- Joined
- Apr 15, 2002
- Messages
- 3,376
Leatherman Crater c33
I picked this knife up in target in Chicago for $24.00 because I wanted to try out leathermans folding knives. I have owned 2 Original Leatherman tools and 2 Leatherman Waves. I have used them hard from time to time and they withstood the rigors of work on fishing boats and tugs. They were sturdy sound products.
My first impression of the Crater was that it was a lightweight light duty folding knife with a liner lock blade and a folding locking carabiner clip/bottle opener. It has a blade around 2.5 inches, plain edged, and 420 HC steel. The handle is glass filled nylon with a liner lock and a removable pocket clip set up for right hand tip down carry only. There is a single steel liner incorporating the lock. The blade is opened via thumb stud and that too is set up for right hand use only. There is a pretty large detent on the liner lock to engage a hole drilled completely through the blade to keep the knife securely shut in the pocket. I cant open the knife via inertia. The knife weighs just under 2.5 ounces.
I am pretty sure that this knife is made in the USA. A lot of people dont like 420 HC but I have found it an inexpensive tough corrosion resistant steel that is easy to resharpen in the field and resists chipping when accidentally coming into contact with metal objects like barge decks or deck fittings.
The handle is lightly textured. They feel kind of slippery to me at first glance. The blade is a spearpoint with a swedge on the back and a saber grind. The edge was a little uneven on mine and the grind line was higher on the stud side of the blade but the knife easily shaved hair out of the clamshell pack. It easily cut newsprint on the pull cut and tore towards the end of the pull cut. I would say the out of box sharpness is very good.
My Crater had no blade play and locked up solidly. The liner lock seemed secure and engaged the blade flush with the thumb stud side of the tang. When my knife was closed the tip contacted one side of the caribiner while it is closed and was centered when the caribiner was opened.
The caribiner locks when opened and is disengaged by pushing the caribiner down when the knife is held pivot down. Mine has very noticible play in the caribiner. This could probably be tightened out. The blade pivot, caribiner pivot and the 3 clip screws are all Torx. I have never been a fan of hanging a knife outside of my work gear, whether they were oilskins, raingear, or work vests. I find them to be snagging hazards when working around ropes, lines, and wires so I have never owned a knife with an incorporated caribiner or snap clip like some Kershaws and Spydercos.
The clip slides onto the pocket and out of the pocket smoothly. The spring on the caribiner appears to be secure. I will probably clip this knife to my work vest when I get back on the boat. The caribiner will easily clip to narrower belt loops, zippers with thongs on them, but will not clip to standard sized zippers due to the thumb ramp that facilitates one hand opening.
Here are some pix of the knife:
Closed and compared with Kershaw Shallot:
Open and compared with Kershaw Shallot:
Open knife pocket clip side:
Open, liner lock engaged:
Open knife, spine view:
Open knife, caribiner opened:
Closed knife, caribiner opened:
(Sorry about the cat hairs in the pix
)
This seems like a nice light duty folder for a reasonable price. The fit and finish are on par with an inexpensive folding knife geared towards the working man who needs a knife and doesnt want to break the bank if it is lost.
These are my first impressions of my first Leatherman folding knife. I will post more on the subject as I use and evaluate the knife further at work.
I picked this knife up in target in Chicago for $24.00 because I wanted to try out leathermans folding knives. I have owned 2 Original Leatherman tools and 2 Leatherman Waves. I have used them hard from time to time and they withstood the rigors of work on fishing boats and tugs. They were sturdy sound products.
My first impression of the Crater was that it was a lightweight light duty folding knife with a liner lock blade and a folding locking carabiner clip/bottle opener. It has a blade around 2.5 inches, plain edged, and 420 HC steel. The handle is glass filled nylon with a liner lock and a removable pocket clip set up for right hand tip down carry only. There is a single steel liner incorporating the lock. The blade is opened via thumb stud and that too is set up for right hand use only. There is a pretty large detent on the liner lock to engage a hole drilled completely through the blade to keep the knife securely shut in the pocket. I cant open the knife via inertia. The knife weighs just under 2.5 ounces.
I am pretty sure that this knife is made in the USA. A lot of people dont like 420 HC but I have found it an inexpensive tough corrosion resistant steel that is easy to resharpen in the field and resists chipping when accidentally coming into contact with metal objects like barge decks or deck fittings.
The handle is lightly textured. They feel kind of slippery to me at first glance. The blade is a spearpoint with a swedge on the back and a saber grind. The edge was a little uneven on mine and the grind line was higher on the stud side of the blade but the knife easily shaved hair out of the clamshell pack. It easily cut newsprint on the pull cut and tore towards the end of the pull cut. I would say the out of box sharpness is very good.
My Crater had no blade play and locked up solidly. The liner lock seemed secure and engaged the blade flush with the thumb stud side of the tang. When my knife was closed the tip contacted one side of the caribiner while it is closed and was centered when the caribiner was opened.
The caribiner locks when opened and is disengaged by pushing the caribiner down when the knife is held pivot down. Mine has very noticible play in the caribiner. This could probably be tightened out. The blade pivot, caribiner pivot and the 3 clip screws are all Torx. I have never been a fan of hanging a knife outside of my work gear, whether they were oilskins, raingear, or work vests. I find them to be snagging hazards when working around ropes, lines, and wires so I have never owned a knife with an incorporated caribiner or snap clip like some Kershaws and Spydercos.
The clip slides onto the pocket and out of the pocket smoothly. The spring on the caribiner appears to be secure. I will probably clip this knife to my work vest when I get back on the boat. The caribiner will easily clip to narrower belt loops, zippers with thongs on them, but will not clip to standard sized zippers due to the thumb ramp that facilitates one hand opening.
Here are some pix of the knife:
Closed and compared with Kershaw Shallot:
Open and compared with Kershaw Shallot:
Open knife pocket clip side:
Open, liner lock engaged:
Open knife, spine view:
Open knife, caribiner opened:
Closed knife, caribiner opened:
(Sorry about the cat hairs in the pix
)This seems like a nice light duty folder for a reasonable price. The fit and finish are on par with an inexpensive folding knife geared towards the working man who needs a knife and doesnt want to break the bank if it is lost.
These are my first impressions of my first Leatherman folding knife. I will post more on the subject as I use and evaluate the knife further at work.
