folding karambit help

S

Slowski

Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Messages
1
Hi all,
new to the forum and new to karambit blades.
looking to get some insight on folders, have been considering the fox 479 and the cold steel tiger claw. I love the emerson wave opening of the fox, however the tri ad locking mechanism of the cold steel folder is also very attractive. looking for some input for those who have handled both blades regarding deployment, size/feel int he hand and pocket etc. any input really is helpful.
Also for those who have experience with the fox blades, I've been told the fox 479 is very large in the hand compared to the smaller 599. Wondering if the difference is negligible ?
also have read on previous posts that some have had poor customer service with fox blades?

thanks in advance
 
I have both - so here’s my input:

The Cold Steel Tiger Claw is huge. The blade is twice the size of the Fox. It’s also significantly larger than my Emerson and Spyderco karambits. Tiger Claw is very hard to open and close.

The Fox 479 has a large handle but a “standard” size blade. The handle is equivalent to the Tiger Claw but the blade is much smaller. Again - the Cold Steel blade is very large.

The Fox 599 is comparable to the Emerson or Spyderco in size. The Wave action opens the knife with ease but it’s hard to open by other means. The blade is close to the 479 but the handle is smaller.

Conclusion: i don’t consider my Cold Steel Tiger Claw to be practical and I never use it. It’s just too damn big. Plus it’s a bear to open and close. Go with the Fox 479 if you have really large hands. The 599 is a good size for most people and it has the Wave feature. It would be my recommendation if you don’t have huge mitts.

If you are a bigger is better guy go Cold Steel.

Have you looked at the Spyderco Karahawk? I think it’s a much better knife and the costs are close to the Foxes. It’s at least something to consider. It also has the Emerson Wave.

FYI - The Emerson karambit is great but it will cost $200 more and it’s not twice as good as the Spyderco or Fox.

BTW - people laugh at my Tiger Claw when they see it in my display row of Karambits.
It kind of looks like a toy.
 
Slowski said:
Hi all,
new to the forum and new to karambit blades.
looking to get some insight on folders, have been considering the fox 479 and the cold steel tiger claw. I love the emerson wave opening of the fox, however the tri ad locking mechanism of the cold steel folder is also very attractive. looking for some input for those who have handled both blades regarding deployment, size/feel int he hand and pocket etc. any input really is helpful.
Also for those who have experience with the fox blades, I've been told the fox 479 is very large in the hand compared to the smaller 599. Wondering if the difference is negligible ?
also have read on previous posts that some have had poor customer service with fox blades?

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

That thumb plate on the Cold Steel Tiger claw can be used as a wave too actually.

Some other karambits to consider are the Spyderco Karahawk which also has a wave but is super slim and comfortable to carry.

Also the Fox Black Bird designed by Bastinelli is imho better than the other fox Karambit. The fox 479 has had lockup issues I have heard from several people. (Not sure if this has been fixed) Also check out the Fox Mako folder for a karambitlike knife with a straight blade.
 
Hey. I know you were asking for comparisons not suggestions but I think you should also check out the Boker Plus Wildcat karambit.

I have about a dozen of this type of knife and the Boker is by far the most fun to play around with. The action is impressive.

I’m not really a fan of Boker, CRKT, etc. but this is really a good knife based on my experience. Looks cool too and it costs just over $100.
 
porkchop3583 said:
Take a look at the new CRKT Provoke. I got to get one just because.
Click to expand...

I sure hope they don't booger it up. Retail of $199.99 is right at MSRP from the places that are offering preorders. BladeHQ is expecting to ship next week. Awful hard to swallow $200 for a CRKT when my Kickstarter version by Millit was only $450.
 
I hadn’t seen that Cold Steel Tiger Claw before. It looks a bit like it’s made for a person with six fingers on each hand.
 
madcap_magician said:
I sure hope they don't booger it up. Retail of $199.99 is right at MSRP from the places that are offering preorders. BladeHQ is expecting to ship next week. Awful hard to swallow $200 for a CRKT when my Kickstarter version by Millit was only $450.
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Is the caswell version still available? I would rather get that than a CRKT.. even though I have good knives from them. I would rather get he original.
The bad thing is I have not had good luck with my made to order knives.
I am still waiting for 2 knives that I ordered from 2 different makers that I paid $570 for one and $450 for the other.. That was in 2013
 
porkchop3583 said:
Is the caswell version still available? I would rather get that than a CRKT.. even though I have good knives from them. I would rather get he original.
The bad thing is I have not had good luck with my made to order knives.
I am still waiting for 2 knives that I ordered from 2 different makers that I paid $570 for one and $450 for the other.. That was in 2013
Click to expand...

Nope, the Caswell Kickstarter ended in April of last year. Original due date was October 2018, but in October they redid the fasteners, which were individually in spec but some were out of spec when all the tolerances between interlocking parts were added up. Then in November, the contractor who was supposed to Type 3 hard anodize all the aluminum parts goofed the first 400 frames and Type 2 anodized them instead, so they got sent back to Millit to be re-prepped for anodizing and then sent to a new vendor, where I think the frames are right now. Millit is ready to begin assembly and shipment of the knives back to Joe Caswell as soon as the correctly-anodized parts arrive.

Kickstarter price was $450, but retail will be $650 if he does another Millit run. None have been delivered yet. I'm thinking if there aren't any further big delays, I will probably see mine in the middle of next month or end of next month. Millit will do assembly and shipping in lots of 100. I'm backer 298, so I think I will probably be in the third batch once you account for multi-knife orders.
 
madcap_magician said:
Nope, the Caswell Kickstarter ended in April of last year. Original due date was October 2018, but in October they redid the fasteners, which were individually in spec but some were out of spec when all the tolerances between interlocking parts were added up. Then in November, the contractor who was supposed to Type 3 hard anodize all the aluminum parts goofed the first 400 frames and Type 2 anodized them instead, so they got sent back to Millit to be re-prepped for anodizing and then sent to a new vendor, where I think the frames are right now. Millit is ready to begin assembly and shipment of the knives back to Joe Caswell as soon as the correctly-anodized parts arrive.

Kickstarter price was $450, but retail will be $650 if he does another Millit run. None have been delivered yet. I'm thinking if there aren't any further big delays, I will probably see mine in the middle of next month or end of next month. Millit will do assembly and shipping in lots of 100. I'm backer 298, so I think I will probably be in the third batch once you account for multi-knife orders.
Click to expand...

Release of the CRKT version called the Provoke is expected next week around 1/18 and none of the "real" Morphing Caswells have been delivered yet?

Well, it would really piss me off if paid for $450 for one last year and could get the Provoke now for less than 1/2 the price, especially if part of the reason for the delay is time spent on the development of the Provoke instead.

Not saying that this is THE reason for the delay but it is not unreasonable to suspect that it may have contributed to the problem in some way.
 
sgt1372 said:
Release of the CRKT version called the Provoke is expected next week around 1/18 and none of the "real" Morphing Caswells have been delivered yet?

Well, it would really piss me off if paid for $450 for one last year and could get the Provoke now for less than 1/2 the price, especially if part of the reason for the delay is time spent on the development of the Provoke instead.

Not saying that this is THE reason for the delay but it is not unreasonable to suspect that it may have contributed to the problem in some way.
Click to expand...

I don't think it did. The design has been final for more than a year. Probably went to CRKT and Millit at the same time, but CRKT has more bandwidth. It does bother me a little bit that I might be able to get a Provoke in hand before I can get my Kickstarter knives, but I'm thinking the quality will be markedly different, and I certainly don't regret funding the Kickstarter.
 
I had a fox 479 for a while and it was a solid knife. I liked it more than my emerson karambit. The handle on the 479 is pretty big but not unwieldy by any means.
 
The Tiger Claw has already received a bit of criticism, and I am just going to double down on it. It is a terrible design for a karambit, the handle is too large to actually use the ring unless you want to have an inch of handle between you and the blade. It is more of a ring-handled hawkbill than a karambit. The thumb plate also did not wave the blade open as reliably as I would like. But if you scoop out the blade a bit under the thumb plate and cut off that absurd ring, it's a great hawkbill. For a karambit, I am saving my spare change and banking karma with my wife to get a Provoke in wharncliffe if they come out, or hawkbill if they don't.
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