This Gorgeous, Unique New CRKT Knife Just Won a Major Award

Designer Richard Rogers follows up the CEO with the Persian Frame Lock, which scored a notable honor at Blade Show West.

By Steve Mazzucchi

Published October 7, 2024

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“Every picture tells a story, don’t it?” So sang the great Rod Stewart more than five decades ago. A fantastic song, no doubt, and one we have no problem paraphrasing in 2024.

In the product description, you’ll read that “the blade has been reimagined with a ‘harpoon Persian’ shape.” Those two words spotlight what is so distinctive here.

Because CRKT’s new Persian Frame Lock is a reminder that every blade shape tells a story, too. In this case, one that stretches back much farther than five decades.

Editor’s note: We’re not alone in being entranced by the silhouette and narrative. Over the weekend, the Persian Frame Lock was honored at Salt Lake City’s Blade Show West as the Best Factory Imported knife.

CRKT Persian Frame Lock

$275 at CRKT

First-rate flipper

Before the history lesson, we’ll explain what this knife is. From a context standpoint, it’s one of a few new designs from Richard Rogers, a New Mexico-based rancher who first teamed with CRKT five years ago on a sleek gentleman’s pocket knife called the CEO.

The clever flipper won Best Buy of the Year at the 2019 Blade Show and got spun off into several varieties still sold by CRKT today.

crkt persian frame lock award — Deployed in all its gorgeous glory, the Persian Frame Lock has an overall length of 8.19 inches.

Now Rogers is back with three new silhouettes, as the Persian joins the Q and the Pup, all of which officially launched at Blade Show West.

From a construction standpoint, the new Persian is similar to the Q in its embrace of truly top-notch materials. The 3.51-inch blade is made of MagnaCut, renowned for its blend of toughness, edge retention and corrosion resistance. Meanwhile, the handle is made of lightweight titanium, with a carbon fiber inlay.

crkt-persian-folded — The harpoon cutout is perhaps even more pronounced when the knife is folded.

Produced by Lionsteel Knives in Italy, the 3.6-ounce Persian has a rear flipper tab and IKBS ball bearing pivot for quick, smooth deployment, while a sturdy frame lock holds it open.

It’s not the first knife Rogers and CRKT have teamed up with to bear this name; the Persian Assisted ($60) appeared earlier this year. But that knife does not have quite the blade shape story this one does.

Hybrid history

In the product description, you’ll read that “the blade has been reimagined with a ‘harpoon Persian’ shape.” Those two words spotlight what is so distinctive here. While some might argue that they merge together — it can be hard to tell where the harpoon ends and the Persian begins — we can still break them down separately.

The first word, harpoon, refers primarily to that curved cutout at rear of the top of the blade, which dates back to — or is at least inspired by — the whaling industry of the 1800s. Just as an actual harpoon’s barbs enable it to lodge into a whale or large fish and pull it closer, a harpoon blade could be attached to a pole for spear hunting or fishing.

crkt-persian-handle — The milled pattern on the titanium handle improves both its grip and its aesthetics.

The second word, Persian, focuses more on the front of the blade, which can alternately be called “trailing point” or “upswept.” This shape, designed to pierce chainmail and other armor, emerged from Iran and spread through Central Asia in the 1500s.

What purpose do these contours serve in modern times? While largely ornamental here, they have appeared, separately or together, on various hunting, fishing, tactical and survival knives.

crkt-persian-in-hand-again — This thing flat-out looks awesome — even if you never use it to pierce the armor of an ancient battlefield foe.

That rear cutout aids with detail work while the trailing point continues to be perfect for piercing. This combination adds up to a great tool for skinning, gutting or filleting game meats and freshly caught fish.

Even so, we won’t blame you one bit if the main reason you spring for this knife is that it just plain looks really cool.

Availability and pricing

The CRKT Persian Frame Lock is available now $275. The Persian Assisted, which lacks the “harpoon hump” and employs more affordable materials, goes for $60.