Richard Rogers: designer of the CRKT CEO series

‘Simple Elegance’. These two words adorn the website of American knife maker Richard Rogers. And quite rightly so! His designs are always simple and elegant. But not simple in a negative sense. Anything but! His designs are refined and well thought-out. No unnecessary frills, with functionality always coming first.

Richard Rogers lives on a ranch in New Mexico with his wife and son. He keeps livestock and has his workshop here. However, Richard is not a typical cowboy. Since 1996, he has been making handmade knives. First he started with hunting knives, and later with traditional slipjoints.

Modern knives made from premium materials

Today he makes premium EDC gear, knives with liner locks and slipjoints with a double detent. Modern interpretations of the knives he started out with. By hand, but also mid-tech under his own name, in collaboration with renowned brands such as the Chinese Bestech. These knives are made from premium materials such as Damascus steel, Timascus and special types of wood and carbon fibres. His designs are clean and sophisticated.

“I try to design knives with clean lines. I like knives that are slim and light, something that you can carry without noticing it until you need to cut something. I am constantly refining existing designs, and trying new things. I strive for excellence in my work. Every knife should work and cut well. My goal, with every knife I make, is to make it the best example of what that knife should be.”

A big name in the industry

Years of experience in the knife world make Richard Rogers one of the leading designers in the industry. With no fewer than 50 awards, including two Best of Show awards from Blade Show Atlanta, it's no wonder that many popular pocket knives were designed by him.

Richard Rogers mainly works with the American CRKT (Colombia River Knife & Tool). You know his name from the popular CRKT CEO series and knives like the CRKT Montosa and the CRKT Dually. These production knives are often based on his handmade knives, as you can see in the pictures below.

These production knives are made with affordable, robust materials. This allows anyone to purchase one of his designs. The CRKT CEO series in particular is one of his big success stories. With this he started a new trend of slim, stylish EDC knives. After the first model with a thumb stud, other versions with different handle materials, flipper opening mechanisms and different sizes soon followed.

Annual Holiday Fundraiser

Richard Rogers isn't just making a difference in the knife world with his products. Outside his work, too, he is changing the lives of others who are less fortunate. Since 2013, Richard Rogers and his family have been running a fundraiser for the holiday season. This takes place in December and runs for a week. Every donation brings a chance to win EDC gear or a handmade knife. He divides the proceeds among 5 local charities.

“Our community is small and the need is great in this rural, economically poor, no enterprise area in the second poorest state in the nation. There are many less fortunate families that can use some hope and cheer.”

Richard Rogers knives at Knivesandtools

As mentioned before, Richard Rogers mainly produces knives in collaboration with CRKT. But who knows! We may also see his designs with other brands in the future. We certainly hope so!

View all pocket knives designed by Richard Rogers here.