Cheapest decent knife with micarta scales?

N

N8N

Joined
Mar 17, 2007
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I've been completely unable to find anyone local to me that sells a knife with micarta scales, nor do I know anyone that has one. Based on appearance and reading online I think that is what I want for my good EDC, but I probably ought to get one first.

I've seen the Kershaw Crown for $10-15; I know it's made in China but it's kind of appealing. Would that be a good choice to pick up to see if I really do like Micarta or would it be a waste of money? (I'm not a big fan of liner locks, but I do have a Kershaw Scallion for carrying whenever a full sized knife is Frowned Upon, and had a similar but unassisted CRKT that I carried for years but lost.)

I guess the reason for my question is I'm wondering just how good a sub-$20 knife can be, is it a Knife Shaped Object or a real useful knife? If the former, is there any budget-priced knife with micarta scales that I could "buy and try" without just throwing away money?

thanks!
 
Friend of mine has a crown, it is just as good as any of the other chinese made kershaws. Very solid little knife with a classy look. It is definitely a real knife, the 8cr used in the crown takes an edge just like any of the other budget kershaws. If micarta scales are a must for you then I don't think you can go wrong with the crown, especially for the price.
 
It's not a "must" I just want to carry a knife with them for a while to see if I liked them before popping for custom scales that I may or may not like for a "better" knife. I agree it looks great in pictures, I might just go ahead and order one. I've never had a Chinese Kershaw is part of the reason I asked. Matter of fact I've never had a Kershaw at all other than the Scallion which I just recently bought used.
 
You're pretty safe with China made Kershaws and Spydercos. Don't know about the micarta scales but people seem to think everything China = bad. Bad quality control = bad but luckily, Kershaw's quality control is great. You probably won't get out of the China made realm if you're only looking to spend sub-$20 but try to find a Kershaw to your liking.
 
Kershaw's China line is perfectly fine for their price. They don't stay sharp as long as say a more expensive knife with S30V or other pricier steels, but they are also very easy to sharpen. The Crown is a nice knife, and one of the few sub-$20 folders with micarta. Enlan makes a decent one as well, the EL04MCT. It's a bit bulky but not a bad knife at all.
 
Never heard of it until now... looks very similar to a Grip, to the point where I'd be worried about infringement... looks nice though! I think I'm going to go ahead and order the Crown just to have something a little different...
 
N8N said:
Never heard of it until now... looks very similar to a Grip, to the point where I'd be worried about infringement... looks nice though! I think I'm going to go ahead and order the Crown just to have something a little different...
Click to expand...

Are we looking at the same knife? The handle looks...absolutely nothing like the Grip. The blade shape is similar, but then, it's a standard drop point design, pretty similar to the hundreds of other knives using standard drop point designs. It has the axis lock, but other than being a drop point, that's really all it has in common with the Grip.
 
Well, yeah, the shape of the scales is different, but I assumed BM had a patent on the Axis lock?
 
Well, I ordered a Crown and it arrived today... was $10 shipped (!!!!) and, well, I wasted $10.

Was so off center that the blade was touching the non lock side liner and it had about 1% lockup. So I pulled the blade out, filed the tang a little, knocked off a burr that I thought was causing the poor centering, reassembled. No better. Noticed that it had a plastic washer on the non-lock side and a brass washer on the lock side, that seems backwards, and the blade was off center toward the non lock side, so I tried to swap them. Couldn't reinsert pivot pin; discovered that liner and bolster weren't perfectly aligned. Filed a little chamfer on female end of pivot. Tried again. Couldn't get washers lined up, dropped the brass one, can't find my brass magnet, so done.

Mailbox to completely broken, maybe 10 minutes.

The positives about this knife are that while it wasn't shaving sharp, it was still sharper out of the box than my Griptilian (?!?!?!) and it really does look classy, as in fantastic. However fit and finish is atrocious to put it mildly so if you're picky best to give it a pass. I think I stripped one of the scale screws too; probably best to not futz with those as it appears the scales are either glued on or else the lanyard hole tube is pressed in so tight that they're not coming off anyway.

It's probably not worth ordering a washer to fix it; sad because I was hoping I could gift it to a non-knife knut if it was decent after I carried it for a while.
 
Sorry the Crown didn't work out for you. I'm sure if you sent it back to Kershaw, they'd make it right.

I'll echo suggestions of the CRKT Tribute and Ka-Bar Phat Bob. I've not owned the Phat Bob but it looks like a sturdy well-built folder and has some very positive feedback. I did have a Tribute though and it was worth the price for a slim trim gentleman's type folder. Decent fit & finish and a very sexy Centofante design. I think I paid around $30 for the CRKT but the Ka-Bar runs closer to $50...

-Brett
 
well, it would literally cost me a good percentage of its value to send it back, so it'd make more sense to just buy another one, especially since I lost parts of it, they would have no reason to help me out.

do you think I just got a bad one? For $10 if you think it's worth it I might be able to give one another go. I personally like the looks better than the tribute, and I picked it over the Phat Bob simply because the latter looks like knives I already have and wanted to have something different. If I could find a good Crown I could see me carrying it when I'm feeling a little dressier, as I'm definitely a black and stainless kind of guy anyway.

Unfortunately I don't know of any stores where I could go pick one up; I saw an old thread suggesting wal-mart but that info is apparently out of date. If I could look at the merchandise before I buy I'd even pay MSRP.
 
enlan EL02
not a bad knife for $15 to $20 ?
only gripe is axis spring is a little too strong , at least my one is .
the micarta is v nice , good grip feel and looks .
3eed612f-e3fc-4109-94ce-5f9d70dca063.jpg


DSC_04572.jpg
 
I would try another Crown. For $10 shipped, that is a great price for that knife.

Two years ago I bought five of them to give out as Christmas presents, and they were a big hit from everyone. A couple of the guys I gave them to were real knife guys, and a couple weren't. I decided that I liked the pattern well enough that I kept the last one for myself.

I noticed that the knives were up to Kershaw's normal fit and finish, but at $10, I wasn't complaining. All of those Crowns are still in circulation and still being happily used by their owners, including me.

This was a good opportunity to customize a knife to my tastes. The micarta scales felt too blocky and square for my taste when in hand. So I sat down with a piece of 180 gr sandpaper and really rounded them off. I finished sanding with 220 gr, then a piece of steel wool to get the last of the scratched out. When I was finished, it looked like a factory finish. And it was a totally different knife in hand. It has the feel of a $50 knife now.

I would get another, and if it wasn't perfect I would send them both back to Kershaw for replacement. I doubt you would have any problems with them as their customer service is legendary.

Robert
 
1) YES, the AXIS-lock IS patented by Benchmade and is only produced legally by Benchmade. But since China has no regard for US patent-law, the lock is found on some Enlan models like the one pictured above.

2) "Micarta" can be canvas, linen, paper, etc. pressed and impregnated with phenolic (or other) resin. "Paperstone" is micarta. BUCK knives uses this in the Ecolite and Vantage lines, both made in USA and quite affordable (images ripped from web):

bu345bls-buck-vantage-select-paperstone-azul-navaja-omm-2667-MLM2833031973_062012-F.jpg
BU3291.jpg


Gerber also uses Micarta but in more expensive knives:

GB000363a.jpg


3) G10 is micarta with fiber-glass instead of cloth/paper, making it heavier but also more durable.
 
I dont know of any well made folders with micarta handles for under $20 but if you can spend a little more theres the AG Russell Rancher or the Kai folding knife from Williams Sonoma.
 
N8N said:
Well, I ordered a Crown and it arrived today... was $10 shipped (!!!!) and, well, I wasted $10.

Was so off center that the blade was touching the non lock side liner and it had about 1% lockup. So I pulled the blade out, filed the tang a little, knocked off a burr that I thought was causing the poor centering, reassembled. No better. Noticed that it had a plastic washer on the non-lock side and a brass washer on the lock side, that seems backwards, and the blade was off center toward the non lock side, so I tried to swap them. Couldn't reinsert pivot pin; discovered that liner and bolster weren't perfectly aligned. Filed a little chamfer on female end of pivot. Tried again. Couldn't get washers lined up, dropped the brass one, can't find my brass magnet, so done.

Mailbox to completely broken, maybe 10 minutes.

The positives about this knife are that while it wasn't shaving sharp, it was still sharper out of the box than my Griptilian (?!?!?!) and it really does look classy, as in fantastic. However fit and finish is atrocious to put it mildly so if you're picky best to give it a pass. I think I stripped one of the scale screws too; probably best to not futz with those as it appears the scales are either glued on or else the lanyard hole tube is pressed in so tight that they're not coming off anyway.

It's probably not worth ordering a washer to fix it; sad because I was hoping I could gift it to a non-knife knut if it was decent after I carried it for a while.
Click to expand...
You can order the screws and washers here http://kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/contact
 
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