This Fifth-Pocket Folder From CRKT Proves You Can Do a Lot With a Little

That odd little fifth pocket on your jeans was originally designed to carry pocket watches. It has become a catch-all since pocket watches went the way of the dodo. From guitar picks to house keys, and even the errant cough drop, the fifth pocket can even become your little personal trash can.

Honestly, the options are endless.

I grew up using the fifth pocket to hide the fact that I was carrying a Swiss Army Knife in school. You couldn’t have knives in school, and I didn’t go anywhere without a knife. So, the unsuspecting fifth pocket became my keeper of secrets. I don’t generally carry SAKs anymore, but I still find that pocket to be useful if you need fast access to a knife — if they’re small enough to fit.

Currently, I am carrying the diminutive CRKT Straight in that fifth pocket, quite to my surprise! I instantly liked the look of the Straight and am a fan of knifemaker TJ Schwarz. But I never paid attention to its closed length of 3.5 inches. In the end, this turned out to be a good thing.

In short: Where most compact folding knives limit what you can do with them, the CRKT Straight is designed to do anything you can think of. Its aggressive design, tight pivot, and a short break-in period may not be ideal for first-time knife buyers, but those comfortable handling a true EDC knife will appreciate all it can do.

CRKT Straight Review

Design & Features

The Straight is a compact and bellicose frame lock from custom knifemaker TJ Schwarz. Visually similar to his CRKT Overland Frame Lock and Schwarz Knives Overland Sport, the Straight can be both your primary task knife, or a handy, inconspicuous backup knife.

This owes to its overall design, which allows the Straight to act bigger than it looks and feels.

Made from G10 and stainless steel, the Straight has a reverse tanto black-oxide-coated D2 blade. D2 is a tough tool steel that has been admired for decades. Wrapping the blade in black oxide eliminates one of the only concerns people have with it — corrosion. It will also hold a decent edge and sharpens up quickly.

The spine of the Straight is completely flat with a slight rise toward the butt. Additionally, the center of the butt and the tip of the knife are collinear. These two aspects give you incredible control over the knife and, when combined with the overall size, give you a precision tool for cutting, slicing, scoring, and boring.

Rounding out the features of the Straight are an “IKBS” ball-bearing pivot and a thumb stud opening for smooth operation. The knife uses a liner lock for its lock mechanism, and the steel pocket clip is right-hand, tip-down for back, side, or fifth-pocket carry.

First Impressions

Custom knifemaker TJ Schwarz landed on my radar last year when I saw a video featuring his Overland Sport pocket fixed blade. That knife has stayed a true companion of mine over the last few months, and I just named it one of the best pocket knives of 2025.

Schwarz’s approach to knife design is not just for looks. The way he angles the blade and the shape he gives to the handles of his knives improve ergonomics and the user’s control over them. This allows his knives to tackle a wider array of tasks.

As I noted, initially I had no idea the Straight was only 6.08 inches in overall length. I figured it was a sleeker version of his larger CRKT Overland. So, I was surprised and also delighted at the versatility granted by its size.

The Straight can fit in any pocket, but it’s great for fifth-pocket carry. I won’t go as far as to say that this is the kind of knife you want to conceal, but it is aggressive-looking. In fact, I’ve made a few “careful, or you’ll poke your eye out” jokes when showing it off to my knife nerd buddies.

I will, however, say that the Straight is a knife that you want to keep easily accessible. It’s a taskmaster, a knife made to do a little bit of everything in your day-to-day life. And what’s more accessible than that fifth pocket?

In the Field Testing

Two things you need to know about the Straight before you pick one up:

1. It’s really sharp.
2. It has a break-in period.

Because the knife is so compact, there’s not a lot of room between the thumb stud and the handle. So, flipping it open can cause your thumb to ride along the face of the blade and kiss the scalpel-sharp edge. This is compounded by a tight pivot out of the box. I shaved off a couple of layers of skin on my thumb before the pivot finally loosened up. Three weeks in, and the Straight operates better than the best automatic knives out there.

The Straight’s smaller stature also led me to carry it everywhere, even when I didn’t have a fifth pocket to coddle it. It became the knife I used to break up boxes for recycling and open up mail. Its size and blade shape also allowed the Straight to excel as a pruning, shaping, and shaving knife. My yard is filled with apple trees and blueberry bushes, all of which need pruning to continue on their journey to fruiting.

However, the overall advantage to carrying the Straight with you is that it’s inherently handy (not unwieldy). From making dinner and slicing open a bag of chicken nuggets for the kids, to processing and breaking down cardboard boxes, it’s instantly accessible and honed to the task.

There’s just something about that fifth pocket that keeps things more handy than the rest of our pockets. And the CRKT Straight is an excellent fit.

CRKT Straight: Who’s It For?

Knives come in all different shapes and sizes for a variety of reasons. The pairing of its compact size and unique, sweeping blade shape allows the Straight to be a knife that is able to fill a lot of spots that some singular knives don’t generally overlap.

It’s a utility knife as much as a precision tool. It’s easy to carry and conceal and makes a solid ally to that wonderful fifth pocket.

For those who don’t want to lug around a belt knife and either don’t need the spectacle of a larger pocket knife, or just want a smaller, niftier EDC option, the Straight offers a very convenient option.

But don’t feel obligated to use the Straight as strictly a fifth-pocket knife. Consider it at face value — a compact, capable knife that can do quite a lot. You could even use the lanyard hole to hang it off some ball chain and wear the knife around your neck. In carry and in use, the possibilities with the Straight are virtually unlimited.