CRKT Just Unveiled Its Biggest Innovation in Years. It’s Not a Knife

The third member of the eye-popping Provoke family is a pocket-sized axe that deploys just as stunningly as its older brothers do.

By Steve Mazzucchi

Published January 21, 2025

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Six years ago, a Southern California-based knife designer by the name of Joe Caswell teamed up with CRKT to unveil a never-before-seen innovation at SHOT Show 2019.

Intended for first responders, the original Provoke was a morphing karambit with a “kinematic” system that deployed the blade by drawing it up and out while allowing the user to maintain their grip.

As smooth and seamless as the deployment motion is, Caswell did not achieve this breakthrough overnight. According to CRKT, the commercially available version of the Provoke X is the 94th iteration of the design.

Since then, the revolutionary mechanism has spun out into a whole Provoke family (with different handle materials and one serrated variant) plus EDC versions with more traditional blades.

Now, at SHOT Show 2025, Caswell and CRKT have unveiled a product that builds on this platform while being completely different. The new Provoke X brings the kinematic tech to an EDC axe you can stash in your pocket and deploy with the flick of a wrist.

crkt provoke x full — In both closed and open positions, the CRKT Provoke X measures just under 9 inches long.

Flick trick

The nitty gritty of the deployment and re-sheathing is perhaps trickier to explain than it is to actually do. First, you release the ambidextrous safety in the middle of the handle.

Then you hold the base of the handle (where the ring is) and rapidly flick the tomahawk axe head away from the body.

crkt provoke x folded — The blade and spike fold neatly into the handle when closed, keeping sharp edges safely clear.

The blade and spike are held in place by CRKT’s own super-strong Deadbolt lock, which has a button on the off side you press to release. Then, gripping the handle near the base, you press down on the top of the blade and spike to return them back into the handle.

You’ll know the Provoke X is fully closed when the ambidextrous safety locks in with a satisfying click, leaving the blade and spike safely recessed within the handle.

crkt provoke x blade — One key to the design is that the blade and spike are two separate components that fold down into the handle.

What’s really incredible about the design is that, setting all those words aside, the Provoke X really does deploy with a flick of a wrist.

As smooth and seamless as the deployment motion is, Caswell did not achieve this breakthrough overnight. According to CRKT, the commercially available version is the 94th iteration of the design.

Everyday axe?

While CRKT is positioning this product as a tactical self defense tool, we don’t really see it that way.

Given its dimensions and materials, it seems much more promising as a handy backcountry optional, almost like the axe version of the Gerber Doubledown butterfly machete that cracked the 2021 GP100.

crkt provoke x exploded — This exploded view of the Provoke X helps to illustrate the complexity behind the seemingly simple deployment.

With a weight of 13.2 ounces and an overall length of 8.69 inches, it’s not exactly small but can fit a bigger pocket, with a reversible clip keeping it in place.

Materials-wise, the handle is stainless steel with glass-reinforced overlays, while the 1.84-inch tomahawk blade is made of corrosion-resistant, titanium nitride-coated D2 steel.

crkt provoke x off side — The off side features not only Caswell’s mark but the button you press to release the Deadbolt lock.

That strikes as a nice size, heft and strength for a tackling a primary backcountry job that is definitely more difficult with a bushcraft knife: chopping firewood.

That said, we wouldn’t blame you if you attached some rope to the hole at the base and started whipping it around like Naru in Prey. Just make sure to keep your dog at a safe distance.