Pat Crawford, a knife designer from West Memphis, Arkansas, collaborated with Columbia River Knife and Tool on production versions of several other well known Crawford designs prior to the Natural. Usually steel quality drops and corners are cut in the mass market version of a knife, but with the Crawford Natural 7085 Clip Point Folder, CRKT decided to buck the trend. This time you'll get a Crawford knife that rivals the quality of the custom model, but at a price you can handle.
Using premium 8Cr13MoV high carbon steel tempered to Rockwell 58-59, CRKT makes the pocket clip Natural in several versions including this heavy folder with black bolster and white handle. Pat Crawford custom-builds a knife of the same pattern from S30V steel with ivory handle slabs and carbon fiber bolster -- the white bone and black G-10 of the CRKT is a good visual match. You'd find more detail work on the custom model, but CRKT includes filework on the knife's spine. That usually isn't a production model feature.
The Natural won't be disappointing in function, either. This heavy folder weighs 10.4 ounces and opens to a locked length of 9-1/4 inches with a blade 3.88 inches long. The Marauder clip point style of the blade was created by Pat Crawford to serve as either a tactical knife, hunting knife, or utility blade. The heavy stainless steel liners qualify the knife as a framelock design, stronger than the liner lock you'll find in most pocket clip folding knives.
The opening system incorporates CRKT's spring-driven Outburst mechanism. Push the thumb stud to swing the blade partly open, past the mandatory detente, and the Outburst system takes over. The spring powers the blade open and locked with the satisfying feel of an automatic.
See the Cold Steel Espada for another example of a classy folder with the heft of a full-sized fixed blade.
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