CRKT Razel Nax Review: Half Knife, Half Axe, All Weird — In the Best Way

If you’ve read any of my other reviews here, you already know the pattern: I love outdoor knives, I love fixed blades, I love axes, I love big Bushcraft and Bowie-style blades. So when I first came across the CRKT Razel Nax a couple of years back, I knew I had to have it.

I honestly don’t even remember the exact year I picked mine up at this point; I’d have to dig through old orders to nail it down, but it’s been in rotation long enough that I’ve had real time to figure out exactly what this thing is and isn’t.

And what it is, is weird. In the best possible way.

What Even Is This Thing?

The Razel Nax bills itself as half knife, half axe, and honestly, that’s about as accurate a description as you’re going to get. It’s got this old-school, hammered-looking blade finish, technically what CRKT calls a “Forge Finish,” sometimes referred to as “Brut de Forge,” meant to mimic the rough, hand-forged look of a blade straight off the anvil. It’s just striking.

There’s a rugged, almost primitive quality to the look of it, like something between a Hudson Bay-style camp knife and a small hatchet.

It reminds me a bit of an Alaskan skinning knife in silhouette, but then the handle throws that comparison out the window; it’s long, skinny, and roughly twice the length you’d expect, built specifically so you can choke all the way up for detail work or drop your grip all the way to the butt end and swing it like a small axe.

See my other CRKT reviews here.

That’s the whole idea here. One blade, two totally different modes of use. Even the tip is a little unusual once you look closely; it’s formed where the knife edge and the chisel grind meet, so you get this distinct, almost sculpted point instead of a traditional drop point or clip point.

It’s part of what makes the whole blade look like it was hammered out by hand rather than stamped on a production line.

That flat front face of the chisel isn’t just decorative, either it works like a genuine push-chisel, good for scraping bark or splitting small kindling vertically the way you’d use a hatchet blade, which is really the moment this knife-axe hybrid concept clicks and stops feeling gimmicky.

The Specs

• Blade steel: 1075 carbon steel
• Blade finish: Stonewash, hammered texture
• Blade edge: Plain
• Blade length: 4.29″
• Blade thickness: 0.20″
• Overall length: 11″
• Weight: 11.3 oz
• Handle: Micarta
• Sheath: Kydex, with a leather retention loop
• MSRP: $140 (currently running $99.99)

1075 carbon steel is a good call for a tool like this. It’s not chasing edge retention numbers the way something like S30V or 14C28N would; it’s a softer, tougher steel, and that toughness is exactly what you want in something that’s going to see chopping, scraping, and general abuse instead of fine detail slicing all day.

The Handle: Beautiful, But a Little Slick

The Micarta handles on this thing are genuinely gorgeous. They’ve got that coated, sealed look — what’s technically a resin-infused, clear-coated canvas Micarta, and it just looks fantastic. There are two lanyard holes worked into the design too, which fits the whole “choke up or choke down” philosophy of the knife.

My one honest note here: because of that glossy coating, the handle can get a little slick in your hand. It’s not unusable; I’ve never felt like I was going to lose control of it — but it’s noticeably smoother than a raw, unsealed Micarta or G10 handle would be. If you’re using this in wet conditions or with sweaty hands, that’s worth knowing going in.

The Sheath: A Non-Issue, Honestly

The Razel Nax ships with a Kydex sheath, complete with a leather retention loop and multiple mounting options. I’ll be upfront: I’m not really a Kydex guy anymore.

I went through a phase early on in my knife journey where I liked it, but these days I gravitate toward leather sheaths with a proper belt loop or a dangler setup for most of my outdoor gear.

But here’s the thing: with the Razel Nax, that preference doesn’t really matter. This isn’t a knife you’re wearing on your hip all day. It’s essentially an axe something you strap to a backpack and pull out when you need it, not something riding on your belt through a normal day.

Once you frame it that way, the sheath question becomes kind of moot. It does its job of securing the blade for transport, and that’s really all it needs to do here.

Could This Be Your Only Knife or Axe?

I’ve taken the Razel Nax on a handful of camping trips specifically to test that question — could this replace bringing both a knife and a small axe or hatchet? And I’ll be honest with you: I don’t fully know, because I’m a paranoid guy.

I never bring just one blade into the backcountry, so I’ve never put the Razel Nax in a position where it had to be my only option.

What I can tell you is that it’s a genuinely unique tool that bridges that gap better than most things trying to do the same job. The chisel-ground edge gives you real utility for push cuts and scraping, great for prepping tinder, while the length and weight give you legitimate chopping capability when you choke down to the end.

It’s not going to out-chop a dedicated hatchet, and it’s not going to out-slice a dedicated fixed blade, but as a hybrid, it earns its spot in a pack better than most knife-axe crossover concepts I’ve handled.

A Real Design Story, For Once

One thing worth mentioning, especially after some of my other reviews where I’ve griped about brands hiding the story behind their knives: the Razel Nax actually has one, and it’s a good one. The chisel-blade concept comes from knife-maker Jon Graham, who built the original Razel line around the idea of putting a knife edge on the side of a chisel.

Graham passed away in 2022, and CRKT has continued building out the Razel family as a nod to his legacy. Knowing that gives this knife a little more weight in the hand literally and figuratively.

Where It Lands

At $140 MSRP or $99.99 at the current price, the Razel Nax is one of the more genuinely unique tools in my collection. It’s not going to replace a dedicated axe or a dedicated fixed blade for me personally, mostly because I’m too paranoid to rely on just one tool in the field.

But if you want something that legitimately bridges that gap, or if you’re shopping for someone in your life who’s into knives and axes and you want to get them something that’ll actually surprise them, this is a fantastic pick.

It’s beautiful, it’s capable, and it’s got a real story behind the design, which, if you’ve read my other reviews, you know matters to me.