Knives are dangerous, but so is the world we live in. We aren’t in a utopian world where everyone can sing kumbaya and smile all the time. We live in a predatory world where animals and human beings are looking for harmless prey. You are not a harmless prey. If you were prey, you wouldn’t be here. What you are is a realist. Someone who knows what it takes to survive and is ready to stay no matter the dangers the world throws at you. We respect that. You deserve to be able to defend yourself from the terrors of this world.
Okay, so you are looking to defend yourself. You are wondering how you can achieve this. The bad guys are more intelligent now. Their instinct is that you have some weapon concealed on you. But, hear us out, what if you have a gun that they would have trouble spotting on your body. What if you had a neck knife. Don’t get us wrong. Neck knives are not only for the sake of self-defense. They are helpful for the general surviving. So, if you are an outdoor person, neck knives can be incredible weapons for you to have.
Neck knives are fixed blade knives that can be worn around the neck or put in small pouches that can be worn on your shirt or concealed on your body. Neck knives have several uses. They are good for self-defense as they are incredibly sharp knives. They are even shorter than the regular kitchen knives. Many call the last option knife as they can be taken anywhere with you and are quite easy to conceal.
In addition, they are also a good survival tool. They have many survival uses. They can be used as an outdoor cutter and can help you scythe through vines and thorny stems. You can use them to open canned food. Furthermore, you can use them to skin an animal. Handy, aren’t they? Although, whether for self-defense or for surviving, you have to be sure that purchasing a neck knife is legal. You don’t want to carry an illegal knife around. The law can be pretty strict with people that break the law. While we want you to be safe, breaking the law isn’t being safe. It’s reckless and dangerous.
So, you are wondering about the type of neck knife that you should buy. While there are many neck knives, we will be discussing two of the best in this article. We have partnered with a knives expert who has written many knives for a professional essay writing service. So, we will tell you all you need to know about two of the best neck Knives you can invest in. They are the Spyderco ARK (always ready knife) and the Colombian River Knife and Tool Minimalist or the CRKT minimalist for short.
The Spyderco ARK
A little-known thing about the Spyderco ARK is that it is was initially designed to be a combat knife. It has military origins, which you can trace back to the famous Afghanistan combat tours. The blade was made to serve as a self-defense knife which anyone takes everywhere and anywhere. Two United States army expert soldiers thought of the design of the knife. John Shirley and his pal, Sam Owens.
When the army deployed Shirley to Afghanistan, he discovered that people sexually assaulted many United States army personnel. He also learned that the assault took place mostly during showers where the victims couldn’t fight back. This got Shirley thinking and raised the issue with his pal Owen. Shirley was a martial artist who specialized in Japanese martial art styles. Owen was an expert craftsman. The two combined their knowledge to design a knife that would be lightweight and used anywhere. They created the ark knife for the army personnel to take anywhere.
Features of the Knife
Efficient Blade
Like all Spyderco’s products, the ARK is a fixed blade knife with an incredibly sharp edge. The blade is reasonably curved, and Spyderco made it from top-tier H-1 steel, making it immensely sharp. The sharpness makes it easy for the knife to cut easily. So, it has a great cutting power that doesn’t take much effort to cut. A practiced swing of the knife would yield cutting results.
Spyderco spent a lot of time during production to sharpen this blade and make sure the edges are smooth without serrations. Although, there are versions of this blade that has serrated edges. Apart from the edge, it has a sharp point which makes it pierce objects and flesh easily. You can skin an animal easily with this knife.
As we have mentioned earlier, the ARK’s greatest strength is the blade which is very durable against corrosion.
Easy Grip Handle
Remember that Shirley and Owen created the first ARK to arm army personnel sexually assaulted, especially in the showers. So, the grip had to be perfect. If not, it would be slipping off the hands of those who wanted to use the knife for self-defense. So, Spyderco made the knife’s handle was from fiberglass reinforced nylon. This reinforced nylon is an excellent polymer and very durable. It has a rough texture which Syoderco is known for, and it helps for an excellent grip.
Sheath
The knife sheath is nothing short of perfect. It is such a sheath that can go with you anywhere, even the showers. It weighs about 57 grams. So, it wouldn’t stress you when you wear it on your neck. You might not even notice it until you need to use it. Spyderco built the sheath, which comes with a knife from polymer. It has a ball chain which you will wear around your neck. Who knew wearing a dangerous weapon could look so cool.
Pro
- Made by a quality brand
- It has an extremely sharp point
- It is easy to use
- You can use it craft for survival and self-defense
- It has a durable corded sheath
- The knife is quality
Cons
- It is a famous knife, and this causes scarcity at times
- It has fewer giant finger rests
The Columbia River Knife and Tool Minimalist
An ace student who has written a college paper on neck knives is impressed with this knife and the ideology behind its creation. Read on.
Alan Folts designs the knife. Alan Folts is from Melbourne, Florida. One of the things that interest us about Alan is his desire to teach. He makes and designs knives and is eager to share his knowledge about custom knife making and designing. With his experience, he has every right to do so. Twenty years making and designing knives isn’t a child’s plaything. It is too much experience if you ask us. He genuinely loves making knives but seems to prefer viewing knives as tools instead of weapons of self-defense.
The CRKT minimalist has a reputation for being versatile and comfortable. Its small size makes it popular among survivalists as they find it comfortable to use. Users who love compact knives admire its minimalist design.
Features of the Knife
Superb Blade
The CRKT is a compact fixed blade knife. This knife design comes in different styles. Also, it comes in a plain edge, Bowie style, tanto style. No matter the style you have gotten, one thing is sure. This neck knife would cut through items with ease. CRK made the knife’s blade from a high carbon stainless steel blade. The steel helps the blade have a sharp edge. As sharp as the blade is, it wouldn’t reflect light as much. CRKT finished the knife’s blade with a bead blast, which reduced its ability to reflect light. Users often wonder how such a compact knife could deliver precise results.
For the Bowie style, the knife curves, which gives it more cutting force. The plain edge Wharncliffe style has a straight edge, which is great for piercing and crafting.
Great Grip
The CRKT minimalist has a pleasant grip which is resin fiber infused. It comes in different colors, which gives the handle have a pleasant visual appeal. You don’t need a full-finger grip for this knife. Your first two fingers are enough to take hold of this handle. However, when you require extra grip, curl your last two fingers around the cord fob.
If you are using the CRKT minimalist bowie neck knife style, you would be able to rest your fingers even more comfortably on the handle.
Sheath
This knife comes with a tough thermoplastic sheath and great options for mounting.
Warranty
The CRKT Minimalist design neck knives come with a limited lifetime warranty to cover problems that you notice in the knife or its sheath. So, you wouldn’t be at a loss if the quality of the blade you got is substandard by chance.
Cost
The Wharncliffe style costs about $40.34, and the Bowie style costs $44.99. For a knife that delivers so much and has a limited lifetime warranty.
Pros
- It is sharp
- Light and easy to use
- The Wharncliffe plain style is good for crafting
- It has an efficient, durable sheath
- Tough knife
Cons
- It can be scarce.
- The finger rests are not comfortable for people with small hands.
The Battle of the Neck Knives: Spyderco ARK v CRKT Minimalist
The two of them are two of the best knives you can get, but questions have been asked by survivalists, campers, and those looking for a knife for self-defense. So, here is the review of the two knives according to the thoughts of a reviewer of an essay writing service reviews.
Blade
One which blade is sharper, the spoils go to the Spyderco ARK knife as their nitrogen-based tier-one H1 steel is superior and can be more resistant than its CRKT counterpart. Don’t get us wrong. Both blades are sharp and dangerous, but the ARK gets the edge here. However, the CRKT knife, especially the Bowie style knife, is excellent for rougher use.
Apart from the sharpness, the length of the blade on the two is also different. The average size of the CRKT minimalist knife differs. The Bowie style is about 6.750 inches with a 2.1 inches blade size. The Wharncliffe style is the smallest of all three kinds. In addition, It measures approximately 4.875 inches, with the blade measuring 2 inches. The ARK measures about 4.98 inches overall, with the blade length being 2.56 inches.
With the above, the ARK is only longer than the Wharncliffe in overall size. However, both the Wharncliffe and the Bowie styles don’t have the blade length of the ARK. The drawback of this is that those with larger hands find it difficult to grip the ARK. In the same vein, those with smaller hands find it tricky grabbing the CRKT knives.
Some users praise the CRKT for its blade shapes. Some call it unusual, but the general feeling about these blades is that they are suitable for crafting. So, you are never caught out of sorts when crafting situations as long as your CRKT minimalist knife is near you.
Sheath
The two of them have an excellent sheath, but the ball chain sheath the ARK neck knife had is superior in this regard. It is not surprising as ARK is the more expensive knife.
Warranty
It’s surprising that even though it is costlier than the CRKT knives, the Spyderco ARK doesn’t have a warranty. However, the CRKT has a limited warranty on its knives. It is an excellent way to show customers that CRKT cares and would be held responsible for any bad quality knife they produce.
Price
The Spyderco ARK is on the high side of pricing. However, you get value for the money you pay. The knife is top quality and durable. Plus, the sheath is also rugged and strong. In addition, the sheath makes concealing the knife easier. The CRKT minimalist knife is cheaper, but this doesn’t make it a useless knife. It is pretty good and makes adventures have it as part of their survival kit. The blade might not be sharper than the ARK, but it has a significant edge to it. Also, buying the CRKT minimalist knife is an excellent investment you aren’t going to regret. It is a superb simple knife with a pocket-friendly price.