Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) displayed its brand new Tighe Tac Two knife at SHOT Show. The company offers it in two blade configurations: the Tanto and the Clip Point.
I just had to lay my hands on one. If you’ve read here before you know I really enjoy CRKT knives, and own several different models including the Foresight, M16 and the Eat’N Tool. The Tighe Tac Two Tanto is a lightweight knife with a unique appearance, and incredible features and handling. The Tighe Tac Two Tanto was on the very end of the new products display, and its unique look immediately stood out to me.
It seems to have impressed others as the knife won the “Best Buy of the Year” award at the Blade Show later in the year. So, let’s take a look at the Tighe Tac Two line and the Tanto blade configuration in particular.
The Tighe Tac Two Knife
The Tighe Tac Two is the second generation of the original knife designed by Brian Tighe for CRKT. Tighe, a Canadian knife maker, has been highly acclaimed for his skills. I recently did a review of another Brian Tighe design, the Tighe Rade, and liked the knife so well I bought one for myself. The Tighe Tac Two felt very light in my grasp, but the materials left no doubt about the quality and sturdy knife I was holding.
The push button lock makes closing easy and one-handed.
The Tighe Tac Two is an open-framed knife that uses a blade extension flipper to deploy the blade. The flipper was very easily manipulated with my pointer finger and quickly began the full blade deployment process. There are also ambidextrous thumb studs near the base of the blade’s spine near the hilt. This is another opening option, but one I did not find necessary to use while I handled the Tighe Tac Two on the SHOT Show floor.
Key Features
- Tighe Ball Bearing Pivot System
- Button Lock
- Flipper Deployment
- Glass-Reinforced Nylon Handle
- Tanto Blade
- Ambidextrous Thumb Studs.
Assisting the flipper action, the Tighe Tac Two also uses the incredibly smooth Tighe Ball Bearing Pivot System. The ball bearings made the blade feel as if it is gliding on smooth ice as it swung out and into its locked open position. The whole action was very impressive, and I found myself opening and closing the knife repeatedly as I marveled over the craftsmanship.
The Tighe Tac Two Tanto blade takes an aggressively long tanto point, unlike many other tanto blades. The spine of the blade has a mostly tapered cut and appearance, but there is still a significant amount of steel in the middle to define the blade’s features and strengths.
To lock the blade in the open position, the Tighe Tac Two uses an ambidextrous button lock, as opposed to a bar locking mechanism. I really appreciate this feature, and feel it makes the knife so much more versatile for the user. The combination of the flipper, Tighe Ball Bearing Pivot System, and button lock truly make the Tighe Tac Two a one-handed knife. To close the blade, all the user needs to do is depress the button lock with their thumb and the blade begins to fold on its own.
The closing process is completed with a minimal final push on the blade to secure it back inside the open frame. This can be accomplished by bringing the thumb over the top of the blade, or by carefully depressing the back of the blade against an object or the user’s own body.
The glass-reinforced Nylon handle takes on an over-lapping terraced design and look, that is not only attractive but provides a good deal of grip traction for a secure hold on the knife. The bottom side of the handle has a bass cleft curvature that is divided in two by a very modest finger groove. The groove provides just enough extra grip, without becoming noticeably in the way. In addition, the butt of the handle tapers into a point. Though not specifically mentioned as a window break, I’m confident that the base of the frame could be used in that manner.
Specifications
- Style: Folding knife with button locks
- Blade Material: 8Cr13MoV Steel (58-60 HRC)
- Blade Finish: Satin
- Blade Style: Tanto and Clip Point options
- Blade Length: 3.383 inches
- Blade Edge: Plain
- Opened Length: 7.938 inches
- Closed Length: 4.596 inches
- Weight: 3.4 ounces
- Handle: Glass-reinforced Nylon
- MSRP: $69.99 (see the best price here)
Final Thoughts
I think my fondness of CRKT knives is pretty evident throughout this article, but I do not provide that endorsement lightly. I am a CRKT knife owner and user. I joined the CRKT ranks because I was impressed with the quality of the craftsmanship, unique designs, and outstanding materials used. In addition, some of the CRKT trademarked knife action and safety advancements are genuinely remarkable, both for their practicality and for the improvement they provide.
The Tighe Tac Two Tanto knife is an excellent knife, and I am already planning on purchasing one for my own use. The only drawback I could find in my limited time with the knife was the single pocket clip attachment option. Well, OK, the four “T’s” in the name is a mouthful too!
This knife could easily be priced over $100 and be worth it all. At a suggested retail price of $69.99 this knife is a serious contender for the best EDC knife for the money. Considering you can get it for close to half that price on Amazon, I’d say it might just be the most affordable EDC knife.
Disclosure
We fully disclose any potential biases that may influence our reviews and other gear articles. You deserve to know everything when reading a review and if the reviewer doesn’t disclose potential influences, you should ask them why.
Neither the publisher nor the author has any financial interest in CRKT or any other knife maker. CRKT is not an advertiser. This is not a sponsored article. For those that don’t know, a sponsored article is an article that is directly paid for by a manufacturer to talk about or review a product. In other words, it is a paid advertisement.
The knife reviewed in this article was not provided by CRKT. Both the author and other members of the BlueSheepdog (BSD) team own CRKT knives that have been purchased with our own monies.
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