Eye candy: Carson Tech EVO

jstn

jstn

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Jun 27, 2012
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I thought some might be interested to see some impressions on a cool knife that received recently. The knife is made by a guy in China named Carson, and he has a website called Carson Tech Labs.

Anyway, I saw this knife a while back on bladeforums and have wanted one ever since, so I tried contacting Carson. I wound up communicating with a man named Andrew who lives in Russia and helps Carson distribute his knives. I was admittedly a little nervous about buying an expensive knife from overseas, but I gave it a shot and Andrew turned out to be a super nice and helpful guy and took care of everything for me. Now on to the knife:

It is truly a BEAST. Titanium handles and a RWL34 blade steel, which I understand is similar to CPM 154 (corrections are welcome of I'm wrong on that). The knife is roughly the size of an SMF but thicker. Everything about it is overbuilt to the max! The handles are DLC coated, and the blade looks to be acid etched.

What really drew me to the knife was its interesting and unique features. I wanted to try out a steel lockbar insert, and this has a thick one. The lock bar cutout is pretty cool too. But I really like the framelock/button lock combo. You disengage the framelock with the button, and when you put the safety on, it pretty much turns into the closest thing a folder can get to a fixed blade. The fit and finish is excellent and it is just a really nice blade.

I likely won't EDC the knife since it is massive and I'm only 150 lbs, but I will take it out to the woods with me. I have only carried it one day, but I am really glad I made the purchase so far. I will try and update after some use. I know some don't advocate buying knives from China, but I really value quality and innovation and this knife has both so I am extremely satisfied.
 

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That is definately a sweet looking knife! What kind of monies does that run, if you don't mind me asking? The button actuated frame lock is a really cool twist, how well does it work? Well, now my want list is one knife longer...
 
The knife was $760 so not cheap, but I believe some of that is due to all the shipping costs. But I suppose there are quite a few customs out there that cost the same or more, and even some midtechs, and you are getting a hunk of well-put-together steel and Ti! The button/framelock works great! It is nice to not have your finger in the way of the closing blade and you can just press the button and swing the blade shut one handed.

And don't kid yourself, if you didn't see this there would always be something else to lengthen that want list :D
 
These are made by a guy in China? The website says they're in California... I'm confused.
 
xjzhx said:
These are made by a guy in China? The website says they're in California... I'm confused.
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To put it mildly. The knife looks nice, there is no doubt about it. Appears to be an original design which is good. But, how do you know the steel is what is claimed? $760 is a bit too much money for me to "give it a shot". I'd rather spend that money on a custom maker in the states that has a solid reputation. Just my thoughts. So you won't carry the knife as it was intended to be, because you weight 150lbs? How heavy is that damn thing anyway? Come on, that's just silly.
 
I have issues with any folder over $500 that isn't GOLD. All Ti frame locks are almost the same.. Sure maybe differnt bearing system here, a few more hours of hand sanding a blade, or taking the time to mill it some.. and over $1000? You are paying that just to be able to say "I paid $1k for this knife! Check it out.."

Lately it seems people are really trying to squeeze $ out of their purchases by turning around and doubling the price on some customs.. whatever though! Enjoy it and have fun! That's what it's all about :)
 
RevDevil said:
To put it mildly. The knife looks nice, there is no doubt about it. Appears to be an original design which is good. But, how do you know the steel is what is claimed? $760 is a bit too much money for me to "give it a shot". I'd rather spend that money on a custom maker in the states that has a solid reputation. Just my thoughts. So you won't carry the knife as it was intended to be, because you weight 150lbs? How heavy is that damn thing anyway? Come on, that's just silly.
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I gotta agree with the Rev. And now, I mean this as respectfully as possible, but a red flag always raises in my head when I see China. There are definitely exceptions to this but for the most part. And as Rev said, there are a lot of variables here that are a bit in the grey area to really justify that kind of price tag. But OP, it's your money man. And if you're happy with the product then that's awesome. Put some good use on it and give us a solid review. There's my .02.
 
That lockbar shape seems troublesome to me. I understand wanting to add visual appeal and even machining for the sake of strutting your craft, but that looks like it creates a snag point when pulling the knife from the pocket.

I hope it's a great knife and you like it.
 
Price and unknown materials aside, I'm VERY pleased to see something original out of China. I hope they keep this up; if they start rolling out original designs like this, I may just lift my anti crappy Chinese knife attitude.

Please keep us posted about use, durability, etc..!
 
I understand all the input on the unknown materials etc. To be clear, I have tons of knives, plenty of customs and I get bored. This was bought with disposable income. I had come to a point in my collecting where I was losing interest and this one caught my eye, simple as that. I am going to put it through some use and see if the materials and design pan out, and if not oh well. I really just love knives and like to try new stuff. I do appreciate all the input for and against this purchase. There are a bunch of knowledgeable people on this forums and I enjoy reading your input. I knew I was taking a big gamble here so my expectations are realistic. And for me at least, if I need any real work done I use a fixed blade. Folders interest me more for the engineering and design innovation.

And Revdevil, I will carry it, just not daily. It's too big for work, I only carry smallish knives to work such as a small Sebenza, etc. This will get lots of weekend carry though. I will post up how it performs; I have a few knives in CPM 154 so we will see how this compares.
 
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I, for one, would love for you to do a follow-up review on this knife. One month or so would be great. I really like the look of it and seems to be solid. A custom knife is still "a custom" no matter where it was born. Thanks for posting this for us to check out. Remember, follow-up with us, please.
 
I was set to order one but the whole Chinese thing made me a bit nervous. Just too much money for me to risk it. They start making their way stateside and build a good reputation, then I might reconsider in a year or two.
 
wwells20, I will definitely put up a one month review. Taking it out hiking to day to give some use!

Longtrang, I felt the same way, and only time will tell. My fingers are crossed that it was a good decision. I got the impression that the maker wants to build his reputation. I was told the knife has be to inspected 10 times before shipment. Hopefully it is worth it, aI'll keep you guys posted.
 
There are several of us on here that have ordered from Carson and everything has been smooth. I picked up one of the Granite integrals and will have an EVO soon.

jstn, can't wait to get mine .
 
Oh come on. Carry it! I'm 165 and carry a half-pound Benchmade Adamas every single day!
Why spend so much just to be scared to carry it!!??
 
bladeboss said:
Oh come on. Carry it! I'm 165 and carry a half-pound Benchmade Adamas every single day!
Why spend so much just to be scared to carry it!!??
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Oh I will carry it, but I teach high school I can't carry it to work, no knives on school grounds, although I do conceal something small in my pocket. My carry time will evenings and weekends!
 
ceptor781 said:
There are several of us on here that have ordered from Carson and everything has been smooth. I picked up one of the Granite integrals and will have an EVO soon.

jstn, can't wait to get mine .
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captor, I have you to thank for the emails about your good experience with Carson and that convinced me to pull the trigger. You will love your EVO, it is a tank. Please post up some pics when it comes in! I may need a Granite now too...
 
Jstn, I know what you mean on knives in the workplace. It's always a gamble with anything other than a smallish traditional or Victorinox of some kind. People love freaking out when they see a knife pulled out and used to cut something. I'm interested in reading more about this knife as you get to use and spend time with it. Congrats again.
 
Regarding Carson Technology Laboratory (CTL):

I have researched this maker/brand/group about a few months ago, and from a high level view, it is legitimate.
During the research, I viewed various Chinese-run knife forums. The members on those forums dislike cheapos, copies, and counterfeits just as much as we do, but the posts about CTL are all positive. (FYI, I can read Chinese, so my interpretations are not based on poorly Google-Translated text)

I believe CTL is truthfully disclosing the materials used. I have heard some say something along the lines of "If the counterfeiters are dishonest enough to steal designs, you really shouldn't trust what they claim the materials to be." Since CTL makes an effort to use original designs, the opposite of that saying is just as valid.
Honestly, all it takes is one schmuck in an engineering facility who has access to a PMI/XRF and an extended lunch hour to figure out the actual materials used and either make or break CTL's credibility. With the current asking price and target market, it is not worth it for them to misinform the customers.

Overall, it looks like CTL is trying to improve the "Chinese made" reputation within the knife community. It will be a long, uphill battle just like it was with the Japanese quality reputation, but I am confident that significant progress will be made. Personally, I will not buy the Evo because 1) I am past my hard-use-beefy-as-heck-folder phase, and 2) I don't have the money set aside. I do plan on trying out CTL in the future, more specifically the Granite model.
 
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