CRKT Pilar Frame Lock Knife Stainless Steel (2.4" Satin) 5311

I've only had this knife for about 30 minutes, but I can tell that it is a great value.
Pros: low price, small, sharp enough to be functional, cool finger choil, centered well (something that I can't say for my Benchmades), solid lockup
Cons: lockbar and finger choil both a little rough on the fingers and could have been smoothed out more, a little gritty at first until being lubed, if you have fat fingers you can cut yourself on the blade while using the finger choil, slightly heavy for the small size, slight lockstick
Overall: I would give 5 stars for the value, but the rough edges on the lockbar may make me not carry it often although it would be a great knife for using in an office style setting.

I don't say this lightly, the Pilar is better than Kizer's mini sheepdog. The Kizer has better steel and as a flipper is more fidget friendly.
The Pilar takes up similar pocket space, has a similar blade shape and gives you the same utility but with a better purchase because of the finger choil. Without the choil, I can only fit three fingers on the handle like the mini sheepdog. I think the fit and finish are comparable and the lock on the pilar is easier to disengage. For these reasons I prefer the pilar.

Absolutely love this little knife. Feels great in hand, is super sharp out of the box and holds edge well. Blade was a little off center but at this price range I can’t complain.

I like it. Bought it on a whim because i needed a small edc for basic tasks that i wouldnt cry about if i lost it.

Its a nice knife. Smooth deployment, and even though its liner lock it feels very stable.

The blade is sharp, and has a nice contour. Its easy to sharpen and very thick (thats what she said!)

Its heavier than my full size benchmade, and thats why i knocked it a star. Im all for heft and stability, but this is just a tad too heavy. Sometimes wish the grip or blade was a little skeltonized, but thatd makeit more expensive.

I love the Pilar! This knife feels like it was made for me. Great ergonomics makes it fit my hand perfectly. Great blade shape and built like a tank, makes this the perfect knife for my EDC.

Great build quality, perfect blade centering and zero blade play.

I highly recommend this knife.

I just received this knife, along with a Launch 4. It's a solid and tight knife and razor sharp. I love the look and the feel in my hand is great. The blade is unique and beautiful.
Because it is 2x heavier than the l
Launch (which is

What a cool little knife,completely ergonomic. That said this is the knife that turned me into a steel snob, try and use it the 8cr rears its ugly head.The updated version is on my buy list for sure.

If you're looking for a small knife this is a great choice.....a little heavy, for the size, but well made

Just got this knife. I love the design. Razor sharp.

This may not be a negative in your book - but for my needs the knife is too beefy for it's small size. I love the blade shape and sturdy construction, but for an edc knife I prefer lighter blades.

I have had knives with great ergos, but I would’ve never guessed that this knife was $25 without the brand or the materials list. It feels like it was made for my hand. Perfect example of how proper contouring can give a better grip than grippy handle material. I love it. Would recommend this knife to anyone who likes a small knife, especially as a backup.

This knife is really good looking which is why I picked it up. The quality is pretty good for a knife of this price. Great knife to do mods on. A bit heavy due to the stainless steel handles but that's not a deal breaker.

Can't say anything bad about this knife. For the price it's perfect. It's a small knife with a lot of weight but not too much. Fits nicely in my hands and feels good. CRKT just knocks it out with this one. I loved it so much everyone in my family got one for this past Xmas.

Solid little knife that is quite capable of large tasks. Ergos are great which allows such a small knife to fit in my hand perfectly. Comes to a razor edge, locks up nice and tight. Washers are fairly smooth. I agree with another reviewer, I long for an upgraded version with premium materials!

For the price, this is a good knife. I don't usually buy budget knives. I use this knife when I know I'm going to misuse a knife. it did come razor sharp and is comfortable.

The design of this knife is excellent. It's the only blade this size that offers me a full grip, and I think it looks good to boot. Centering and lockup on mine were both excellent, and overall I am very happy with the knife. I wish they would do a more premium version though. The all stainless construction makes this a heavy little guy due to the thick blade and handle stock without milling, and the 8Cr13MoV steel, while not terrible, doesn't really impress either. Don't get me wrong, at the price this knife is great, but the design is so good, I'd buy an expensive version too.

The Pilar is little tank. It's heavy and solid for a smaller frame knife. The frame lock locks up tight, the blade is centered and it feels good. There's a lot of knife here for $25!

This is the cheapest knife I own, I notmally carry higher end knives from the $150-300 range, but this knife is fantastic! For $25 you can’t go wrong having one of these in your collection! Built like a tank and even tho it’s pretty heavy for its small size it isn’t enough to complain about. By far one of the best utility knives around imo!

It's heavier than it looks. Mine came with bad blade centering. Has nylon bushings (which you should expect for the price). Overall good starter/backup knife.

I love this knife. Such a great looking knife that easily ups your EDC. You really can’t go wrong with this one. Easy to use and fits in any pocket. Really can’t think of anything negative to say about it, it’s that good!

Sure, there are far better materials than the budget offerings that were used in this knife, but it really feels like you’re getting more value for your money. It’s a very solid lock up and the fit and finish are mostly perfect. The knife I received had a slightly asymmetric grind, but the budget steel made it very easy for my to correct it, even with the most basic of sharpening tools. Needless to say, I now have it at a razor sharp edge. The fact that the price won’t bankrupt you helps ease your mind when actually using it in real world applications. I recommend it as often as I can.

What can I say this knife is great! For 25 bucks you cant beat it. I didn't expect this knife to cut good when i got it, I bought more for the design then anything. But to my surprise this little guy cuts very well even with a budget steel. It may not hold an edge for that long but i just give it a few strops on my spyderco ceramic block and its back to hair shaving sharp. I was impressed with the action of the knife too, I find myself flicking it open and close a lot. The action out of the box was a little stiff but after playing with knife a little the action just keeps getting smoother. Not to mention the ergos are killer. If your thinking about buying this knife for yourself or a friend you won't be disappointed!

Love the small blade on this one! Just perfect for edc tasks and almost invisible when carrying.

Amazing little knife for the price. This knife works very we'll for it's size and can handle any day to day tasks, very happy with this purchase

I love the Pilar; it's like a little tank that wants to be used. 2 big problems though: Blade is too thick and mine has vertical blade play (some times). First, the blade is just too thick for this small knife. It just feels a bit obnoxious, and contributes to this knife's hefty weight. Second, my sample has pretty bad vertical blade play most of the time. Every now and then I can open it and their will be no absolutely no play in any direction. The only remedy I have found so far is to keep the pivot really tight thus making it hard to open so I usually just deal with a little bit of up and down wiggle. Also a few small things to note as well are the sharp corners of the opening hole, a little bit of detent rock, and it's a little heavy.

For such a cheap knife I was surprised at the sturdiness and overall design. Feels great in hand and it's small size makes it a great EDC. My only gripes about it would be its weight for the size a definite break in period for the action and the steel used for the blade. But hey it's a $20 knife. Just sharpen it often and have some lube handy and you're good to go.

Razor sharp right out of the box. Thick, deep bellied blade. Built like a tank. I have other CRKT knives that have even survived being between me and the road during a motorcycle crash. I expect this one to hold up to the same abuse... but hopefully because of use, not getting knocked off a motorcycle again!

I can only have a 2.5 inch knife at work and this is my favorite so far. Significantly more comfortable than my Dragonfly. Wish the blade wasn't quite so think so it was a better slicer but it did come sharp. Love that you ca do the middle finger slip like on Spyderco knives. Very happy with my purchase.

I don't care for the materials crkt chooses(8cr13mov, steel handles, plastic washers), but this little knife is awesome. I have large hands, and this knife is still and ergonomic dream.