Opinions on CRKT M-16

lagarto

lagarto

Joined
Oct 26, 2001
Messages
1,438
Hi Folks,
Does anyone out there own/use an M-16 and have opinions on them.(good or bad) My friend just showed me one, and being a good knifeknut my first reaction was I gotta get me one of these. Are they actually as good as they look, how's the edge retention etc...?
Thanks in advance.
Lagarto
 
I bought a smooth edge for my brother and a half serrated one for myself, both aluminum handle and spear point. The spear point has a very sharp point. I'm not really partial to tanto shapes, but the small one looks interesting. They sharpen fairly easily, take a very sharp edge, and hold it fairly well. I've only had to sharpen my brothers 3 or 4 times in about 2 years. Then again, he is not very picky and not abusive to it either. The half serrated one I had came with a very sharp smooth section, sharpened only on one side. It is very thin and will cut even after it has lost its razor edge. No lock trouble for me. I think the liner lock is made of steel, not Ti. The handle feels good to me, and fits my average size hands well. The only down side I found is the bead blasting. Polished aus-8 resists rust quite well. The bead blasted aus-8 of the M-16 developed some rust spots after a couple of days in my pocket. They cleaned off w/out any pits. Also, take into account that I carried it in my pocket during several 12-14 hour days in 95+ degree weather and was soaked in sweat after about 2 hours. I found it to be a good knife. It was just under the size that starts to poke you in the leg when carried in a front pocket. Also, the edge angles, even though only on one side, fit the sharpmaker right from the factory. Oh yea, one other down side. The tip is very sharp and quite thin as well. I broke mine off scraping some paint from around a window. It took about 3 weeks to put a new one on with a dmt blue stone, all by hand.
 
I've had similar rust experiences with the CRKT bead blast, but overall they make pretty good knives. The M-16 which I've handled have all been smooth and solid. If you're competent with tools and not afraid of voiding your warranty, in most cases it's a simple job to take out the blade and remove the bead blast with a bit of 600 grit sandpaper. If you want a better result you can follow with 1500 grit and wet sand it. This results in a more rust resistant and attractive satin finish.
 
Lagarto,
Please take a long careful look onto new M18 series knives. The same main ideas as in M16 but in highly refined form.
 
I sold off all of my production knives to be able to afford a nice custom or two. The CRKT M16-03Z is the only one that I kept. It's design is just very thoughtful, in my opinion. And it's one of the pointiest knives that I've ever seen. The steel's a tiny bit lacking in the quality dept. (it'd be phenominal if CRKT could do everything the same except up the blade steel on their knives a little), but the low cost compensates nicely for that. A winner without a doubt.
 
Thanks for all the info guys, sounds like they're a good way to go, at least for a production knife.
Lagarto
 
A friend of mine showed me his m-16 and I could not keep my hands off of it . I had to go buy one for myself . Great little knife
 
I love the looks of the knife, and it feels good in the hand, but I have trouble opening it due to the thumb post being flush against the handle, cuz there's not a big cut-out for it. But, it might fit u fine. The liners are 420J2, btw. Try one out.
 
Thanks for all the replies folks, just picked one up this morning. Unfortunately the only B&M place that sells them around here is an hour and a half away, so I had to run straight back to class. Therefore knife is still sitting in my glove box:(, but I loved holding it for the first time in the store, and the spear point really makes me happy. I'll post more when I've had time to use it some, just wanted to say thanks for all the great advice.
 
Got M16 small Tanto with serration. Loved the knife, didn't like the tanto shape. Cuts well though.
I was altering the bevel angle and didn't know that the point edge of the tanto is very hard to kept straight. So I've been altering the shape of the blade quite a bit :(
Good choice to take the spearpoint though :)
 
I've got M16-03Z

Great knife otherways, but...
... the thumb studs are too rough (IMHO) and snag on clothes.

Well, on the other hand...
... little file work and everything should be just fine.

Again, on the other hand...
... I want to keep mine like it came.

So it it little bit one of those "nice to have" folders and doesn't get much use.

As said, great knife (little bugs doesn't play any big role after all). I like the flipper!
 
I had the large tanto model with the flipper for a few months. Overall, I thought it was a decent knife. Fairly easy to sharpen, good ergonomics, nice design and a flipper. I've had problems with other CRKT knives not locking up but, this one was rock solid. Personally, the spear point M16 is my favorite CRKT knife.
 
Had a cheapie model M-16 (not one of the 1* models) and traded it away. I much prefer the M-18: better steel, LAWKS, and beefier handles.
 
I have a m16-03z in my opinion it is an excellent knife for the money,it has some nice features like much more expensive knives.well worth the price.
 
I love the M16 series. The lockup on every one I've had has been perfect. If you look closely on the blade tang, you'll see a kind of coating. From what I understand, it's almost like the opposite of teflon. It is a substance Kit Carson devised and is his secret. IMHO the flipper is the only way to open this knife. The thumbstuds actually work as a stop pin and are situated too close to the handle to be comfortably thumbed open. I have owned: M16-04 (large plainedge tanto), M16-14 (large combo edge tanto), and a M16-13z (largest spearpoint combo edge). They ended up becoming gifts or I sold them cheap to a friend. I still want to get another M16-04, but I always end up buying something more expensive.
 
Well, I've had mine for almost 2 weeks now, and I really like it. It's an M-16 03z (Spearpoint - zytel handles ) Although after a week of carry I did find several small rust spots on the blade. Almost small enough not to be noticed if you weren't looking for them. I agree with Solid_Soldier though, I have fairly big hands, so the thumb studs feel as though they are too close to the handle to be useful, although the flipper works well. I've used mine to cut apples, cardboard and packing tape, and it handled all fairly easily. The edge has held up well, although I should probably touch it up a little. As an aside, is that an M-16 used by Blade's evil mother to cut his shirt off in the first Blade movie. Help me out someone. Thanks.
Lagarto
 
Actually, I noticed the knife too. I kept rewinding and watching that part until I knew it was a BM 3500/3550 BT. It's cool that a movie would use a good real world knife for once.
3550P.gif
 
I had the largest tanto with aluminum plain edge. For a long time it was my absolute favorite knife. Hat's off to Kit for one helluva design.
 
New M16-14Z is zytel/aus 6 and has a lawks lock. It has dual ss liners also. crkt should put the lawks and dual ss liners on all the m16 models. I don't understand why the more expensive aluminum/carbon fiber/1* m16 models don't have the lawks and dual ss liners.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top