CRKT, they have always been crap to me from the start...

I have 3 CRKT's and really like them...granted they are not "high end" but they are dependable and well made and usually one is always on me. I love my new Edgie, since I do a lot of box-cutting at work, and it has become my EDC work knife. I use this knife alot...and it is still as good as when I bought it. I have a Bud Neely Pesh Kbaz that I really like as well. My other CRKT is a fun little Rollock, and was well worth the 10 bucks I picked it up on sale for. I have had no trouble at all with locks, blades, or anything really...in fact, they are usually dependable to the point that I can't believe I got them for so little money.
 
I love my new Edgie, since I do a lot of box-cutting at work, and it has become my EDC work knife. I use this knife alot...and it is still as good as when I bought it.
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It's also a nice quiet design, which shouldn't attract unwanted attention from non-knife people, something which can be a problem on-the-job.
 
The one CRKT knife that I owned was of decent quality. Not great, but worth what I paid for it. I don't think there was a chance I could have bent the blade of my M-16 with my fingers
 
There was a post somewhere in these forums -- I *think* it was in this one but I'm not sure -- that was titled "What is the LEAST favorite knife you own?"

About 90% or so of the knives listed were made by CRKT. Many of them were were models that are held in decently high regard, like the M-16.

I personally hated the only CRKT I ever owned, which wasn't the M-16 (I got to handle a friend's). I just bought an S-2 because it has good reviews and I really want to try out a titanium framelock to see what all the fuss is about; after that, I have no plans to buy anything by them again.
 
I guess you mean this thread in Knife Reviews:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=395173

As others did, I named a CRKT product as the least favorite knife I own, too. In my case it is the Corkum 1st Strike, which is dangerous to carry and by far the my dullest knife. Due to its thick edge it is impossible to sharpen (at last for me).

My only other knife from CRTK - an Apache - really has been a pleasure to carry. Fit and finish are very decent, performance is high and materials are ok (ATS 34 blade, titanium liner, aluminuum handles). I just wish it came with a thicker liner although the lock never let me down.
 
I don't have a thing against any of CRKT's knives with AUS 8A blades in them, especially their flippers. The S2 was a bit boorish, but technically it was a good knife. Ugly, but good. Actually, it really didn't give one much of an impression that it was a knife, in the conventional sense anyway. Not much cosmetic appeal.
 
I get the criticizms of cheap materials etc., but "they all look the same"????? All the M-16's look basically the same, granted, but do they look anything like, say, the Van Hoy Snap Fire, which is made of AUS 8 BTW? Do the Kasper Fighting Folders look anything like the Montana Gentleman? Speaking of the latter, I have one. It's also made of AUS 8, and came out of the box so sharp I shaved the back of my hand without even any crock-stick-strokes. It's an eye-catcher that has decent steel, great smooth action and a very useable blade-shape, all for under $60 on many knife-sites and nearly every eBay sale.

I also have an M-16 03Z, which is atypically AUS 4 from the more common AUS 8 M-16 line. I bought the 03Z at a military surplus store for $6.00! Yep, that's not a typo. Either the guy didn't know what he was selling, or he agreed with MBWirenut that all CRKT's are junk and wanted to get rid of it, but it's the best $6.00 bucks I ever spent! I probably carry it more than any of my other knives, and if there's one mechanical criticizm I have, it's that the pivot screw loosens up more frequently than I'd like, but with the M-16, I didn't even have to go out and buy a Torx set as the pivot screw is just a regular ol' flathead that my Leatherman takes care of just peachy.

I have other CRKT's, some I like, some I have no opinion on either way, but of the ones I have, I'll say that I don't want to meet the badass in a dark alley who can bend their blades with his fingers! :eek:

Blues
 
Walking Man said:
One of the highest quality folders that I have was made by CRKT. It is the Viele limited edition wasp, and it is custom quality. I also think the wasp was (is?) a DARN good knife for the money, and was not crap at all.
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I own that very same knife and its a beauty to be sure.........I wouldn't call the LAKES PAL,M16-13T or Kommers Bwana and many others bad by any standards either...........I own alot of Crkt knives and have always been pleased I just stay away from their gimmick knives even though they are unique, they are just not my type of knife.Edit below:
But know after further looking into matters they have done some strange things which changes my thoughts ie: Bwana is now AUS-4!!...used to be AUS-8.Pro Hunter series is now 440a, used to be AUS-8!..........Alot of the stalwarts are in AUS-4 now, what a shame.

Kap:thumbup:

edited to add info after further invesigation...............why would they even go this way esp on great knives like the Bwana and Pro Hunter series??????
 
kel_aa said:
Capt Carl, I guess you couldn't read between the lines in my post. The original poster make the statement that CRKT's were junk. The only "support" he gave was the fact that he could bend the blade with his fingers. Since he only offered one criteria for quality, I replied there are plenty of "quality" knives [from many manufactures including CRTK was also implied]. He should be fairly easy to satisfy. As for the second paragraph, I gave my own opinion of CRKT.
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Whoa! It's like you went from speaking japanese to english! I don't know what makes it so hard for me to read your first post. Sorry!
 
I've owned a number of CRKT knives, and I've always been pleased with their knives. CRKT knives are great because they aren't too expensive, but are pretty tough knives, and can hold an edge pretty well, especially for a knife thats under 100 bucks.
 
I started buying CRKT when Fiskars bought Gerber. Was I wrong? I don't think so. CRKT was just beginning the introduction of affordable designs from major custom makers, with good quality and a wide variety of styles.

Come to think of it, that's why I quit buying Benchmade. I could buy more knives with different design intents, rather than just one or two a year. So I got to try a Ryan Plan B, M16, M1-13k, etc. etc. Try that with original customs on a family budget. And as for quality, the workmanship was OK, even if the design had flaws. After all, it wasn't CRKT's design flaws, it was the originators, and that was part of what you learn being a student of the knife, some things don't work.
 
I don't like Benchmade much, because their knives are too damn expensive. Sure, they have a warranty, but thats useless to me, because I take my knives apart to lube them up and all. The only Benchmade knives I plan on buying are the Morpho and the 47MC balisong models, though that will require a ton of saving up on my part, as I'm a poor student hehe.
 
There's nothing wrong or bad with CRKT knives.

I have found that the fit-and-finish is excellent (better than some of my Camillus and Spyderco knives) and the designs are interesting for the most part.
The materials work just fine for an everday knife for the average working Joe.

The blade-steel used on most of their knives works just fine.
Spyderco used AUS-6 on some of their knives for many many years and nobody was calling them "crap".

My real only beef with CRKT is that they use the liner-lock on many many of their knives.
This might be because the knife designer wanted it that way, but I just don't care for liner-locks these days.

The LAWKs is pure genious and should be used on all liner-locks in my opinion.
 
MBWirenut said:
I bought one when they came on the scene. I could bend the blade with my fingers.
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Exactly which knife was it that you could bend the blade with your fingers?
 
csmccreery said:
I take my knives apart to lube them up and all.
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With my Cold Steel Voyagers, I just put them in the washer and, when dry, I add a drop or two of oil and they're good to go.
 
With my SAKs, I give them a good stropping here and there. That's about it. :D
 
I think the criticism may come from the fact that CRKT makes a great variety and range of knife. Some not the greatest, and some that are pretty super. I think some criticism came from their more 'gimmicky knife'.

An example of a good CRKT is the Viele has been noted in this forum as being a super knife.

Currently, one of my EDC is the Bladelock which has been tested as being super tough in the locking mechanism. I have two and both have zero play, and I can open and close them one handed with more control than any other blade I've tried.

UL
 
I've found the kasper pro model,the grant hawk dog,the lake signature,urban shark, s-2,m16 titanium models to be a lot of knife for the money, well designed,and great to carry;ive never had an issue with anything from crkt;:thumbup:
 
My first CRKT is an M-16. That knife lasted forever and I still have it (though now it's been test ground down to a diamond spike of sorts). Mine is pre-LAWKS and collapsed on me once but I was probably abusing it.
Only other CRKT that interested me was the First Strike which I just sold.

They are decent knives for the beginning collector, user, enthusiast, or casual curiousity buyers out there and a good starting point to learn from as are others.
 
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