A Little Disapointed With My New Eros. . .

BP Green

BP Green

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Oct 23, 2010
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I have been eagerly waiting for my new CRKT Ken Onion design Eros to arrive and it finally did today. Appearance wise it was eveything I expected.

It is a very nicely finished knife; but when I tried to open it for the first time instead of the quick easy, buttery smooth, flip open action of my Leek, it stuck as though there was some sort of safety engaged.

It threw me for a few seconds and I looked to see if there was anything making it stick but I couldn't find anything. I tried it again and this time it fired open, but again it was pretty hard to get it going. I kept working it as the day progressed up until the time of this writing, but it is still pretty damn hard. My finger tip is raw. I tried lubing it with Mil-Tec but that didn't do anything.

It isn't rough at all once it actually fires, it's only the initial pressure it takes to actually flip it open. It seems like it is stuck. Are they all like this? :confused:
 
Do you mean the detent feels excessive? With some knives, the detent will work in and smooth out with use.
 
kreole said:
Do you mean the detent feels excessive? With some knives, the detent will work in and smooth out with use.
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Yes, thats what I mean. I was thinking the same thing but like I said in my OP none of my other knives are like this one. I just hope my fingertip holds out. It's so sore its hard to work the mouse. . .
 
In order for a manual flipper knife to work you need to have a strong detent. If there was no detent or "sticking" you wouldn't be able to build up any force behind the knife and then the blade wouldn't come firing out. Instead it would probably just push open half way. What you are experiencing is a properly engineered and built knife. The sore finger, well...no comment. :o
 
Will get better with time. Just flip it habitually with a cloth between flipper tab and finger :)
 
Make sure you're not putting any pressure on the locking part of the frame. That will pinch it against the blade and make it very hard to open. I had to figure out how to hold my ripple before I hurt my finger too much.
 
Not to discount your concern as mine was VERY smooth OOTB but as stated, flippers require a light grip on the knife when flipping them to ensure you don't squeeze the knife too tightly when flipping it. If that's not the case then yours sure sounds tighter than mine.
 
Well that is exactly the problem. Even the slightest pressure on the side of the frame will lock the blade in place.

I tried opening it by holding it right near the pivot point near the top or right near the point at the bottom as the video suggests and it works fine then.

The problem is that it is a pretty small and slim knife. Combine that with my freakishly large hands and you can imagine the results. I feel like a grizzly on ice skates.

It's a nice knife but unfortunately it's a bad fit for me. I didn't buy it for edc anyway. I'll take it along when I wear a suit which I only do occasionally anyway.

You guys are great. Thank you all for your responses.
 
A company that would release (pun) a knife into the marketplace that is assisted open BUT is hindered by slight grip on the handle doesn't deserve to sell any more knives.

IF TRUE, that is inexcusable.

:thumbdn:
 
Try resting your middle finger on the end of the clip while actuating the flipper. That'll help avoid placing any inadvertent pressure on the lockbar. The detent will remain crisp, but if it's anything like mine, the 'break' will get easier over time. I had a raw fingertip too when the knife was new, but now the flipper is easy and comfortable, and it never misses a beat.

Since the Eros has an IKBS pivot, friction in that area isn't an issue. You can prove that by holding the lockbar away from the blade tang and allowing the blade to (carefully!) swing back and forth freely. I've never seen a more frictionless pivot design.

Lavan said:
A company that would release (pun) a knife into the marketplace that is assisted open BUT is hindered by slight grip on the handle doesn't deserve to sell any more knives.

IF TRUE, that is inexcusable.:thumbdn:
Click to expand...

The Eros isn't an assisted design, and it's only hindered if you're applying inappropriate pressure in the wrong place, which is very easy to avoid. The correct grip becomes second nature in short order, but even with the wrong grip, it will still open reliably every time.
 
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The Eros isn't assisted and even the two JYD's (not A/O) I had suffered from this to some degree, and one was the Ti model. The point is, even large, thick scaled flippers I've owned could be squeezed too tightly when I flipped them.

Lavan said:
A company that would release (pun) a knife into the marketplace that is assisted open BUT is hindered by slight grip on the handle doesn't deserve to sell any more knives.

IF TRUE, that is inexcusable.

:thumbdn:
Click to expand...
 
I don't like CRKT much, but I have to say these Onion collaborations are the best thing I've seen out of the company for a long time. If anything we should encourage people to buy the collaboration knives and nothing else.
 
Man, I'm mad at myself for not trying this at the gun show now. If I had known it had IKBS and wasn't assisted I'd have given this a good look.

It does annoy me that a fairly expensive knife is made in Taiwan though. Taiwan's fine, I've had several CRKTs made there with good enough quality, but I got a huge discount on them presumably due to their place of manufacture.
 
I have to disagree with the poster that stated it is very easy to avoid placing pressure in the wrong place. It feels very awkward when I have to reposition my fingers in order for the blade not to stick. I don't have this problem with any of my other knives. This one is very sensitive to grip pressure.

In my opinion knives are like shotguns in that you should not have to contort yourself into an un-natural position in order make it operate properly. Opening and closing it should be second nature. I can open and close my Leeks and a host of other knives I own in my sleep.

There is no doubt it's a nice knife. As I stated, it may just be the wrong fit for me. I don't think I'll get much use out of it. I am already starting to think this one may end up getting traded for something else . . .
 
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BP Green said:
There is no doubt it's a nice knife. As I stated, it may just be the wrong fit for me. I don't think I'll get much use out of it. I am already starting to think this one may end up getting traded for something else . . .
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Are you by any chance a lefty? I've noticed that it can be difficult to open some of my non-assisted fame locks one handed and with a flipper,your thumb would be pressed right up against the lockbar making it harder to open.
 
No I'm not. I guess I'm just an uncoordinated sod with freakishly large hands. Either that or maybe my knife is one of those small percent that gets by QC and is more susceptible to side pressure.

It sucks for me because I really like the knife. Its just not a good fit for me I guess. . .
 
BP Green said:
Well that is exactly the problem. Even the slightest pressure on the side of the frame will lock the blade in place.

I tried opening it by holding it right near the pivot point near the top or right near the point at the bottom as the video suggests and it works fine then.

The problem is that it is a pretty small and slim knife. Combine that with my freakishly large hands and you can imagine the results. I feel like a grizzly on ice skates.

It's a nice knife but unfortunately it's a bad fit for me. I didn't buy it for edc anyway. I'll take it along when I wear a suit which I only do occasionally anyway.

You guys are great. Thank you all for your responses.
Click to expand...

I had never noticed that. After I read the thread I took mine out, and sure enough if I apply fairly firm pressure to the handle it becomes very hard to kick start.

I'd never noticed it before. Because its so light and slim, apparently I do not take as firm a grip on it as I normally might feel is necessary. I've got bear paws too and I'm sure I generally grip them more firmly.

It's a nice little blade, strong and very light, as you know. Probably not most folks choice for EDC, unless they are heading to an office for the day. I consider it a "gentleman's folder".
 
BP Green said:
I have to disagree with the poster that stated it is very easy to avoid placing pressure in the wrong place. It feels very awkward when I have to reposition my fingers in order for the blade not to stick. I don't have this problem with any of my other knives. This one is very sensitive to grip pressure.

In my opinion knives are like shotguns in that you should not have to contort yourself into an un-natural position in order make it operate properly. Opening and closing it should be second nature. I can open and close my Leeks and a host of other knives I own in my sleep.

There is no doubt it's a nice knife. As I stated, it may just be the wrong fit for me. I don't think I'll get much use out of it. I am already starting to think this one may end up getting traded for something else . . .
Click to expand...


I suggest sending it back to CRKT for evaluation. Something seems wrong . This knife is extremely easy to open and close . If there is something wrong with it I'm sure CRKT will send you a new one without question. It sounds to me like you have one that has a detent hole that is to large and the detent ball is going to deep and making for a hard start. Before giving up on it please give CRKT a chance to check it out . I am really curious about this and would like to see it for myself.
Aloha!! Ken
 
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