CRKT Reveals Super Premium Folder with Deadbolt Lock

March 22, 2019

CRKT has just revealed the XOC, a new limited edition folder that features the Deadbolt locking mechanism, designed by Flavio Ikoma. The XOC also features a premium build and materials, and hits a higher price point than any active CRKT product.

The XOC, which the company tells us is pronounced ‘shock,’ is fittingly a bit of a shock to the system in just about every respect. The first thing customers will notice is the overall size: this is a massive folder, with a 4.2-inch blade, .18 inch blade stock, and an overall weight of 11 oz.

The materials are also a major departure for CRKT. While the company has certainly played with premium materials before – most notably on the high-end, Ken Onion-designed Hi-Jinx – they went all out on the XOC. The blade is an impressively thick slab of CTS-XHP, and the frame is made from titanium, with carbon fiber scales and a secondary titanium inlay/shadowboxed bolster on both sides. The clip is a sculpted titanium piece as well.

By design, there is no aspect of the XOC that isn’t completely over the top, but performance should be more than adequate should you choose to use it. The blade steel is high-performance CTS-XHP, and although the stock is prybar thick CRKT managed to get it relatively thin behind the edge; a very mild recurve should help make the XOC an aggressive cutter.

But more than the size or the materials, the star of the show here is undoubtedly the Deadbolt locking mechanism. First seen on the Seismic, the Deadbolt is a lock that is located in the knife pivot itself. As the knife opens, a pair of bolts slide into matching cutouts in the blade tang. These bolts spring into place from the offside pivot, and are disengaged by pressing the showside pivot like a button. The flipping action, running on IKBS bearing system (another Ikoma joint), is smooth and snappy, and depressing the Deadbolt button lets the blade fall with a nearly frictionless ease into the handle.

The XOC is limited to just 200 pieces worldwide.

Knife in Featured image: CRKT XOC