• Welcome to Multitool.org

    The place for reviews & discussion on Multi Tools, Swiss Army Knives, Outdoor Gear, EDC and more for over TEN years.
  • Are you into Swiss Army Knives?

    Learn & discuss tools from both Swiss Army manufacturers: Victorinox & Wenger! Read More
  • Good things can come in small packages.

    What do you EDC? Read More
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
Wednesday, 11 October 2017 14:02

New Multitool from CRKT

Written by

In the off chance you have not yet seen it, CRKT has released a new plier based multitool, the Technician:

Technician01

At first glance it looks pretty standard- butterfly opening plier tool, stuff in the handles.... nice looking with the textured grips, but nothing we haven't seen before, right? Well, maybe, but there's a good reason why this one should stand out.

Technician02

Yup- as you can see, printed on the head, plain as day is "KLECKER DESIGN" and that name may sound vaguely familiar to you, and with good reason- Glenn Klecker has an impressive resume, at least as far as tool design goes. Currently he is running his own shop at www.kleckerknives.com (and the Multitool.org Store is an authorized Klecker Dealership) and he is churning out plastic and wooden knife and multitool kits, as well as the current cell phone case tool, the Stowaway and the axe multitool called the KLAX but he has also designed another tool that you may have heard of.

Technician03

Yup, before setting off on his own or hooking up with CRKT, Glenn was a designer for Leatherman and was instrumental in designing the Skeletool, which is the progenitor of multiple other Leatherman models such as the MUT, Signal, Freestyle and Style series tools. Not a bad resume huh?

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Glenn is also an MTO member, and has been since the early days, although he doesn't usually advertise it. So, we should be even more interested in this tool since it comes from one of us.

Technician04

Of course we aren't idiots that blindly buy things because we are told to, right? We need to know if something really works, and that is the bottom line for this whole site- reviewing multitools, seeing what works and what doesn't, so let's look at the tool itself, an maybe do some speculating here and there. :D

Technician05

CRKT has this to say about it:

Doing it yourself? There’s a pride in that. To end the day with dirty hands and tired bones marks success in our book. And to get the job done right, there’s one thing we can’t go without: a damn good multi-tool. Shadetree mechanics and automotive masters, meet your new best friend: the Technician™.

Technician06

We can gather from the images that it seems to be a bit smaller than the usual butterfly opening tool, but perhaps a bit more robust looking. It sort of reminds me of the compact stoutness of the surprisingly decent DeWalt M-16, which I consider a good thing. Further, it appears that the Technician will also include a One Hand Opening blade with a thumb stud, which could potentially be removed for places where one hand opening is a no no. Good move!

Technician08

CRKT goes on to say this about it:

One Hand Opening Knife Blade
Standard 1/4" Bit Driver
Folding Chisel/Scraper - Great for Scraping Gaskets

Technician09

Considering how many times I wish a multitool had a scraper (at least in the times I am not carrying a SwissTool or Spirit) I think I am going to appreciate it's inclusion in the Technician.

Technician10

And look at that plier head! They don't come much more robust looking than that- Glenn and CRKT obvious intend for this thing to be used [i]hard[/i].

Inside it looks like a modest, but reasonable selection of tools, which is great because I for one am sick of carrying around tools with a thousand functions when I only need like 6 of them. CRKT ofers the following specs:

SPECIFICATIONS
Blade Length 2.584" (65.63 mm)
Blade Edge Plain Edge
Blade Thickness 0.097" (2.46 mm)
Closed Length 4.453" (113.11 mm)
Handle G10
Style Multi-Tool
Sheath Material 1680D Weaved Nylon; Black

So, it comes with a sheath, but it looks like the G10 might be thick enough for a pocket clip mod if you wanted.... plus the [i]textured[/i] handles seem like they are a long time coming! No plastic, no slippery steel, a real, hard wearing textured, grippy material at last!

Technician11

I have to say that I think I am really looking forward to this one. The design is right, the research is right, the form factor is right, the materials seem right.... I think this might be a serious contender for Multitool of the Year.... in 2018. :facepalm:

Yup, not available until January, 2018, which is a bit frustrating, but it could be the most exciting new tool we have to look forward to- and at an MSRP of $89.99 I think there is some serious potential here.

 

Share your thoughts on the new CRKT Technician on the FORUM!

Grant Lamontagne

As the founder of Multitool.org Grant has been a collector of Swiss Army Knives and multitools for over 25 years, and a user for over 40 years. 

With a day job working in the field, either out in the woods or on industrial sites, Grant uses tools every day for all manner of different purposes.

Interested in this or a different tool and still have more questions?
Why not join us over on the Multitool.org Forum where our community can help you find what you're looking for!

Join the discussion now!