Hurr hurr.
But seriously. It’s pointy.
Let me begin by saying I really, really wanted to hate this knife.
I’m not a huge karambit guy, although admittedly that comes both from a place of ignorance and from a desire to be low profile more than anything, but this sucker has got me hook, line, and sinker.
Watch (and listen) to this video, and you’ll see a big part of why I like this knife so much.
Both the design of the mechanism and the physical interaction with it (the satisfying click on deployment, for example) are very satisfying, and speak well both to the design work that Joe Caswell put in, as well as to the quality of the production manufacturing by the folks at CRKT (who graciously provided me this sample).
Additionally, this is the first responder edition, which has a ceramic glass breaker included on the tip of the knife:
In my capacity in fire and EMS, I occasionally have to break vehicle windows, and it’s nice to have a feature like this on my knife so I don’t have to run back to the truck.
I haven’t tested this glass breaker, but if you’re interested, here’s a comparison of two others I did recently – one’s the M16 I reviewed earlier that’s my usual work carry, the other is a cheap-ass “rescue knife”. Look for a follow-up video with the Provoke soon, but based on my experience with glass breakers, I’d anticipate that you can expect performance similar to the M16 in the video below.
Now, back to the Provoke.
As you can see in the leader image, the pocket clip is pretty unremarkable aside from its pronounced curve when the knife is stored – this is another incredibly clever piece of design that’s difficult to explain in words, so I made a video:
All I can think when handling this knife is that this is what a knife designed by Jonathan Ive would look like. At least the Imperial White version.
At any rate, I’ll stop belaboring the design now, I’m sure you’ve got the picture.
Moving on to function, since that’s really what it’s all about here.
As a knife, the Provoke performs quite well – it has a reasonable factory edge, which is important because many people will experience a bit of a learning curve sharpening a curved blade.
It does look and sound intimidating on deployment, which could be good or bad depending on your context and your needs – for me, I will likely not keep this in my regular carry rotation largely for that reason, at least not at work – my needs are such that I’d rather something in a bright color like orange or red, with a less intimidating profile to it.
Now, if I were a police officer, or when I’m performing high angle or confined space rescue work, I could definitely see going back to this knife – especially with the available sheath, whether it’s attached to some MOLLE or to a rescue harness, that’s an excellent option to have available, because the retention with either the clip or the sheath is quite solid.
That said, off-duty this may become a regular feature of my carry, although it may displace my Streamlight Microstream out of my front pocket when I do carry it.
This displacement may occur because of the width of the Provoke – in my duty pants at work it’s not an issue, but in the jeans I usually wear at home, the width is such that when I carry it in my rear pocket, it ends up further under my seat than I like when I sit down, and can be uncomfortable, especially on car rides.
One note on pocket carry with this knife – it’s not an advertised feature, but I was able to, after some fiddling, discover a way to open it from the pocket with an Emerson-Wave style deployment:
Please don’t try this at home without being very careful – there are a number of ways this draw could cut you or your clothing, so don’t hold me responsible if you cut something you didn’t mean to.
I don’t endorse this method of deployment, but I did want to show that it’s technically possible. Don’t be an idiot.
Another useful feature of this knife is its ability to be palmed. For the uninitiated, palming is when you hold an item with your hand, while appearing not to hold anything at all. It’s a term that comes from stage and close-up magic; specifically, it’s a type of sleight of hand.
For reference, I don’t have some gargantuan meathooks – I wear “medium” gloves, and I can still quite effectively palm this knife because of how compactly it folds up.
This turned into a bit of a novel, so I’ll summarize here:
The First Responder Provoke is an excellent piece of design that’s easy to carry and use. It’s at least partly changed my mind on karambits for everyday use. I can see it as particularly useful in public safety, but also for the everyday Joe who wants to be prepared – just don’t forget to protect your forearm and hand if you need to use the window punch – even safety glass hurts.
I’ll keep carrying it and playing with it, and I’ll post an update if any changes or further developments occur. Also, look for a post with a police officer’s opinion on the Provoke soon – I’ve got a buddy I tasked with carrying it for a while, so expect to hear more from that side of the fence soon.
That’s all for this one though – until next time.
-T