- Joined
- Aug 9, 2007
- Messages
- 761
I wanted to grab some photos before running this, but lazy me, that would never have gotten done. I grabbed this knife on one of my first days back in Vancouver, and considering the $15CAD or so price tag, it was money well-spent.
Among my myriad of full-size carry knives like the Umnumzaan, 710, and CQC8, I also like to keep a teensie keychain knife handy in the absurd event that my other five knives malfunction or whatever. For the last three years I've been a fan of the Gerber STL, since it's a light and tiny framelock with zero blade play. It has only two drawbacks; one, the blade steel is cheap 400-series, and two; is it has no business on a keychain, since the open back invites keys and other pocket litter to enter the frame of the knife and mangle the edge.
Enter the unusually sturdy McGinnis Shrmp from Columbia River Knife and Tool. It's not nearly as slim as the Gerber STL, but that's because the frame of the knife is an overly thick, overbuilt framelock for a 1.75" folding blade of 8Cr13Mov steel. I've never been one to take a Chinese steel over American or Japanese steels, but in this case, as with the case of the CRKT Graham Razel,w the design of the knife is enough to provide reason for exception.
Despite the fact that most of this knife was made in China, the end product is more than satisfactory. The knife opens smoothly, and locks with the authoritative clank noise that I've become accustomed to seeing mostly in the framelocks made by Reeve, Spyderco, and other such paragons. There is no blade play in any direction, and while the factory edge was adequate at best, it was honed to razor-sharp with minimal effort. The master bevel has a minor recurve to it, which restricts the sharpening options, but the overall edge geometry is more than adequate for 99% of the daily chores that require a folding knife.
I've since used the Shrimp for all the tiny chores that would be expected of it, opening envelopes and minor food packets, etc., and the edge has held up well without the usual amount of rusting that I would expect from 8Cr13. The blade continues to exhibit positive lockup, with zero play in any direction, and the lockbar does not seem to show any signs of wearing out anytime soon.
Two unique features of the knife are the pocket clip and the glowing backspacer. The knife also came with a keychain lanyard loop, but it was so loosely and shoddily fitted that I removed it with nothing more than my first two fingers, and was all the happier for it.
The pocket clip - otherwise unheard of on a knife of this tiny size - allowed me to clip this tiny knife onto my wallet pocket, in a corner where it was wont to go unnoticed until really needed.
The backspacer is made of Moonglow, a very luminescent material that might theoretically make this tiny knife easier to find in the dark. Practically speaking, that big glowing spacer makes it very hard for something like a set of car keys to interfere with the edge of the knife whilst folded, and this makes it a fierce competitor for the place of my prized Gerber STL. I've been carrying this knife clipped to one of my belt-loops, but because of its size it would be equally at home on most other parts of the body and then some. The Gerber STL has been relegated to perfunctory carry in one of the so-called 'secret' pockets of my 5.11 atac boots, since I've no other means of making it useful.
As a keychain knife I give the McGinnis Shrimp one of my best marks; it is easy to carry, comfortable to hold, and it cuts as well as any good knife. It is an overbuilt knife, tougher than one of this size ought to be, but that is a selling point. Something so tiny and so tough should last a user through consecutive lifetimes, which is how a well-made knife of any size ought to last.
It won't replace a Sebenza or a Strider, or even a Spyderco of decent size...but within the meagre niche of tiny knives meant for simple chores, the CRKT Shrimp will stand out near the top of the list.
The same day I first held it, I had previously examined several William Henry knives, and in spite of all of their ostentatious elegance I opted for Columbia River's simplistic and functional framelock Shrimp.
Among my myriad of full-size carry knives like the Umnumzaan, 710, and CQC8, I also like to keep a teensie keychain knife handy in the absurd event that my other five knives malfunction or whatever. For the last three years I've been a fan of the Gerber STL, since it's a light and tiny framelock with zero blade play. It has only two drawbacks; one, the blade steel is cheap 400-series, and two; is it has no business on a keychain, since the open back invites keys and other pocket litter to enter the frame of the knife and mangle the edge.
Enter the unusually sturdy McGinnis Shrmp from Columbia River Knife and Tool. It's not nearly as slim as the Gerber STL, but that's because the frame of the knife is an overly thick, overbuilt framelock for a 1.75" folding blade of 8Cr13Mov steel. I've never been one to take a Chinese steel over American or Japanese steels, but in this case, as with the case of the CRKT Graham Razel,w the design of the knife is enough to provide reason for exception.
Despite the fact that most of this knife was made in China, the end product is more than satisfactory. The knife opens smoothly, and locks with the authoritative clank noise that I've become accustomed to seeing mostly in the framelocks made by Reeve, Spyderco, and other such paragons. There is no blade play in any direction, and while the factory edge was adequate at best, it was honed to razor-sharp with minimal effort. The master bevel has a minor recurve to it, which restricts the sharpening options, but the overall edge geometry is more than adequate for 99% of the daily chores that require a folding knife.
I've since used the Shrimp for all the tiny chores that would be expected of it, opening envelopes and minor food packets, etc., and the edge has held up well without the usual amount of rusting that I would expect from 8Cr13. The blade continues to exhibit positive lockup, with zero play in any direction, and the lockbar does not seem to show any signs of wearing out anytime soon.
Two unique features of the knife are the pocket clip and the glowing backspacer. The knife also came with a keychain lanyard loop, but it was so loosely and shoddily fitted that I removed it with nothing more than my first two fingers, and was all the happier for it.
The pocket clip - otherwise unheard of on a knife of this tiny size - allowed me to clip this tiny knife onto my wallet pocket, in a corner where it was wont to go unnoticed until really needed.
The backspacer is made of Moonglow, a very luminescent material that might theoretically make this tiny knife easier to find in the dark. Practically speaking, that big glowing spacer makes it very hard for something like a set of car keys to interfere with the edge of the knife whilst folded, and this makes it a fierce competitor for the place of my prized Gerber STL. I've been carrying this knife clipped to one of my belt-loops, but because of its size it would be equally at home on most other parts of the body and then some. The Gerber STL has been relegated to perfunctory carry in one of the so-called 'secret' pockets of my 5.11 atac boots, since I've no other means of making it useful.
As a keychain knife I give the McGinnis Shrimp one of my best marks; it is easy to carry, comfortable to hold, and it cuts as well as any good knife. It is an overbuilt knife, tougher than one of this size ought to be, but that is a selling point. Something so tiny and so tough should last a user through consecutive lifetimes, which is how a well-made knife of any size ought to last.
It won't replace a Sebenza or a Strider, or even a Spyderco of decent size...but within the meagre niche of tiny knives meant for simple chores, the CRKT Shrimp will stand out near the top of the list.
The same day I first held it, I had previously examined several William Henry knives, and in spite of all of their ostentatious elegance I opted for Columbia River's simplistic and functional framelock Shrimp.
