Initial Impression CRKT Carson M18

Kodiak PA

Kodiak PA

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 3, 1998
Messages
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Got this today guys and I wanted to just give you all a few thoughts. I love the blade shape on this one. A slightly recurve spear point. I got the large version, plain edge (of course) with black g-10 insets. The Lawks works great. No vertical or horizontal blade play. Deep pocket clip is a plus. The flipper works great, though I am not surprised since I had the original Carson M16. Handle shape and ergos are great.

My only beef? The blade's tip doesn't rest flush in the handle and when I got the knife I put it in my pocket and RIIIPPPPPP! The small protruding portion caught my heavy duty jeans and sliced right through. A brand new pair of Carharts! :( Went right through the pocket. I didn't have the knife more than 5 minutes. The thumb studs are very gripy and rest flat against the handle like a microtech knife. They're so grippy that they will probably abrade the pocket so I may file that down a bit along with the spine portion of the tip of the knife.

Overall, I like the knife. Nice and sturdy like Kit's knives usually are. I just have to do a bit of dremel work and I will be happy. I would love to hear opinions of other owners.
 
Originally posted by Kodiak PA
The thumb studs are very gripy and rest flat against the handle like a microtech knife. They're so grippy that they will probably abrade the pocket so I may file that down a bit along with the spine portion of the tip of the knife.
Click to expand...

Hi Greg - I believe most if not all of the M18's produced to date have the overly-grippy thumbstuds. Mine was like that out of the box. I checked with Kit and he said his were the same way. I wook my DMT coarse file and filed the "teeth" (not notches ;) ) down and then went over them with the fine Sharpmaker hone. This still left quite a bit of texturing on there but also left a quasi-satin finish on the raised surfaces that matches the blade quite nicely.
 
I have the small CRKT M-18 (plain edge, blue inserts) and absolutely love it. It is a solid little folder with absolutely no blade play and a secure lock-up with or without the LAWKS engaged. My knife is very smooth opening, so the flipper works very well. The thumbstuds are a little rough, but I am really not bothered by them. The blade has even grind lines, a great shape, and a razor sharp edge out-of-the-box. The clip is positioned for tip-down carry only.

All in all...a great design by Kit and a great knife by CRKT, definitely my favorite CRKT to date.

JJ


Edit: forgot to mention that the blade tip of my knife does not protrude from the handle when closed (unlike KodiakPA's).
 
Kodiak PA mentioned a deep carry pocket clip. Is it deeper than the current M-16's? I haven't seen the new models clip side yet, and was wondering. That is my only beef with the old M-16's, they rode awefully high for my liking. If they are deep carry, to what other knives do they compare to in deepness (EDI Genesis, Al Mar Sere 2000, etc.)? Thanks.
 
The clip on my small M18 is set up exactly like the clip on my M16-03Z. Clipped in my front right pocket, approximately 1cm of the knife is visible. KodiakPA will have to let you know how the large M18 is set up.

JJ
 
The clip of the M18 is bolted high on the forward section of the handle (tip down carry). This is much more discrete than my old M16 model that I had a few years ago. In other words, it rides deeper in the pocket.

I think the only reason that my tip is riding a bit high is that the M18 has cut outs along the side of the scales and therefore there is the potential for the tip to protrude on mine. The serrated cut outs look good but if something soft (like your pocket) goes bewteen the scales the tip can hook and slightly open the blade. I am being more careful as I put the knife away.

Do I like this knife? Oh yeah!....it is a great design with a fabulous lock up, blade shape and comfy handle during knife use.
 
It is more of a subdued satin finish. I actually like the newer model better. More of a gray than a green. G10 inserts nicely offset it.
 
I just brought my new M-18 home and after inspecting, manipulating it and getting familiar with it, I gotta say

RUN! DON'T WALK! RUN!! AND GET THIS KNIFE!

This is far and away the best effort CRK&T has put out to date. Kit has reached deep into his design bag and pulled out a real winner here folks. This is nearly the perfect folding knife. At least for me anyway.
This is a folder that will NOT fold up on you even if you wanted it to.:eek: It has the Carson Flipper which acts as a guard when the blade is open and also prevents the blade from folding up on your fingers. It has the LAWKS device which just about eliminates the possibility of accidental closure.
The blade has a nice fairly high hollow grind which leaves you with a very usable blade. The blade has a subtle but awesome re-curve. The handle has serious heft but is not too heavy to tote around. The liner lock is of a decent thickness. The thumbstuds act as the blade stop bar so they are basically out of the way of the using part of the blade.
MAN! This folder ROCKS!
 
Locks solidly. Inserts are NOT on clip side just the one side. The LAWKS prevents any failure of the liner. Very cool knife. I have been carrying it all week and no...I repeat no other pant ripping episodes for me.

:)
 
Kodiak, if I understand correctly, the tip of the blade was exposed when closed? Was it a defect in your model? What's the blade to handle ratio?
 
Cid,
The problem I believe is that the knife partially opened and due to the serrations for gripping are cut out the inner pocket was able to grap the tip and open it.

Not sure the purpose of these grip serrations. Probably just for decoration. I am being more careful now and things seem fine. I actually really like this knife. The blade shape is awesom.
 
A very very tough knife to beat for the price!


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Greg,
Thanks for the nice review!
I like mine a lot, both large and small. Really, the tip sits in closed position pretty narrowly. But the liner lock holds closed position as firmly as liner lock could and so far I do not have problems with mine (I carry small one daily for about the month).
Lanyard hole should be somewhat bigger, isn't it?
 
I got a large one from my distributor today. Unfortunately it was a partially serrated version in a plain edge box! :mad:

It will be going back.

This is the nicest Columbia River I have seen. Fit and finish are above average for them. I really like the blade finish. I really disliked beadblast. The satin finish is a nice touch. I really like it. Cant wait to get the plain edge in.
 
If the quality of this knife is like the other CRKT knives I own, ( M16-03, LUS, Grey Ghost Mirage, zytel mirage, etc.), I will definately get one or two. The M16-O3 is a very nice, well built knife, but the size is just too big for my taste.
 
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