I enjoyed mine for some time. The handle shape and flipper work well, and I liked the gunner grip style dimples. The FRN was a little thick to carry in the front pocket. I used it a lot at an auto parts house, it saw a lot of hose, double corrugated cardboard, etc., and kept a good edge - for AUS8. It's not S30V.
The semi tanto point is ok, and I got used to it quickly. As for looks, tho, something was lost in translation to CRKT and the blade got smaller in relation to the handle, compared to photos of Lightfoots originals. Again, perhaps its the thick FRN scales. The TiN on my blade resists scratching very well and has very few markings - it looks much better than the coated blade of my old BM CQC7.
I acquired a Buck Strider next, and the performance difference was close, the Buck in 420H and a high hollow grind cutting about equal on the same materials. The CRKT had more comfortable ergos for a bare hand EDC, and a less aggressive appearance to me - but has been the only knife I've gotten a negative comment on in public. Perhaps again the thick FRN scales make it more visible. I sanded the scales on the Buck (most effective diamond checkered rasp I've ever owned,) maybe I should thin them on the CRKT (from the back.)
It's hard to rotate it into my EDC, right now I'm stuck on carrying an much more expensive folder that is heads and shoulders better, a S30V titanium framelock. But when I need really dirty work to do, the M1 does come to mind as a good alternative.
