Kershaw Cryo: reality check

A small steel framelock, with lbs and flipper w/ assisted opening.

 

Got a chance to play with one last week at my local knife shop.... It's a small well built tank. I like it and i'm definitely going to pick one up soon. It totally feels like a "little" Hinderer in the hand. It deploys rocket quick and has a nice "clack" when the lockbar sets. At this point in time, if i had a $50 gift card.... I don't think there's anything else i would get. I"ve heard of some people taking the torsion bar off and making it a manual opener....

 

I can't imagine why it wouldn't be a nice budget version of the Hinderer ZT knives. Kershaw does a really nice job with their inexpensive Chinese imports.

 

I think you are getting a knife that is well worth the ~$32 entry fee. You can see what you are getting, but what you can't see online is that the fit and finish are first rate. The assisted opener works as you would expect it to and the lockup is solid. It does not have a cheap feel to it, but you also know its a $32 knife. As for the Hinderer element, it has the little design cues and the lock stop - neither of which add to or detract from anything in my view. Its a small knife, but an average hand can get 4 fingers on the grip. Like just about all Kershaw A/Os, its fun to open 9000 times while watching Sportscenter.

Its a nice knife. I say just get it and enjoy it.

 

I think it's a pretty solid knife from what I've heard. And let's face it knives don't win awards at blade show for no reason. Besides even if you don't like it, your only $30 in the hole and someone right here on the forums will take it off your hands. Just ordered mine a couple days ago. : )

 

It's more like 12% of the price of the 0560. It's definitely a cool looking budget knife with some nice features for $31.

 

I was going to pull the trigger on one, but then I saw the "Made in China" and I just couldn't.

 

$32!?!?!? I am guessing that the frame is not titanium. Sounds like a hell of a deal either way.

 

If it were titanium, it would be selling for $58-$70. That is what the other Chinese made titanium handled knives are running if they have 8cr13mov blades.

 

I'd pay 70 bucks for a Ti version. I think that would be rad!

 

it's pretty good, but i returned mine to amazon. i ordered it awhile back but by the time it got here I bought a paramilitary 2 which i like much more. Then i said to myself, is this worth a third of a paramilitary 2? What's the point of owning this when I have a way superior knife? So i returned it. I also just didn't like how heavy it was considering it's small size. For a framelock, I don't think you can beat it at the price range though.

 

I told myself I was going to hold-off for the Cryo-II, but I'm starting to get weaker...

 

I'm waiting until the larger version is released. That one, i will be ALL OVER

 

It feels like a really tough knife for the price and materials used. It is fun as hell to open/play with. Also, for an every day beater, 8cr13mov takes a brutal edge pretty effortlessly... you just have to be willing to put in a little work to keep it sharp. As for the Hinderer connection... it looks like a Hinderer design. It has the LBS, but to be honest, I don't feel like the disk on my Cryo really does that much to prevent overtravel, because even when the screw on the disk is tightened all the way down, the lock bar can still be hyper-extended, though only very slightly. It does seem to prevent horizontal movement of the bar though, which is good I guess. Lockup on mine is a little late, but since it is steel on steel, I'm not worried about it really. Ultimately the thing that really kind of gets me about the Cryo is that it feels like a tank, but the blade steel kind of holds it back in that regard. It feels like something you could pry the door off a car with, or smash through a cinderblock... if the blade were M4, m390, or some super-steel. Seems like a contradiction. Still an AMAZING little flipper for the price, and has served me really well EDC'ing it this week at the pharmacy. Highly recommended!

 

It's coated in some sort of titanium material, but the blade and handle are 8cr13mov.

 

Been thinking about getting one of these myself. As for my thoughts on this knife, I had my doubts at first. But then I realized that Rick's not going to let his name go on something that's not worth what you paid for it or more. I don't believe that he or any other knife maker is going to let their name go on something that's going to hurt their sales in any way. It's just not good business to do so. From what I've heard about this knife, it has the very real possibility of taking over my Spyderco Tenacious' pocket time.

 

mine is still on backorder even though i pre ordered it 2 months in advance

i think i might just order another one off ebay which is ready to ship. wouldn't mind owning 2 (1 for collectibility, 1 for EDCing)

 

The handle is not 8CR13mov