Small pocket knives solve one everyday-carry problem while sometimes creating another. Shrink a folder enough to make it easy to carry, and you can end up with something that feels more like a backup tool than a knife you would actually want to use regularly.
Price: $40.58
Where to Buy: Amazon
The Kershaw Craze takes a different approach. It combines a compact 2.35-inch blade with Kershaw’s DuraLock, KVT ball bearings, an extra-deep-carry pocket clip, and even a bottle opener. At 2.6 ounces and 3.55 inches closed, it is clearly designed around portability, but Kershaw has not stripped away the features normally associated with larger EDC folders.
That makes the Craze appealing if you want a genuinely small everyday knife without giving up the conveniences of a modern folder.
A 2.35-inch blade keeps the Craze genuinely compact
Kershaw gives the Craze a 2.35-inch blade made from 8Cr13MoV stainless steel with its black-oxide BlackWash finish. The knife measures 5.9 inches overall and 3.55 inches closed, with a listed weight of 2.6 ounces.
Here, the dimensions matter more than the steel designation. A 3.55-inch closed knife occupies considerably less space than many full-size folders, while the 2.6-ounce weight keeps the overall package modest.
The tradeoff is blade length. Anyone who regularly needs the cutting reach of a larger folder may find 2.35 inches limiting. For routine EDC jobs such as opening packages and handling smaller cutting tasks, however, the compact format may be exactly the point.
Instead of asking whether the Craze can replace every larger pocket knife, it makes more sense to ask whether you need that larger knife with you every day.
8Cr13MoV keeps material ambitions modest
The Craze is not trying to compete with premium folders on blade steel. Kershaw specifies 8Cr13MoV stainless steel rather than one of the higher-end materials increasingly used in enthusiast knives.
That makes more sense in the context of the complete design. The Craze is a compact, utility-oriented folder whose appeal comes from its size and feature set rather than an exotic blade material.
We have not tested this particular knife’s edge retention, sharpening behavior, corrosion resistance, or cutting performance. Those characteristics depend on factors including heat treatment and blade geometry, so the steel designation alone is not enough to establish how the finished Craze performs.
The black-oxide BlackWash treatment gives the blade an intentionally worn-looking dark finish and matches the knife’s predominantly black appearance.
DuraLock uses an ambidextrous crossbar
The DuraLock is more notable than the blade steel here. It is a crossbar-style lock: when the Craze is open, a steel crossbar engages the blade tang to hold it in place. Because the crossbar is accessible from both sides of the handle, the lock is ambidextrous.
To close the knife, pull the DuraLock back toward the handle’s butt end and guide the blade shut, keeping your fingers clear of its path. Unlike a button or liner lock, the mechanism releases by retracting the external crossbar.
Opening remains manual via a thumb stud, with KVT ball bearings helping the blade pivot smoothly. DuraLock secures and releases the blade; it does not provide assisted opening.
The bottle opener adds another everyday function
There is another practical detail at the opposite end of the knife: a bottle opener.
Kershaw incorporates the opener into the Craze’s handle alongside a lanyard hole. That gives the knife another everyday function without turning it into a full multitool.
Whether the bottle opener matters depends on what you already carry. Someone with a multitool or keychain opener may rarely use it. If you are trying to carry fewer separate items, adding another basic function to the same 2.6-ounce folder is genuinely useful.
The handle itself is glass-filled nylon, a material choice that fits the Craze’s emphasis on keeping weight under control rather than adding heavy metal scales.
Carry is designed to stay unobtrusive
Kershaw pairs the small dimensions with a reversible extra-deep-carry pocket clip configured for right- or left-side tip-up carry.
That detail complements the rest of the knife. A compact folder loses some of its appeal if a significant portion remains visible above the pocket, while the reversible clip provides more flexibility for left-handed carry.
Combined with the 3.55-inch closed length and 2.6-ounce weight, the carry setup reinforces what Kershaw appears to be prioritizing. The Craze is not trying to give you the most blade possible. It is trying to provide useful folding-knife features in something that does not demand much pocket space.
Who is the Kershaw Craze for?
The Craze is for EDC users who want a compact folder without sacrificing useful features. Its 2.35-inch 8Cr13MoV blade is not aimed at buyers seeking premium steel or maximum cutting reach.
Instead, Kershaw pairs a 3.55-inch closed length and 2.6-ounce weight with an ambidextrous crossbar lock, KVT bearings, a reversible extra-deep-carry clip, and a built-in bottle opener.
Price: $40.58
Where to Buy: Amazon
If you regularly need a larger working blade, or prioritize higher-end steel, look elsewhere. But if full-size folders feel like more knife than you want to carry every day, the Craze delivers a notably complete feature set in a smaller package.
