One of the most surprisingly popular EDC knives in the past few years is the CRKT Squid—a compact folding knife designed by Lucas Burnley, boasting a stout blade and a solid frame lock. It made its debut as a budget folder with 8Cr13MoV, though later iterations gave it the hardworking D2 tool steel it deserved, with a sleek new stonewash finish to match. Days before the year came to an end, Blade HQ gave this crowd favorite knife even bigger upgrades and a unique new colorway to commemorate the collaboration with CRKT. If you haven’t had a chance to see what the hype is about, now’s the best time to add this little big knife to your rotation.
Compared to the original knife, the upgraded Squid D2 has a stronger, more robust steel that achieves a higher hardness than 8Cr13MoV, leading to a sharper edge and better edge retention overall. It’s also able to take more of a beating, making those hard-use tasks that come up every once in a while something you don’t have to sweat about at all, especially with the reliable frame lock at the handle. Besides the steel this updated Squid keeps the stout drop-point blade shape that made the original a solid contender. At just 2.156” in length, it’s small and pocketable while being more versatile for carry, especially in places with stricter blade length regulations. At the tip of the blade is a well-defined point for easy piercing, and the pronounced curve near the tip also lends to ease of use when it comes to delicate slicing tasks. With its large ambidextrous thumbstud, finding the blade and opening it quickly is easy. It’s set up for right-handed tip-up carry, but it also has a lanyard hole at the pommel if you prefer carrying this small knife in that way.
But the real star of the show for this exclusive is its brand new handles, accents, and aesthetic. It comes with a contoured green micarta scale for its show side, with a copper-finished backspacer giving it an eye-catching accent. Use of this natural jade G-10 drops a whole ounce from the original’s stainless steel handles, while providing an even better grip. This Squid‘s blade also gets a new smokewash finish to match its black-coated hardware. The best part of this collaboration, though, is its price–this exclusive and fresh new take on the Squid costs just a hair under 40 dollars. Pick one up at Blade HQ at the link below, and be sure to pick up this limited edition crowd favorite before it’s gone.
