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CRKT Gives Voxnaes Design the D2 Upgrade

July 20, 2021

CRKT is rolling out a new limited edition exclusive today, an upgraded variation of the Piet. The key upgrade for this exclusive variant is better blade steel.

The Piet was a 2020 CRKT release, and knife nerds will be able to identify the designer at a glance. this is a Jesper Voxnaes joint, and while the Danish custom maker has a wide stylistic range, the Piet bears a lot of his favorite hallmarks: the drop-shaped opening hole, the clean handle lines, the simple, intuitive blade shape. These element, along with the Piet’s sweet spot blade length of 2.68 inches, made it a straightforward EDC knife, intended for folks who don’t need to – or can’t – carry something larger.

There’s an easy argument to be made that 8Cr13MoV is on its way out as a budget knife steel choice. While it used to be ubiquitous four or five years ago, manufacturers are finding alternatives with better performance; things like 14C28N, 12C27N, or, most commonly, D2. And this is precisely the key upgrade with this Piet. D2 offers better edge retention and toughness compared to 8Cr13MoV, and while it is not technically a stainless steel, the risk of rust is still less than that of a true, full carbon steel like 1095.

There is one other, non-performance affecting change here, and that’s to the handle scales. The original Piet’s GFN scales were black; here, they’re blue. Other than that, all the details, proportions, and materials remain the same, down to the deep carry pocket clip and blue black spacer.

CRKT has been emphasizing limited editions and special variations released only through their website. Earlier this year they released a limited edition of the Bona Fide, a Ken Onion design, with S35VN steel and gussied up handle scales. CRKT tells us that this Piet model is limited to 500 pieces, but a second run may very well follow.

Knife in Featured Image: CRKT D2 Piet

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