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CRKT 7303 Elishewitz E-Lock NIB Taiwan
Ships Wednesdays only — please read before messaging
We pack and drop USPS once a week. Paid by Tuesday 11:59 PM EST ships that Wednesday. Paid Wednesday or later ships the following Wednesday. Combined shipping: message after purchase and we will revise the invoice. U.S. only. Full policy at the bottom of this listing.
New in box CRKT 7303 Elishewitz E-Lock. Factory bag, brown Columbia River carton, period minicatalog. End label: 7303 ELISHEWITZ E-LOCK · PRODUCT OF TAIWAN, UPC 7 94023 73030 2.
Blade marked Elishewitz PAT. PENDING with the crane, plus the CRKT mountain logo. First Elishewitz group for CRKT. The lock was still at the patent office when this run was packed.
Key Features
- Designer – Allen Elishewitz
- Maker – Columbia River Knife & Tool
- Model – 7303 Black E-Lock
- Lock – E-Lock rocker bar (pat. pending)
- Origin – Taiwan
- Steel – AUS-8 (catalog)
- Blade – Modified Wharncliffe, about 2-7/8"
- Elishewitz details – Ramped stud, five-point pivot, drilled frame / clip
Specifications MakerCRKT DesignerAllen Elishewitz Model7303 Black E-Lock OriginTaiwan LockE-Lock stainless rocker bar Patent markPAT. PENDING on the blade BladeModified Wharncliffe, about 2.75"–2.87" SteelAUS-8 (CRKT catalog) Frame420J2 open build, Zytel back spacer Closed / openAbout 3-7/8" / 6-5/8" UPC7 94023 73030 2
Condition
New in box. Photographed out of the bag and returned. No carry wear. Factory edge. First-window production with the pending-patent etch.
Elishewitz design language
Elishewitz came out of the early tactical-folder wave: clean lines, tight tolerances, locks he designed himself, and a look you can spot across a table. On his customs that meant jeweled titanium, drilled frames, five-point pivots, ramped studs, and later guilloché he brought into cutlery from his art training. The 7303 is that language translated for CNC and a Taiwan line — not a New Braunfels handmade knife, but not a generic CRKT either.
What carried over onto this production piece:
- Modified Wharncliffe with almost no belly — a working point, not a clip-point skinner
- Ramped thumb stud instead of a round peg
- Five-point / star-face pivot screws
- Drilled holes in the open 420J2 frame, back spacer, and high-mount clip
- The crane etch next to his name
The lock is the design thesis. A stainless rocker bar drops into the tang. Spring holds it. Press the disk and the bar lifts. CRKT said CNC made that lock possible at this price. It was their answer to a market full of liner locks: a different close, a different silhouette, and Elishewitz’s name on the steel.
The E-Lock and the patent mark
Catalog copy called it a new lock, patent pending. Blades from this window are stamped PAT. PENDING. A granted U.S. utility number for this exact lock was not published in the usual indexes. Elishewitz does have other knife design patents from the same years (Mentor Group / Benchmade-era design patents, 1999–2000). Treat the pending stamp as the date mark: first CRKT E-Lock group, before later knives dropped the line.
About Allen Elishewitz
Born in Texas, raised in part in Southeast Asia. Martial arts from age ten. Marine Fire Support, then Recon — 4th Recon, C Company, deep-recon team leader. B.A. Criminal Justice, A.A. Fine Arts. Knives from 1987–88; Guild 1994. New Braunfels shop with his wife Valerie. Factory work for CRKT, Benchmade, Hogue, Pro-Tech, WE Knife. Customs are the tight handmade work; this 7303 is the licensed production lock.
Why this example
Early-2000s CRKT put custom designers on Taiwan frames. Brown no-graphics carton, OutBurst / AutoLAWKS flyer, and pending-patent etch put this knife in that first window. Discontinued. Complete unused kit.
Collector's Note
We carry New Old Stock and discontinued USA knives as well as vintage traditionals. Fresh pieces from Benchmade, Case, Buck, Puma, Schatt & Morgan, Weidmannsheil, Spyderco, Queen Cutlery, Great Eastern, Victorinox, and other makers are added regularly. Click the “Save this Seller” heart icon to get notified when new listings go live.
Shipping & Returns
We ship securely within the United States via USPS. We do not ship internationally at this time.
Combined Shipping: Happy to combine multiple items into a single package for one shipping fee whenever possible. Just message us after winning or purchasing and we will adjust the invoice accordingly.
Shipping Schedule (Once per Week): All orders are dispatched on Wednesdays. Orders finalized by Tuesday at 11:59 PM EST will ship out the immediate following morning. Orders placed on or after Wednesday will step into the next week's shipping cycle. Thank you for your patience as we carefully pack and document this historic collection.
