CRKT VooDoo Review

samhain73

samhain73

Joined
Mar 5, 2005
Messages
5,069
Ok since I haven't seen a review on this one yet, I'll give my first review.(Bear with me!!)For those who are not aware of this knife,the VooDoo is a assisted opening knife, one of two(the other is the wild weasle, honestly, I bought this one because of the name, I'm a nerd) released by Columbia river knife & tool. Specs are:3.28 inch 154cm blade, 4.22 Aluminum handle with santopene(rubber) inserts. Out of the box it was rough shaving sharp, but a taste of the fine stones on the sharmaker fixed it right up. The asst. feature is an interesting twist on the "speed safe" used by kershaw, that system uses a cam like sping in a preset grove to work, this one looks like a automatic from the back as its's spring is visible from the back of the blade. The principal looks the same, just slight variants to make the lawyers happy. The system in the VooDoo works well, about the same as a Kershaw but it doesn't have the "THWACK!" That Kershaws seem to. An interesting part about this knife is that the liner lock serves a dual function, as it is also the blade stop. How sturdy is this? I don't know! I have never seen a knife with this lock before,but it seems solid and for those who care, it passed the spine whack test. So its a pretty cool little knife, if you like the Kershaw's, and want a upgrade in blade steel, this might just be what you're looking for. My two cents~Mike :cool:
 
Thank you for the terrific review. :thumbup: The very name of the knife called out for it. This model puts a new spin on CRKT for me. The use of terrific blade steel has my interest.

I wonder who manufactures it? Per the company's site: "While CRKT has achieved an enviable reputation for quality with our manufacturing partners in Taiwan, U.S. federal law requires that assisted opening knives be made in the U.S.A. This reality caused us to find an eager domestic manufacturer with a new, state-of-the-art plant." Italics added by me. http://www.crkt.com/voodoo.html

You read my mind when you mentioned someone might like a Kershaw type assisted opener with a better blade. Remind me to never play poker with you.

All the best,

oregon
 
oregon said:
"While CRKT has achieved an enviable reputation for quality with our manufacturing partners in Taiwan, U.S. federal law requires that assisted opening knives be made in the U.S.A. This reality caused us to find an eager domestic manufacturer with a new, state-of-the-art plant." Italics added by me. http://www.crkt.com/voodoo.html
Click to expand...

Wonder how Camillus (Heat); & Meyerco (Speedster) get away with it? Both produced off-shore, Heat in Taiwan - Speedster in China.
 
I wish I knew the answer to your outstandingly good question. :confused: I suppose if I did then I would be Bernard Levine. Perhaps he has an opinion.

My guess, worth what you have paid for it, is that, like too many federal laws those laws applicable to automatic knife importation are subject to interpretation. Different companies interpret the laws differently. Or, some importers may turn the knives into automatics after importation believing this US alteration to be a loophole.

I think it is unusual for CRKT to put their interpretation of the law on their site as they have done. Drawn a line, taken a stand, haven't they.

At some point in the future there may be a judicial branch of the federal government interpreting the definition of automatic to either include assisted or to exclude assisted from the definition of automatic. Perhaps there are applicable cases already offering guidance. Until there is guidance different vendors can have different methods where all believe they are compliant with the rules.

Anyone monitoring case law in this area?

I sent email to CRKT asking if they are referring to the 1958 federal Public Law 85-623 (switchblade regulation) and if they are then what authority are they using to include assisted openers within the scope of this law. I'll post any reply.

Best,

oregon (speculating on a hypothesis)
 
thanks for the review, I was waiting for it. By the way, both knives (Voodoo and Wild Weasel) are named after military planes.
 
dawg (good catch questioning the law involved (you are brilliant), now who manufactures these two new snappy knives?), CRKT shot right back with this explanation ot the suspect verbage shown above:

"You are right. We need to take this language off our website. At the time we were referring to Custom’s Regulations. (italics added by me)

Thank you for pointing this out.

Best regards,

Doug Flagg

CRKT"
 
CRKT may be still suffering a little shell shock. They had almost all of their one-hand openers confiscated, or placed under seal, by Customs about 5 years ago.

It took a lot of effort by CRKT & some of their members of Congress to get Customs to release their product. The whole deal had lot of us, dealers & customers, concerned. I even contacted my Congressional delegation here in Maryland, on CRKT's behalf.

It appears they were the victim of an over zealous Customs Officer: (I stand to be corrected if someone else has a better take on that situation).

FYI
 
dawg, you are dead on in your analysis of the reasoning behind CRKT's US manufacture of their assisted openers. :thumbup: Here is another explanatory email from CRKT regarding the law issue:
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"Good catch, as U.S. Federal law does not expressly mention or require assisted opening knives to be made in the USA.

We have however been advised by U.S. Custom on two separate occasions that should we attempt to import assisted opening knives that they would be considered a violation of the regulations that govern the importation of switchblades / automatics and our product would be seized. Naturally the fines and penalties along with all of the other problems that are created simply make it impossible to legally import this type of knife.

U.S.Customs can and frequently does interpret the regulations differently than the authorities do with juristiction in the country. And yes we took this all the way to Washington D.C. for the final opinion so we don't appear to have much wiggle room.

Thanks for taking the time to drop us a line, and rest assured we will correct our error on the web site.

Best regards,
Rod

Rod Bremer"
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Best, oregon
 
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