We’ve made many stops at SHOT Show 2019, and seen a near-overwhelming number of new products. There’s no shortage of knives among them, since most of the major industry players are here. But one particular knife design struck us as something unique: the Provoke from Columbia River Knife and Tool.

The CRKT Provoke is referred to as a kinematic manual knife — we’d call it a folding knife, but that’s not really a sufficient description. Telescoping might be a better word for its mechanism. In the closed position, the blade nestles alongside the handle. To open the knife, the user pushes on the back of the blade with a thumb, and it slides forward with a satisfying snap. Check out our video of it in action on RECOILtv or scroll down to the end of this article.

The Provoke design is a twist on the traditional karambit, with a forefinger ring and hooked curvature. It’s frame — if you can call it that — is constructed of pieces of anodized 6061 aluminum. The blade is D2 tool steel, an extremely resilient steel that’s a welcome departure from the stainless used on CRKT’s entry-level knives.

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After examining the Provoke, we began to wonder if it had a pocket clip. Fortunately it does, but it’s hidden well. The clip is spring-loaded and only opens when pressure is applied to squeeze the end of the forefinger ring. This means that the clip retracts immediately as the knife is drawn from a pocket.

The Provoke is available now on CRKT.com at an MSRP of $200.

Written by Patrick McCarthy