Info on CRKT Knives

Bought 2 in the last couple months.......both flippers.
After flipping the first one, M 14?? had an auto lock, 5 times blade would rub on liner. Didn't realize it soon enough and blade has a huge chip.
Second flipper, Cruiser something or other, does the same thing after 10 flips......no matter how it's adjusted.
Not thrilled and won't be buying any more.
Joe
 
Back in the late 90s, CRKT had some decent stuff. Most of their focus was on budget knives; but they did them fairly well. My budget increased, and I explored other brands....when I checked out CRKTs offerings a number of years later, I was pretty disappointed. Was it because of the design, or fit & finish? Or because I had become accustomed to a better class of knife? Honestly, to some degree, I think it was all 3.
Looking at their website within the past year, there were a few knives that showed promise; but I felt those were overpriced for what they brought to the table.
 
The Fossil I got recently is actually pretty decent. I only paid 40$ too. I have a Kangee T-Hawk also but had to go through two to get a good one. Don't buy anything in blind boxes and you should be ok. The higher costing items are the better ones from my experience.
 
Interesting designs with crap execution / materials.


Best thing I did with my crkt knives was lose them
 
hhmoore said:
Back in the late 90s, CRKT had some decent stuff. Most of their focus was on budget knives; but they did them fairly well. My budget increased, and I explored other brands....when I checked out CRKTs offerings a number of years later, I was pretty disappointed. Was it because of the design, or fit & finish? Or because I had become accustomed to a better class of knife? Honestly, to some degree, I think it was all 3.
Looking at their website within the past year, there were a few knives that showed promise; but I felt those were overpriced for what they brought to the table.
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Yup, not to mention the risk you are taking. You could get a good one....

I have an Apache and a Mirage Grey Ghost (was yours) that are quite nice. Taiwan made. ATS-34 and AUS8.
 
What I like about CRKT, their ability to bring unique designs from famous makers to mass-market, and at very affordable prices. Rolox, Van Hoy SnapLock, KISS, Turtle, etc., etc.

What I don't like, the hit & miss quality and the low-end steel. AUS6 is horrible stuff, but AUS4?!? And J2, seriously? Just how much do they need to penny-pinch to make a profit???
 
craytab said:
Yup, not to mention the risk you are taking. You could get a good one....

I have an Apache and a Mirage Grey Ghost (was yours) that are quite nice. Taiwan made. ATS-34 and AUS8.
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The Mirage was a great little knife I have the titanium framelock version and I was always surprised how well made it was for a CRKT. I generally stay away from CRKT these days but if they were to release a larger version of the Mirage Ti at a reasonable price I'd definitely check it out.
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If you want a Centofante tribute, look at the Spyderco Centofante Memory. Made in Japan with VG-10 blade. I find Spyder's quality much higher, even the Asian made.

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Nothing that hasn't been already said, but my opinion is they make really good and interesting collabs and designs and fail at executing them properly.

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My experience with them is: avoid 90% of their folders, give a try to their axes/hawks and get your hands on any of their classic fixed blades (Ultima, Hissatsu, Minimalist series, SPEW and Dragon, etc.) They are great knives, at least all the fixed knives of this brand that I've tried.

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And their higher end and higher price fixed blades are excellent IMO (FE7, FE9, Hissou)
 
I only have two CRKT knives; a Slip KISS and a Ken Onion "Wave"
After about 3 or 4 months of EDC, the pocket clip pulled out of the handle on the wave. THE threads in the aluminum scales pulled out. CRKT will repair it under warranty, I just have to send it in.
No problems with the Slip KISS, other than it is too light for my tastes. I kept checking to make sure it was still in my pocket.
I had no problems with edge retention.
 
I recently bought my first crkt, the Ripple aluminum, very nice looking knife, great looking blade, super light! Fit and finish is fine, but for whatever reason I just assumed with the ikbs it would deploy much quicker. I adjusted the pivot and finally just broke it down cleaned and oiled from the frame up (not something you should have to do to a brand new knife), still not near as quick as the two kershaws I recently bought, also the lockup is way too tight. I guess it will just have to be a looker and not a player, not sure I would try another with so many more reliable options out there!
 
Thanks to all who answered my enquiry. Your comments were very helpful and educational- particularly the ones from actual CRKT users.

Based on your comments, I went back and handled the knife in question again. In examining it closer, I found that although visual aspects were excellent (blade centering, grinding, finishing) when locked there was a lot of play in the blade. So this, combined with "resin impregnated fiber scales", 7Cr17MoV steel, and Chinese manufacture made it a no go in spite of it being on a 25% clearance off an old price.

It's too bad that these had to be issues as I'm sure that real Micarta, a proper blade steel, and closer tolerances would not have added significantly to its cost. As others have pointed out this was one of CRKT's attractive designs by a legendary maker. Too bad they dropped the ball!

Thanks again, BF.
 
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