Review Massdrop Crux (FFKW & WE)

[BD_01]

My review of the Crux is long overdue. That’s a good thing, as a month of fairly consistent EDC has helped solidify my impressions.

For the TL,DR crowd, skip to the SUMMARY section for a synopsis. Of course this review is subjective, YMMV based on personal taste. I welcome your commentary and discussion.



DESIGN: Excellent.

The design did it for me from the first picture I saw. The size, blade shape, and aesthetic is nearly ideal for my EDC preference. I like understatement. The blade to handle ratio is good. Some have commented on the unusual shape of the blade’s sharpening/finger choil. Personally, I like it as it takes an arc nearly identical to the lockbar access cutout.

Size is between a small and large Sebenza 21.



ACTION: Excellent.

Out of the box it was just OK, so I took it apart, cleaned & oiled, and ‘bam’ great action. My guess is the factory lube was a bit viscous and gummy. Disassembly was easy—except there was LocTite on the clip screws! Reassembly was predictable. Tighten the pivot until centered and stop. Perfect.

FIT: Good.

Everything is fine, but there is nothing amazing either. It arrived a bit off center, but the pivot (no LocTite!) just needed a bit of adjustment. No lock stick or other real complaints.



FINISH: Needs Improvement.

Herein lies one of my two major gripes about the Crux. While the outer edges of the scales are nicely chamfered, the inner edges are a bit too abrupt. This is especially true on the lockbar. Lockbar tension is fairly strong and thumb access a bit tight. One has to jam their thumb fairly firmly for access, and ramming into an abrupt corner is not real pleasant—especially for repeated cycling. A chamfer is desperately needed here. A few thousandth more cutout on the show scale would help too.

Less of an issue is the overly fine the bead-blast finish. It scratches super easily. That doesn’t upset me too much; the weathered look will be cool. However, a stronger blasting would hold up better and feel less ‘chalky’ in the hand.

Good points about the finish include jimping on the flipper tab that’s just about perfect and an even (albeit plain) satin on the blade.

 

[BD_01]

PART 2


BLADE: Good.

The shape is yummy. The grind is even with nice flats and a swedge. The spine has been tumbled enough to knock the edges off and it’s reasonably thin behind the edge. It’s really well done, though not quite extraordinary. Oh, and it arrived only kinda-sorta sharp out of the box. A fair amount of stropping brought it to reasonably sharp, but it really needs at least a Sharpmaker touchup. (I’m putting that off to see how long I can keep it going with a strop.)

CLIP/RETENTION: Fail

My hatred for the clip on the Massdrop Falcon knows no bounds. Well, the Crux has the same clip. Surprisingly, the clip’s unforgiving rigidity is less of an issue with the Crux. While not great, getting the knife in and out of Levi’s was doable, probably because the larger size of the Crux makes it easier to wedge into the pocket. However, the OE clip created a massive hotspot—and I generally don’t get hotspots! The sculpted piece of nasty took a reasonably ergonomic knife and made it unpleasant to hold, even briefly. Fail. Fail. Fail.

Massdrop, to their credit, is redoing their clip with the intent of increasing compliance. It’s mostly keeping the same form factor, which won’t do squat for ergonomics. Personally, I don’t get it. What’s wrong with bent metal clips?!?



Anyhow, after a week of EDC, my Pop’s Custom Clip (pictured) arrived. Hallelujah! A decent clip made the Crux really enjoyable!

ECONOMY: Satisfactory

Some folks on the MD boards rave about the Crux being an earth-shattering deal. I disagree. IMO, for what it is, the Crux is priced about right. It’s a solid Ti framelock flipper with a good action, but lacking in refinement. I’ve seen some Kizer TFF’s priced about the same on sale (notably the Feist and Sea Lion). Unfortunately I don’t have either for comparison. But here’s my perspective: delivered from MD with tax the Crux cost me $134. Add to that roughly $30 for a usable clip and I’m in about $164.



Guess what? Form factor aside, the ZT 0450 is a better (more refined) knife that can be delivered to your door for $160. Even more telling, I just picked up a black Spyderco Southard on discontinuation discount for $165! Now THAT is a great deal.

CONCLUSION

I’ve been carrying the crap out of my Crux for over a month and plan on continuing the same, in spite of it being towards the lower end of my collection. There are two reasons. First, with a decent clip attached, the only major shortcoming with the Crux is the lockbar abruptness and access. This gripe is easily surpassed by my infatuation with the overall form factor.

Second, (bear with my paradoxical neurosis) because this knife is a bit crude relative to most of my collection, I have no inclination to baby it. In other words, because I like it a bit less I’ll use it harder (without worry), enjoy it, and like it more. Logical, right?



SUMMARY:

If you are in love with the form factor (as am I), buy this knife...and an aftermarket clip. It’s well built but could use a bit of refinement in a few areas

Design: Excellent
Action: Excellent
Fit: Good
Finish: Needs Improvement
Blade: Good
Clip: Fail
Economy: Satisfactory

 

[bflying]

Great review BD_01 . I too have been somewhat infatuated with this model, even though there were a number of things I disliked about it at the same time. There are many others knives in a similar category, that have more pros than cons right out of the box. Usually I would simply toss something like this to the side, and grab one of my other blades that check off more + boxes. But for some reason I felt challenged to make this thing more to my liking, and in doing so, making it more "mine".

I think what kept me going on this was that the actions on both my Crux and Falcon were almost perfect. Just the right amount of detent strength. Smooth blade deployment to solid lockup. And no blade play. These are the things that make or break knife value to me.

Sooooo, I ended up changing......the finish (color and texture), the rougher chamfers, size and shape of the forward finger choil, enlarged the lock access on front scale, rounded off the corners on both lock and front scale lock access.

Personally I really like the size and shape of the original clip. But the obvious design flaw creating a weak point, give the clip a very short life expectancy (if actually used that is). And I absolutely hate that Massdrop chose to ignore, then deny warranty claims. I was on my way to racking up a sizable spending history with them. But now I doubt I'll ever buy a private label item from them again (beyond the Gent knife I've already paid for). They have developed an extensive history of ignoring warranty issues. That strategy may work as long as you are bringing in a high quantity of new customers, that are ignorant of past issues. Eventually that will usually bite a company in the butt.

 

[BD_01]

bflying Thanks for your kind words. Like I’ve said in other threads, your mods are really well done!

If/when I get around to home refinishing (I’m thinking coffee can stonewash), at the very least the lockbar will get a bit of filing. In the meantime, the sucker’s getting used & keeping me happy.

 

[emjay4248]

I just got mine 2 weeks ago for a buck and a quarter to my door. I liked the looks of it and now that I have it i'm very glad that I got it. I listen to all the complaints about it and it seems perplexing to me as to what everybody expected for the price. Maybe everybody thought that magically a CRK was getting delivered. I think you have expected too much from this knife. It may have the Ferrum Forge name but it is by no means a Ferrum Forge Mid-tech or custom. The knife is all titanium with a blade made from S35VN Great action great lockup and the finish actually reminds me of a new CRK chalky texture which usually ages well. The knife is a beautiful design, it is much harder to make a nice simple design that works than a knife with a bunch of doodads. Put the Crux next to the PM2 S30 and you will see 2 knives for around the same price. One is an example of incredible function but leaves most people having to slowly fall it in the form department. Then their is the Crux which in my opinion is a work of art compared to some of the other Ti knives out there so it wins in the form department. As far as I am concerned the crux was designed that way so that people would not be afraid to use it. I love my PM2's ( all eight of them) for what they are and the same goes for the Crux.
Yes the clip is a problem for many and I believe that A new clip is coming soon but I couldn't find out anymore. MD told me they don't know when and to just check out MD every couple of days and FF told me to go and check out MD after the holidays so that was an exercise in futility. I actually don't have a problem with it but if I ever need or want to sell it it would be good to have it.
This is my last comment on BF for 2017 and I bid you all farewell for now and wish you all a healthy happy and prosperous new year (including our beloved pets).