CRKT Any Good?

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Broncobilly72

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Oct 17, 2011
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Hello all!,
I just found this forum on Google, and signed up! I am interested in a assisted opening knife for daily carry, and am looking at the CKRT M4 & Gerber Answer. I like the looks and design of the CKRT M4, but have heard the blades don't hold an edge too good? Don't know if there is any truth to this, as I have never owned a Chinese made knife. I have owned Gerbers in the past (made in Portland OR), and they have all been great knives, with the blades holding an edge. Is the Gerber Answer a better choice, or even another brand - such as Kershaw? TIA!
 
Welcome to the forums. CRKT and Gerber used to be much better than they are now. There are some good CRKT knives out there still, but you can do better for the price (and the knife you mentioned is not one I'd recommend). Gerber used to be a great knife company, but Fiskars bought them out and now there isn't really anything in their lineup that's great. If you want assisted opening, you should look at Kershaw. Their Ken Onion designed A/O system is the best design out there IMO. Their standard Sandvic 14C28N steel is easy to sharpen and will hold an edge pretty well (much better than AUS6, AUS8, or 8Cr13MoV, anyway). The Kershaw Shallot is an excellent value, and the Blur is also very highly regarded. For a smaller knife, the Leek is very slim and slices well, and you can get versions with better steel.
 
I agree with Tsujigiri, generally for entry level knives, I would look to Spyderco's Byrd knives, Kershaws, and Cold Steel. I would stay away from CRKT, Gerber, S&W.. basically what you see at walmart
 
My favorite CRKT's I own are the CRKT Ripple which is a good blade made with ACUTO+ steel, and I own an old model the CRKT Apache II made in ATS-34. If you can find either of these blades they are quite good, although the Apache II is probably my favorite. You can get some good CRKT's out there still made with the older good steels. Some new ones that come to mind are the PPS, Shenanigan, Ripple and the Eros, but they are all a little higher in price than others. Still if you can hunt down a CRKT S-2 or an Apache II they are worth the price. The ripple isn't assisted but it doesn't really need to be with the IKBS bearing system and the flipper. The M4 isnt a bad blade, but I think you could do a little better, like a Kershaw Leek, you can pick up for about $50 and they're durable as all heck.
 
I really like crkts. The ones i have owned have all had great fit and finish and zero blade play. I do hear some people complain on bad heat treats though.
 
Tsujigiri and all,
Thanks for the great feedback! I will probably look into Kershaw, as I have also heard good input about their knives. That's too bad about Gerber, they use to make a great knife for the money. But; like Milwaukee tools, Maytag etc., seems like everything is being made offshore these days :( Anyway; I appreciate everyone's input! Thanks much!
 
I think CRKT is still a hair or two above Gerber on terms of average quality; Gerber makes way too many dollar store knives, and I've seen far too many inconsistencies in the quality of their upper class knives for me to trust them anymore.

My thoughts on CRKT are conflicted all the same, since even though their design team is just off-the-wall-crazy-good, they tend to skimp on production in the name of keeping their knives affordable. A lot is done offshore, or worse, not done at all, and a lot of their knives end up feeling cheap, sometimes even flimsy.

But they've had a lot of hits over the years; I've owned more CRKTs than I have knives by any other brand.
-The Kit Carson Knives, The M4, M16, M21, and their variants are all sound, sturdy knives. I had the all-black, full-hilt M21 for several college summer jobs, and I used it for everything, including digging up weeds, and it shrugged off everything with a good sharpening and cleaning. I let someone else sharpen it, who didn't know what they where doing, and ended up grinding off most of the master bevel. Sad way for a knife to die.
-The Hissatsu folder is a novel knife; it's obviously designed as a fighter, but can be a fast and discrete utility knife as well, provided your job makes it acceptable to carry such a knife.
-The Ringed Razel fixed blade is one of the single most useful knives I've owned; it's tough, and stays sharp well enough, and with no tip to break off, I'm never afraid to pry or dig with it. It's a great knife to keep in my day pack in case my job calls for something extra, or to stash on your pocket or belt if you want a lightweight trail knife.

I've seen and used a few Gerbers, and the explicit result of my experiences is; far too many of them are glorified toys, far too many others have woefully inconsistent quality control, and the few hits they do have are easily matched, often at better prices, by the offerings of other companies. CRKT meanwhile, is hardly a perfect company, but even their basest of knives contain more thought and effort than some of the gerbers I've seen, and more than once in a while they produce a true gem of the industry. Stick to them.
 
I don't think CRKT is the best, but I think they've got a lot of solid folders in their lineup. I agree with missin_hobo that the Carson designed stuff that they've had for years are decent knives, and the newer versions have had the production moved from Taiwan to China. Blade steel got better (Aus 4 to 8Cr14MoV), and quality actually went up a tic.

CRKT's Chinese stuff is also pretty solid on the low end - the Lake 111 series, the Drifters, the McGinnis Shrimp, and the Pazodas are all quite workable knives. Like Cold Steel you'll find a lot of AUS 8 and equivalents in the lineup, which isn't the greatest steel but quite workable for day to day usage.

Also, after it's all said and done CRKT still does stand 100% behind their stuff - I would put their warranty service right up with Kershaw's as one of the best in the industry.

I also say skip Gerber. Too much of the stuff has spotty QC and I can't reconcile the fact that after years and years they *still* won't tell you what steel they're using in much of their lineup.
 
I like my M16 and M21. Make sure you get the versions with AUS8 steel (if they still make them). It's been a number of years since I got mine but the aluminum handled versions had the AUS8 whereas the plastic handled versions had AUS6. Don't know what the current offering is like.
 
I agree with most of the comments above. For the price, I think you can do better then CRKT and especially Gerber. I looked up a M4 and Answer, it looks to be $40-$55 range for those. For that kind of $, I get a Boker Trance or a Kershaw : Skyline/OD1/really a lot of Ken Onion stuff is sub $55.

If you are willing to skip the AO part, Spyderco Tenacious, Persistance, or the Byrd line. Plus the Kabar Dozier are under $20.

PS Make sure AO is allowed where you live and make sure if you have a blade length restriction.
 
like em sharp said:
I don't think CRKT is the best, but I think they've got a lot of solid folders in their lineup. I agree with missin_hobo that the Carson designed stuff that they've had for years are decent knives, and the newer versions have had the production moved from Taiwan to China. Blade steel got better (Aus 4 to 8Cr14MoV), and quality actually went up a tic.

CRKT's Chinese stuff is also pretty solid on the low end - the Lake 111 series, the Drifters, the McGinnis Shrimp, and the Pazodas are all quite workable knives. Like Cold Steel you'll find a lot of AUS 8 and equivalents in the lineup, which isn't the greatest steel but quite workable for day to day usage.

Also, after it's all said and done CRKT still does stand 100% behind their stuff - I would put their warranty service right up with Kershaw's as one of the best in the industry.

I also say skip Gerber. Too much of the stuff has spotty QC and I can't reconcile the fact that after years and years they *still* won't tell you what steel they're using in much of their lineup.
Click to expand...

I agree with you about their warranty service, they are some of the best I have dealt with and they were sure the fastest. CRKT has some very workable blades, no problem with them at all.
 
CRKT is good. Not amazing, and not quite as good as other options, but still acceptable. Their real winners are the Ken Onion designed models. The opening system on the Ripple is the smoothest I have ever seen on anything. The Onion skinner is also made out of a renamed D2, and it is quite cheap.
 
I have owned a CRKT M-16-13T since the company put them on the shelves. Beat to crap but it's still my EDC knife.
 
I would love CRKT if they did 2 things. 1) Add a left-hand carry option for most models, if not all. It's the 21st century, and many companies have most knives as ambidextrous (except Kershaw, they hate us, but I still love them). 2) Use better steels. I can see 8Cr13-15 for knives that sell for up to $30 (street price), but when the knives around and past $50 (street price) using AUS-8 (or 8Cr whatever) is a bit too little.
 
I've got a couple of the M-16 Carson's that get a lot of general use, but I don't find them as comfortable or as solid feeling as the Kershaw Mini-Cyclone or Skyline. They're not bad at all, in fact they have held up to a lot of garbage jobs that I don't want to do with a nicer knife. I really like the CRKT Kommer Full Throttle. It's very solid, compact, and has great assisted opening.
 
their knife the grandpas favorite i believe is in a sandvick steel. here and there they will put out a higher dollar knife with a nice steal.
 
Like some of the others said, for the price I would look elsewhere on all but a few of their knives. If you do go with them look at the blade steel and don't buy anything less than AUS 8 or 8cr14mov steel. Other good knives at that price point include the spyderco byrd line and kershaw.
 
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