CRKT Tool

Grant Lamontagne · **on:** January 18, 2012, 04:45:14 AM

We stopped in for our meeting at CRKT today- my good buddy Tom Stokes had hinted that he had a new tool coming out this year, and so I was really looking forward to it. I was actually really impressed with this one, although the name sounds a bit unexciting- the CRKT Tool. It was also a collaboration between Tom and Ed Van Hoye.

It is actually pretty compact, and feels solid as a rock. On one side there's a one handed opening, liner locking utility type blade, and on the opposite side is a liner locking, one handed opening wood saw.

The screwdrivers on each side are springloaded- switchblade screwdrivers, released by pressing the buttons. They snap open to 90 degrees so they work as T-handles for added torque.

Each of the tools locks open with a liner lock, the wrench cutouts have metric on one side and Imperial on the other, and the phillips screwdriver has an adaptor to take on standard hex bits.

It looks really neat, and I'm looking forward to playing with this one.

Bruce909 · **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2012, 04:56:46 AM

Nice design work. What are the 4 holes in the handle just above the " CRKT Tool"? Looks like wire strippers?

Bruce

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2012, 05:43:05 AM

Good eye- those are wire stripper/cutter holes. Open the blade, slide the wire through and close the blade on it to either strip or cut the wire.

By the way, list price on this one is $49, but expect to see it at Wal Mart, Home Depot etc for somewhat less. Oh, and one of the wrench sides has an additional cutaway that also allows it to function as a bottle opener.

Def

jekostas · **Reply #3 on:** January 18, 2012, 05:48:13 AM

That's pretty cool. Idea on size? Juice size? Bigger, smaller?

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #4 on:** January 18, 2012, 05:52:05 AM

About the same length as a Juice but not as wide. I didn't think to take any comparison shots, but hopefully I'll be able to when I get home....

Def

mvyrmnd · **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2012, 06:28:29 AM

I like the look of it, especially the little nut wrench bit on the side, but I despise T-handle screwdrivers!

scrappy · **Reply #6 on:** January 18, 2012, 06:39:39 AM

Looks pretty decent. Better than the flux which had so much potential.

jzmtl · **Reply #7 on:** January 18, 2012, 06:44:10 AM

One of the buttons is really close to pocket clip opening, wonder if you would poke yourself with the driver after clipping to pocket.

Ashley · **Reply #8 on:** January 18, 2012, 07:08:11 AM

Thats neat looking. But would I buy it?

Max Archer · **Reply #9 on:** January 18, 2012, 07:17:49 AM

I'm not so sure about this tool, but that's honestly a sentiment I often have about CRKT's products. It's a really cool design with some original thinking, but it looks way too large and thick for the amount of functionality it has. Maybe I'm misjudging the size from the pictures, but it looks almost as big as a small conventional plier MT. I often find that CRKT's tools are way more toward the "innovative" end rather than the "practical" end of things.

Also, I know this is kind of a stupid concern, but I hate the finish they put on the blades on their tools, it makes them look like cheap gas station knives.

J-sews · **Reply #10 on:** January 18, 2012, 08:56:39 AM

Another critically important function that the new CRKT Tool has is a bottle opener.

The side of the hex wrench cutout has a slight overhang engineered into it, right next to the little "bottle" icon:

jekostas · **Reply #11 on:** January 18, 2012, 09:24:40 AM

According to the CRKT website, the steel for the blades is 5Cr15MoV which is analogous to 420HC. If this is a Juice sized tool count me in - I like it already. Maybe not a full "multitool" per se, but it should give the Leatherman folders with included tools a good run for their money, plus the entire thing can be used with one hand.

The only change I would make is what jzmtl pointed out - the buttons for the screwdrivers need to be recessed so they don't spring accidentally.

Mr. Whippy · **Reply #12 on:** January 18, 2012, 12:35:20 PM

Agree! I really like this design. Definitely in on this one!

BIG-TARGET · **Reply #13 on:** January 18, 2012, 02:20:15 PM

That concept has merit

AimlessWanderer · **Reply #14 on:** January 18, 2012, 04:43:48 PM

This looks like a very well thought out tool. I don't think it's something I'd have call for, but I can see this doing quite well for itself

J-sews · **Reply #15 on:** January 18, 2012, 04:55:06 PM

The buttons do stick up, but they didn't feel like the sort that could be set off accidentally. You have to push them quite "deep" into the handle in order to trigger the screwdrivers to deploy. (in other words, it wouldn't go off simply by setting the tool down on a flat surface, or slipping it into a tight pants pocket)

sotto · **Reply #16 on:** January 18, 2012, 07:37:32 PM

I would rather have the screwdrivers come out the ends than the sides for easier use in confined spaces. Cool tool, though.

AHB · **Reply #17 on:** January 18, 2012, 07:40:17 PM

Interesting tool alright...

stressmaster5000 · **Reply #18 on:** January 18, 2012, 07:54:40 PM

I am intrigued with this tool. Looks like a great gift idea.

dks · **Reply #19 on:** January 18, 2012, 08:16:38 PM

That looks like the first original idea I have seen in a multitool in some time!

Good for CRKT

IzzyJG99 · **Reply #20 on:** January 18, 2012, 09:24:42 PM

Now that is a fascinating and unique design. Almost as if the "Swiss Army Knife" were to be invented in this century. I look forward to this!

Gareth · **Reply #21 on:** January 18, 2012, 11:51:10 PM

I'm not sure this is something I'll go for myself, but I do like the look of the design. Not sure I'd have gone with a wood saw myself though.

AimlessWanderer · **Reply #22 on:** January 18, 2012, 11:58:39 PM

I know. With all the design sharing that appears to be taking place, if they'd "borrowed" the forwardsy backwardsy driver off the X-Tract and dropped the woodsaw, they'd have had room for scissors and an awl

algernonramone · **Reply #23 on:** January 19, 2012, 05:37:47 AM

Quote from: IzzyJG99 on January 18, 2012, 09:24:42 PM

Now that is a fascinating and unique design. Almost as if the "Swiss Army Knife" were to be invented in this century. I look forward to this!

That's a good description.

Seems like it'd be the perfect complement to, for example, a Crunch.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

MeadMaker · **Reply #24 on:** January 19, 2012, 01:33:43 PM

Quote from: 50ft-trad on January 18, 2012, 11:58:39 PM

I know. With all the design sharing that appears to be taking place, if they'd "borrowed" the forwardsy backwardsy driver off the X-Tract and dropped the woodsaw, they'd have had room for scissors and an awl

Very good ideas for improvement on this design 50ft. I like the looks of this tool, but in the present configuration I wouldn't carry it. If they made your modifications and made the blade a little less tanto-ish I would probably buy one.

AimlessWanderer · **Reply #25 on:** January 19, 2012, 01:41:49 PM

Quote from: MeadMaker on January 19, 2012, 01:33:43 PM

Quote from: 50ft-trad on January 18, 2012, 11:58:39 PM
I know. With all the design sharing that appears to be taking place, if they'd "borrowed" the forwardsy backwardsy driver off the X-Tract and dropped the woodsaw, they'd have had room for scissors and an awl

Very good ideas for improvement on this design 50ft. I like the looks of this tool, but in the present configuration I wouldn't carry it. If they made your modifications and made the blade a little less tanto-ish I would probably buy one.

Agreed! There you go CRKT ... Next project is the CRKT Urban Tool with the above changes

You're guaranteed to sell at least 2 of them

Mr. Whippy · **Reply #26 on:** January 19, 2012, 04:15:07 PM

Quote from: algernonramone on January 19, 2012, 05:37:47 AM

Quote from: IzzyJG99 on January 18, 2012, 09:24:42 PM
Now that is a fascinating and unique design. Almost as if the "Swiss Army Knife" were to be invented in this century. I look forward to this!

That's a good description.

Seems like it'd be the perfect complement to, for example, a Crunch.

Whoa! That's pretty close to exactly what I was going to say!

My other comment was about the wrenches. These sorts of wrenches come in a couple patterns. The "dogleg" pattern that Peter Atwood and PocketTool X use:

And the stepwise pattern that can be seen on the Palmpal:

The dogleg is easier to use due to the long flat side, so that you can just slip the tool up until you get to the right sized wrench. On the stepwise pattern, there is more fiddling involved.

The CRKT Tool has a hybrid of these two designs, which will hopefully make it almost as quick to use as the dogleg pattern.

I'm very eager to get my hands on one.

David · **Reply #27 on:** January 19, 2012, 06:00:57 PM

tool.

Tsquare · **Reply #28 on:** January 20, 2012, 04:48:25 AM

This is a very innovative tool. I really like the design of this one. Decisions decisions so many tools so little cash.

Mercury · **Reply #29 on:** January 20, 2012, 06:41:48 AM

I like it. I can see myself using it to supplement an MT no problem. I do think the buttons for the drivers need to be recessed or at least trimmed down though.

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CRKT Tool

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