I swore off Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) products for a while after numerous knife failures and losses, but something inspired me to try this new design. This is the Minimalist, model 2385. It was designed by Alan Folts, who makes all sorts of things from knives to swords to titanium chop sticks. This is based on his design of the same name; his Minimalist costs around $120 and the CRKT version will cost you around $18. Overall, it's a very nice knife. It weighs 1.6 ounce in the sheath. You get a knife with linen micarta scales for less than twenty bucks; cool, right? Let's take a look.
Handle Details: The Minimalist is one solid piece of steel, and has linen micarta scales attached. It's handle is 2-3/4" long and 5/16" thick. It has three finger grooves, and they provide excellent grip. The linen micarta scales are black and green, and are held on with T-6 Torx screws - two on each side. The butt has a black braided lanyard attached, and it's box-stitched. It's a small diameter (a hair under 1/16" thick) cord, but it does the job. It's 2" long and makes the knife easier to extract from the sheath and make it a four-finger knife. The lanyard is attached underneath the micarta scales and through a hole in the butt of the full exposed tang.
The handle is quite comfortable, and almost disappears in your hand. In use, it's comfortable and smooth. There is no repositioning of your fingers when extracting the knife from the sheath because the finger grooves are all exposed and grab-able. Gripping is comfortable in either hammer grip or reverse grip.
Blade Details: The Minimalist has a wharncliff blade, and it's exactly 2" long. The blade is 1/8" thick. It's made of 5Cr15MoV at 55-57 on the Rockwell scale, and is flat ground. There's jimping 1-1/16" long, and it extends a bit onto the handle. The jimping is a little smoother than I'd like, but it's perfectly functional. The left side of the blade has the CRKT logo etched on, while the right side has FOLTS above MINIMALIST and the model number (2385).
This 5Cr15MoV is a relatively soft steel, but it's not as soft as AUS-6 or 420J2. It takes a wicked edge and keeps it for an okay length of time, provided you don't cut anything hard or thick with it. As an EDC, I wouldn't use the Minimalist for anything harder or more abrasive than cardboard - and that's almost stretching it. It will work very well for paper, tape, or light-duty items.
The Sheath: The Minimalist comes with a Zytel sheath; very similar to Kydex. It's black and measures 2-1/4" long by 2" wide. With the knife inserted, it's 5-1/4" long. Retention is very good; not too loose and not too tight. I can insert the Minimalist and turn the sheath upside-down, then shake: no wobble. The sheath has six holes in it for lashing or strapping, but they won't fit a Tek Lok. I think they'll fit a MOLLE clip, but I haven't tried yet. The sheath includes 36" of gutted OD 550 cord for neck carry. Simply tie it to your size and snip the rest off. Neck carry is comfortable and unnoticeable. A normally-fitting T-shirt will not cause the Minimalist to print through, but don't try to hide it under Under Armor.
Overall, the CRKT Minimalist is a great value. Great shape in both the blade and handle, secure grip, secure sheath, great price, and higher-class handles than you'd expect from a $18 knife make it a real winner. The only thing I'd change is the steel; I'd prefer something like AUS-8 or 440C and neither would drive the price up too much. It's still a great knife and a welcome addition to any neck knife user's collection.
Handle Details: The Minimalist is one solid piece of steel, and has linen micarta scales attached. It's handle is 2-3/4" long and 5/16" thick. It has three finger grooves, and they provide excellent grip. The linen micarta scales are black and green, and are held on with T-6 Torx screws - two on each side. The butt has a black braided lanyard attached, and it's box-stitched. It's a small diameter (a hair under 1/16" thick) cord, but it does the job. It's 2" long and makes the knife easier to extract from the sheath and make it a four-finger knife. The lanyard is attached underneath the micarta scales and through a hole in the butt of the full exposed tang.
The handle is quite comfortable, and almost disappears in your hand. In use, it's comfortable and smooth. There is no repositioning of your fingers when extracting the knife from the sheath because the finger grooves are all exposed and grab-able. Gripping is comfortable in either hammer grip or reverse grip.
Blade Details: The Minimalist has a wharncliff blade, and it's exactly 2" long. The blade is 1/8" thick. It's made of 5Cr15MoV at 55-57 on the Rockwell scale, and is flat ground. There's jimping 1-1/16" long, and it extends a bit onto the handle. The jimping is a little smoother than I'd like, but it's perfectly functional. The left side of the blade has the CRKT logo etched on, while the right side has FOLTS above MINIMALIST and the model number (2385).
This 5Cr15MoV is a relatively soft steel, but it's not as soft as AUS-6 or 420J2. It takes a wicked edge and keeps it for an okay length of time, provided you don't cut anything hard or thick with it. As an EDC, I wouldn't use the Minimalist for anything harder or more abrasive than cardboard - and that's almost stretching it. It will work very well for paper, tape, or light-duty items.
The Sheath: The Minimalist comes with a Zytel sheath; very similar to Kydex. It's black and measures 2-1/4" long by 2" wide. With the knife inserted, it's 5-1/4" long. Retention is very good; not too loose and not too tight. I can insert the Minimalist and turn the sheath upside-down, then shake: no wobble. The sheath has six holes in it for lashing or strapping, but they won't fit a Tek Lok. I think they'll fit a MOLLE clip, but I haven't tried yet. The sheath includes 36" of gutted OD 550 cord for neck carry. Simply tie it to your size and snip the rest off. Neck carry is comfortable and unnoticeable. A normally-fitting T-shirt will not cause the Minimalist to print through, but don't try to hide it under Under Armor.
Overall, the CRKT Minimalist is a great value. Great shape in both the blade and handle, secure grip, secure sheath, great price, and higher-class handles than you'd expect from a $18 knife make it a real winner. The only thing I'd change is the steel; I'd prefer something like AUS-8 or 440C and neither would drive the price up too much. It's still a great knife and a welcome addition to any neck knife user's collection.
