CRJB Mini Pyrite Review
Now that the ARPM9 issue has been sorted out, I feel like I can review this knife. It’s pretty good. But it is quirky, with mystifying design choices (aluminum scales AND skeletonized stainless steel liners?), but ultimately I thought it was worth reviewing as it is a pretty heavily iterated knife in the CRJB line up.
Let’s get the steel issue out of the way first. I delayed this review because of it, so let’s deal with it and then get on to the review. Artisan, CJRB’s parent brand, claimed that ARPM9 (for “Artisan Rare Powder Material 9”) was a powder steel exclusive to them. This was huge deal because at the time of the announcement there were NO powder steels of Chinese origin. It was also interesting because it allowed Artisan/CJRB to claim superior steel performance at a significantly lower price. They had powder steels without the need to import it. And so we had knives that were $30-$40 with powder steels blades.
But, as Dr. Larrin Thomas proved this was not true. Instead of a powder steel, AR-RPM9 was a sprayform steel. The link above provided all of his technical explanations in the normal Knife Steel Nerds way. Dr. Thomas had two primary criticisms of the claims about ARPM9 (sometimes written as “AR-RPM9”). First, the “9” implies there are nine elements in the steel’s chemistry, but this is untrue. At most it is 8, but it is more accurately stated that there are 7 elements, because one of the elements, nickel, is not added on purpose, but merely present in a lot of recycled stainless steels. Second, the steel is not actually the product of powder metallurgy. Instead, it is the result of a sprayform process. According to Dr. Thomas, this is an intermediate step between traditional ingot casting and PM casting. It does use very fine liquid steel in spray form and then cools it, but it does not use as small a particles as PM steel making nor does it sinter the particles (using pressure and heat to fuse them together). As a result sprayform steels have been grain structure on a microscopic level that is finer than cast ingots, but not as fine as true PM steels.
Fortunately, Artisan did the right thing and issued a full retraction and clarification on their official Instagram feed. Obviously the best thing would be to not make this kind of mistake in the first place, but how they handled the matter after the mistake is about as good as it gets. This is a case of the marketing people getting ahead of the engineering people and then the executive and legal people correcting the problem. This is also a perfect example of how the community can make things better AND work with companies. Both Dr. Thomas and Artisan deserve kudos. Other steel controversies have not ended as amicably. In the end, ARMP9 is basically sprayform 9Cr18MoV and performs about the same as 440C, maybe a little more toughness and a little less edge retention.
Here is the product page. The CJRB Mini Pyrite costs $45. Here is a written review. Here is a video review. Here is an affiliate link for the knife on Amazon. Finally, here is my review sample:
TLDR: Great budget coin pocket knife and a good gateway drug for the Dragonflies and Rivs of the knife world.
Design: 2
The original Pyrite was a pretty good knife. It was kind of the ur-Pretty Good Knife. Nothing stood out good nor bad. But it wasn’t compelling enough for me to reach for it in the morning. It was just kind of there. The Mini Pyrite, however, is the perfect size, in fact, my favorite sized knife. It slips easily into a coin pocket and it hides there until you need it. And that size thing is the reason I like this knife infinitely better than its larger brethren. The shape of the blade works on a visual level with the knife’s size and shape. It just works well.
Fit and Finish: 2
Button locks have had a fascinating history. They have been around since the turn of the 20th century but for years they were the province of only the most elite custom makers. Because of the fine tolerances and hardened surfaces needed, it was, for many years, impossible to make button locks at scale. Then Matt Conable of William Henry figured out a new way of making them. It was still daunting, but it was now doable at scale—for a large price. Then machining got better and better and now we have button locks everywhere, even on cheap knives. This basically operates as a guarantee—if the knife is a button lock, its going to have pretty darn good fit and finish. The Mini Pyrite is no exception. Everything is neat, clean, and even.
Grip: 0
The knife is pretty slick to begin with thanks to some very smooth aluminum handles. The jimping is basically a string of bubbles. And the choil and handle, while, of course, small, aren’t the best. Not everything can be the Dragonfly or the Riv, but this is noticeably worse. It felt like trying to pinch a fresh pumpkin seed.
Carry: 2
These little coin pocket nugget knives are my favorite class of blades because their carry is so sublime. The Mini Pyrite is no exception. I remember when Jim Nowka and Kyle Ver Steeg had their podcast and Kyle was talking about the design of the Imp. He wanted a knife that he could keep in his pocket even if he was in a cannonball position. That’s a pretty tall task. But with the Mini Pyrite (and Imp) you can. Think about this—you use your knife probably less than .1% of the time and carry it the rest. So the idea that you would purposely carry a huge knife that is difficult and uncomfortable to carry seems kind of nutty. That, above all use, is why these nugget knives just kill it.
Steel: 1
For all the sound and fury about ARPM-9, its just a meh steel. Its 440C or 9Cr18Mov or VG10 or BD-1 or AUS-8. I don’t mean that chemistry-wise but, instead, performance-wise There are a half dozen or so steels that are close to the performance of ARPM-9. Its a tier below Nitro-V or 14C28N and so, in 2025 it gets a 1.
Blade Shape: 2
I love reverse tantos. I have since I first saw the Benchmade 940. It has never lessened. The blade shape is just too cool to ignore and its pretty functional. They range from having a real belly like the previously referenced 940 to the almost wharncliffe of this knife. I am okay with the “skinny” (i.e. no belly) reverse tantos, those I prefer the “fat” ones.
Grind: 2
I have written this before, but knives with good fit and finish almost always have good grinds and this knife is no exception. The grind is like a super model—tall and very thin. Sounds good to me—on a knife. Not much of a fan of the waif look on a person.
Deployment Method: 2
The Steam Deck is a design masterpiece. Of its many beguiling features, the trigger buttons and their clicky quality feel are among the best. I could fidget with them until the end of time. The flickable deployment of the Mini Pyrite coupled with the click of the button lock make this one of the most fidget friendly knives on the planet. Its fast, sure, and always opens with a Spydie flick. You can use the oval to slow roll the knife open too.
Retention Method: 1
The clip here is a pretty generic over the top pocket clip and I am not mad at it, but I don’t love it either. The pass through for the screws is right at the bend in the clip and the result is that the clip is quite wide right where the knife hits your palm. It has caused a hotspot and given the size of the knife that’s not terribly surprising.
Lock: 2
Modern button locks are plenty strong for something like the Mini Pyrite. Would I want one on a folder that I baton with? Nope. But the real question is: Why do I want to baton with a folder? The answer is: I don’t. It is easy and obvious to use, there is no blade play in any direction, and it is super simple to disengage. Yeah, its push-button simple.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: PEAK
A fidgety feast for the fingers.
Fett Effect: Very Low
Nothing here except maybe the blade (and only if you really beat on it) will show wear.
Value: Moderate
At around $45 it us a good knife vale, but not the best out there. You are paying ever so slightly a bit of a premium for the design given the materials. Its not the new Ozark Trail Tanto which is less than half the price with better steel, but it does feel like a more coherent design than that knife.
Overall Score: 16 of 20
I am happy I have had this knife in for review. Its a good budget blade and a low barrier of entry for decent coin pocket knives. I’d move on to the Riv or the Dragonfly for a much better steel, but this is not a terrible choice. I do think the steel controversy was pretty darn stupid. Someone at CJRB should have never let that happen, but they mended fences quickly and professionally. I like this knife a lot more than its larger brethren, though the high end Pyrite that was in production for a hot second, is a truly superior blade even now.
Competition
The Cold Steel Tuff Lite and the Mini Pyrite are like Yin and Yang nugget knives. One is thick and chonky with a lock much stronger than needed. It’s a pretty crappy knife on deployment. The other is thin with “its fine” lock strength and positively addicting deployment. They also hit basically the same price point. I like this knife better than the Tuff Lite. Other similar sized and priced knives look and feel better than the Mini Pyrite. The CRKT Pilar is a banger. I also like the small version of the CRKT Squid. Both are better and around the same price. The Baby Banter is substantially better for basically the same price. The Riv and the Dragonfly, two of my favorite knives right now, are in the same class of highly pocketable knives and they are clearly better. If you can find one the Spyderco Techno and Techno II are both much beefier knives and better knives too. I have no idea about the recently released Demko Nano Shark. The TRM Nerd is another nugget knife that is positively sublime, crushing the Mini Pyrite in any form.
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