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CRKT Minimalist Neck Knife

best neck knife

Minimalist EDC neck knives are all the rage now. They have good reason to be – easily accessible, sharp as heck and can get you out of a bind in a hurry. You need to know your options when it comes to shopping for neck knives.

The coolest thing about neck knives is the most obvious – you have a razor-sharp blade dangling from your neck. Easy to grab for self-defense situations or everyday carry (EDC). Neck knives make a great second knife – an “Oh shit” blade if you will. While they may be much smaller than your everyday carry pocket knife, they fill in the weak spots of your gear. Plus, you may not always want to dig in your pocket for your knife, or you may not be able to.

You have many options when choosing the best neck knife for you. You must weight your needs and what you expect of a neck knife. Do you want it for self-defense? Everyday use? A combination of the two? You can literally have everything you want if you choose the right EDC neck knife.

Related: 6 of the Best Neck Knives of 2020

Blade Design

The CRKT Minimalist EDC Neck Knife is small and lightweight as you would expect a neck knife to be. One of the main selling points of this particular blade is the way you hold it. Three finger choils and friction grooves for the thumb make this one of the best grips you can get on a neck knife. Many designs are too small for you to grab securely. The CRKT Minimalist makes sure you can do intricate work with this knife without cutting yourself.

The braided fob gives you extra control over your blade. Not just good for self-defense, this is a neck knife that you can use for daily tasks.

Six Basic Designs to Choose From

CRKT knew what they were doing when they designed these blades. They give you multiple choices to choose from: Bowie, Cleaver, Black Drop Point, Wharncliffe, Keramin and Bowie Gears. Pretty much a blade to fit your every need. There’s even one that glows in the dark.

Handle and Sheath

The handle is one of the best that you will find on a small minimalist knife or other neck knives. Made from polished resin infused fiber; it’s one of the best in the business. One look at the three finger choils lets you know you can grip this knife without any issues.

Each CRKT Minimalist comes with a custom-fitted Zytel sheath made from glass-reinforced nylon. You also get a neck paracord to carry it as it was intended – around your neck. The knife and the sheath are extremely lightweight for everyday carry and only weight roughly two ounces. You won’t even notice it around your neck.

Size

The CRKT Minimalist has a blade length of 2.125” with a total length of 5.13” and weighs only 1.6 ounces. The blade thickness is 0.108”. It’s compact, lightweight, but can handle a wide variety of daily tasks.

Carry Options

You have multiple options to carry the CRKT Minimalist – the main two being as a compact utility neck knife and boot knife.

Best Uses

This knife cleans up well, and by that we mean it can handle double duty as self-defense and an everyday cutting tool. It’s a great wilderness knife, excels at camp chores, cleaning game, cooking, survival knife and defending yourself against attacks. You may not be able to cut wood with it, but that’s what your large blade is for.

Warranty

CRKT offers a limited lifetime warranty and covers any defects in workmanship and materials. Check out the company website to learn more.

Pros

Versatile – You can do a lot with this little knife! Everyday carry, self-defense, camp duties – it can handle a lot.

Compact and lightweight – Many small knives are hard to use for daily cutting tasks. Not the CRKT Minimalist; you can do just about anything with it. You barely even notice it around your neck.

Comfortable Grip – they knew what they were doing when they designed the handle to this knife. You can easily grab and go due to the ergonomic handle and three finger grip.

Discreet – no one will even know it’s there. You can easily conceal this neck knife.

Multiple Blade Types to Choose From – You can get it in a plain edge, Wharncliffe, Tanto, cleaver and Bowie.

Cons

It’s a Small Knife – But, that’s kind of the point! Meant to be compact and used as a neck knife. We suggest it be your second knife that you carry every day. Pocket knife for heavy work and neck knife for everything else.

Our Recommendation

We like this knife as an addition to your everyday carry pocket knife. You have your large blade on your belt and this one around your neck. With so many blade choices, we’re sure you can find one to fit your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the sheath have good blade retention? I don’t want it to fall out.

The CRKT Minimalist sheath has great blade retention. You can bring this little knife to work day in and day out and not have any issues with sheath retention. People swim with them around their necks and haven’t reported any issues. The sheath material holds its form over years and years of use. You shouldn’t have any trouble with it.

Can you skin game with this neck knife?

You absolutely can! This is a great knife for skinning game of all sizes. It may take some skill due to the small size of the blade – but we have faith you can do it. These blades stay sharp for a very long time. There are actually many videos up of people skinning deer with CRKT Minimalist neck blades.

Does it come with a belt clip?

Most of them come with a removable belt loop, but some come with a clip now.

Can this knife be used as a boot knife?

Yes. You can modify the clip to carry it multiple ways. It’s a great little knife to have on you.

 

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