- Joined
- May 3, 2002
- Messages
- 6,192
I usually like customs and Chris Reeves, but when I'm on a budget like now when I'm about to move I still get the itch to buy knives. And when I'm on a budget and get the itch I look up cheapo productions like Kershaw and CRKT because they always have something interesting going on.
This time I did just that and hit the jackpot twice in a row! I don't hang on BF that much these days, so I figured I owed everyone something good, so I decided I'd make an appearance by posting a review of some low-end knives anybody could afford to check out.
First came the Kershaw. I admit I'm a part-serrations kind of guy and it was the serrations on this knife that first attracted my attention. For a $23.00 bid on ebay I got myself a new toy to play with!
In use, the serrations are kind of funky. They work OK by themselves, but there's a big step between the serrations and the blade that isn't sharpened, so if you start with the serrations to cut something fiberous and then slide up to the blade it will catch on the step up to the blade and stick.
The grind is low, though, for cutting performance. It'll probably dull fast because it's only 400 series steel, but the geometry should sharpen perfectly if you have a Sharpmaker.
The blade comes out of the box reasonably sharp with a more-polished edge that we're used to seeing from factory knives. It doesn't have that toothy edge, but more of a polished edge.
I normally hate flippers and usually use the stud on flippers instead, but this is my FIRST of the kind that didn't have studs at all. The flipper works about 50% of the time out of the box, but with a little lubing and loosening of the pivot and a little practise over 2 weeks I got that up to working about 80% of the time. Not that great, but OK for around the office that's not too sheeple friendly. If it doesn't flip open all the way, you can push on the tang to get it open the rest of the way.
I know, I know, it looks kind of funky with the WWII airplane graphics all over it but this is actually the second thing that turned me on to the knife. I'm one of those dudes that loves to watch documenteries about WWII planes on the History Channel all the time so I actually find the graphics to be pretty charming. You gotta think of this one as a FUN every-day knife instead of a business-tactical kind of thing. Once you're in that mindset, you fall in love with the looks.
This Kershaw has one of the best blade-to-handle ratios I've ever seen in a knife but it comes at the expense of it having an exceptionally SMALL handle. You've seen knives with small blades and big handles like the Spyderco Dodo or Lil Temprance? Well, this is the exact opposite! It feels like you have a fair-sized blade with a tiny little handle attached to it. I can tell you, you never get used to it. It feels like you're holding a good blade by a nub of a handle. It feels descreet in the office.
The lock is spectacular! It's a frame lock and the geometry of it makes it immediately evident that the lock will never ever wear out. I'm telling you, this lock is super.
It's bead-blasted all over so as far as fit and finish is concerned, there's not much to screw up, but it's not that impressive looks-wise outside of the cool History-Channel graphics. Otherwise, this knife is smooth and well-built and super-fun in sheeple-type places.
Now, the CRKT Full Throttle.
I bought this because I have a thing for all-metal knives and when I found out it had a metal handle and had an assisted blade I was intrigued.
The handle is steel and has a thick dark dark blue thick paint job. It reminds me a lot of those old Greco folders. Remember those pieces of junk? It's like that except done well.
The paint seems like it could take some abuse because it's so thick and the gold hardware seems durable like it wouldn't flake off. I haven't seen any sign of wear or chipage after a month of carry. It's actually a prettier knife than it looks in pictures.
Actually, pretty isn't the word. It's kind of classy in a manly kind of way.
My immediate impression was that it's strange that they would make such a mean knife look so good because there's no way in heck that this is a sheeple-friendly knife! Even though the blade is only about 2 3/4" this thing is a serious tactical. No kidding! When you fire this knife (and I do mean FIRE it!) it's LOUD! The difference between this and an auto-knife is very small. I've owned dozens of auto knives and 6 or 8 other "assisted" knives and this CRKT Full Throttle is special. This thing sounds like a bomb going off when you launch this blade. Blam!
I carried it for a while at my sheepleish workplace. Now, I've carried other autos there and Benchmades with 4" blades. I use them to open packages and to cut the film in my frozen dinners for lunch in the breakroom without drawing attention, BUT with this CRKT Full Trottle I get a lot of dirty looks! This thing attracts unwanted attention all the time. I've actually started covering the blade with my hand as I open it so it wouldn't fire so fast or make so much noise.
One neat thing about this one is that it's so smooth and polished that it slips on and off my suit-pants pocket more easily than most knives.
It's sharp as heck out of the box, not that it matters. The grind is the typical production middle-of-the-road angle that's a little too steep for a Sharpmaker. Most knifelovers will want to lower it a bit. My edge was a little wider on one side than the other which ticks me off. I like to screw up my edge geometry myself instead of having the factory start it for me. It's also very toothy (read low grit). But I've opened a lot of boxes with it and it seems to be holding a shaving edge, so that's good. It's a pretty hard blade for the steel.
Fit and finish wise, it's awsome, especially for a CRKT. It reminds me of the old-school CRKTs like the old Mirage knifes that were all polished and fancy. This thing has a nicely-polished blade and clip. Everything is centered and fits well. The high-polish blade finish is the best I've seen on the two dozen or so CRKTs I've owned.
This is more of a gift-knife now that I think of it. But not for an office-worker. This is more of a nice gift for an auto-mechanic who you want to get something nice for who is going to use the heck out of it.
If I had to pick two words for the CRKT Full Throttle: Pretty & Mean!
This time I did just that and hit the jackpot twice in a row! I don't hang on BF that much these days, so I figured I owed everyone something good, so I decided I'd make an appearance by posting a review of some low-end knives anybody could afford to check out.
First came the Kershaw. I admit I'm a part-serrations kind of guy and it was the serrations on this knife that first attracted my attention. For a $23.00 bid on ebay I got myself a new toy to play with!
In use, the serrations are kind of funky. They work OK by themselves, but there's a big step between the serrations and the blade that isn't sharpened, so if you start with the serrations to cut something fiberous and then slide up to the blade it will catch on the step up to the blade and stick.
The grind is low, though, for cutting performance. It'll probably dull fast because it's only 400 series steel, but the geometry should sharpen perfectly if you have a Sharpmaker.
The blade comes out of the box reasonably sharp with a more-polished edge that we're used to seeing from factory knives. It doesn't have that toothy edge, but more of a polished edge.
I normally hate flippers and usually use the stud on flippers instead, but this is my FIRST of the kind that didn't have studs at all. The flipper works about 50% of the time out of the box, but with a little lubing and loosening of the pivot and a little practise over 2 weeks I got that up to working about 80% of the time. Not that great, but OK for around the office that's not too sheeple friendly. If it doesn't flip open all the way, you can push on the tang to get it open the rest of the way.
I know, I know, it looks kind of funky with the WWII airplane graphics all over it but this is actually the second thing that turned me on to the knife. I'm one of those dudes that loves to watch documenteries about WWII planes on the History Channel all the time so I actually find the graphics to be pretty charming. You gotta think of this one as a FUN every-day knife instead of a business-tactical kind of thing. Once you're in that mindset, you fall in love with the looks.
This Kershaw has one of the best blade-to-handle ratios I've ever seen in a knife but it comes at the expense of it having an exceptionally SMALL handle. You've seen knives with small blades and big handles like the Spyderco Dodo or Lil Temprance? Well, this is the exact opposite! It feels like you have a fair-sized blade with a tiny little handle attached to it. I can tell you, you never get used to it. It feels like you're holding a good blade by a nub of a handle. It feels descreet in the office.
The lock is spectacular! It's a frame lock and the geometry of it makes it immediately evident that the lock will never ever wear out. I'm telling you, this lock is super.
It's bead-blasted all over so as far as fit and finish is concerned, there's not much to screw up, but it's not that impressive looks-wise outside of the cool History-Channel graphics. Otherwise, this knife is smooth and well-built and super-fun in sheeple-type places.
Now, the CRKT Full Throttle.
I bought this because I have a thing for all-metal knives and when I found out it had a metal handle and had an assisted blade I was intrigued.
The handle is steel and has a thick dark dark blue thick paint job. It reminds me a lot of those old Greco folders. Remember those pieces of junk? It's like that except done well.
The paint seems like it could take some abuse because it's so thick and the gold hardware seems durable like it wouldn't flake off. I haven't seen any sign of wear or chipage after a month of carry. It's actually a prettier knife than it looks in pictures.
Actually, pretty isn't the word. It's kind of classy in a manly kind of way.
My immediate impression was that it's strange that they would make such a mean knife look so good because there's no way in heck that this is a sheeple-friendly knife! Even though the blade is only about 2 3/4" this thing is a serious tactical. No kidding! When you fire this knife (and I do mean FIRE it!) it's LOUD! The difference between this and an auto-knife is very small. I've owned dozens of auto knives and 6 or 8 other "assisted" knives and this CRKT Full Throttle is special. This thing sounds like a bomb going off when you launch this blade. Blam!
I carried it for a while at my sheepleish workplace. Now, I've carried other autos there and Benchmades with 4" blades. I use them to open packages and to cut the film in my frozen dinners for lunch in the breakroom without drawing attention, BUT with this CRKT Full Trottle I get a lot of dirty looks! This thing attracts unwanted attention all the time. I've actually started covering the blade with my hand as I open it so it wouldn't fire so fast or make so much noise.
One neat thing about this one is that it's so smooth and polished that it slips on and off my suit-pants pocket more easily than most knives.
It's sharp as heck out of the box, not that it matters. The grind is the typical production middle-of-the-road angle that's a little too steep for a Sharpmaker. Most knifelovers will want to lower it a bit. My edge was a little wider on one side than the other which ticks me off. I like to screw up my edge geometry myself instead of having the factory start it for me. It's also very toothy (read low grit). But I've opened a lot of boxes with it and it seems to be holding a shaving edge, so that's good. It's a pretty hard blade for the steel.
Fit and finish wise, it's awsome, especially for a CRKT. It reminds me of the old-school CRKTs like the old Mirage knifes that were all polished and fancy. This thing has a nicely-polished blade and clip. Everything is centered and fits well. The high-polish blade finish is the best I've seen on the two dozen or so CRKTs I've owned.
This is more of a gift-knife now that I think of it. But not for an office-worker. This is more of a nice gift for an auto-mechanic who you want to get something nice for who is going to use the heck out of it.
If I had to pick two words for the CRKT Full Throttle: Pretty & Mean!
