- Joined
- Mar 10, 2008
- Messages
- 14
I'll start this out by saying while I have liked knives as long as I can remember, I don't have that many and I don't know too much about them. The size of my collection is limited by a shortage of funds. The lack of knowledge doesn't bother me, since I'm one of those people that research things excessively before spending any money. I suppose that is because I have very little to spend.
I am currently a college student and have mostly carried a knife for every day uses, although I do look at it as a last option self defense tool. I started out buying cheap knives, and wasn't really all that disappointed in them. The last cheap knife I bought was a Smith & Wesson assisted open model. I loved the idea of being able to open my knife as fast as possible, and automatics are illegal here so this seemed like a perfect option. While it was fun to play with, it really was not what I was looking for. I either had to disengage the safety before opening it, or trust that it would not accidentally open in my pocket (this would have been a big mistake). This is when I decided to buy my first "quality knife." I decided I wanted to stray away from the assisted openers and became fixated on the flipper design. I ended up purchasing the full size CRKT M16. I like the knife, but it has a few things that makes it not exactly what I want. First off, I hated the chisel grind. I use a Lansky to sharpen my knives, so it was pretty much impossible for me to get it right. The thing is also HUGE, way bigger than I want in my front pocket every day. It was never really that sharp to begin with either, and nothing I did made it any better.
I decided to try something smaller and had to decide between the composite blade leek and the R.A.M. Trusting the assisted open system without using the safety is still something I am uncomfortable with so I went with the R.A.M. At first I was a little disappointed. My first 4 attempts to flip it open were unsuccessful. After that it got a little better, but it wasn't anywhere near as easy as I had been reading online (lots of research). I kept practicing and got to where I could get it almost every time. Then I decided to loosen the pivot just a bit. That made all the difference in the world. I love this knife now. Its harder for me to get it to not open with the flipper than it is for me to get it to open. Even my girlfriend can do it now, and she could never get the M16 to open. I love the lock too, anything that keeps my hands away from the blade is a good thing in my book, and for this reason I have never liked liner locks.
Another slight disappointment was the pocket clip. It was really loose for some reason, but that was easy enough to fix. I kind of wish it was black though. I know there is another model that uses the same clip only in black, is there any chance I could buy one of these from Kershaw?
I am converted to Kershaw now. This thing is way sharper than my CRKT. Too sharp maybe, as I have already cut my pinky playing around with the lock. Nah, not too sharp, I should just stop being dumb. Does anybody know which edge angle on the Lansky would best match the edge on this knife? Or should I just spend the extra money and get a Spyderco Sharpmaker?
For those of you that managed to read all of this, thank you for providing all of the great information here. I'd like to close with one last comment.
Please release a composite blade version of the R.A.M. I will buy one in a heartbeat. I am ready to buy a knife with a premium steel, and love this design so much that it would be the perfect knife for me.
I am currently a college student and have mostly carried a knife for every day uses, although I do look at it as a last option self defense tool. I started out buying cheap knives, and wasn't really all that disappointed in them. The last cheap knife I bought was a Smith & Wesson assisted open model. I loved the idea of being able to open my knife as fast as possible, and automatics are illegal here so this seemed like a perfect option. While it was fun to play with, it really was not what I was looking for. I either had to disengage the safety before opening it, or trust that it would not accidentally open in my pocket (this would have been a big mistake). This is when I decided to buy my first "quality knife." I decided I wanted to stray away from the assisted openers and became fixated on the flipper design. I ended up purchasing the full size CRKT M16. I like the knife, but it has a few things that makes it not exactly what I want. First off, I hated the chisel grind. I use a Lansky to sharpen my knives, so it was pretty much impossible for me to get it right. The thing is also HUGE, way bigger than I want in my front pocket every day. It was never really that sharp to begin with either, and nothing I did made it any better.
I decided to try something smaller and had to decide between the composite blade leek and the R.A.M. Trusting the assisted open system without using the safety is still something I am uncomfortable with so I went with the R.A.M. At first I was a little disappointed. My first 4 attempts to flip it open were unsuccessful. After that it got a little better, but it wasn't anywhere near as easy as I had been reading online (lots of research). I kept practicing and got to where I could get it almost every time. Then I decided to loosen the pivot just a bit. That made all the difference in the world. I love this knife now. Its harder for me to get it to not open with the flipper than it is for me to get it to open. Even my girlfriend can do it now, and she could never get the M16 to open. I love the lock too, anything that keeps my hands away from the blade is a good thing in my book, and for this reason I have never liked liner locks.
Another slight disappointment was the pocket clip. It was really loose for some reason, but that was easy enough to fix. I kind of wish it was black though. I know there is another model that uses the same clip only in black, is there any chance I could buy one of these from Kershaw?
I am converted to Kershaw now. This thing is way sharper than my CRKT. Too sharp maybe, as I have already cut my pinky playing around with the lock. Nah, not too sharp, I should just stop being dumb. Does anybody know which edge angle on the Lansky would best match the edge on this knife? Or should I just spend the extra money and get a Spyderco Sharpmaker?
For those of you that managed to read all of this, thank you for providing all of the great information here. I'd like to close with one last comment.
Please release a composite blade version of the R.A.M. I will buy one in a heartbeat. I am ready to buy a knife with a premium steel, and love this design so much that it would be the perfect knife for me.
. As you carry the RAM you will wonder how you got along without it. It has become by far my favorite folder. The action on this knife is unbelievable (the RAM has me seriously considering my first custom knife, if you told me six months ago that i would ever consider that I would have said you were crazy). I agree completely about the composite RAM I would buy one in a heartbeat. Hopefully with enough people asking for one we can convince Kershaw to make one. Congratulations on your new knife I hope it brings you a lot of enjoyment.
