I’ve been writing about Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT ) products for about as long as they’ve been around. They started out small, with just a few really cool tactical knife designs. They were all were quality-made, and priced right. I’ve watched CRKT grow steadily, year after year, but adhering to their roots, to provide quality products at affordable prices. Some folks denigrate the idea of knives made in Taiwan, but I’m not in that group. You get as good as you want in a product, no matter where it might be made. I know that Rod Bremer, who owns CRKT, heads off to Taiwan every couple of months, to keep an eye on things in the plant over there. And, when Bremer isn’t there, he sends his next in command, Doug Flagg to the plant. So, a very watchful eye is kept on the manufacturing processes taking place.
I know both Bremer and Flagg personally, and have dealt with them for many years, both are great guys and like myself neither one wear suits and ties. They are down-to-earth types, and are always willing to spend time with me, whenever I stop by the CRKT offices unannounced for a visit, to see what’s new and how things are progressing. So, I have a good feel for what goes on behind the scenes at CRKT, more so than most folks do.
Some time back, CRKT teamed with custom knife maker Ken Onion, for some collaborations on knives, and this was a smart move – Onion is one of the hottest custom knife makers and designers around. I interviewed Onion for an article I did some years ago, we talked on the phone for quite a while – Ken lives in Hawaii – and he is a wild man, but he knows his stuff. So, I was really excited to see the collaboration between Ken Onion and CRKT.
The “Foresight” is clearly designed by Ken Onion. If you know his style, then you’ll readily recognize this knife as one he designed. There is a certain flair to his designs that is easy to see. Now, before I get into the “Foresight” I want to mention that it won the 2012 Blade Show, Import Knife Design of the year. This is an award given to a knife by fellow industry peers – quite an award, to be sure. What you see in the Onion design is “form follows function”. The profile of the “Foresight” looks like a chiseled physique just waiting to pounce on your next cutting task.
Without boring SurvivalBlog readers with too many details, I’ll outline some of them, and you can check out the knife on the CRKT web site. With a 3.5″ modified drop-point blade, with a generous belly and recurve cutting edge for maximizing the full utility of the blade. I really like the recurve blade design, as you actually get more cutting surface than the measured length of the blade. You can also have the Foresight with a razor-sharp cutting edge or a combined razor sharp edge with triple-point serrations. Steel is AUS 8 one of my favorite blade steels – it holds an edge for a good long time, and is fairly easy to re-sharpen, too with a Rockwell Hardness of 58-59, and a Black Ti-Ni finish on the blade for that super-cool tactical look. The overall length of the knife in the open position is 8.69″ and it weighs in at 6.3 oz – not too heavy and not too light.
The cold-forged black aluminum handle on the Foresight is purposefully styled and shaped with swept finger grooves and a proper palm swell to provide confident, and comfortable grip no matter what. The knife simply feels GREAT in the hand! Now, as to opening the blade, there is the super smooth IKBS ball bearing pivot system coupled with Interframe style mechanism – making this one of the smoothest opening folders you’ll run across. It is smooth as silk, to be sure. There are no thumb studs – instead, there is a flicker on the blade – you simply apply a little bit of pressure to the back of the blade, on the flicker, and the blade effortlessly glides out of the handle scales and securely locks in place. The knife almost feels like it’s an auto-opening folder because of the little amount of effort required to get the blade deployed. The knife’s smooth opening it is very impressive, and I can understand why industry peers voted the Foresight as the 2012 Blade Show Import Knife of the year.
My wife isn’t into knives, she carries a few small folders in her purse and on her key ring, and they are used mostly for small cutting chores. However, she really fell in love with how the Foresight felt in her hand, and couldn’t believe how easy it was to deploy the blade after applying a little pressure to the flicker. Guys, this would make a great present for your wife, if she likes knives at all…even though it has that “tactical” look to it, the gals like this baby. Of course, there is the pocket/clothing clip on the handle for pocket carry. CRKT – if you’re listening, the gals wouldn’t mind having a Foresight in a different handle color – maybe hot pink, blue or ???? But the black handle color will do…
I’ve said many times before, that I think the ideal blade length on a folding knife for serious tactical or chores is between 3.5″ and 4″ and the Foresight delivers in this respect, with the 3.5″ blade. I just think that folding knives that have a blade length in this area seem to balance a lot better in the hand for some reason, and the knife is quicker if you have to use it to defend yourself. And, as already mentioned, the recurve blade (belly) actually gives you more cutting surface than the blade length. Additionally, the recurve actually grabs and pulls whatever material you might be cutting into the blade – it doesn’t slip off!
I used the CRKT “Foresight” for more than two months for various cutting chores around my homestead, and found it to be exceptional at many tasks, especially cutting meat. Yeah, if you sit around my kitchen table for a meal, and meat is served, you might just see me using a folding knife of some type – what better way to test a blade? I can usually be “caught” carrying at least two folding knives or more – not, I’m not paranoid, I just test several different knives at a time, and I find it easier to carry the knives in my cargo pants pockets than to have to go looking for them when I want them. As always, we have plenty of blackberry vines around our place, and I test knife sharpness by chopping these nasty vines down, and the Foresight would easily take care of this task with one swing of the blade.
If you’re in the market for a new EDC (Every Day Carry) folder, you could do a lot worse than the Foresight from CRKT. Full retail is only $140 and like all CRKT products, you can usually find them deeply discounted at many sporting goods stores or big box stores. And, remember, CRKT provides an exceptional warranty on all their products – should you have a problem with their products, they’ll make it right!
Having used CRKT products for many, many years, they have yet to disappoint me. Have I had any problems with any of their products? Yeah, once or twice, and I returned the knives and they were replaced. To be sure, one knife that was desert tan in color faded – it was a cosmetic thing, and the knife was replaced. So, I know that CRKT stands behind their products 100%. I always try to get the most for my hard-earned dollars, and CRKT us out in this respect. Check out the new “Foresight” and I think you’ll really like what you see. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio
Pat’s Product Review: CRKT Foresight Tactical Folder
