Chris Reeve Knives Impinda
A top-of-the-line super slip!
From its graceful bead-blasted Titanium frame to its top-shelf blade steel and
machined pocket clip, the Impinda has all the trappings of a CRK knife.
Prepare to change the way you think about slip joint pocketknives — the Chris Reeve Knives Impinda is not your granddad’s traditional pocket folder by a long shot. Think Titanium. Think top-shelf exotic steel. Add the most unique pivot lock-up mechanism ever to grace a slip joint and you’re almost there. The only thing left is to handle the Impinda. Once you roll the blade out, you’ll know you’ve arrived.
Chris Reeve Knives (CRK) called on custom knifemaking veteran Bill Harsey — who has collaborated with the company on several projects in the past — to design the Impinda. Harsey’s answer is a 3.1″ blade rolling out of the folder’s 4″ handle with slightly increasing force until it locks up tight. His unique pivot cam/lock-up mechanism creates more force as it opens and, once locked in, the blade requires more force to close, making it safer for the user by helping to avoid accidental folding during use.
The construction of the knife is pure CRK, starting with a beautifully machined and bead-blasted Titanium handle. The blade is a graceful hollow-ground drop point of Crucible Industries’ CPM-S35VN premium stainless steel. There is a nail nick because slip joints should have one — but the blade has enough exposure to be pinch-pulled open as well. Out back is a machined pocket clip and on the base, the obligatory lanyard hole. Total weight is 3.38 oz. Yes, it’s svelte for its size thanks to the weight savings inherent in Titanium.
If you didn’t know it was a slip joint, you’d swear the Impinda is a tactical folder and, in a true sense, it is.
Why You’ll Like It
Like all CRK knives the Impinda is upscale, but it’s bulletproof and guaranteed for life. No other knife manufacturer has won more quality awards than CRK, a big reason serious knife users buy them like hotcakes. The Impinda design is very tactical, a rarity around the slip joint genre, and the added safety of the Harsey lock-up mechanism adds peace of mind. Despite its good looks, the Impinda is a hard-use knife to perform with the best and then some. MSRP is $450.
