CRKT Pilar D2 tan g10

TheFactor

TheFactor

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As most of you know I normally don’t start a thread giving a review of newly acquired knife . I must say because of the price point and quality of this knife it’s more then worthy of it . I mainly wanted to do so for those looking for a nice knife and didn’t want to spend a lot of money and only a little . This is my First CRKT and I have to tell you I’m impressed . The fit and finish is remarkable and rivals some at 3 or 4 times its price point imo. D2 blade steel that came out of the box very sharp and what’s so amazing is how this little knife feels so good in hand . Has a reversible pocket clip right hand only tip up or tip down . I’ve seen and read some great reviews about this knife and now I know why . Early lockup and rock solid with no play or lock stick . Blade dead centered and the fit and finish is very good with a really nice and even blade grind .
Anyway again I don’t normally write or start threads for knife reviews but this one has exceeded my expectations and I wanted to share my experience so others can have the opportunity to own such a nice knife at a more then reasonable price point .
They also have a bigger brother for those that like a little bigger knife .
Here’s a couple of pictures out of box and one after just adding a leather lanyard and flipping the clip .
Also has a limited life time Warranty I believe . This one I think is a BHQ exclusive
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BMCGear said:
Man, i've been eyeing that one but wasn't sure about the quality.
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At this price point you really can’t go wrong imo and it is a really nice knife you can use , enjoy and not worry about. Just keep it clean and lubed and if you get a D2 blade steel just periodically put a light coat of oil on it and or flitz it . D2 is a tool steel not a stainless so you need to take care of it but the upside relatively easy to sharpen and holds a edge and can be razor sharp .
 
I did not know about this one. Thanks?!

I like the green one better than the tan, though. The Pilar is one of my favorites. It is really a great design.
 
Your very welcome ?! :) lol
The OD green is really nice to :thumbsup:
Edit: The tan actually looks more like grey in person just so you know .
 
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TheFactor said:
At this price point you really can’t go wrong imo and it is a really nice knife you can use , enjoy and not worry about. Just keep it clean and lubed and if you get a D2 blade steel just periodically put a light coat of oil on it and or flitz it . D2 is a tool steel not a stainless so you need to take care of it but the upside relatively easy to sharpen and holds a edge and can be razor sharp .
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Yea, I've owned D2. I'm not the biggest fan of it but I like it better than 8cr and while I tend to stay away from most low cost imports I really like this design.
 
Looks great! My dad has been carrying crkt's for a couple years. He has some great knives but for a everyday work knife he likes crkt's. He has ZT's, spydie's, a new gen 6 xm-18 (I bought him) benchmade's, kizer, WE, Rike. I'm not sure of the models he has but what he showed me there very good for the price. I'll have to order him one of these.
 
BMCGear said:
Yea, I've owned D2. I'm not the biggest fan of it but I like it better than 8cr and while I tend to stay away from most low cost imports I really like this design.
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I’ve always liked D2 although never had CRKT D2 .
That’s what really impressed me was being made in China and how well it was made .Don’t think your going to find a knife made in the USA at this price point and with this quality.
 
lzeplin said:
Looks great! My dad has been carrying crkt's for a couple years. He has some great knives but for a everyday work knife he likes crkt's. He has ZT's, spydie's, a new gen 6 xm-18 (I bought him) benchmade's, kizer, WE, Rike. I'm not sure of the models he has but what he showed me there very good for the price. I'll have to order him one of these.
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I think you’ll like It especially at this price it’ll be a fun no worries knife that should perform well .
This is my first CRKT and have a feeling it won’t be my last .
 
this is really quite similar in price to a rat2 in d2... sounds like a challenger has finally shown up

rat2 still seems (imho) to offer a better value, but of course, the pilar wins if you want wharny - so they've done well
thanks for the report, update it after using it for a month or 2 please?
 
dirc said:
this is really quite similar in price to a rat2 in d2... sounds like a challenger has finally shown up

rat2 still seems (imho) to offer a better value, but of course, the pilar wins if you want wharny - so they've done well
thanks for the report, update it after using it for a month or 2 please?
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Absolutely as these are my first impressions which I should of noted but I really think this should hold up well .
Rat2 is also a solid knife .
 
CRKT fanboy here. They hit it out of the park with this one! I got the green handle which looks better (or so I think) and I just love D2 steel.

I watched Nick Shabazz's disassembly video on this so now I know how not to take a knife apart:p. It does come with a bit of a stiff action, but a good cleaning and lube should take care of that. Also, it's a bit handle heavy but you get used to it.

It fits perfectly in my watch/5th pocket so I'll be using it as my secondary or back-up EDC. It's perfect for that. I know that people have complained about the steel and handle material used on the original, and weren't too happy with the later "upgrade" to carbon fiber and Sandvik steel, but everyone (except the true steel snobs) should be pleased with this version.

Enjoy!
 
TheFactor said:
Edit: The tan actually looks more like grey in person just so you know .
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i assembled my own Pilar lookalike with tan-grey G10 scale hehe. it's a Spydie titanium cts xhp but that pilar was\is out of stock so i had to come up with something
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I like the design. I wish they made a jumbo version with a blade over 3 inches. Maybe in the future.

If I go small carry its a SAK or Boker Wharcom.
 
interesting observation.. while the Pilar was popular in the past 2.0yrs, it is not selling anymore, at least not the Carbon Fibre D2. bladehq has 22pcs of it in stock for over 2 months now and no shopper has been biting since. i called them up and they confirmed that they're absolutely not planning to commission yet another special run like G10, CF, Micarta, and whatnot from CRKT, because the market seems pretty much saturated after 2 yrs of selling all kinds of Pilar special versions (countless blade steel variations) and product stock hasn't been moving anymore.

that's really interesting. i had thought that the Pilar is like a PM2, a never ending bestseller 1022 on the market. i was wrong. while the market might still be all ears up if another new Pilar bladehq exclusive gets released (all of a sudden), i wouldn't wonder if it doesn't sell out like the currently still available exclusive (the CF Chinese D2).

personally i'd be interested in a Pilar Chinese S35VN with G10 or Titanium scale on the presentation side.
 
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Well, I cannot speak for anyone else, but I have not purchased one CRKT since they rolled out their UPP program of strict price control. They can take a flying leap.

They raised their prices and fixed them so that there is no competition. I have boycotted every knife company that controls their prices. The only way that I buy any of them is on the secondary market at reduced prices.
 
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kreisler said:
Carbon Fibre D2. bladehq has 22pcs of it in stock for over 2 months now and no shopper has been biting since.
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woa that is interesting.. bladehq has been able to sell off the 22pcs Carbon Fibre D2 within the last 4 days, i.e. 5-6pcs/day! Seriously, for 2-3 months there was no stock movement and all of a sudden something on the inet (a social media post by an influencer??) must have triggered the flush. i would have ordered one but intl shipping is around 40usd omfg and I am not keen on Chinese D2 tbh (who trusts their heat treat??) so i don't mind the new Out Of Stock situation np, and hopefully this motivates the seller to order another special run (S35VN?) from CRKT before Xmas.

alternatively bladehq has 15pcs of the GiantMouse Voxnaes ACE Biblio Flipper Knife Titanium (2.9" Satin M390) in stock which is also widely available in gemani (KAT 10pcs, ASW 9pcs, etc). It looks similar to the Pilar or the Pilar Large imho and should be the superior knife in many respects. i should give the Biblio titanium a try because that's what's available right now. however i am gonna observe the KAT ASW stock numbers too. if nobody else is buying, then i will pass too. i only buy popular/famous knives, i.e. models the world cares about. i am not a stupid collector or silly fanboy.
 
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kreisler said:
i only buy popular/famous knives, i.e. models the world cares about. i am not a stupid collector or silly fanboy.
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The problem with that is that a lot of knives get hyped up, and become the next big instagram hit, while not actually being all that good of a knife.
 
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