I am going to give CRKT a try again.

I purchased many CRKT knives in the ‘90’s. A few were so-so, but most were pretty nice. Recently I’ve purchased a Pilar, LCK and a Bev-Edge and I like them all.

Jeff
 
So I just looked this knife up and see nothing saying it is made by LionSteel and multiple places listing the country as Taiwan so I don't think this is a LionSteel co-production like many past high dollar CRKTs. I would also point that I have never seen LionSteel use this blade steel so it adds to my belief this is a high dollar Taiwanese knife much like some of Spyderco's knives that are made in Taiwan.
 
I started my knife journey with a CRKT M16-04Z and I still own that knife. I do buy their cheaper knives because they are cheap, and fit a perfect role as just an emergency knife that I wouldn't have a second thought of giving to someone should they need it. Would I use them for hard use? Nope, I have ZTs, Benchmades and fixed blades for that. There are a few of the newer ones that I like, but like others, I am spoiled by better steel than 8CR13MOV.
 
PirateSeulb said:
Where are you seeing that I looked on about 6 different sites and saw either no mention of where/who made it or simply made in Taiwan.
Click to expand...

If you google "CRKT Panache made in Italy", you'll find a bunch of sites that have the origin as Italy. One of the sites even mentions Lionsteel as the producer.
 
Discount Cutlery is the only place I found even with searching "CRKT Panache made in Italy" BladeHQ, KnifeCenter, KnifeNews, and SMKW all say nothing or Taiwan as to the manufacturing origin. I have never seen LionSteel use any CTS-XHP or really just about any steel not from Bohler-Uddeholm.
 
I still have every CRKT (35 of them) that I've ever bought -- some cheap and a couple very expensive -- and I still like and want to keep most of them.

It's not that I wouldn't mind selling a few of them but I'm not SO UNHAPPY w/the one's I'd like to sell that I feel compelled to go to the trouble to do so. Also, the amount I could get for them (if there's any interest) is so small as to be hardly worth the trouble.

So, I'd more likely just throw them in for "free" on a deal to sell other more valuable/desirable knives instead.
 
I really like some of the new CRKT designs, but their poor quality over the years (especially piss-poor HT that leaves the blades like a chunk of cheese) have soured the name CRKT for me. I am just adverse to giving them any of my money.

It would take a serious amount of effort and time for them to overcome my poor opinion of them to get me to try another CRKT product (and they are even a local company for me, which makes me *want* to support them).
 
PirateSeulb said:
Discount Cutlery is the only place I found even with searching "CRKT Panache made in Italy" BladeHQ, KnifeCenter, KnifeNews, and SMKW all say nothing or Taiwan as to the manufacturing origin. I have never seen LionSteel use any CTS-XHP or really just about any steel not from Bohler-Uddeholm.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm seeing sources citing this knife's origination as Taiwan rather than Italy. The materials don't seem typical for LionSteel. Lamnia also shows Italy as the point of origin but that's the only other source I can find. If it is really from Taiwan, then I don't see how it can be LionSteel and that leaves you with an unknown manufacturer. Although...the 25th Anniversay CRKT Homefront is listed in multiple places as made in Italy and the Crossbones LE was made by LionSteel in Italy...so I guess anything is possible. It's also possible the parts are machined in Taiwan and assembled in Italy. I'm not one to get hung up on where a knife is made.

My problem is that CRKT hasn't had a good track record with their "premium" offerings. The Crossbones LE was embarrassingly under-made for the price tag. The expensive Homefronts have had trouble with fit and finish and the $700 XOC had to be recalled due to lock failure. That's embarrassing when you have to recall your flagship folding knife for lock failure.

If the OP is happy with the knife, all the more power to them. Personally, I'd be buying the knife with my expectations set very low. I'm not a CRKT hater; I started a thread here a while ago singing the praises of the new Piet. I'm just not convinced that they can make anything that's worth a $300 price tag. CRKT's sweet spot is in the $20-$50 range and I've never seen anything to change that opinion.
 
I am just against misinformation and I would like to know where it was made. I don't have an issue with made in Taiwan but LionSteel would be more appealing. I haven't found really any of CRKT's premium offerings to be worth their price tags and only 1 or 2 that were tempting despite their high cost. I hope OP likes the knife and he might be able to confirm as I would think there might be some info on the blade or in the documentation.
 
PirateSeulb said:
I am just against misinformation and I would like to know where it was made. I don't have an issue with made in Taiwan but LionSteel would be more appealing. I haven't found really any of CRKT's premium offerings to be worth their price tags and only 1 or 2 that were tempting despite their high cost. I hope OP likes the knife and he might be able to confirm as I would think there might be some info on the blade or in the documentation.
Click to expand...
I agree with you about the misinformation thing. The fact that there isn't a clear statement of who makes it and where is a bit concerning. I can't rely on CRKT to adequately QC a knife costing multiple hundreds of dollars. Oh well, we should be seeing some reviews from the usual suspects soon.
 
I did not mean to make a big deal about the origin of the knife but my source says Italy and some others say Taiwan. At least it is not coming from a communist regime and that is a plus in my book. The materials are high end and I felt like it was worth a try at the discount that I got. I like the design and if it works out I will be happy with it; otherwise I will eventually sell it. If the blade steel is good it will work just fine after I put it on the Wicked Edge Sharpener.
 
vjb.knife said:
I did not mean to make a big deal about the origin of the knife but my source says Italy and some others say Taiwan. At least it is not coming from a communist regime and that is a plus in my book. The materials are high end and I felt like it was worth a try at the discount that I got. I like the design and if it works out I will be happy with it; otherwise I will eventually sell it. If the blade steel is good it will work just fine after I put it on the Wicked Edge Sharpener.
Click to expand...
Can you share the source that says LionSteel in Itally? I can't seem to find that combination anywhere. We're not trying to put down your purchase; the only person that knife needs to satisfy is you! :D

You did ask for our thoughts and opinions, and being that no one has had this knife in hand for very long, we offered the best we could with the experience we had. I look forward to your observations and your experience with the knife.
 
I don't have anything against a knife made in Taiwan and Spyderco has shown us that Taiwan is a very capable manufacturing location. We would love to solve the mystery at this point so any sources for information one way or another would be great. I also would love to know how the knife is just looked for reviews on YouTube and only found a single unboxing, which mentions nothing of where or who made it, and an add from SMKW also omitting that information. I would honestly not be talking about where the knife was made if there wasn't this mystery or conflicting reports on where it is made.
 
The distributer that I bought it from lists Italy but I believe the correct source is Taiwan. I called CRKT and that is what they told me. Perhaps they got it confused with the CRKT Motley which is apparently made by Lionsteel in Italy. I will let you all know what I think of it when it arrives in a couple of days in my latest shipment.
 
i recently purchased the crkt clever girl folder which is one of their higher quality offerings, and im pretty pleased. its made in taiwan but the quality and fit and finish is high.
 
JW, How is the action on the Clever Girl? I tried a Seismic and it was odd. Even after adjusting the detent screw, it seemed to drag both opening and closing? Seeing those YT videos it looks like they can flip out super smooth, but my example didn`t.

The design of the Clever Girl has me intrigued, but not enough to gamble that much on a nice design only to have QC issues. again. Damn I really want to like CRKT....come on guys.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top