CRKT Launches 3 USA-Made Auto Knives, and One Is California-Legal

There are several different ways an everyday carry knife can be deployed, but none of them are as quick and effortless as automatics. With just the push of a button, these knives spring open and are ready to get to work — calling them ready “at a moment’s notice” might be underselling it.

While CRKT is no stranger to auto knives, the brand’s catalog has been lacking them for a while at this point. Or it was, until today. In a sneaky launch, Columbia River Knife & Tool has announced the introduction of a trio of brand-spanking-new automatic EDC knives from designer Philip Booth, including one that’s surprisingly California-legal.

Allow us to introduce you to the Michaca and the Minnow.

While there are three knives launched, two of them are variations of the same knife. The Michaca (named after Ithaca, Michigan, Booth’s hometown) is $300 and comes with a MagnaCut super-steel drop point blade, G10 handle scales and a Scale Release Lock — which deploys the blade when the user slides one of the handle scales either forward or backward, triggering the mechanism (see an example of how this unusual locking mechanism works here). This knife can be had with either jade handle scales with a black stripe or black handle scales with a blue-gray stripe.

The Minnow is incredibly compact and discreet, which is part of what makes this tiny titan so cool.CRKT

The third knife is called the Minnow. As its name suggests, it is a tiny oddity, measuring only 4.49 inches in total (when opened). This auto knife also comes with a MagnaCut steel blade but is offered with Micarta handle scales (paired with a stainless steel bolster) and a button lock. It’s small, to be sure, but that means its both strong and discreet, along with being speedy.

As if those materials and designs weren’t enough to sell us, this trio of knives is also entirely USA-made — and that earns all three of them bonus points.

Of the two, the Minnow is especially interesting, as it is California-legal

There are a lot of legality issues concerning EDC knives, especially automatics (you can see a helpful breakdown state-by-state here). And while the Michaca is certainly a great high-end knife for anyone who lives where there are no restrictions on autos, the Minnow gets extra points. Why? Its stature (specifically its 1.79-inch blade) means that it is technically legal to buy and carry in the state of California (a state with some of the strictest laws, barring automatics with blades over 2.0 inches in length).

And that’s the trade-off: the knife is pretty squat, but you don’t have to worry about the long arm of the law trying to wrench it from your fingers simply for owning and carrying it. It helps, too, that Booth’s design mastery means that, despite its stature, it still has a useful edge and a material construction to back it up.

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