- Joined
- Mar 21, 2002
- Messages
- 130
Maybe it is like the rifle...
The CRKT M16-11KE
A complex item. Lots of pros and cons.
This was one of those handled it in a knife store purchases. I really liked the looks and this blade has looks in spades. CRKT is one of the more innovative and prolific knife companies at this time, and if I had to unfairly pigeonhole their stuff, Id call it delivering cool concepts at lower prices. Not to say this knife was cheap ($34.99 on ebay), but after using it for a while I must relegate it to the light duty category. The Kit Carson design is very nice.
Pros:
The British racing green + black is an appealing combination
Blade shape is utilitarian yet visually pleasing
flipper mechanism is fun
Very lightweight
Point is nice and sharp, no rounding
Steel is OK
The knife is smaller and lighter than it looks, making it a fairly discrete EDC with a narrow footprint in your pocket.
Cons:
Feels too light, but Im unfairly comparing it to my Spydercos, which are more substantial
Fit and finish issues (small but still distracting)
- Flipper has too many rough edges, I cut my hand on it wearing left pocket
- Clip is bent up too far, slightly rough on the edge
- Liner lock is sticky and difficult to disengage
- Some blue residue on the bolts
Flipper action is not smooth enough, perhaps I can fix this with a pivot adjustment
Thumb stud is useless, I cannot open this knife using the thumb stud
Black coating on blade looks good, until you cut something. I opened some boxes and it instantly looked bad: lots of cutting streaks and residue too visible, I had to use some ballistol to clean it up, as denim swiping would not work
Edge grind is uneven (but this may be intentional) and the factory edge needed a small touchup
Neutral:
The liner lock can be locked with the novel LAWKS system (lever mechanism blocks the knifes liner lock from being accidentally released). Im not sure Id ever use this on such a light duty knife, but its kinda cool in a gadgety way.
Summary: this is a nice knife for the money. I doubt I will carry it as much as my beloved Spyders due to the fit-n-finish issues, but this would be a nice lower-priced knife for casual carry. I would not trust this particular liner lock for any serious cutting chores.
The CRKT M16-11KE
A complex item. Lots of pros and cons.
This was one of those handled it in a knife store purchases. I really liked the looks and this blade has looks in spades. CRKT is one of the more innovative and prolific knife companies at this time, and if I had to unfairly pigeonhole their stuff, Id call it delivering cool concepts at lower prices. Not to say this knife was cheap ($34.99 on ebay), but after using it for a while I must relegate it to the light duty category. The Kit Carson design is very nice.
Pros:
The British racing green + black is an appealing combination
Blade shape is utilitarian yet visually pleasing
flipper mechanism is fun
Very lightweight
Point is nice and sharp, no rounding
Steel is OK
The knife is smaller and lighter than it looks, making it a fairly discrete EDC with a narrow footprint in your pocket.
Cons:
Feels too light, but Im unfairly comparing it to my Spydercos, which are more substantial
Fit and finish issues (small but still distracting)
- Flipper has too many rough edges, I cut my hand on it wearing left pocket
- Clip is bent up too far, slightly rough on the edge
- Liner lock is sticky and difficult to disengage
- Some blue residue on the bolts
Flipper action is not smooth enough, perhaps I can fix this with a pivot adjustment
Thumb stud is useless, I cannot open this knife using the thumb stud
Black coating on blade looks good, until you cut something. I opened some boxes and it instantly looked bad: lots of cutting streaks and residue too visible, I had to use some ballistol to clean it up, as denim swiping would not work
Edge grind is uneven (but this may be intentional) and the factory edge needed a small touchup
Neutral:
The liner lock can be locked with the novel LAWKS system (lever mechanism blocks the knifes liner lock from being accidentally released). Im not sure Id ever use this on such a light duty knife, but its kinda cool in a gadgety way.
Summary: this is a nice knife for the money. I doubt I will carry it as much as my beloved Spyders due to the fit-n-finish issues, but this would be a nice lower-priced knife for casual carry. I would not trust this particular liner lock for any serious cutting chores.
The sticky liner lock should break in with time, at least mine did.
