CRKT Steels

SEH95B

SEH95B

Joined
Jan 15, 2009
Messages
465
They need to update like bad, al my M16 series need constant attention to avoid rusting. What is up with this?
 
:thumbup:

Some of those good designs are going to waste :(

I guess CRKT's new year resolution wasnt to upgrade their steels :rolleyes:
 
Yeah, when they start advertising: "Made With REAL Steel!!" you'll know it's probably a good idea to buy something else. :D
 
Quite a few of their newer offerings are being made out of 8Cr14MoV, 8Cr13MoV and 8Cr18MoV.

Same as the Byrd line and a few of the red class Benchmades.

I've been fairly unimpressed with their AUS8. Specifically it's edge retention and corrosion resistance.
 
PetaBread said:
:thumbup:

Some of those good designs are going to waste :(

I guess CRKT's new year resolution wasnt to upgrade their steels :rolleyes:
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SERIOUSLY!!!! they are now using g10 and micarta and better quality handles...they couldnt even upgrade to something good?! maybe some 1095 or 154CM or high quality 440C. DAMNIT
 
I find it quite comical that they consider AUS8 to be "premium" steel, when for most other makers, that is the bottom of the barrel.
 
Confederate said:
Yeah, when they start advertising: "Made With REAL Steel!!" you'll know it's probably a good idea to buy something else. :D
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haha, kinda like when mcdonalds started advertising their mcnugets as "Now made with 100% real white meat!" Makes you wonder.....

PetaBread said:
Some of those good designs are going to waste :(
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Too true. Not only with bad blade steels, but back locking mechanisms. "Auto-lawks" is a joke.
 
To go against the tide.

I have found the AUS8 in their knives to give a good and very sharp working edge.

With minimal maintence on AUS8, I have not had them rust!!
 
Aus8 is considered as stainless.
BUT crkt makes aus8 blades "bead-blasted" or sanded. And they are much, much more rust prone than polished blade.
 
AUS8 is absolutely not bottom of the barrel for most knife manufacturers. On average, you're lucky get 420HC in the knife world. Generally, you have no idea what you're getting, it just says "surgical stainless" which surprisingly sells a lot of knives (people think they're getting something really special). If you we take only the high end of production as "the rest" then things are different, but I think that'd be unfair. Compared to all other car manufacturers, the Chevy Cobalt SS is slow (all other manufacturers being Italian supercar makers).

AUS8 works plenty well and has some desirable properties that other steels don't. It's pretty resistant to chipping, for instance. As someone mentioned, it's as much about the surface of the steel as the steel itself. Bead blasts are just asking for rust. I've never had a problem with AUS8 rusting.

CRKT isn't really designed to compete head to head with the big three. They were designed to fight the area in between the low end like Gerber and the high end like Benchmade. Now, as Spyderco and Benchmade lower their models, you see a lot more direct competition, since they are now basically all made in the same places with the same steels.
 
Artfully Martial said:
AUS8 is absolutely not bottom of the barrel for most knife manufacturers. On average, you're lucky get 420HC in the knife world. Generally, you have no idea what you're getting, it just says "surgical stainless" which surprisingly sells a lot of knives (people think they're getting something really special). If you we take only the high end of production as "the rest" then things are different, but I think that'd be unfair. Compared to all other car manufacturers, the Chevy Cobalt SS is slow (all other manufacturers being Italian supercar makers).

AUS8 works plenty well and has some desirable properties that other steels don't. It's pretty resistant to chipping, for instance. As someone mentioned, it's as much about the surface of the steel as the steel itself. Bead blasts are just asking for rust. I've never had a problem with AUS8 rusting.

CRKT isn't really designed to compete head to head with the big three. They were designed to fight the area in between the low end like Gerber and the high end like Benchmade. Now, as Spyderco and Benchmade lower their models, you see a lot more direct competition, since they are now basically all made in the same places with the same steels.
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Mine are labeled AUS4
 
My biggest concern is not what steels they're using (it's my second) but rather what kind of heat treatment they're using, and with what grinds. As a general rule I tend to recommend CRKT to people who either want a novelty knife or one they can beat to hell and not have it break. They just shouldn't expect it to cut stuff very well for very long. A lot of folks think that's just fine by them.
 
In my previous post I forgot to mention the junk left handed chisel grind that they put on a lot of knives. :mad:

I have an M16-10Z that I will probably never carry. :grumpy:
 
Artfully Martial said:
AUS8 is absolutely not bottom of the barrel for most knife manufacturers. On average, you're lucky get 420HC in the knife world. Generally, you have no idea what you're getting, it just says "surgical stainless" which surprisingly sells a lot of knives (people think they're getting something really special). If you we take only the high end of production as "the rest" then things are different, but I think that'd be unfair. Compared to all other car manufacturers, the Chevy Cobalt SS is slow (all other manufacturers being Italian supercar makers).

AUS8 works plenty well and has some desirable properties that other steels don't. It's pretty resistant to chipping, for instance. As someone mentioned, it's as much about the surface of the steel as the steel itself. Bead blasts are just asking for rust. I've never had a problem with AUS8 rusting.

CRKT isn't really designed to compete head to head with the big three. They were designed to fight the area in between the low end like Gerber and the high end like Benchmade. Now, as Spyderco and Benchmade lower their models, you see a lot more direct competition, since they are now basically all made in the same places with the same steels.
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I agree with you there.

I've found that their AUS-8 has been acceptable. Nothing like my VG-10 Spydies, but that's to be expected. Construction is great. They have good QC and overall, make good knives.

AutoLAWK a joke? Why?

The only think I have a problem with, is they've started to use a lot of "alphabet soup" steels like 3CrM or whatnot. (I can't recall any off the top of my head). It starts to get tedious when they use a slightly different steel for each knife, requiring constant googling to keep up.
 
Josh K said:
The only think I have a problem with, is they've started to use a lot of "alphabet soup" steels like 3CrM or whatnot. (I can't recall any off the top of my head). It starts to get tedious when they use a slightly different steel for each knife, requiring constant googling to keep up.
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See my post above. From what I've read, these steels are getting pretty good reviews from users.

Granted, their not higher end steels, but people who are using them have been impressed.

I have alot of faith in the people at Spyderco and Benchmade and for them to be willing to spec out these steels for their lower end models, they must be offering something.
 
I don't know how expensive AUS-118 is to produce but I really like it! I always forget to mention it in favorite steel threads.
 
aus4 shouldnt even be used as a knife steel IMO.

Auto lawks is a joke because I find it to be more of a hassle to close the knife one handed without risking getting my thumb cut. And I just dont think that feature is really necessary. I know a lot around here dont like liner locks, but over 12 years or so of experience, I've never had a liner lock fail me.

idaho said:
Aus8 is considered as stainless.
BUT crkt makes aus8 blades "bead-blasted" or sanded. And they are much, much more rust prone than polished blade.
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Absolutely true. My AUS8 Fecas snipe from BM has a non polished coat and has acquired some rust spots. AUS 8 is not a bad every day task user.
 
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