The more closely you examine this adorable little folder, the more special its unique design appears to be.
CJRB Cutlery
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As most knife and EDC aficionados know, sub-$50 small pocket knives capable of tackling basic everyday tasks aren’t too hard to find.
Brands such as Böker, CRKT, CJRB, Sencut and Tenable have dozens of solid options at this price point.
Because you can’t really distinguish yourself with materials here, it takes a special design to really catch our attention.
That’s what we see in CJRB’s new Spud, which possesses a couple of unique qualities almost unheard of for its size and price.
The moment I saw this knife, and its designer, I had a feeling the Spud might offer a bit more than your average small folder.
It comes from the inspired mind of Jake Diaz, who also penned CRJB’s Lanky, a super-sleek, gentlemanly challenge to the CRKT CEO that won a major Blade Show award several years back.
The blade is a 2.34-inch drop-point made of AR-RPM9, an affordable blade steel valued for its corrosion resistance and edge retention.
That in and of itself is unremarkable, but Diaz makes it interesting with a deep, angled finger choil, which teams up with the ergonomically shaped aluminum scales to offer a legit four-fingered grip, impressive for a knife with a 3.25-inch handle.
There’s jimping at the front of the spine, rather than where we typically see it, at the back.
The reason becomes apparent in the promo video for the knife; with a detail-oriented task like whittling, you can press on this part of the blade with the thumb of the hand holding the stick for a more focused, controlled cut.
Kind of a niche use case, yes, but intriguing nonetheless. So is the fact that the Spud is being positioned as CJRB’s first neck knife.
We almost always see neck knives as fixed blades with small lanyard hole-bearing sheaths, but Diaz flips the script here with a folder that at just 1.71 ounces is light enough to “neck,” with a prominent lanyard clip inviting you to do so.
That said, it’s just as easy to throw this thing in your fifth pocket, where it will stay safely in place thanks to the reversible pocket clip.
That brings me to the second rare, user-friendly feature of the Spud: not only is this pocket clip removable, but also the lanyard clip is.
That means if you commit to a carry method, you can streamline this small wonder to carry so light you’ll forget all about it till there’s cutting to be done.
CJRB also says that thanks to a reliable thumb stud and liner lock combo, “the mechanical ASMR is unbeatable.”
Regarding the truth of that statement, I will gladly leave it up to the ear of the beholder.
The CJRB Spud is available now for $40.
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