Crkt Goken - anybody going to get it?

4

45Shooter

Joined
Mar 30, 2001
Messages
458
I really like the James Williams series - both fixed and folding - and was really excited to see a flipper joining the folding line. But then I saw the price and the blade steel. Asking that street price ($100) is ridiculous for 1.4116 steel, let alone the MSRP ($150). What the hell are they thinking? Is the price so high to pay Williams and Onion their cuts? Frankly, with that steel, this seems more like a $30 knife, tops. What do you think?
 
I haven't bought a CRKT in years and I won't. They have some nice designs but I want them to up their steel. No way I'd pay $100 for that. I also dislike tanto blades.

I don't know how much extra machining/production cost the "field strip tech" adds to the price.
 
Same issue here, that blade steel! Definitely a no-no for me at that price. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's more expensive than a Benchmade Griptilian 550HG and even a Cold Steel Code 4 in CTS-XHP...
 
Classic CRKT. They clearly don't want or need to gain headway in the enthusiast market. And that is fine for them I guess. Sucks for knife enthusiasts though. We know better than to pay what they are asking for products that use sub par materials and often have QC and F/F issues. I've passed on many of their products over the years because of repeated bad experiences when I first got into the hobby. Combine these negative QC and/or fit-finish issues with their pricing? They are a no go for me and it looks like it will be staying that way.
 
$50 is my max for a CRKT Chinese folder.

My only CRKT is a Follow-Thru Compact that I would buy again if needed for the $40 I paid. Great flipper for the $$$.

Above $50 for anything from them other than a large fixed or machete ain’t gonna happen for me. Too many much better knives available for $60-100 from US/Japan in better steels.
 
This latest effort is no doubt a supposed technical evolution
Of a highly successful cult knife series.
Guess any thing is acceptable for the die hard believer.
Yup, the force is strong with this one too...
 
45Shooter said:
I really like the James Williams series - both fixed and folding - and was really excited to see a flipper joining the folding line. But then I saw the price and the blade steel. Asking that street price ($100) is ridiculous for 1.4116 steel, let alone the MSRP ($150). What the hell are they thinking? Is the price so high to pay Williams and Onion their cuts? Frankly, with that steel, this seems more like a $30 knife, tops. What do you think?
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I can't imagine putting that knife out at that price point. Just personally, I really don't like that kind of knife because of its very limited practicality. I have had a couple of CRKT knives over the years and the little "Drifter" I got is still a little mechanical marvel. It's downfall? The steel.

Had another one a few years back that I bought on closeout from somewhere that came to me possibly used. (Bad, vendor... bad.) CRKT sent me a new knife. So kudos on customer service.

In their current price range, I just don't personally see the value for a lot of their offerings. They have some nice knives that are inexpensive, but their collaborative efforts seem to be pretty high priced. That leads me to believe (based on nothing other than my own thoughts) that there is probably something to the idea that there is a somewhat large add to the knife price when it is a collaborative knife. We used to have a CRKT dealer here that came to a lot of gun shows. Great guy. He told me that certainly at CRKT, and pretty much throughout the industry NO ONE knows what the "collaborators" or designers actially get to lend their name to a knife design. It is a deep dark secret that is between the manufacturer and its celebrity designer based on name recognition, popularity of design, and the ability to turn out new products. All he knew for sure was that some designers get more than others, and every deal was different. Can't imagine that a well known designer wouldn't get a lot more than a recently recognized talent, so you might be on to something there.

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
In their current price range, I just don't personally see the value for a lot of their offerings. They have some nice knives that are inexpensive, but their collaborative efforts seem to be pretty high priced. That leads me to believe (based on nothing other than my own thoughts) that there is probably something to the idea that there is a somewhat large add to the knife price when it is a collaborative knife. We used to have a CRKT dealer here that came to a lot of gun shows. Great guy. He told me that certainly at CRKT, and pretty much throughout the industry NO ONE knows what the "collaborators" or designers actially get to lend their name to a knife design. It is a deep dark secret that is between the manufacturer and its celebrity designer based on name recognition, popularity of design, and the ability to turn out new products. All he knew for sure was that some designers get more than others, and every deal was different. Can't imagine that a well known designer wouldn't get a lot more than a recently recognized talent, so you might be on to something there.

Robert
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Yet another flaw in business model to add to the long list of CRKT fail.
 
craytab said:
Yet another flaw in business model to add to the long list of CRKT fail.
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About 15 years ago or so when I first saw a bunch of CRKT product at the local gun show I thought they were going to be the next Kershaw. Kershaw made a good knife for the price with really sturdy designs. So did CRKT. Kershaw had Ken Onion and a couple of others in the stable of designers that were really starting to shine. CRKT had Carson, Kommer and a few others that designed some nice knives, and the ones that I handled blew Kershaw out of the water for quality of design, materials (same steels as Kershaw) and assembly. At that time neither had heard of quality steels and that wasn't their market. If you wanted a step up from KAI, you left Kershaw and went to ZT. If you wanted a step up in steel/design from CRKT, you went without.

Now look at how both companies have changed. I don't buy CRKT, hate the LAWKS system, and the only KAI product I will buy at this time is a ZT. In regards to both companies, there are a few brands out there made in China (as their offerings) that are much better in design, execution and material and price.

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
About 15 years ago or so when I first saw a bunch of CRKT product at the local gun show I thought they were going to be the next Kershaw. Kershaw made a good knife for the price with really sturdy designs. So did CRKT. Kershaw had Ken Onion and a couple of others in the stable of designers that were really starting to shine. CRKT had Carson, Kommer and a few others that designed some nice knives, and the ones that I handled blew Kershaw out of the water for quality of design, materials (same steels as Kershaw) and assembly. At that time neither had heard of quality steels and that wasn't their market. If you wanted a step up from KAI, you left Kershaw and went to ZT. If you wanted a step up in steel/design from CRKT, you went without.

Now look at how both companies have changed. I don't buy CRKT, hate the LAWKS system, and the only KAI product I will buy at this time is a ZT. In regards to both companies, there are a few brands out there made in China (as their offerings) that are much better in design, execution and material and price.

Robert
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I had an old CRKT Apache in Ats-34 made in Taiwan. That was a very good knife with good materials. CRKT can do good stuff if they want. They pay the factories that make their knives to a certain price point. Same with the materials they use. The problem becomes when they try to bridge the low end and enthusiast markets. We just don't put up with high price, low quality materials, and questionable QC/ fit finish. Another issue is they don't really do anything but marketing. They don't make the knives. They don't design the knives. They don't sell the knives (except at full MSRP on their website). I haven't dealt with their CS but I am guessing for most of their products they just send you a new one.
 
I got the original Hissatsu folder when it came out, because I loved the design. I am left handed and when it arrived, I noticed it was very hard to open with the right hand and damn near impossible with the left (harder with the left hand, because the locking liner was more in the way of the thumb ramp on the right side of the knife). The problem was easy to solve by just removing the AO spring and after that the knife worked perfectly. I really like the handle shape of those knives.
 
Dr Heelhook said:
I got the original Hissatsu folder when it came out, because I loved the design. I am left handed and when it arrived, I noticed it was very hard to open with the right hand and damn near impossible with the left (harder with the left hand, because the locking liner was more in the way of the thumb ramp on the right side of the knife). The problem was easy to solve by just removing the AO spring and after that the knife worked perfectly. I really like the handle shape of those knives.
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I and many others had the same problem. Total design flaw. The action was just about perfect when unassisted.
 
Best CRKT I have is a Hi Jinx, 2014 Blade Magazine overall knife of the year. They sell some nice stuff.

 
GatorFlash1 said:
Best CRKT I have is a Hi Jinx, 2014 Blade Magazine overall knife of the year. They sell some nice stuff.

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Not designed by them. Made by a quality company that isn't them. Far more expensive than it should have been given it is a crkt. Made in limited numbers. Totally ineffective as a statement in the knife enthusiast community. They can't take credit for anything related to that knife.

Did you ever sell yours? I saw you had it listed for a while.
 
I have one on the way to play with and evaluate.

For me design and execution or fit and finish are more important than materials, as long as materials used are good enough/well suited for design and purpose. On that point, I liked the Shizuka Noh Ken but kinda wished it had grippy scales on both sides and something other than thumb discs. Also dislike always using torx (really any tiny screws in general) to take apart folders - so I'm interested in testing out the field strip aspect.

Personally never worry much about having increased edge retention in tactical folders. Any that I own/have owned with higher end steels are simply because the designs came with those steels. Even for knives destined to do more cutting it's well behind blade geometry and ergonomics for main considerations. No real interest in titanium or carbon fiber so that's not a price point consideration. Regardless, I'm sure that these will be $60-70ish or so near the end of the year...even then considered overpriced by some if just looking at spec sheets and numbers.
 
craytab said:
Not designed by them. Made by a quality company that isn't them. Far more expensive than it should have been given it is a crkt. Made in limited numbers. Totally ineffective as a statement in the knife enthusiast community. They can't take credit for anything related to that knife.

Did you ever sell yours? I saw you had it listed for a while.
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Yeah, that's basically like ZT making a 0392, putting it into a Kershaw Box and charging 600$ MSRP for it.
 
When I went to the CRKT facility in Oregon and met with a rep there, I asked him if these are made in the U.S.?
He said no, all our products are made overseas. He gave me a bunch of catalogs and was extremely nice to me and my wife.
That was beside the point. Sorry, not buying a CRKT anytime soon even though I own 1.
 
Since it's inception, Crkt was import orientated.
The popularity of CRKT's initial products with knife aficionados
had legitimised the knife manufacturing capabilities of Taiwan.
Thus their idea to sell RoC made products
At an acceptable level to that of it's competitors japanese made wares
Had payed off big time.
Thanks to the popularity and industry recognition of the CRKT brand,
"made in Taiwan" knives finally became an acceptable norm.
Fast forward today, import knife marketers might just have to readjust
to the current realities of the day.
It's going to be a matter, weigh in by the majority of folks
Who decide where best their buck should go.
 
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