Inexpensive Framelock Flipper?

J

JNieporte

Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Messages
3,352
I'm looking to buy a knife for a friend's birthday. I have some criteria, and I've scoured the web for a knife to match. Any help you can provide would be great.
-Must be a frame lock.
-Must have a flipper.
-Must cost under $60 shipped.
-Must be plain edged.
-Must have at least a 3-1/2" blade.
-Must have the non-locking side not be metal.
-Must be in stock because I have to order it by Wednesday (December 3rd) to get here in time.

The Kershaw Thermite is perfect, but he already has both versions of it. Other thoughts...
-The Avispa would be perfect, except it doesn't have a flipper.
-The Cryo G-10 would be great, but it's 1" too short.
-Likewise, the Cryo 2 would be great except it has a metal non-locking side.
-The ZT (insert model here) is perfect, but costs too much.
-The Boker Trance would be perfect, except it's too short.

So... ideas?
 
Check out the kershaw scrambled, seems to meet all your needs. I personally haven't handled it but it has a very sexy look to it!
 
reapinItUP said:
kershaw emerson collabs.
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These are not flippers.

After a quick search, here are some choices that you might find acceptable:
  • CRKT Fossil, Small: meets all your feature requirements and I can find it for under $60 shipped. This is probably your best choice. Also comes with a 3.96-inch blade, in case 3.41 inches is still too short for you.
  • The Kershaw Strobe, if you're willing to give up 0.2 inches off the blade length. Kershaw calls it a frame lock, but has glass-filled nylon overlays on both sides.
  • The Kershaw Scrambler also fits the bill if you're willing to accept a metal bolster on ~25% of the non-locking side (the rest is G10).
 
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reapinItUP said:
kershaw emerson collabs.
Click to expand...

Not flippers. For what it's worth, if the one I got is representative of this line, they are of terrible quality. There are plenty of other knives in this price range that are much better. Terrible action, impossible to adjust because the screws are flooded with loctite and phillips/flat head tend to torque out very easily. I tried to take off the pocket clip on mine, even heated the screws and they stripped beyond recognition. This series is all hype, and all junk.

The Boker Plus Urban Trapper looks pretty nice. You might be able to find it for just a bit more than you want to spend
 
draggat said:
The Boker Plus Urban Trapper looks pretty nice. You might be able to find it for just a bit more than you want to spend
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I like the Urban Trapper too, but OP wants a non-metal non-locking side. His requirements are fairly commonplace, individually, but it seems rather difficult to find all of them in a single knife. So far, the CRKT Fossils are the only knives that meet every single one.
 
Hiro-kun said:
I like the Urban Trapper too, but OP wants a non-metal non-locking side. His requirements are fairly commonplace, individually, but it seems rather difficult to find all of them in a single knife. So far, the CRKT Fossils are the only knives that meet every single one.
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The SOG Twitch II is close, but blade too short and not frame lock.
 
d0nut said:
The SOG Twitch II is close, but blade too short and not frame lock.
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And also all-metal handles unless the OP gets the wood handles. I'm not sure why you and others are suggesting knives that significantly deviate from two or more of his requirements. If he was willing to look at the Twitch II, he would have already gotten one of the knives he already named, since they all meet his requirements except for just one. I sometimes get the feeling that some here people treat requests for suggestions as opportunities to name their favourite knives, OP's requirements be damned.
 
Hiro-kun said:
And also all-metal handles unless the OP gets the wood handles. I'm not sure why you and others are suggesting knives that significantly deviate from two or more of his requirements. If he was willing to look at the Twitch II, he would have already gotten one of the knives he already named, since they all meet his requirements except for just one. I sometimes get the feeling that some here people treat requests for suggestions as opportunities to name their favourite knives, OP's requirements be damned.
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Calm down bro.

Just throwing out a suggestion, I even pointed out where it deviates from the OP's requirements (?)

SOG is hardly a favorite knife of mine. I was thinking of a budget flipper in the price range more or less, and that one came to mind.
 
d0nut said:
Calm down bro.

Just throwing out a suggestion, I even pointed out where it deviates from the OP's requirements (?)

SOG is hardly a favorite knife of mine. I was thinking of a budget flipper in the price range more or less, and that one came to mind.
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I didn't mean to offend, but I've seen this happen here occasionally and it annoys me. How is it helpful to the OP, who has done some research, to name anything meets fewer requirements than what he managed to dig up? And after I did some research and came up with two knives that are precisely what he is looking for? I don't really want to say anything more on this subject here, as it is hijacking the thread.

Back to the topic: OP, the CRKT Fossil or Fossil Small are precisely what you are looking for. I challenge everyone else to find something else that meets all of the OP's requirements or better.
 
I'm looking at videos of the large Fossil right now. I know he's not a CRKT fan, but right now that's the best I (well, you, which I do appreciate) can find. The Scrambler looks great, except for the metal bolster.

I guess that's the pain when he bought the knives that fit his requirements (the Thermites) then wanted more. Any other suggestions?
 
JNieporte said:
I'm looking at videos of the large Fossil right now. I know he's not a CRKT fan, but right now that's the best I (well, you, which I do appreciate) can find. The Scrambler looks great, except for the metal bolster.

I guess that's the pain when he bought the knives that fit his requirements (the Thermites) then wanted more. Any other suggestions?
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I'm still looking and I haven't found anything better than the Fossil yet. You might want to start thinking about what requirements you or your friend might be willing to relent on, if you want to expand your options.
 
JNieporte said:
I'm looking at videos of the large Fossil right now. I know he's not a CRKT fan, but right now that's the best I (well, you, which I do appreciate) can find. The Scrambler looks great, except for the metal bolster.

I guess that's the pain when he bought the knives that fit his requirements (the Thermites) then wanted more. Any other suggestions?
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If he is willing to sacrifice .25" on the blade and frame for liner lock, the large Buck Vantage might be worth considering.
 
Check out the A.G. Russell Orca. 3.5" blade, G-10 presentation side, frame lock, flipper, plain edge, $39.95, in stock.
 
Well, it's Wednesday and we have suggested two knives that meet all of your requirements. Have you decided which one to get, if you're getting one of these at all?
 
I guess I'm too late but I was going to say get the Cryo II and an aftermarket scale. Probably run you about 60 bucks.
 
How about a kershaw thermite?

Just kidding. I know he already has one.

These are some pretty hard to meet requirements. I'm at a loss. One thing I will say about the crkt fossil is that's a lot of money to pay for an 8cr knife.
 
craytab said:
How about a kershaw thermite?

Just kidding. I know he already has one.

These are some pretty hard to meet requirements. I'm at a loss. One thing I will say about the crkt fossil is that's a lot of money to pay for an 8cr knife.
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While true, the Fossil's relatively high price seems to be the result of having:

  1. A custom designer
  2. More complex styling over the Thermite, for example
  3. IKBS pivot
  4. A higher hardness treatment than the other option here, the Orca.
It's up to the consumer to decide if these features justify the premium.
 
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