Lifestyle

CJRB’s cool, affordable new flipper boasts one of the hottest features

Gear Patrol · Jul 21, 2026 19:33 · 2 min read

Close-up of a hand holding an olive green folding knife with a black blade marked "CRB" and gold accents.

The incredibly balanced knife is one of the most wallet-friendly I’ve seen with this handy, trendy mechanism.

If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

As pocket knife aficionados know, there are lots of different locks out there, each offering their own unique pros and cons.

Some of the popular options include the liner, frame, crossbar and button lock, the last two of which are optimized for one-handed deployment and retraction.

Black folding knife with textured handle and blue accents standing open on a dark surface. — With an open length of 7.99 inches, the Latitude is plenty big enough to tackle loads of everyday cutting and slicing.

A pretty nifty one we’ve been seeing more of lately is a hybrid of the liner and button lock, the fittingly named top liner lock.

While it often pops up on pricier knives, it just happens to be the star of CJRB’s latest affordable all-around EDC offering, the Latitude.

Positive Latitude

Nicely priced at $55 and available in four attractive treatments, this knife has a number of compelling features I’ll detail shortly, but let’s look at that lock first.

Four folding knives with textured handles in green, black, black, and purple, each with partially serrated blades and colored accents on the pivot screws. — The Latitude is available in four different blade finish/handle color variants, all costing $55.

With this mechanism, the blade is kept in place by a liner lock that’s controlled in an craftily engineered way.

When a small button near the top of the handle is pressed, it pushes the tensioned liner toward its adjacent scale, opening a path for the blade to swing smoothly open on the ceramic ball bearing pivot.

Folding knife with olive green textured handle and gray blade held in a hand. — Pressing the button at the top of the handle enables smooth deployment and retraction of the blade.

In addition to serving as an auxiliary deployment method, beyond the ambidextrous thumb stud, pressing the button when the knife is open enables the blade to swing back into the handle scales.

A flick of the wrist helps it along, but at the right angle, gravity alone brings the blade swiftly home.

Black folding knife with green textured handle leaning against a black flashlight with bright light in the background. — Short for Physical Vapor Deposition, PVD boosts a blade’s durability and reduces friction while cutting.

The fidget-friendly process is all the more satisfying with the Latitude thanks to its other winning features.

Chief among them is a full-bellied 3.47-inch drop-point blade made of AR-RPM9 steel, which offers a strong blend of edge retention and corrosion resistance, especially with the two versions packing a black PVD coating.

Four folding knives with textured handles in olive green, black, purple, and black, each with colored accents on screws and buttons. — All four versions feature light, tough G10 handles with a bit of texture for extra grip.

The blade also features jimping on the spine for enhanced blade control, supported by the textured grippiness of the G10 handle.

Rounding things out is a reversible deep-carry steel clip, enabling you to tote the 4.23-ounce knife easily in your pocket, ready for the next task requiring a real, ahem, Latitude adjustment.

Availability and pricing

The CJRB Latitude is available now for $55.

Black tactical folding knife with textured handle and blue accent screws.

CJRB Latitude

$55 at CJRB Cutlery

About the Author: Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.