Blade Show West: CRKT Follows up Mbombo Reveal with More New Stuff

It turns out that the Darriel Caston-designed Mbombo was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to Blade Show West reveals from CRKT. The company not only brought that previously revealed Caston design, but two others as well, alongside a series of limited edition pieces from the legendary Michael Walker.

MinimalX

The MinimalX shares its overall look with the Mbombo. As on its predecessor, it has a sci-fi tanto blade, a Caston original, that flips out of, and folds completely into, a rectangular handle. The MinimalX is smaller though, with a blade length of 2.19 inches (for reference, the Mbombo was decidedly midsize at 3.23 inches). This one will also be a bit more wallet friendly, thanks in part to a 12C27N blade instead of the Damasteel on the Mbombo. And, as you may have guessed, that means that instead of a titanium handle the MinimalX releases in a full stainless steel frame – that being said it is still nice and light, tipping the scales at just 2.6 oz.

KatanaX

The KatanaX leans into the gadgety side of Caston’s design ethos. Billed as a ‘manual OTF,’ it opens like some old school utility knives, with a slider in the center of the handle that pushes its tiny Japanese-style tanto blade out and into a usable position. The blade is 2 inches long, but made from D2, so it should be a marathon runner in a backup or light duty knife role. The clipless KatanaX’s frame is made from Grivory, which makes it a real featherweight, weighing just .8 oz.

Fortuitous

Michael Walker’s work needs no introduction; this pair of limited edition knives, produced by LionSteel, embody some of the more artistic elements of Walker’s work – the sort of non-utilitarian elements that are usually the first things to go when making a full scale production knife.

On either version, the handle is made from titanium scales of notable texture with different visual regions: there’s the oversized, Bluetongue Damasteel pivot, laid into a stippled portion, that itself flows into a third handle section with a semi-organic, semi-abstract visual motif. And on top of all that there’s the pocket clip, also made from titanium, but with a roller wheel retention point.

The major difference here is one of blade steel. Those with performance in mind can go for the MagnaCut model, which comes with a coated blade and darker elements on its handle. Collectors and artistes may prefer the brighter Rose Damasteel blade Fortuitous, which compliments its uncoated blade with a overall brighter handle finish.

Also worth noting is that another version of Walker’s Pursue model was revealed; this one has a Damasteel blade, Fat Carbon handle, and (rarely seen in production knives) a black mother of pearl pivot.

All of these knives are available now.

Knife in Featured Image: CRKT Fortuitous

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