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The Most Minimal Version of an Iconic Affordable CRKT Gentleman’s Knife Embraces Its Natural Form

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, tapping into the industry’s latest trend works like a lucky charm for this award-winning EDC flipper.

Close-up of a CRKT folding knife with a black blade and textured light green handle on a black textured surface.CRKT
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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Some legendary knives take their sweet time catching on, while others feel much closer to overnight successes, begetting imitators and spinoffs for years to come.

Designed by renowned knifemaker Richard Rogers, CRKT’s CEO resides squarely in the second category.

Black CRKT folding knife with a textured light green handle on a black textured surface.
Not unlike makeup-free pioneer Alicia Keys, the latest CEO lets its handle’s natural beauty shine through.
CRKT

Winning Blade Show’s Best Buy of the Year in 2019, it has been a brand staple ever since, and CRKT currently sells a baker’s dozen of variants.

Now, seven years after the knife’s debut, the latest edition is easily the trendiest and arguably fairest of them all: the CEO Microflipper with a “natural” handle. 

Throwing jade

While natural G10 is not “new,” per se, it appears to be having a real moment lately.

That’s easy enough to say with CRKT rolling out a trio of examples (the others being the Walker Blade Lock and Padawan) ahead of Blade Show Texas, which begins this Friday.

Closed CRKT folding knife with a textured pale green handle resting on green moss.
While the handle lacks artificial color, it does get a wavy texture that boosts both grip and aesthetic interest.
CRKT

However, the style, which sees the high-pressure fiberglass laminate of the handle scales taking on an effortless jade tone, can also be seen on upcoming releases like Civivi’s Kukei, not to mention CJRB’s Gobi and SOG’s Terminus, among others.

Considering the CEO has already been reimagined as a Compact, sized down to a Microflipper, deployed a reverse tanto blade and picked up a thumb stud, with a variety of blade and handle materials, going natural is perhaps its final frontier.

Black CRKT folding knife with a light green textured handle standing upright in black granular material.
The smallest and lightest of the many CEO variants has an open length of 5.63 inches, most of which is handle.
CRKT

For the new edition, CRKT went super streamlined, opting to use the smallest and lightest silhouette, the Microflipper, as the base. 

The result is a small wonder with a 2.36-inch drop-point blade made of reliable, budget-friendly 14C28N steel, a closed length of 3.25 inches and a weight of just 1.6 ounces. 

Close-up of a black CRKT knife blade with a textured light green handle on a black granular surface.
Deploying via a small but snappy rear flipper, the 2.36-inch blade is held in place with a classic liner lock.
CRKT

Deployment of the stonewashed blade comes via a discreet rear flipper, pivoting on CRKT’s go-to IKBS bearings and held in place via a sturdy liner lock. 

While the natural G10 handle scales retain the classic rectangular shape common to the CEO, grip is improved by the wavy texture embedded from top to bottom. 

Closed folding knife with a textured light green handle on black gravel.
This CEO’s incredibly slim and lightweight nature means it can comfortably ride in any pocket, pants or chest.
CRKT

The new knife eschews the original’s most unusual feature, the placement of the pocket clip at the front of the handle rather than the back, but that is no surprise as the more traditional approach is now used on all versions.

The emerald hue is enough of a conversation starter anyway.

Availability and pricing

The CRKT CEO Microflipper (Natural) is available now for $70.

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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