DarkOps Knives and Trident/Crusader Forge Knives...

S

skippz

Joined
Feb 12, 2006
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I'm diggin the knives on Crusader Forge... I've heard a lot of ppl on here say they make tank-tough folders, but haven't heard anyone talk about the fixed blades they make, which is what I'm in the market for... Anyone have any experience w/ these, the fixed blades that is?

As far as Dark Ops go, to me (and I've never used or held one) they seem like more of a show knife... I could be wrong, they almost look like a extrema ratio knockoff... but I did hear someone say they were what used to be MOD knives which I loved before blackhawk bought them out and has china make all the stuff now. Anyone got any feedback on Dark Ops?

Any and all help/criticism will be much obliged...
thanks guys.
 
skippz said:
I'm diggin the knives on Crusader Forge... I've heard a lot of ppl on here say they make tank-tough folders, but haven't heard anyone talk about the fixed blades they make, which is what I'm in the market for... Anyone have any experience w/ these, the fixed blades that is?

As far as Dark Ops go, to me (and I've never used or held one) they seem like more of a show knife... I could be wrong, they almost look like a extrema ratio knockoff... but I did hear someone say they were what used to be MOD knives which I loved before blackhawk bought them out and has china make all the stuff now. Anyone got any feedback on Dark Ops?

Any and all help/criticism will be much obliged...
thanks guys.
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I've no experience with Crusader Forge stuff, other than hearing that their stuff is bombproof.

Dark Ops is commonly referred to as Dork Ops among certain knife folk, so yeah, I'd say you're spot on with your initial impression of them.
 
I have the crusader forge wounded warrior limited edition TCFM 03 sitting right in front of me as i read your thread, sorry for the crappy iphone photos, but they were spontaneous.
I have to say the fit and finish of these knives is insane. The grinds on the blades are second to none. The tip of the blade is down right scary.
 

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thanks a lot guys... I have been eyeballing the crusaderforge for a few weeks now. Even w/ those Iphone photos the blade is still beautiful... How does the handle on those feel? the design of them look blockie but I suppose there is some purpose behind them.
 
The handle grip is fantastic. it has almost a step like two finger choil which at first was a different feel but i really like it and feels comfortable. Its 1/4 inch stock but not overly bulky because its built for the most extreme tasks. i honestly love it and it is very worth the money.
 
skippz check the tread i posted this morning on c.f.. the reports i've seen on c.f. straights are very positive. the dark ops knives never appealed to me because some of the design aspects are ridiculous .any combat vetern will tell you the agressive teeth on top of blades are self defeating. i remember that viet nam marines that actually used knives in combat with big saw teeth on tops of blades had to resort to shooting the tissue away blades stuck in bodies. we have some real combat xperts on the forum & i would be surprised if they actually thought the sawtooth backs on blades were of any advantage.--dennis
 
DennisStrickland said:
skippz check the tread i posted this morning on c.f.. the reports i've seen on c.f. straights are very positive. the dark ops knives never appealed to me because some of the design aspects are ridiculous .any combat vetern will tell you the agressive teeth on top of blades are self defeating. i remember that viet nam marines that actually used knives in combat with big saw teeth on tops of blades had to resort to shooting the tissue away blades stuck in bodies. we have some real combat xperts on the forum & i would be surprised if they actually thought the sawtooth backs on blades were of any advantage.--dennis
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I tried the CF forum but its in a different language and I couldn't locate your name to find your thread...
Thanks for the help everyone!
 
DarkOps, I think, is going for that "over the top" type feel.

I am going to call BS on the whole "not being able to pull out the knife because the saw teeth got stuck in the flesh" deal. Ridiculous.
 
Makoto said:
DarkOps, I think, is going for that "over the top" type feel.

I am going to call BS on the whole "not being able to pull out the knife because the saw teeth got stuck in the flesh" deal. Ridiculous.
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What has your experience been on the matter? Please share.
 
dork ops is indeed a rip off of extrema ratio, i believe dork was founded by a former U.S. distributor of extrema ratio.

crusader forge, now they dont mess around at all. i hope to get one of their folders someday,
 
Someone actually put Dark Ops and Crusader Forge in the same thread? That's like comparing apples to oranges.
 
I have no experience with crusader forge although I would like to get one of their folders.

As far as Dark Ops goes im going to give a non biased, no b.s. assement on the blades. We all know about their marketing but no one ever talks about how the knives actually are. I own a Stratofighter Stilleto and the vendetta. One of my co-workers has a Stratofighter folder as well. The knives came relativly dull especially on the vendetta. The sheath for the Vendetta is very bulky and pretty much a POS. The finish work off quickly on some spots from drawing the knife. I sharpened it up on a sharpmaker and it is now holding a very nice edge. I bought that knife more as a collectors piece, it just looks different. It is not the niceset fit and finish (should have rounded all the edges). The stilleto is a tank. It too came dull but it sarpened up well. With alot of use there is still 0 blade play. But now, I usually never carry it because it is so big. It will tear up your pockets because the clip is tight and it has a skateboard tape material under it. But my overall opinion on it is that its a big ass blade, its strong, its now sharp and its unique. I tend to like bigger knives (SMF, ZT's ect) but this one is a bit to large and bulky. For street defense your pretty much screwed if you use it because there is no reason to carry that knife on you as a civillian. It doesnt look like a tool, as it wasnt intended to be used like one If you are in the military and you want a knife you probably wont buy this because its heavy. You could just buy a nice fixed blades that are cheaper and lighter (and faster to deploy). But if you want a strong and unique knife and you think you might get use out of it then go for it. Its not a bad knife at all and I personally like mine quite a bit. So thumbs up on the folders and thumbs down on the vendetta.

Just my experience. I wanted to get that out there. Hopefully no one is immature about this post. All im trying to do is inform my fellow knife collectors.
 
in reply to my comment about the sawbacks being stuck in flesh--i do'nt b.s. i finished my marine corps tour in 1963 & followed that war fairly close since i was in calif. at time & saw the protests. the knife info filtered down from comments of vets in the 70s that had been there. most of you are too young & removed from the wars to have much info. being born in 39 i received tons of info from the korean fiasco thru the vietnam fiasco. my biggest regret was the 63000 men whom died in vietnam because of the polititians that ran the war . the boys should have stayed home & if we were going to do that war we should have mined haiphong harbor along from day one.--dennis
 
Dennis - thanks for serving - I appreciate it.

To the OP - I had a CF "FIFP" folder in my possession for a short time - I got it second hand from another forum member - it was a beast.

Very well made folding knife and extreme in every dimension. The blade was very thick, and doing any real cutting, especially delicate, was difficult with that model.

Honestly - I don't think it was designed to be a cutter. The one I had was truly a sharpened prybar.

I've never owned a Dark Ops knife, nor have I ever had the motivation to want to. If you picked up a Crusader Forge and didn't like it, I'm pretty sure you could sell it on the Exchange and get most of your money back.
 
Makoto said:
I dunno. Call it a hunch.
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I hear you. just because some one said it doesn't mean its true. Sentry removal isn't a deciding factor for me when choosing a knife. And shooting to get your knife unstuck lmao! Just shoot in the first place. I saw some statistics somewhere (have to search) where if a knives were way way way more likely to be used on fellow service members than the enemy.
 
I would love to get a Crusader Forge FIFP EX. I have read some good things about the brand as a whole....

As far as Dark ops, I wouldn't touch them. I am already a ER junky, and am not really down with the black ops "mantra". They may be quality blades though, Just not for me. I'll stay with the "real" thing ;) .

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