Columbia River Corkham

Steve Corkum works within the tradition of Japanese swordsmiths to create a modern interpretation with great daily utility. Japanese swordsmithing dates back to 645 A.D. and has a proud craft tradition. Steve Corkum is a Littletown, Pennsylvania custom knifemaker who has built a reputation making knives in the classic Japanese way. First as a teenager, and later as a martial arts competitor, he was fascinated by their design. He says, The blade styles were a focal point the sharp lines, the way the handle and blade became one piece though assembled from many parts. Finally at the age of 30 in 1994, he began learning the swordsmith craft. There are many CRKT firsts in their production version of Steve's custom First Strike, including the blade grind and edge, and the hand-wrapped handle. The blade shape is a combination of the ancient chokuto straight sword and the classic mohora-zukuri double edge tanto. The grind is what Steve calls a convex zero edge, or appleseed cross section, resulting in an edge that is much stronger than taper or hollow grinds. The massive 0.19" blade thickness continues through the tapered full tang, resulting in incredible strength from tip to butt. The blade is AUS 6M stainless steel in a satin finish and is available in both Razor-Sharp or Combined Razor-Sharp and Triple-Point Serrated edges. The handle is a traditional Japanese cord wrap, resin impregnated, with black ray skin underlays. Combined with the butt pommel, it provides an amazing level of grip.

CRKT have designed a custom injection molded Zytel sheath for the First Strike. It firmly grips the knife, left or right, and has a removable belt clip plus multiple slots and holes allowing almost infinite carry options on belts, clothing or gear. Despite its ceremonial origins, this is a heavy duty knife with great everyday utility. Steve Corkum notes, In Japan, knives such as this are carried for all types of demanding tasks.