Hey everyone, David C. Andersen here coming at you from the
KnifeCenter. And we've got another blade show preview for
you today. Blade show is at the end of this week from when this
video is posting. And we've got some stuff to show you from
CRKT, three new collaborations with none other than Michael
Walker, who, if you're unfamiliar with his name is
highly, highly influential on the modern knife scene, even if
his name is not at the tip of everyone's tongues nowadays, or
hold up the first of the collabs right here. Now, who is Michael
Walker, most famously known as the inventor of the liner lock,
the modern iteration anyway of the liner lock, also credited
with the being the first to use the ball detent in conjunction
with the liner lock as part of what gives the that lock, it's
magic. I mean, shake a stick nowadays, the modern flipper
craze owes its very existence to Michael Walker's innovations
right here. But those are just things he's most famous for.
He's also made something like over 20 Other locking
mechanisms, his work is incredibly rare there. Nowadays,
there's not a lot, actually none currently in production that I
know of, in terms of production collaborations with Michael
Walker, and his customs are super rare. He only makes one
knife at a time, each one is different from the last he never
makes the same knife twice. And as I've heard it described, he
sits down with a rectangle that's going to wind up being
the blade and a rectangle that's going to wind up being the
handle starts with the lock and moves out from there and lets
the process flow organically. And his stuff is so good that as
I've heard it told when he does exhibit at shows, oftentimes,
it's other knife makers who are the first in line to buy his
stuff because he's that well respected and his stuff is just
that dang good. Given that admittedly a very brief overview
and very abridged overview of the man's accomplishments. It's
really cool to see a new production design collaboration
on the market from Michael Walker. And it's especially cool
for me at least to see it from crk tea as well. He's got some
nice history with that brand. Probably the most recognizable
form there is the locks system, the lake and Walker knife safety
that he co developed with Ron lake. It's also had stuff like
the blade lock knife is another classic design from CRKT's
lineup. But now we have three more this first one right here
is called the monument. And there are two versions of it
right here, which is somewhat appropriate because remember
what I mentioned before that there's only he only makes one
of any given knife and never makes the same knife twice. This
design the monument is the one exception as far as I'm aware,
he's made like six of these. And that's it. And then he moved on
to the next thing that we'll start with the first version
right here. These knives are a premium they are Italian made.
If you're familiar with CRKT's Italian partners, you know how
good a job they do, which is to say a fantastic and a cool
thing. Michael Walker got his start before making knives. He
was actually a jewelry maker. And it's cool to see that the
production company has been able to kind of integrate some of
those design cues that you see in some of his custom work on a
much more attainable level. Still not cheap Mind you this
version right here. 275 for the standard M 390 bladed version.
That blade link is just over three inches long, I'd call that
a modified sheepsfoot with a high flat grind, you've got some
nice detailing like the crown spine on the knife makes it very
comfortable when choking up with a finger also makes it very nice
to look at to the handles are titanium. Really cool, kind of
jeweled fishscale texture here on the back. And on the front.
We've got a dama steel pivot on these knives. This is blue tang
pattern dama steel on both sides. And if you check out
Michael Walker's Instagram right near the top right now at least
while we are filming this video, he's got a knife using this same
kind of pivot material. So again, pulling those cues right
down from the customs. The pocket clip is milled. We've got
some intricate patterning going on there. And this small wheel
for the pinch point which is pretty cool. Sometimes you'll
see a cylindrical bearing or sometimes a ball bearing there,
the wheel is even less common, makes it even cooler. And given
we're dealing with a Michael Walker design here, we've got a
liner lock very appropriate. There you can see it's inset for
more class very highly finished. The lockup is supremely solid.
And the action we're dealing with ball bearings in the pivot
here is also excellent The price on this one is going to be 275
if I didn't mention that already, and I should also say,
these are all going to be limited as well, these aren't
going to be an ongoing thing. So make sure to get them if you are
interested. If you want to spend a little bit more money, you
want something a little more intricate, you've got the
Damasteel bladed version here, this is going to be $500. The
Damasteel here is the rose pattern. And it's got all the
same great things as the M 390 blade going on just with more
added visual flair, but a slightly more subdued handle
still with the intricacies in the jewel like quality of the
engraved faux inlays right here. But a different but equally
striking look at the dama steel material, there is actually a
powder metallurgy product, you should get performance somewhere
on par with something like CPM 154. So it will be tougher than
your M 390. On that base version, it's funny to think of
a $275 version being the base version. But the M 390 will give
you more edge retention taken just between the two equally
fantastic I gotta say I really love the slightly more muted
aesthetics of the handle here on this one. Just very, very nice.
Next we have the pursue. Here it is price on this is going to be
$400 similar overall size to the monument but different kinds of
vibes overall. The blade, of course, is a more conventional
drop point design. This is the super dense twist damage steel
for the pattern, higher flat grind, but not quite as high as
the monument and you're dealing with roughly the same thickness
of blade there. So outright slicing geometry if you're
putting any of these to use the monument will be a little bit
spicier. This knife will be a little bit tougher in the way it
cuts. You do have a swedge there near the tip to remove a bit of
drag if you're slicing through something with that tip area.
We've also got from a functional standpoint, since we're talking
about that right now, thumb studs and a front flipping kind
of squared off section here as opposed to a conventional rear
flipper without thumb studs. The thumb studs work excellently
ball bearings and the pivot again, the front flipper you all
know I'm not the best at front flippers in general, but the
slow walk on it for me works perfectly smoothly. Let's try
haven't done the flip yet. I'll do first time on camera, a
little bit of risk no problem. The handle is dark matter fat
carbon which is essentially has the look of marbled carbon fiber
with this gold kind of marbled in with this gold coloration.
Actually don't think it's 24 karat gold actually, the pivot
on the front is mother of pearl. And I believe titanium there on
the back. Same pocket clip as you saw on the monument nice and
intricate with that wheel for the pinch point also feels
really good in the hand when you compare the two side by side.
The monuments fine there, I would never complain about this.
But the pursue here just kind of fills out the grip just a little
bit more taken between the two at the very least, truly
excellent looking all around. You've got that crown spine on
this just like on the monument I didn't mention that before.
similar treatment to the back spacers on both of these knives
as well. Very, very nice, truly premium and it's cool to
continue to see or it's cool to see CRKT continuing to put some
energy in to the higher end products as well as their normal
baseline products at the same time. Very, very cool. Make sure
to check out the rest of our blade show coverage later this
week. I believe we will be visiting CRKT's booth. We might
even have a visit with Michael Walker lined up. We'll see we'll
see how it goes. But in the meantime, check the links below
for these knives. They are available for order right now by
the time you're seeing this video. And don't forget about
our knife rewards program as well because if you're going to
purchase one of these knives sure would be nice to earn some
free money to spend on a future one. I'm David C. Andersen from
the KnifeCenter Let's Thomas behind the camera even though he
didn't say anything today. See you at blade show