CRKT First Strike

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websquirrel

Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Messages
3
Hello All,
I am looking to get a CRKT First Strike as a camping blade, and was trying to decide between the standard silver stainless or the coated black version. Is there any practical difference between the two, or does it all boil down to personal taste?

Also if anyone has any additional input on the knife itself, any info is appreciated!

Thanks!
 
Hi squirrel. Ive got the black/od in 5" blade configuration. I believe its a matter of taste.

The steel is 440A iirc so it should be pretty tough, not to mention that its a very thick knife (Id say around 1/4"). Which leads us to its only problem... Its pretty dull... I have always just admired mine (they truly are pretty with the epoxied wrap over ray skin, and the curve of the spine) I have never actually tried to cut anything with it.

I offered it to a guy in the trading forum for a Spyderco Spin because I think Id rather have a more useable (to me) knife.

The sheath is pretty nice too although Id have prefered a more traditional one. It comes with a kydex (or w/e plastic) sheath. The sheath is designed so you can attatch the belt loop in a few different ways to suit your needs (vert/horizontal/cross draw too I believe)...

Get one if you like the style. :)
 
I also have one (Olive Drab over black rayskin handle wrap, black-coated blade) and just admire it as opposed to cutting anything with it, although mine is pretty sharp. I do like the looks and grip and heft of the knife, and would not be afraid to use it if needed or fear its ability to stand up to use. I have no experience with how well CRKT's coatings hold up...this one has scuffed just very slightly from the hard plastic sheath.

Not really much help for someone interested in actually using one though, is it? Sorry...:D

Ray :)
 
"websquirrel"
A big Hello to you to.
The CRKT First Strike is a good product for its price, and good people buy it mainly for it's design features.
It is not a particularly good choice for outdoors recreation!
Make no mistake that it more effective as a knife for Asian style fighting.
No it's not intended for knife-dueling in the traditional sense; but quick close-quaters take downs.
The knife edge is ground with no secondary bevel; and hence like a Japanese sword - would take some doing to make it right again in the event of sustained edge damage.
Or, some would try to create a secondary bevel; but that would drastically change the angle way too much for effective cutting.
So in short, I would caution anyone against trying to make the First Strike a happy campers "wilderness survival knife"; well, not unless there are reports of big bad wolves marauding in the woods...
 
I had one of each. My girlfriend now has the stainless/black version. Got them from a local discount sporting goods store for $25 each, on sale. From the factory, they're not much good for general use, but with the help of my handy Edge-Pro, I reprofiled the blade geometry, rounding off the transitional angle and convexed the edge and now they're great for more general uses and are wicked cutters.
 
Are you sure you want it as a camping blade?
The handle is very very uncomfortable.
The handle material makes it hard to wash and very hard to dry.
The absence of an even small guard can make it dangerous...

It's just my opinion, but I think you should reconsider wich blade to choose.
 
Goemon1973 said:
Are you sure you want it as a camping blade?
The handle is very very uncomfortable.
The handle material makes it hard to wash and very hard to dry.
The absence of an even small guard can make it dangerous...

It's just my opinion, but I think you should reconsider wich blade to choose.
Click to expand...

+1 absolutly right !!!!
 
Wow, thanks for all the input guys!
Since the consensus is that it wouldn't make a great camp knife, are there any other suggestions in the same style of blade (americanized tanto)? I don't know why... I'm just so attracted to that style!:D Also, can the kydex style sheath be bought to fit any other knife?

Anywho, thanks for all the input! I may still just get one just to have and to hold!
 
Thanks again & sorry to keep bumping this thread, but I have one last question related to the First Strike. I noticed that the silver ones were made in AUS 6m whereas the black "military" version is labelled 440A steel.
What exactly is the difference between the two? Is one better than the other? :confused:
 
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