CRKT Pilar UK Edition

Jesper Voxnaes designed the Pilar in his Logstrup, Denmark shop. He named it after Ernest Hemingway’s beloved sailboat, the 38ft long vessel that he used for renegade surveillance of German U-boats during WWII in Caribbean waters. The Pilar is a compact locking folding knife with a Wharncliffe blade. It was an instant hit, winning knife of the year. Hennie Haynes looks after their many discerning customers here in the UK and worked with CRKT to produce a UK legal carry HH edition. Talk about eagerly awaited and now it is available.

Construction

The main task was to make the knife a non-locking slip joint. The original being a frame lock. It has double spring liners, one in each scale liner to do this. The blade is the same as the original locker and deploys very easily as it has a 6.8mm x 14.7mm long thumb slot for one-handed opening. The lock-up is still positive and it has a finger choil on the blade which lines up with the front of the frame shape to give it a very ergonomic feel. Behind the finger choil is a sweeping curve where the middle fingers sit nicely. Having the index finger in the choil makes it very safe to use and if the lock brakes it is held by the finger.

The blade shape is a perfect cutter with the flat grind and Wharncliffe tip. For carrying, it has a pocket clip on the righthand side, it’s a deep one, meaning the end of the clip comes right to the edge of the knife so it sits at the top of the pocket. There is only one position for the HH Pilar and it’s tip down. There is a 4.8mm lanyard hole as an option for carrying and it features the trademark red G10 scales and back spacer. The deep red means you will be hard-pressed to lose it.

Overall

I like slip joint knives, they are easier to carry and use than locking ones. If you have to do any really tough cutting, use a fixed blade. For everyday carry in the U.K, the HH edition Pilar is very hard to beat. Many thanks again to Olly at HH.