Jim March
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 7, 1998
- Messages
- 3,018
Background: CRKT has been trying to produce reasonably priced defensive daily carry folders for a while now. Their KFF has been widely available at around $45 at discount.
It's a good piece, but the lockwork is a bit hinky; it's a production linerlock with all the inherent reliability issues therein, but it has a manually-engaged secondary safety that does raise reliability, but it's a second manual operation to engage - there may not be time to do so in a sudden violent encounter, you may not have the concentration to spare to nail a 1/8th" across lever, and the switch position is activated by the thumb in a place radically different from where the thumb needs to end up in any typical Asian-derived final grip.
CRKT has just released a new knife that may partially address these concerns, and was built with definate FMA influences right from the get-go by a good designer, Steve Ryan of "BioHazard" fame, one of the wildest megafolders ever made
.
It's called the Seven:
http://www.crkt.com/ryansevn.html
One of the ways a linerlock can fail is that "white knuckling" as you hold the knife can send your finger flesh down into the liner release and accidently operate it. Ryan's usual answer to the "white knuckle problem" is to design the grip and lock release such that the forefinger is naturally the heck away from the release. I've held other Ryans that worked this way and judging purely by the pic, that's what's happening here.
The list price on these is $60 - considering that the KFF lists at $65, we can expect to see the Seven "on the street" down at the KFF's usual price if not lower.
I'd be curious to see a review by a serious FMA player (which isn't me!). Granted, it's still a low-end knife with a 3.5" blade, but most of us have friends who don't carry anything at all and if these things work, they're cheap enough to hand out free and get them *something*
. I know I've handed out six free pieces of various types over the last...lesse, four years now, and two have been drawn against muggers so far
! Tells you something about my neighborhood...
Jim
It's a good piece, but the lockwork is a bit hinky; it's a production linerlock with all the inherent reliability issues therein, but it has a manually-engaged secondary safety that does raise reliability, but it's a second manual operation to engage - there may not be time to do so in a sudden violent encounter, you may not have the concentration to spare to nail a 1/8th" across lever, and the switch position is activated by the thumb in a place radically different from where the thumb needs to end up in any typical Asian-derived final grip.
CRKT has just released a new knife that may partially address these concerns, and was built with definate FMA influences right from the get-go by a good designer, Steve Ryan of "BioHazard" fame, one of the wildest megafolders ever made
It's called the Seven:
http://www.crkt.com/ryansevn.html
One of the ways a linerlock can fail is that "white knuckling" as you hold the knife can send your finger flesh down into the liner release and accidently operate it. Ryan's usual answer to the "white knuckle problem" is to design the grip and lock release such that the forefinger is naturally the heck away from the release. I've held other Ryans that worked this way and judging purely by the pic, that's what's happening here.
The list price on these is $60 - considering that the KFF lists at $65, we can expect to see the Seven "on the street" down at the KFF's usual price if not lower.
I'd be curious to see a review by a serious FMA player (which isn't me!). Granted, it's still a low-end knife with a 3.5" blade, but most of us have friends who don't carry anything at all and if these things work, they're cheap enough to hand out free and get them *something*
Jim
