CRKT M40-03 Carson design, a revisited classic

Kit Carson, who passed away in 2014, was one of the great knife designers after World War II. An Army veteran and a member of the American Knifemakers’ Guild for over 20 years, he combined his work as a craftsman with that of a designer on behalf of other companies. For CRKT he designed knives such as the M16 and the M21, which soon became best sellers and are still produced in many versions.

The knife that CRKT presented at the SHOT Show 2020 is based on an original design by Kit Carson too, updated thanks to the "Deadbolt" locking system designed by the Brazilian cutler Flavio Ikoma. The locking mechanism automatically locks the blade tang when it's opened. To close the knife, simply press the button on the left side, on the rotation pivot.

CRKT M40-03 details

But let's take a closer look at the new M40-03: the spear point blade (typical of Carson's design) is 1.4116 stainless steel, 3.45” / 88 mm long, with a satin bead blast finish.  The handle features 6063 aluminum bolsters and glass reinforced nylon onlays with a non-slip texture.

On the right side of the handle is a stainless steel clip with a blued finish that allows the knife to be carried in a "tip up" position.

The blade can be deployed with one hand in two ways – operating the ambidextrous thumb stud on the back of the blade or the flipper on the blade tang. Thanks to the ball bearing pivot system, the blade opening is extremely smooth and lightning fast.

The overall length of the CRKT M40-3 is 8”/ 203 millimeters for a weight of 4.2 oz/ 120 grams. Retail price 140 USD.

This is just one of the many different models that CRKT presented at the SHOT Show and we will show you more in the next months.

CRKT M40-03 specs

Find all the news from SHOT Show 2020 on all4shooters.com / all4hunters.com.