CRKT Pilar: A Good Quality On A Budget Pocket Knife
OutdoorHub Reporters 04.17.19
There was a time a few years ago where CRKT, as a company, admittedly didn’t have much more to offer over the other big name brands like Benchmade, Gerber, etc.. That changed around 2014, when CRKT decided to work with collaborators in order to create knives that were more high quality and modernized. Today, CRKT manufactures quality pocket knives at an affordable price range. One of their flagship models is the CRKT Pilar.
First and foremost, you will notice that this is a very small knife, but that’s exactly why it can be an excellent option as a small weapon that you stick in your pocket and forget about.
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Indeed, the blade of the CRKT Pilar is less than two and a half inches long, while the actual cutting edge is only two inches. The handle is three and a half inches long, which gives the overall knife a length of six inches and a weight of just over four ounces.
And yes, this knife is made in China. It’s not an American made product, unfortunately. But still, that doesn’t mean you should avoid this knife completely.
Basically, the CRKT Pilar is designed to be an all-purpose everyday carry knife on a budget, something that can be used for both defensive use or for utilitarian purposes. It’s not exactly a very special looking knife when you look at it, but it is designed to get the job done. In other words, this is a knife that will fulfill its role as an EDC tactical knife well even it it doesn’t exactly have a very sexy look.
As a budget knife, the CRKT does not use the nicest quality or most durable steels on the market, instead relying on 8Cr13MoV steel that is very common in other budget knives. This kind of steel is designed to be easy to sharpen and provide at least a few years of suitable use.
Despite this being a lower priced knife, CRKT still put plenty of work into ensuring that the ergonomics would be decent. To that end, the stainless steel handle has thick scales that are lightly textured and held together using an aluminum back spacer. That being said, since the handle is also very small, you can expect your pinky finger to fall off the end.
Flicking open the blade of the CRKT Pilar is also very smooth and easy, which is a massive departure from other low cost knives that can often be rather rough. The lock for the CRKT is also built out of stainless steel, and it locks the blade firmly and surely into place so that there is virtually no wiggle, another big departure from other low cost, budget knives.
In summary, the CRKT Pilar is no Benchmade or Emerson, but then again, it’s not designed to be like any of those knives either. This is designed to be a compact and light pocket utilitarian knife for those who are on a tight budget. Several high end EDC knives can cost in the hundred to two hundred dollar price range, but the CRKT Pilar is available for only a fraction of that.
The CRKT Pilar is a knife that you can put in your pocket and forget about that you have it. And when the time does come to use it, it will be there when you need it ready to serve you.
