If you’ve been around knives for any length of time, you know the name Ken Onion. He is one of the best custom knife makers of all time, and he was the youngest knife maker to be inducted in the Hall of Fame for knife makers. I’ve never met Ken, but we had several conversations some years back, when I was doing an article on one of his collaborations with a major knife company. Ken lives in Hawaii – and I used to – and he is an absolute wild man to talk to on the phone. He is also a wealth of knowledge when it comes to making custom knives. I used to collect custom knives, and designed more than a few. But I could never afford one of Ken’s custom knives. So, we have the likes of CRKT to thank, for bringing a number of Ken’s custom designs, to the marketplace, and at very affordable prices.
Columbia River Knife & Tool, is a company known for their many collaborations with custom knifemakers, and I’ve been writing about their knives almost from the git-go. I’ve probably written more articles about their knives than any other writer out there. The owner of CRKT and I have been friends for a lot of years, just don’t tell him I ever claimed we were friends – it would drive him mad, I’m sure…LOL! Rod Bremer, who owns CRKT is one of the nicest and most laid-back guys in the industry, and we really go at each other all the time – be it in e-mails, or on the phone – how he puts up with me, is another story, but the same can be said about me putting up with him…if you ever read our e-mail exchanges or heard our phone calls, or our all to infrequent face-to-face meetings, you’d think we were bitter enemies.
I really like that CRKT explores the outer universe when it comes to some “different” knife designs, they aren’t afraid to reach out there, and market knives and other tools that you really need to take a second look at – many times – you might dismiss one of their collaborations as “ho-hum” at first glance. But you really need to read about some of the designs, and then hold one in your hand, and you come to appreciate what CRKT saw in the design in the first place. More than once, I’ve looked at a design on their web site and said “what the heck is that all about, I don’t get it…” but I’m not closed-minded, and I’ll request that sample, only to be pleasantly surprise at how much I liked the knife, once I held it in my hand.
Enter the new Onion-designed “Helical” folder, and this one really is more than a little different in many ways. First of all, it is a very slim design, the blade is only half an inch wide, we’re talking slim, for a knife with a tanto blade that is 3.524 inches long. The first thing that you’ll notice is how long the blade appears. When I read about this neat folder, I just wasn’t all that impressed, but like I said, I’m not closed-minded – just because I didn’t like what I saw, doesn’t mean others would. More on this later.Continue reading“CRKT Helical, by Pat Cascio”
