Crkt?

I'll just reiterate what I have said in all the other CRKT threads (yes, there are many). CRKT comes out with some interesting designs. That said, they are plagued with Quality control, fit and finish, and pricing issues. Just some examples of good design though but poor execution: Mah Eraser is one of the best flipers I have ever handled but the liner lock was way too thin and there are many examples of it wearing in all the way over in far too little time. Hissatsu Folder was great but many examples are almost impossible to open with the torsion bar installed though once removed it was a fantastically smooth manual knife. Hissatsu and Shinbu are plagued by high price and poor sheaths. Dragon fixed blade was far below acceptable fit and finish and the sheath was terrible. The current KISS is way over priced for the materials they use. You can by the same knife branded by the Chinese manufacturers that make it for half the cost. The Kiss I have and used daily for about 4 years has developed horrible play that cannot be adjusted out. The Folts minimalist I had was a good little fixed blade. I little small for my taste and the steel is subpar though it is priced faily I believe. These are just a few I have had direct experience with.

I have not held a fossil but I cannot justify the price they ask for it because it is 8cr Chinese made. If it were $20 less, I would own one. Also have seen a couple lock bars snap.

There are certainly some good knives CRKT make. The Heiho is what the Hissatsu folder should be. It actually opens as it was designed to. I have an older Apache folder and it is one nice knife with a quality steel. Of course it has been discontinued for a while but it does show that if CRKT wants to produce a quality offering with decent materials they can. Some of the knew offerings they have this year look promising but the street price is again far too high especially given the reputation for questionable fit/finish and QC. Until this new stuff has been on the street for a while and there are a number of reviews and if the street price lowers I will be staying away.
 
craytab said:
...The Heiho is what the Hissatsu folder should be. It actually opens as it was designed to...
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Totally agree with everything said.
BTW, ( I prefer the assist opening if I can have it) once the torsion bar of the Hissatsu is adjusted, and part of the blade slightly polished, it works just as on the Heiho if not better.
The problem is that the bars are put together lousy or the system that holds it for itself isn't well thought - with the time and use, the torsion bar moves to the side and starts rubbing in one of the liners,
this is the problem with it and positioning on the blade. Once removed and slightly grind to produce flat surface where the screws will fall, it stays that way, than all you have to do is to fiddle little with it and adjust it back and forth to get the spot that works the best for pushing the blade out, that's it...
 
Pokeh, what's the Spyderco, fourth one down on the left?
 
bld522 said:
Love 'em or hate 'em, they keep winning awards:

crkt-5260-large.jpg


crkt-onion-high-jinx-k280txp-large.jpg
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Yes, they do win design awards, but most of those are designs collaborated and based off of custom makers knives (Ken Onion, Brian Tighe). Or in the case of the hijinx, it's made by Lionsteel. Collaborations are the big thing these days though.
 
It's completely impractical for me, but I really like the Heiho that came as a bonus with another knife I purchased here. Even though the liner is advanced to almost 100%, it's rock solid in every direction and just looks so cool. I would say it's built well too. Not even sure of the steel but it may be Chinese.
 
crom said:
It's completely impractical for me, but I really like the Heiho that came as a bonus with another knife I purchased here. Even though the liner is advanced to almost 100%, it's rock solid in every direction and just looks so cool. I would say it's built well too. Not even sure of the steel but it may be Chinese.
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It is a cool little folder. I would carry it more if it were bigger like the hissatsu folder. I belive the earlier versions were Aus8 but I think the current one is 8CR which is fine since it is priced accordingly. I picked mine up at a local big box home improvement store for about $30.
 
craytab said:
I'll just reiterate what I have said in all the other CRKT threads (yes, there are many). CRKT comes out with some interesting designs. That said, they are plagued with Quality control, fit and finish, and pricing issues. Just some examples of good design though but poor execution: Mah Eraser is one of the best flipers I have ever handled but the liner lock was way too thin and there are many examples of it wearing in all the way over in far too little time. Hissatsu Folder was great but many examples are almost impossible to open with the torsion bar installed though once removed it was a fantastically smooth manual knife. Hissatsu and Shinbu are plagued by high price and poor sheaths. Dragon fixed blade was far below acceptable fit and finish and the sheath was terrible. The current KISS is way over priced for the materials they use. You can by the same knife branded by the Chinese manufacturers that make it for half the cost. The Kiss I have and used daily for about 4 years has developed horrible play that cannot be adjusted out. The Folts minimalist I had was a good little fixed blade. I little small for my taste and the steel is subpar though it is priced faily I believe. These are just a few I have had direct experience with.

I have not held a fossil but I cannot justify the price they ask for it because it is 8cr Chinese made. If it were $20 less, I would own one. Also have seen a couple lock bars snap.

There are certainly some good knives CRKT make. The Heiho is what the Hissatsu folder should be. It actually opens as it was designed to. I have an older Apache folder and it is one nice knife with a quality steel. Of course it has been discontinued for a while but it does show that if CRKT wants to produce a quality offering with decent materials they can. Some of the knew offerings they have this year look promising but the street price is again far too high especially given the reputation for questionable fit/finish and QC. Until this new stuff has been on the street for a while and there are a number of reviews and if the street price lowers I will be staying away.
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What do you think of Otanashi noh Ken? Just wondering since you mentioned all the other folders in that series.
 
jac_solar said:
What do you think of Otanashi noh Ken? Just wondering since you mentioned all the other folders in that series.
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I don't have one. It looks like a good knife. The reviews have been good. That said, I still run into the same issues I mention above. I worry about fit/finish and QC. It is also not a cheap knife. I know $75 (lowest I could find it) is not a ton of money but if you look at what you can get from other companies for that price, it doesn't look like that good of a deal. Plus, you are not that far from the $100 mark which really opens up the options. $75 for foreign produced Aus8 from a company with a history of issues, some in the very line of knives that this one is from and I have experience. It is a tough sell. For about $15 more I got a SOG Spec Elite II slightly used. This knife has much more bang for your buck. Arc lock and VG-10 just to name a few.

All that said, If I found a good deal on one I would try it out. Also, there is another folder and fixed blade coming out in the series for 2015. The Shizuka Noh Ken and the Yukanto. They look cool but once again it will come down to Fit/finish & QC reviews, and street price that will determine if I give them a try or not. Also, the sheath on the fixed blade. I found the Shinbu sheath lacking and in need of serious modding to get it to perform the way it should have. The Hissatsu fixed had the same sheath issues. I didn't mod it I just sold it. A great knife can be ruined by a crappy sheath.
 
K.O.D. said:
Yes, they do win design awards, but most of those are designs collaborated and based off of custom makers knives (Ken Onion, Brian Tighe). Or in the case of the hijinx, it's made by Lionsteel. Collaborations are the big thing these days though.
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True that. And anyone who makes collab knives with designers like Onion and Tighe and sources them through manufacturers like Lionsteel deserves my attention. CRKT just seems to be a company that requires a lot more cherry-picking than most.
 
craytab said:
I don't have one. It looks like a good knife. The reviews have been good. That said, I still run into the same issues I mention above. I worry about fit/finish and QC. It is also not a cheap knife. I know $75 (lowest I could find it) is not a ton of money but if you look at what you can get from other companies for that price, it doesn't look like that good of a deal. Plus, you are not that far from the $100 mark which really opens up the options. $75 for foreign produced Aus8 from a company with a history of issues, some in the very line of knives that this one is from and I have experience. It is a tough sell. For about $15 more I got a SOG Spec Elite II slightly used. This knife has much more bang for your buck. Arc lock and VG-10 just to name a few.

All that said, If I found a good deal on one I would try it out. Also, there is another folder and fixed blade coming out in the series for 2015. The Shizuka Noh Ken and the Yukanto. They look cool but once again it will come down to Fit/finish & QC reviews, and street price that will determine if I give them a try or not. Also, the sheath on the fixed blade. I found the Shinbu sheath lacking and in need of serious modding to get it to perform the way it should have. The Hissatsu fixed had the same sheath issues. I didn't mod it I just sold it. A great knife can be ruined by a crappy sheath.
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Piggybacking on what Cray was talking about, I held the Otanashi at a knife shop near me (well, a milsurp shop that has a knife counter). First of all, the knife is HUGE. The handle, when held in my hand (I wear an XL glove) had real estate sticking out of both ends of my fist. The scales were very Emerson-like in their rough finish. The grinds were nice on that huge oddly ground "super tanto" blade. It was very 2005 tacticool feeling, and not really smooth or modern feeling. It was difficult to open, which on a super long blade like that is tough because it really contrasts to the Spyderco Resilience, which is a Chinese Spyderco that has really nice fit and finish. The Spydie-hole is a much better opening agent on a blade this size.

They also had these two other CRKTs that had one of the most stupid and most dangerous "features" I've seen. There were these two assist-open knives, that in order for you to open them, you had to press IN on the thumbstud to undo some stupid lock, and then, still applying pressure to the thumbstud, you swing out, and the assist open fires. It fires HARD, and if you aren't VERY careful, you'll rake the very bottom of the cutting edge against the palm of your hand, like I almost did right there in the store. Even the employee was like "Yeah, this is really stupid and we haven't sold a single one of these."

CRKT, go home, you're drunk.
 
POCEH KOCEB said:
Ha ha ha... I knew someone will notice the jewel between all the "junk"... :D
This was a knife I got for a friend of mine, I took the picture just before I shipped it to Europe.
It's a classic Spydie, a Tim Wegner C48 with ATS 34 blade ( http://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtopic.php?t=58036&p=824592 ) Beautiful knife, sold again by the guy I sent it to...
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LOL of course! However, to be fair, it wasn't the only jewel in the pic! Your completely custom creation is in the pic too (purposely vague to screw with anyone who might know which one it is LOL) :thumbup:
 
I have an endorser, assisted open, that snaps out faster than any knife I own. I don't really love the design, but it is fun to play with.
 
Quiet said:
...I held the Otanashi... The handle, when held in my hand (I wear an XL glove) had real estate sticking out of both ends of my fist. The scales were very Emerson-like in their rough finish. The grinds were nice on that huge oddly ground "super tanto" blade. It was very 2005 tacticool feeling, and not really smooth or modern feeling. It was difficult to open...
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I own all three of them, the Otanashi, the Hissatsu and the Heiho.
I can share most of what you're saying about the Otanashi, but my hands are big and I find the handle just comfortable, even little bit on the larger site.
Pros (IMHO): Flat, deep pocket clip, very easy to carri for me, it dissapears in my pocket and I have no problem siting in the car or any discomfort caused by carrying it. Better than the Hissatsu.
fhsz.jpg


Long blade. Reaching further. They have a video with Mr Williams punching trough a penny, I find it kind of cheesy, but it is easily done, not only with penny.
Blade geometry allows very easy penetration. Sometimes, I hit a roll with old carpet to see how hard I should hold the knife in order not to have my arm moving towards the blade, this thing requires almost no force to get into the tight roll of carpet almost to the ricasso, pulls out very easy, leaves relatively wide hole because of the thickness of the blade.
Something some how important to me, because I like unification as a general principal: If you put site by site all three of those, you will noticed that the area where your index finger is positioned are almost identical.
If you are used to work with the Heiho, it is very easy to jump on the Otanashi. This is normal, all those proportions are normal to be relatively the same but it was nice to see them so close to each other in those three knives.

onk02.jpg





Cons: Not a great slicer. Understandable why.
It was really tight right out of the box. Disassembled, washers polished, cleaned and lubed, SOP with most new knifes and pistols, made it open really nicely but if you open it a lot and flip the wrist hard ( which I don't like to do at all), normal for such big blade, it will develop a side play, the screw is coming undone. Nothing that little blue Loctite wouldn't fix but I have to mention it.

I like it, I can't call it "tacticool" but I also don't carry it as much as the Heiho, probably the most practical piece of all those three...
 
Quiet said:
LOL of course! However, to be fair, it wasn't the only jewel in the pic! Your completely custom creation is in the pic too (purposely vague to screw with anyone who might know which one it is LOL) :thumbup:
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I know... I was kidding about the "junk"... I love most of the knives on this picture, I rotate most of them on a weekly bases, lately I carry two or even three of them, I must be going nuts or have too much time on my hands... :D
That "custom thing" turned out to be a workhorse, seriously... The "donor" frame is outstanding, just as the original. Little bit off topic again, but I can't wait to see Coster's and Top's BOB folders, they will be a real competition if get in to "it's" price range.
 
POCEH KOCEB said:
I know... I was kidding about the "junk"... I love most of the knives on this picture, I rotate most of them on a weekly bases, lately I carry two or even three of them, I must be going nuts or have too much time on my hands... :D
That "custom thing" turned out to be a workhorse, seriously... The "donor" frame is outstanding, just as the original. Little bit off topic again, but I can't wait to see Coster's and Top's BOB folders, they will be a real competition if get in to "it's" price range.
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DUDE. I will buy that when it comes out. Absolutely. I didn't know anything about it until you just mentioned it. A quick-kick of Googlefu and the pics are very pleasing! Looks very Dozierish, All of the YTers I follow ALL had like, a whole week of SHOT coverage, and I just didn't watch much of it. Man, I gotta go see if I can find a vid on it.

I'm not surprised to hear your FrankenRat is performing well, it had good bones!
 
Quiet said:
DUDE. I will buy that when it comes out. Absolutely. I didn't know anything about it until you just mentioned it. A quick-kick of Googlefu and the pics are very pleasing! Looks very Dozierish, All of the YTers I follow ALL had like, a whole week of SHOT coverage, and I just didn't watch much of it. Man, I gotta go see if I can find a vid on it.

I'm not surprised to hear your FrankenRat is performing well, it had good bones!
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Sadly, I was too busy to make it to the SHOT this year, even I had press pass again... Of course, by the Murphy's law, all those interesting models popped out... :D
I like to see the BOB folder, Coster's will be great piece but I don't think it'll be anywhere near to the "muroidea's" price, which is understandable...
Thanks for the request man, cheers !
az.gif
 
POCEH KOCEB said:
A "bottle opener"... :D It's a custom made Ontario Rat1, M390 steel, CF scales, blade is sort of my design but it's very obvious where the influence came from...
It was supposed to have a thumb disk where the actual wave is, but the steel was too hard to work with and we left it for another project...

https://imageshack.com/a/gpOq/1

KmEKTg.jpg


Sorry for the off-topic.
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POCEH KOCEB said:
True. But this is not the only CRKT model with pleasant for the eye design... :D

L0P2nS.jpg
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...and this picture just motivated my latest purchase.

I have a few CRKT's. As long as you understand exactly what you're getting, you are fine. Lower quality, but typically appropriate pricing, with a diamond in the rough every once in a while.
 
I've seen CRKTs at Gander Mountain, but I've never even held one. I just sort of skipped over the brand all together. Did the Gerbers, then to Kershaw, then to Spyderco and Benchmade. I did buy a Zancudo recently, but only because it triggered free shipping and was red. But I essentially only buy BM and Spyderco now. I am not against branching out, however, I'm terribly picky and haven't seen anything I must have. :D
 
Personally they don't have much that appeals to me. The ones I've held felt cheap. I'd take an frn spydie over most crkt knives in a heartbeat
 
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