OK - half time and still able to type so here goes ....
The knife is small but is a good size for an EDC in my opinion. There is a place for a knife of this size regardless of what some chest thumpers say. It's the most solid "little guy" I've owned. I have had a ZT0900 which is a solid little guy but this CRK Inkosi is smaller and just as solid. Same for the DPX HEAT. I have small hands so the hand feel is pretty good to me but I could see where someone with larger hands might prefer the small Sebenza or just skip to a large. I had some concerns initially about where the grooves would hit my fingers and I'm still not sure how they will fit over time but right now they don't seem to be an issue. When I bear down on the knife I feel my pinky on the end of the handles more than fingers on the grooves. The angled pocket clip I think looks goofy but it does seem to improve the hand feel.
I like the fact this knife has more belly than the small Sebenza. I am interested to see if I'll be OK with the thicker blade stock for what I generally use a EDC knife for. The blade is centered and laser sharp. Lockup is solid with no play. When deploying the blade it's a bit more difficult to open than my 21s but this is normal for any 25 or Zaan which have similar make-up to the Inkosi. Not an issue, it's just noticeable. Once you overcome the initial break the blade is smooth as silk. When I release the lock bar the blade falls freely which is nice.
These have snake braid lanyards rather than the normal hangman's noose or whatever they are called. I also noticed they gave a little more slack which allows the braid to fall out of the way and not look like your knife has an erection when clipped in your pocket. I am leaving the lanyard on for a while but expect it will be untied and put back in the box within a couple of days like the rest of my CRKs.
OK, that's all the good stuff. Now, let's talk about the things which could be improved.
Before anyone tries to school me on what Chris says lock-up should be, etc. I know that. It's not an issue per se but it's noticeable mine is way past 50% lock-up. I would think mine is 70% or 80%. It's solid so I'm not worried. I am just saying most of my CRKs have always been between 50-60%.
The jimping on the blade should be extended more. I have small hands but even with my grip on this knife my thumb rests beyond the jimping. I'd suggest as much as 150% of the length of the existing jimping as a minimum.
The knife has double lugs which I think are really cool. However, there should be more relief cut-out on on the Ti slabs to give better access ... especially on the clip side. There is much less room on that side and I'd say the presentation side BARELY allows enough access. Also noticeable, the blue anodizing on the tip of the thumb stud was a bit worn right out of the box ... both sides. This is only a cosmetic issue only and by the end of this game playing with the knife I would have worn more of the blue off anyway ... just something I noticed.
The finish on the Ti slabs was perhaps the worst I've seen on any new (or even lightly used) CRK I've purchased ... and that's a lot of knives. There were a couple of light snail trails but more noticeable were dark/uneven spots in the blasting. Again, the finish is not a real issue for me. However, for some folks buying a knife that is close to $400 I expect some would complain and even consider sending it back for an exchange. I wouldn't even fault them for doing so. I'm not even considering that as this knife will be a user. I have had it in my pocket ever since opening the box. I have used it already on a few little tasks and by the time I've carried it a week or two the cosmetic issues with the Ti finish and the blue ano will be long forgotten.
