Over Shinola’s more than decade-long history, the horological outfit and lifestyle brand has debuted a slew of collaborative releases with other reputable brands in the gear, lifestyle, and home goods spaces. One such outfit is Benchmade, which has previously partnered with Shinola on a handful of special-edition knives — including unique variants of the Titanium 765, the 485 Valet, and most recently, the Mini Crooked River. And for 2022, the Detroit watchmaker has once again joined forces with the Oregon-based knife brand to deliver a limited-edition Shinola x Benchmade take on the full-size Crooked River.
Unlike Shinola’s previous Mini Crooked River collab — which was essentially just the regular knife with some added Shinola branding laser-marked onto the blade — the new full-length model has been treated to material upgrades and a unique colorway. In place of the standard model’s dymondwood handle is a set of milled carbon fiber scales. What’s more, the Crooked River’s 4.00” clip-point blade — which is crafted from top-shelf CPM-S30V steel and rated at between 58 and 60 ford hardness on the Rockwell scale — has been bestowed with a black PVD coating.
Alongside gaining Shinola branding on the blade, the knife further deviates from the regular spec by receiving a black thumb-stud and a matching blacked-out AXIS slide lock. The Shinola version also retains the normal Crooked River’s orange-anodized pivot and backspacer which now contrast beautifully with the special-edition variant’s all blacked-out color scheme. Interestingly, despite the addition of carbon fiber handle inserts, this version of the Crooked River tips the scales at the same 5.41oz (0.338lbs) weight as the regular dymondwood-scaled model.
Available now, the limited-edition Shinola x Benchmade Crooked River Knife has been priced at $360 — only a $70 premium over Benchmade’s standard full-size model.
