Columbia River Knife & Tool, better known as CRKT, has been a leader in the market for hard-use, practical, folding knives for quite some time now. The brand occupies a comfortable niche that allows for both high-quality and high-value designs to hit the market at an attractive price point, and so, CRKT knives are beloved both by collectors and those that carry everyday.

Like so many other premier knifemakers, CRKT also plies the waters of innovation, and in no other model is this so apparent as it is in the CRKT Provoke, a tactical karambit that utilizes a unique deployment mechanism and an equally unique lock. There is no other karambit out there that’s quite like the Provoke.

This post will break it down.

Why a Karambit?

Generally speaking, a karambit is a small folding knife with a hawkbill style blade and a finger ring at the end opposite the blade that both aids in deployment and in retention and control.

Designed primarily for defensive applications, karambit style knives can be opened easily and are designed for hooking and slashing. Because of the finger ring that offers excellent control and retention, they can easily be lunged, hooked, and retracted with a series of quick motions on behalf of the carrier.

Despite this obvious bent, karambits, and other hawkbill-style blades (notwithstanding the fact that they are somewhat difficult to sharpen) are also practical for EDC as they excel at draw cuts, piercing, and other detail work.

That is not to suggest that other knife blade profiles might not be better, but there is a strong argument to be made for a karambit, at least for some users.

And the CRKT Provoke is one of the best ones out there.

Why the CRKT Provoke?

First, the CRKT Provoke, while technically a single model, is available in a wide range of colors and configurations.

At its most basic, however, it is a karambit style blade of 2.47” married to a handle via two crossbars. Both ends of each crossbar are set with bolts that allow the blade and handle to pivot around each other.

The CRKT Provoke is easy to open with one hand and the lockup is remarkably solid - as has been observed by many reviewers (just look a few up, you’ll see). However, it has also been commented that though the lockup feels secure, disengaging the lock and closing the Provoke with one hand is somewhat difficult.

The classic CRKT Provoke features a hawkbill blade of D2 steel, which is a tough-use tool steel that can take an exceptionally sharp edge (and holds it decently well without being too tough to resharpen), but which is somewhat prone to corrosion. In terms of toughness, it’s a top of the pack tool steel.

The standard Provoke (if there can be said to be one) has a black nitride finish on the blade. This finish helps prevent corrosion on the blade (which is welcome) and also gives it a slick, dark, “tacticool” look.

As for the crossbars and the handle component, these are made of 6061-T6 aluminum that is not only lightweight and strong but which is incredibly corrosion resistant. Like the blade, they are given a sleek black finish - here it’s anodized, though. And, with that said, the Provoke is also available with a wide range of other handle colors and a few different materials (such as grivory).

One thing that some users have also remarked about the karambit is that the inward curve of the blade’s edge is tough to resharpen. This is something we can attest to, and you’ll need a special sharpener. A rod will work, a flat sharpening stone will not. Moreover, CRKT doesn’t always deliver a great factory edge, which is a bit of a drawback considering the price tag of this model.

All the same, the curved blade is excellent at piercing thrusts, slashes, and draw cuts - as good or better than many other comparable knife blade profiles.

The action of the knife is crisp, solid, even, but users have also remarked that disengaging the lock and closing the knife is pretty tough.

The lock consists of a spring bar that sits against the back of the rearmost crossbar when the blade is deployed. Disengaging it is slightly less than intuitive; you must remove it from contact with the crossbar and close the knife. Moreover, doing so requires two hands, whereas the blade can be easily deployed in the classic reverse grip with one hand, simply by pressing on the end of the rearmost crossbar.

Nevertheless, despite these observations, this is a great selection from any catalog of CRKT knives and one that would be great for EDC or general utility. It’s also a pretty eye-catching knife, so expect to get a lot of comments, compliments and questions.

Another really cool thing about the CRKT Provoke is that, with the blade closed, it just doesn’t look like a knife. It looks confusingly like some other kind of tool - although just what sort is hard to say.

This makes it practical to carry in a variety of different settings, including exposed on a chest rig or a MOLLE pack, where it shouldn’t draw the wrong kind of attention - except from admirers.

And that discretion is definitely a good attribute for a folding knife to have.

Another great thing about the Provoke is that there is a model available that has Veff serrations, which are designed to cut into material, digging in and efficiently cleaving it - unlike many other forms of conventional serrations.

All in all, the Provoke is an excellent CRKT knife and, price notwithstanding (it’s definitely on the higher side) you could definitely carry and use it for a number of different applications.

Explore Provoke Models and Other CRKT Knives

Thinking some Provoke or other might be the next CRKT for your collection, or just to freshen up your EDC rotation? Take a look through our collection at the previous link.

Not sure which of the CRKT Knives we sell is for you, but don’t think it’s this one? No worries - see our full CRKT collection via the previous link and plumb the depths of the brand’s offering. They lead the folding knife pack and if there isn’t a CRKT that appeals to you, you’re not likely to find something you like anywhere.