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Designers

Meet the designers who have worked hand-in-hand with CRKT to translate their creative and innovative designs into affordable production knives and tools.

Columbia River Knife & Tool® (CRKT®) is exceptionally proud to introduce the leading knifemakers, inventors and industrial designers who work with us in product development. They are among the most respected craftsmen and artists in our industry. We work to carry out their creative and innovative designs to the highest quality standards possible, enabling you to own, use, and collect innovative production knives and tools, many of which approach the quality of custom products. You'll see most of our designer friends at the CRKT booths at major trade shows. We invite you to meet them, ask questions and exchange ideas. They take great pride in their custom and CRKT production work, and they look forward to visiting with you. Thanks to them, there is a remarkable range of designs in this catalog, with many more to follow in the future. We strive to offer the best-built affordable production knives and tools in the industry. We hope you agree that we are meeting that goal. Here's an introduction to our growing lineup of designer friends.

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Jim Hammond
Jim Hammond was the first knifemaker to work with CRKT, beginning in 1994. His designs for CRKT folders set new standards of construction for production folding knives.
Ed Halligan
Ed Halligan "Big Daddy K.I.S.S." was the second noted knifemaker to work with CRKT. After 37 years as an aircraft technician with Delta Airlines, he founded Halligan Knives.
Kit Carson
Kit Carson of Vine Grove, Kentucky, is a retired professional soldier, rising to the level of Sergeant Major. He has made knives for 30 years and has been a full-time knifemaker since 1993.
Pat and Wes Crawford
Pat Crawford and his son Wes are recognized as leading practitioners of the bladesmith's craft. Their company, Crawford Knives, is located in West Memphis, Arkansas.
Russ Kommer
Russ Kommer of Fargo, North Dakota, has been a commercial hunting guide since 1980. He started making knives when one of his hunter clients brought a custom knife and dressed an entire moose without sharpening it.
Brian Tighe
Brian Tighe is a Canadian "Renaissance man": tool and die maker, photographer and extraordinary custom knifemaker and CRKT knife designer.
Ron Lake
Ron Lake is a custom knifemaker in Eugene, Oregon. He joined the Knifemakers' Guild in 1971, and has been a full time knifemaker since 1972. He has received numerous awards.
Barry Gallagher
Barry Gallagher is a custom knifemaker whose workshop is in Lewistown, Montana. He began making knives part-time in 1993 for local sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts.
Allen Elishewitz
Allen Elishewitz is a world-renowned custom knifemaker, whose studio is in Canyon Lake, Texas. His work has been featured in many magazine articles and front covers.
Ed Van Hoy
Ed Van Hoy has been making custom knives since 1975, specializing in folding and fixed blade Damascus designs. His home and studio are in Abingdon, Virginia.
James Williams
James Williams is a former U.S. Army officer with over 45 years of experience in numerous martial arts disciplines. He knows cutlery as President of Bugei Trading Company.
Michael Martinez and his father Baltazar E. Martinez
Michael Martinez and his father Baltazar E. Martinez have invented a number of products including the patent-pending Ultima fixed blade.
A.G. Russell
A.G. Russell has been deeply involved in the knife industry for over forty years. A.G. was the first member of the Knife Digest Cutlery Hall of Fame.
Launce Barber
Launce Barber is dedicated to discovering great design ideas by using the most fundamental tool we all share in common–our creative minds.
Tom Stokes
Tom Stokes is an experienced product designer and mechanical engineer from the University of Virginia who has worked in the aerospace industry for over 20 years.
Tom Veff
Tom Veff developed a love of knives at an early age. The son of an Army First Sergeant, he traveled extensively and always sought out knife shops wherever his father was stationed.
James McGowan
James McGowan of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an avid outdoorsman and Toronto Firefighter. He says, "I rely on knives daily.
Tom Krein
Tom Krein is a full-time knifemaker with a shop in Gentry, Arkansas. He says, "By the time I was a teenager I knew I wanted to make my own knives."
Jon Graham
Jon Graham of Cleveland, Tennessee, was born to a father who had an appreciation for knives, and at a young age he was taught the importance of a good knife.
Boyd Ashworth
Boyd Ashworth is a custom knifemaker whose workshop is located in Powder Springs, Georgia. He is a Journeymansmith with The American Bladesmith Society.
Terry Renner
Terry Renner is an artist and mechanical designer who previously designed and constructed tooling and fixtures for the bicycle industry for thirty years.
Doug Ritter
Doug Ritter is an internationally acknowledged authority on survival equipment. He founded and publishes the renowned Equipped To Survive web site (www. equipped.org).
Gerry McGinnis
Gerry McGinnis is a student in business at North Carolina State University, who, at age 20, is the youngest knife designer to appear in this catalog. He started making knives when he was 15.
Alan Folts
Alan Folts of Greenville, North Carolina, has been making knives since 1992. During his college career he entered knives in Art Shows, winning "Best of Show" and honorable mentions.
Frank Centofante
Frank Centofante, one of the pioneers of the custom knife movement, passed away in September, 2009, too soon to see his CRKT Tribute lockback line become a production reality.
Glenn Klecker
Glenn Klecker is an award-winning knife and tool designer who lives in Silverton, Oregon. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Liong Mah
Liong Mah is a designer working in New York City. He says, "As a kid my uncle would give me pocket knives and I would see what I could change to improve the design.
Raleigh Tabor
Raleigh Tabor says, As the son of an Air Force Lt. Col., I traveled most of my life. In Wyoming, where we were stationed during my teens, I learned to enjoy the outdoors and the challenge of hunting and fishing. When my father...
Ken Onion
Ken Onion - "Though I have been a devout knife collector since childhood, collecting mostly production knives and anything else I could find, I was unaware of the custom knife industry until 1989 when...
Flavio Ikoma
Flavio Ikoma is a Brazilian knife designer who says, Since I was a kid, my life was influenced by blades, mainly the Japanese style swords and knives. My first knives were made of bamboo. In my adolescence I started to work...
MJ Lerch
MJ Lerch is a custom knife designer who has been encouraged by the knife making community to pursue her design interests. She receives her inspiration from the spontaneous flow of nature.
Ray Kirk
Ray Kirk received his Mastersmith rating in the American Bladesmith Society in 2005. He has been making and designing knives since 1989.
Steve Jernigan
Steve made his first knife in high school, but got serious with the craft in 1982, and joined the Knifemaker's Guild in 1984.
Ryan Johnson
Ryan Johnson (Chattanooga, TN) is president and primary designer at RMJ Tactical, LLC, whose Tomahawks have become a mainstay in the special operations community.