Ken Onion is a knife designer whose custom creations have crossed over into the mainstream knife world with tremendous success, and this new CRKT—The Redemption—is destined to become the next homerun. The Onion design, built by Hogue for Columbia River Knife & Tool, is a wild folder that blurs the lines between historical homage and modern functionality into an almost steampunk idealization of the wild west gambler’s last-ditch tool for self-defense.
Specifications
| Overall Length: | 9.125” / 233.38mm |
| Blade Length: | 4” / 103.2mm |
| Blade Steel: | MagnaCut |
| Open System: | Thumb stud |
| Blade Thickness: | 0.15″ / 3.84mm |
| Blade Shape: | Spear |
| Blade Edge: | Plain |
| Handle Material: | G-10 |
| Lock Type: | Crossbar |
| Weight: | 4.81 oz / 138.91g |
| Designer: | Ken Onion |
| Made in: | USA |
| What I Liked | What I Didn’t Like |
|---|---|
| The Redemption is a fun homage to an imagined past | The liner profile doesn’t match the scales |
| Knives don’t get more fidget-friendly | |
| This is a large knife that is easy to carry |
Aces and Eights
On August 2, 1876, James Butler Hickock was unceremoniously shot in the back of the head by an asshat named Jack McCall, who we only remember for this nefarious murder. Wild Bill had been gambling in Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon in Deadwood, in what then was the Dakota Territory. The “aces and eights” refers to the hand he was supposedly holding (two black 8s, and both black aces), when he died.
In the space of time, this poker hand has come take portentous significance to gamblers, and is known as the Dead Man’s Hand.
This served as part of the inspiration for Onion’s design of Deadman’s Hand Custom—a liner-lock flipper that has been reimagined in this CRKT production version.
Never take a knife to a gunfight
Wild Bill was shot in the back of the head, which implies—for students of forensics—a lapse in situational awareness. The gun he was wearing wasn’t much help, and he didn’t have much of a chance to engage in self-defense.
Many in this era did, though, and knives were especially popular for their ease of concealment. The Sheffield bowies were often made in compact forms, and many had wide spearpoint shapes. And there’s an entire class of compact “prostitute daggers” that were meant for easy concealment in a tight garter or boot top.
While all of these, or most, were fixed blades, the designs inspired a stunning folder. Ken Onion’s design for CRKT has an almost coffin-shaped handle and combines the black G10 scales with the white of stonewashed stainless and MagnaCut to further pay tribute to the aces and eights that have come to symbolize Wild Bill’s tragic denouement.
Jump ahead 150 years
The Houge/CRKT collaboration provides an imagined alternative history that is about as contemporary as it gets. MagnaCut is the new hotness and has made its way into production knives as the panicle of edge-retention and stainless performance.
The cross-bar lock, too, provides opportunities for lock performance that liner-locks and frame-locks can’t match. Flippiness (is that a word?) is a welcome byproduct of the crossbar that has allowed CRKT to take Onion’s original flipper and streamline it.
Now, the only point of friction between the blade and the handle is the pivot. A bearing here ensures that, when the crossbar is moved out of position, the blade will be subject to the whims of gravity. Pull the bar, and snap your wrist, and the blade flies into place.
This movement is running on the Ikoma Korth Bearing System (IKBS). IKBS pivots are known for their fluidity and ease of operation. Pull back the bar, reverse the flip, and the Redemption snaps closed. So addictive.
Why is the Redemption so big?
Bigger is better. The legends of Wild Bill are larger than life. Most of the concealed fixed blade stilettos of the era were marketed to women, and they’re not known for their sturdiness. The CRKT Redemption fixes that last one, while paying homage to the legends of the era.
With an OAL of more than nine inches, the Redemption is a formidable fixed blade. There’s a lot of handle to hold, and the blade, coming in at over four inches, is wildly capable.
Yet the whole design is deceptively subtle. Though large, and fully ambidextrous, the Redemption has no flipper stud. There’s no thumb stud or nail nick. The only thing keeping the knife closed is the crossbar lock.
Assuming you have roughly five inches of pocket depth, this knife is ideal for front-pocket carry, fast enough to deploy, and large enough to make a stunning impression on anyone who might take umbrage with your poker prowess (or, in Wild Bill’s case, reputation).
There’s not much texture to the handle. The G10 is sanded smooth. But the bolsters have two milled lines that provide purchase for your thumb and the whole design has subtle coffin swells that fit nicely in the hand.
The clip rounds that out. I tend to find that protrusion with my pinky and that provides an anchor that grounds my grip for anything requiring force or leverage.
My one question…
…and I can’t wait to ask it of someone at Hogue, is why the stainless liners on the Redemption don’t match the profile of the scales. At the pivot end and butt, the geometric cut of the G10 exactly matches the profile of the liners. But in the middle, where the handle swells, the liners are cut straight.
Is that a problem? Hardly. I think I understand this, from a cost perspective. The liners are cut with the long edges nearly parallel, which reduces waste. Had they been cut to match the swell of the scales, they’d be trapezoidal, which would increase the waste and might reduce the yield from a run.
It does, however trip my OCD.
But let’s be pragmatic. Most MagnaCut knives are pricey. This one isn’t. Cost saving measures like this are part of the magic that allows CRKT to work with Hogue to bring a Ken Onion custom to life in a knife like this—genuine innovation that’s made here, in the states.
So the Redemption
Outside of the what-if revisionist history mind wanderings that fuel steam-punk fantasy, this is a redemption. This knife seems redemptive for American knife manufacturing. It is certainly redemptive for pocketknife design—most of which is so pathetically derivative. This is a redemption for the spear-point dagger.
Is Redemption a redemption for CRKT? Hardly. Fans of the brand know this is just the latest kickass knife from a brand that’s been updating their catalog with a steady stream of really compelling designs at accessible prices. Redemption just might be their wild card that takes them to a full house.
