CRKT Self-Sharpening Knife: What's your opinion on it?

R

Radioactive

Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
143
Has anyone here ever tried the CRKT Self-Sharpening Knife? I'm interested in using it as a utility knife for my job. Thanks.
 
I have one here on my desk in the box. I've never used it.
I opened it twice to see how it worked. You can feel the blade
engage the stone when you close it and open it.
Not really a stone but a steel bar that is covered
in an asphaltic/sandpaper coated. Looks thick enough.
It's actually kinda cool in that respect. Don't know how
many times you will open/close it before the grit wears
out.
I might just carry it for a week or so and write up a review.
Can you wait a few days for me to test it out?
I'll write up a review on it.

The one I have is model 6442 Edgie (how cute :rolleyes: )

mike
 
Took a look at one of those while at the knife shop, was the wharncliffe bladed one (not sure if theres diff models) and it seemed like CRKT quality pretty much, nothing I would consider heavy heavy duty, but a nice novelty/casual cutting knife none the less. Just my .02
 
I have one which I used at work for about a month. I work in a hardware store, so I used it to cut a variety of materials, from plastic strapping to cardboard and wood.

The edge is very aggressive, which seems to bite very well and it slices like the dickens. The knife itself is pretty solid and feels comfortable in the hand.

The reasons I stopped carrying it were as follows: 1) No lock. The blade is held in place pretty rigidly, but it is a slipjoint, and I had a few close calls that caused me a bit of concern (in no way the fault of the design or construction, just the manner in which I was using it at the time), and 2) The blade steel is EXTREMELY soft. Accidental contact with harder materials (Stone, tile, soft metal) flattened the edge in a major way. If you were only using this knife to cut cardboard, this probably wouldn't be a problem, but removing straps from patio stones or cutting plastic on a tile floor ended up causing some significant damage to the edge which took a great deal of time to fix with my Leatherman file.

Of course, due to the design of the knife, reprofiling is basically out of the question, so repairing the edge can be a time consuming process. When I realized that I was spending more time repairing the edge on my Edgie than I spent sharpening my Native, I switched back.

Overall, I think the knife is fine for boxcutter duty, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive light duty knife with minimal maintenance. :thumbup:
 
I've played with this thing for the last 20-25 minutes
and I have a conclusion already. I'm going to use my 5 point system
1= Poor. Go to bed without supper
2= Fair. Eat you supper, but no dessert
3= Decent. Not too bad, but you need to eat all the veggies
4= Nice. You can have your cake and eat it too
5= Awesome. We're goin' to Sizzler!

Sharpness.
Out of the box, it's like a straight razor. Sharp as all get out.
Keep in mind this is a single sided knife.
After opening it approximately 50 times it has remained very sharp.
It kinda creates micro serrations on the edge after 20 or 30 openings
I've made over 200 cuts into copy paper, hard plastic retail
packaging, cardboard, some carrots(yes, I cleaned it first)
The blade seems a little soft and as I didn't cut anything
harder than carrots with it, it gets a point for now.
But wood, accidentally striking something hard, may cause problems.
+1 Point

Ease of use.
There is a Torx T-10 screw for the pivot. I played
with it for a few minutes to try and adjust tension
of the blade. No use. If you loosen it at all
you get blade wobble when fully open.
It has a Spyderesk knockoff oval thumb cutout
that is still hard to use because the knife is
hard to flick out with just your thumb.
There isn't a lock mechanism on this knife. Just tension/slipjoint lock.
So if you lift the knife while cutting into something heavy
it could possibly fold up on your fingers.
The instructions with the knife actually state this.
I quote, "Don't push down when removing the Edgie from a cut.
The blade may fold accidentally." ouch
-1 Point

Wear and tear.
When closing you actually have to push the blade
down into the handle to make full contact with the gritbar(my made up word)
The gritbar has some wear on it and looks like it would only last
a few months under normal use. 1-3 times a day??
CRKT calls it a '400 grit diamond-coated strip'
I call it 'not gonna last long enough to keep the blade sharp'
The sheet also states "intended for light-and medium-duty tasks"
-1 Point

Look and feel.
Very comfortable to hold. Good textured rubber grip
Nice ergonomics. Has a bit of weight to it. Not as
heavy as my SS Endura but beefy. Stainless liners are the reason
Kinda reminds me of a Spyderco Rescue though (without serrations)
+1 Point

Price
This thing only retails for $29.95
So, you could probably pick one up for $19-29??
+1 Point

Well, that's 1 point. Not too good.
But, if you're cutting open boxes and doing some
easy work with it, then yes it would be fine for that.

But remember, for around $50 or so you could get a Delica
that would last much longer. :)

Personally, I would not buy this knife.

mike
 
I have one that i use at work. (steel worker in a ship yard) I've been using mine for about two weeks now. Sharp as all hell, but a lock would be nice. I use it to make cardboard templets, cut 1" poly rope, strip wires etc. Everytime i let someone barrow it they remark on how sharp it is. Anyway, i just bought two more today from Savonswordsandknives. At 10 bucks a piece you really cant beat them. Especially in my line of work, where you might drop it in the drink or lose it crawling around in a deep dark hole. Anyway thats just my 2 cents. take it or leave it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top