When someone says “premium knife” and the initials C-R-K are used, everyone thinks “Sebenza.” But over the past few years or so, Columbia River Knife and Tool, the OTHER CRK(T), has started to pump out a host of nicer knives. While their line up is still mostly mired in 8CR overseas entry level stuff, some of which is not bad, a few knives have been released in premium configurations. Of those, the Squid II is by far the nicest and by far the best blade CRKT has ever sold.

One reason it has taken so long to nail this premium feel is that CRKT, like the vast majority of knife companies in 2023, is not so much a knife maker as it is a knife producer. The difference is huge and important for knife folks to understand. Here is the difference, using Benchmade v. CRKT as a simplified example.

Benchmade has a bevy of in-house designers working on new blueprints for knives. Once they finish with the CAD drawing they walk over to another part of the Benchmade factory and hand it to a person working at a series of advanced metalworking machines. Through all sorts of high tech tools, they take raw materials and make the knife as designed. Everything is in-house.

CRKT instead, works differently. They have a network of custom makers that help design their blades. Those plans get shipped to CRKT and they are either edited a bit or taken as is, and sent to a manufacturing company, sometimes referred to as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer). Once the design is made, it is distributed, sold, and marketed by CRKT.

While we can all marvel at the do-it-yourself model Benchmade has, it is an exceptionally expensive model. It also bucks the structural imperatives of capitalism. CRKT’s model outsources design to the best designers and manufacturing to the best manufacturers, so on and so forth. It lets each group specialize in what they do best and it avoids potential compromises that the jack-of-all trades approach Benchmade takes. Of course, this is all theoretical. Benchmade employs some of the best designers in the world and it does, on occasion, use outside designers (see: Benchmade Shane Seibert models). It also employs some of the best machinists and equipment in the knife world. Finally, the all in-house model of knife production allows Benchmade to directly oversee the quality of each production phase. The result is that Benchmade can dial in a design and release it exactly as it wants, like the Benchmade Bugout. CRKT has to trust that its partners are capable of their best at each phase.

As a result of this production model, CRKT has struggled to line up everything perfectly with their premium knives. The first of their premium knives, the CRKT Hi Jinx, illustrates the problems with the OEM system. First, the Hi Jinx was designed by Ken Onion, who lives in Hawaii. It was then sent to Italy with oversight by CRKT in Oregon. The knife came out, won Blade of the Year at Blade Show in 2014, and looked great. But there were some issues. First, because of all the expensive machining the knife was staggeringly expensive (at the time and now to a lesser degree) with an MSRP of $500. Weirdly, the Hi Jinx ran a Sleipner blade, which is a European version of D2. A $500 D2 knife really doesn’t appeal to the knife enthusiast. But it wasn’t just cost. The Hi Jinx landed in folks hands with serious lock stick issues. CRKT had to do a ton of work to remedy the problem and ultimately the effort was abandoned. The simpler, cheaper, and Chinese made Hi Jinx Z was released and it had none of the problems of the original. CKRT’s complex production model means that you can find the best and/or least expensive producers at each step in the process, but it limits oversight of the final, cohesive unit.

But with the Squid II they have worked out the kinks in the system. Notably it is 8 years later. This is a slow and painful process and a slew of higher end CRKTs have come and gone without much success. But the Squid II a pure thoroughbred, a winner that hangs with the very best the market has to offer at a shockingly decent price. Finally, all of the stars have aligned and we are treated to a knife that disrupts the mental image of CRKT. From the Plasti-Benza to the Hi Jinx to the Squid II. Its been a LONG journey.

Here is the product page. The Squid II costs $185 and is exclusively available on CKRT’s website. There are four variants all sold directly through CRKT’s site: there are two handle materials, green micarta and carbon fiber; and there are two blade finishes: satin and coated. Here is a written review. Here is a video review.

Finally, here is my review sample (sent to me by CRKT):

Quick Review Summary: A slam dunk of a knife.

Design: 2

The short stubby knife has been a favorite of mine for years. I loved the original Techno. I was a fan of the Techno 2. I even enjoyed the SOG Bluto (aside from its essentially unsharpenable blade)—how is that for an obscure knife? The Pilar was a chunker and the original Squid was too. My Leafstorm 9 is what I would consider portly. And I miss the Hinderer Half Track (which apparently is not being made with normal blade shapes anymore). I will admit these knives aren’t as practical as something like the Neutron 2, but if we just want to maximize utility, we’d all carry the same knife all the time.

Fit and Finish: 2

There are a lot of nice touches on the Squid II. The wonderfully crowned spine is an absolute treat for the fingers and the eyes. The letterboxing on the micarta on the handle is a lovely visual touch. The brass pivot collar on the green micarta handle looks excellent. The blade finish is nice and even. Plunges and grinds are precise and crisp. The cutting bevel is clean and even. I did have to give it a quick sharpen when I started using it on a large cutting project, but I do not consider out of box sharpeness to be an issue unless the edge is non-functional. It was functional, but a quick hit on the Ken Onion resulted in those satisfying sounds and feels when passing through cardboard.

Grip: 2

Micarta is used because it is a perfect balance between gritty and smooth. It won’t chew up your pocket, but it also won’t slip out of your hand. But there is a huge range of micarta. Some are downright furry and others are basically G10. The micarta here is right in the middle and that’s where I like it. The shadowboxed liners are nice too. One last point—the jimping is absolutely perfect—rounded off and smooth in one direction but grippy in the other.

Carry: 1

There is no way around it, this knife is a chunk. Its tall, long, and heavy for a knife with a 3” blade. I get that lots of people like these chunky blades, but this is about the biggest of these knives I could regularly carry. The Techno is good, the Techno 2 is also good. This is a knife in that same design space, but even a bit bigger. I like this knife, and I get that it is a slab of beef, but I couldn’t do more than this.

Steel: 2

M390 is so ubiquitous that it is boring to write about. Its just good at pretty much everything.

Blade Shape: 2

Burnley’s design language is one of simplicity. Here the spear point blade is just simply done and the result is a blade that looks clean and purpose-driven because it is. I also think that unlike many blades this size, the Squid II’s blade shape makes it look less threatening. A persian blade shape, for example ALWAYS looks aggressive. Here, even with the size and mass of the knife, this is a less scary knife than you would expect.

Grind: 2

This is a chunky blade for sure, but it is also a tall blade, so by the time you get down to the actual cutting edge you have had a lot of real estate to get thin. Its not an elite slicer, of course, but it is pretty good at what it is—a robust blade that can still slice a tomato. Kinda.

Deployment Method: 2

The flipper here is responsive and reliably fires. It is not as kinetic as the most elite flippers on the market, something like a Shiro or a Sharp By Design, but it is pretty good. Also the thumb studs work well and are not an after thought.

Retention Method: 2

Probably a cost savings measure, the stamped steel clip here is actually a boon. This is a knife with lots and lots of nice touches and while most will insist that a stamped clip can never be a nice touch, I am more concerned with function and weight than appearance. As a result, this clip is a nice touch for me, even if most people think its just penny pinching.

Lock: 1

So this is has been something that I have been going back and forth about. It is not THAT big a deal, but I wish there were better access to the lockbar. The little cut out for the thumb stud is nice in terms of deployment, but I would have preferred it to be bigger to make it easier to disengage the lock. Like I said, it is not a big deal and on a 100 point score this would be worth like 5 points, making it right on the edge for deducting a full point on this 20 point scale. In the end, I think this is the right call, but I had this as a 2 for a long time with a lengthy explanation as to why it was not a 1.

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: Very High

Flippers with nicely textured micarta are to fingers what a great track layout is for folks that like to race—there is lots to keep you entertained.

Fett Effect: Very High

Micarta ages nicely and looks and feels better with age. The steel here will look the same in a thousand years, but brassed titanium pieces are nice too.

Value: Very High

If this were a “self-published” blade it would have been no less than $400. At $185, this is a stunning value. I don’t usually check prices when I get review samples and I had just assumed this was $300. When I found out it was $185, I realized this was the best knife CRKT has ever made.

Overall Score: 18 of 20

If you like stout blades this is one that is hard to ignore. The materials are excellent—the combination of brass and green micarta is basically scallops wrapped in bacon for knife knuts and good steel is always a nice upgrade for CRKT blades. But this is not just a good knife for CRKT, this is a good knife if it were made by anyone. At $185 it is still expensive for a knife, especially if you aren’t a knife knut, but in a world of $425 Small Sebenzas, this is a very good value. Burnley’s design is a classic, of course, but for me this knife feels more like a good EDC than the thin and potentially people-disturbing Kwaiken. Its a bit heavy, but that is kind of what the knife is going for with its small but overbuilt design. If that is a killer for you, and it usually is for me, then this is not a knife you should consider, but if you are bit flexible in your carry you might come away with a deeper appreciation for beefy blades. While beefy, this isn’t stupidly so. Unquestionably this is a knife that is bolstered significantly by the three unscored attributes. There are lot of 19/20 or 20/20 knives I like less than this knife. In the end, I just like the Squid II.

Competition

Well, there is a lot of competition here. The aforementioned Techno II is a good rival—but a bit smaller and lacking the character and grip that micarta provides. The Hinderer Half Track is VERY similar with better lockbar access, but a price tag that is significantly higher. I also think the SOG Kiku XR is a good comp. Similarly handle design with the same handle material and a similar price. I think I like the cleaner, simpler lines on the Squid II more. Striders are similarly overbuilt and have a better handle, but are also much more expensive. One knife that I couldn’t shake a comp to was the Rotten Designs CKF Evo 3.0 with the Micarta inlay. That is, of course, a radically more expensive knife coming in at probably 4 or 5 times as much, and it is WAY larger, probably twice the weight and more than an inch extra in blade length. But they have that same chunky, robust feel to them. The level of polish on the CKF is higher, of course, but not but that much and certainly not as much as you would expect. I was oddly intrigued by the Evo 3.0, a knife I should, given my frequently-stated tastes, absolutely hate, but it was engaging in the same way that this knife is engaging. This knife just happens to be vastly more practical. I think a Demko AD20.5 with better steel and micarta scales would be an excellent comp (and a better knife than the stock AD20.5).

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