unsurprisingly, the event is canceled for 2021, but blade producers haven't been idle, and they aren't holding onto their cards either. CRKT is the first major brand to reveal what it's been working on, showing off over 50 new pocket knives, multi-tools and accessories. Standing out from the release are some of the company's weirdest and most creative knives yet.
Compano
The Compano calls to mind a video game prop, but it's real and surprisingly practical too. The tool consists of a keychain carabiner and a folding 1.42-inch blade. It's small, but an integrated finger loop makes it possible to maintain a solid grip.
Price: $50
Provoke Zap
The Provoke, a morphing karambit that garnered over $350,000 on Kickstarter before CRKT began producing it en masse, isn't new. But the slime green handle is, making its unique construction even more shocking.
Price: $100
Septimo Multi-Tool
Through its Forged by War program, CRKT works with military veterans to design knives and tools and then donates a portion of their sales to charities of the vet-designer's choice. The Septimo Multi-Tool is the latest. Jeremy Valdez, a former Green Beret, drew on his experience in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2009 to create a knife with an integrated strap cutter, screwdriver and adjustable wrench.
Price: $60
Ritual
If the Ritual looks like something Indiana Jones would drag out of a snake-filled temple, that's because designer Alan Folts imagined what a Persian Empire blade might look like if made today. It isn't all show, though, with an assisted-opening mechanism the functions quickly and smoothly on ball bearings.
Price: $125
Nirk Tighe
While many of CRKT's new knives draw inspiration from past eras and events, the Nirk Tighe seems to imagine a blade from the future. Its skeletonized frame includes a unique locking mechanism called the Klecker Lock, which functions similarly to a lockback, though leverage comes from the linear cutouts that run the handle's length.
Price: $60
Scribe
The subtlest new knife in CRKT's 2021 lineup is secretly unique. The Scribe is small with a 1.74-inch fixed blade and simple in form. But it includes a cap that, once on, makes it look more like a USB device than anything you might cut open a package with.
Price: $25
