CRKT's are great knives irregardless of how inexpensive they are. They are built really well, have respected knife designers licensing their designs to CRKT, but best of all their "MADE IN TAIWAN" knives do not suffer from those manufacture inconsistencies which seem to plague more "upscale" companies.
Personally, my favorite are the KISS knives. Yes, I know they are a bit hazardous with a lack of external grips, and no secondary lock. To me, that's the beauty of this simple knife. It's minimalist art gone dangerous! The KISS never fails to draw a "Wow! Cool knife!" to anyone with a shred of machismo in his/her blood.
My first KISS was a folding tanto which I eventually gave away to a firefighter buddy. More on this later...
I also purchased a similar KISS knife for my friend's birthday. He's a martial artist who loves weapons, and was blown away by this knife.
I then bought a tanto STIFF KISS which I later gave to another friend who loves anything lethal. He thinks the knife is so well constructed/balanced that it can double for a throwing knife. He's also a professional chef and thinks it makes a cool paring knife.
...back to my firefighter buddy. The KISS proved itself at an accident site. Apparently, the firefighters were trying to free an accident victim from their seatbelt. The firefighter in charge called for some snips to cut the seatbelt. Apparently my buddy took out the little folding KISS tanto I gave him and sliced through the steel-fiber reinforced seatbelt like "butta". How's that for a testimonial! BTW, that particular KISS knife had half serrations. Just to squelch the snobbery against those who think serrations have no purpose on a sport knife.
I only have one CRKT knife at the moment. My spearpoint SAMPSON KISS which isn't going anywhere. It's all mine!
