CRKT Rollock review...

Jazzman

Jazzman

Joined
Jan 11, 2001
Messages
2,750
I have had my CRKT Rollock for about 3 days now and I thought it was about time for a short review. Here goes:

-Handle- The knife handle is formed from dual stainless liners with zytel scales (T5, T6 screws). Unfortunately, even for my medium sized hands, the handle seems very small. I think that the beak at the end of the handle attributes to this problem as it makes your fingers feel mashed together. On a thin knife such as this, it makes it difficult to maintain what feels as a secure grip. Another potential problem is that the lock bar isn't recessed. Since it lies on the underside of the handle, a possible accidental closing may be feasible. Luckily the spring is very stout and since the Rollock doesn't fold, it's near impossible to cut yourself. Yet another gripe is that the lanyard hole is too small to fit most of my paracord (IMO, this knife needs a lanyard). Lastly, I was disappointed to find that the engine turning isn't actually on the steel liners, instead it is on the zytel handles only.

-Blade- The modified drop point blade is about 2.25 inches in length and is made of AUS-6M. Whereas edge holding ability is not a strong point of this steel, it has performed very well in my trials. It also takes an edge very easily. I find that this blade offers great utility in my EDC tasks. The mirror finish is nicely done although I would have preferred other.

-Action- What everone is waiting for. Opening and closing the Rollock is very smooth and easy to perform. Slight pressure downwards on the back of the blade pops the tip up. After being opened, the user slides the blade towards the front of the handle where it snaps into place. To close, you depress the lockbar, and slide the blade backwards and snap the blade back down in the handle. This knife is very simple to open and close with one hand although it may take some practice.

-Clip- Very wide, designed with a money clip in mind. It doesn't fit my pocket very well but with a knife this size, it doesn't matter much anyway. Unfortunately, the clip is NOT removable so says the CRKT manual.

-Conclusion- I think that for the price the Rollock is very hard to beat. The only mod that I will try is dremeling off part of the handle (beak) to make it more comfortable and quite frankly better looking. I see this knife selling quite a bit, give one a heft, they are pretty hard to put down ;)
Thanks,
Matt
 
The lanyard hole(or rather little pinholes that pass as such) and lack of edge holding are only problems I"ve found so far too, but just got my hands on this one yesterday.
 
Got one about a month ago, neat little knife, the mirror finish seems to scratch easy,but nice to see it instead of the bead blast finish crkt uses on their other knives.action is nice,too. wish it came with a 3 1/2" blade. that would be great ......
 
A 3.5 blade would be awesome!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: Still the 2.25 inch blade is nice and legal in most areas.
Matt
 
good thing to note, do not try to remove the clip=/

it sort of holds the whole knife together.. and it seems to be under pressure as well. I tried to take it off immediately after I received mine(didnt read the manual heh) and the plastic scales now have hairline fractures at the other pressure points... didn't seem to ruin the knife or anything but it is now cosmetically blemished and I can kind of lift one of the scales up a bit where it cracked.
 
Thanks for the review, Matt. It cleared up some questions that I had about this knife. AG Russell and a few other places have been advertising this model quite a bit lately.
 
I bought this knife because of the intriguing lock mechanism, good price point and it appears to be legal for carry in the UK.

It turned up in the post this morning and I have been carrying it all day with the pocket clip. The clip is quite large and is obviously not a pen in your pocket. I would have preferred a matt black clip as I went for the black scales. It also makes holding the handle mildly annoying as there is a big lump of metal in your palm.

I have exceptionally big hands (23.5 cm span) and it fits comfortably in my hand. Three fingers are around the handle and my little finger tucks neatly behind, stopping the knife sliding through my hand.

The knife feels sturdy to handle and use. The scales provide a nice amount of grip that feels secure yet maneuverable. Apart from the clip, I would say that it could easily be used left handed.

The opening action was a surprise as first. I didn't read the instructions and just started playing with it. I couldn't work it out, then POP the tip flicked out of the side. Pushing it forward locks it into place. I am still trying to work out what angle the tip would need to pushed to disengage the lock (I am assuming it can, but may be wrong). It is easily opened one-handed, but IMHO needs two to close it. Because the mechanism is OTF, I feel confident that it won't close, slicing my fingers.

This is the first knife I have bought that I consider a 'proper knife'. I have had Whitby, Opinel and UC knives before, and admit to being partial to Stanley knives but this is a sturdy tool. I have yet to find my definitive way of determining cutting ability.

Could the clip not be ground down or cut next to the scales?

Could any people with knowledge of UK knife law tell me whether this is street legal or not, due to the fact it doesn't fold yet is not fixed. Definition of folding?

Apologies if questions are asked in incorrect forum but I think it all aids to the knowledge of a knife before you buy it.

Edit: Thought I'd wait to put some effort into my first post ;)
 
Daverave...

When I was researching the "to lock or not to lock question" I found an appeal that looked into the legislative intent of the statute.

It emerged that the reason that a FOLDING pocket knife was specified in the exemption was to exclude Stanley knives, etc. with sliding blades (instrumental in a lot of hooliganism at the time). Thus any knife with a sliding blade is by definition illegal to possess in public without good reason. Its unlikely that the law was intended to prohibit the rolox/rollock design, but nevertheless it does. Plus, the fact that it locks is an issue now due to a case in 1991 and this is more likely to be the issue if its found on you.

Sorry I don't have references for you but I did the research over a year ago on a computer that I don't have access to anymore
 
Thanks for the prompt info Little claw. I appear to have been a criminal for 4 days :D
With more experimentation, it becomes obvious that with a small keychain attached eg. Photon microlight it becomes easier to use out of the pocket, because the back of the blade that you need to press aligns correctly upon removal from the pocket and then the blade will happily drop down, ready to be locked into place with the thumb in the 'holding-knife' grip. This is a fast, easily-deployed blade when using the pocket clip.
Still not sure about the steel used for the blade yet; it seems quite corrosion resistant yet still giving a good edge. I have not experienced many steels yet in a cutting edge capacity, but this is much better than what I am used to. For 30 quid this knife is lovely. I have not wasted my money.
 
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