CRKT Celebrates 30th Anniversary with New Ross Kommer Fixed Blade

CRKT has just unveiled a new, US-made fixed blade to celebrate thirty years in the knife business. This is the Soldotna, an all-purpose outdoors blade designed by longtime CRKT collaborator Russ Kommer.

Certainly one of the coolest things about being friends with a custom knife maker is the chance that they may eventually make you a bespoke knife for a special occasion. The Soldotna can trace its origins to just such an occurrence: Kommer made a custom fixed blade for CRKT founder Rod Bremer, who intended to give it to his grandson for an upcoming hunting trip.

And you can definitely see the hunting knife heritage here. It’s plain as day in that 3.5-inch drop point blade, a profile configuration well-suited to the delicate nature of field dressing and related chores, but also a good fit for the larger gamut of light-to-medium outdoors cutting jobs. CRKT tapped TOPS Knives as production partner for this rugged knife, so the blade steel on the standard production version is that company’s beloved 1095, sporting a Cerakote to keep potential corrosion at bay. Collectors may want to scoop up the limited edition version releasing alongside the standard; the blade on that one is made from random pattern damascus from Vegas Forge instead.

The two versions have different scale materials, too. The standard model comes with the usual TOPS canvas Micarta, in hearty slabs that provide plenty of grip without being overly abrasive; meanwhile, the limited Soldotna comes dressed up in walnut wood scales, which drive home the collector appeal but are no slouch in the practicality department either. The handle profile remains the same for both: Kommer came up with a gently curving handle that’s wide at the back end but narrows to pinch point width behind the finger guard. A leather sheath is included with either model, too, although it’s dyed black for the standard version and brown for the limited edition.

Both Soldotnas are available now, direct from CRKT. The Limited Edition damascus model is restricted to just 200 pieces.

Knife in Featured Image: CRKT Soldotna

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