Review - Crusader Forge FIFP Folder

[Toyz]

Beast. Monster. Awesome. Shocking.

These are a few words that immediately come to mind when you hold one of these. Truly overbuilt WTSHTF knives. I had to hold one and was fortunate enough to pick one up from another forum member. I have been looking for a year at these and the bug finally bit me.

Pics at the bottom of this post include a Benchmade Rukus 610 and Spyderco Gayle Bradley for size comparison. Blade is just over 4" long, the knife is just shy of 6" closed, and it is around 10" o/a length open.

This model - the "Fear is For Prey" model - is a sharpened prybar. Nothing about this knife is sissy. From the oversized hardware (T25 scales & pivot, T10 clip) to the overly thick titanium to the huge thick blade - it screams "mean and nasty".

The knife is not a slicer. Don't even give it a second thought. I tried to slice thru some leather belt, and although it did a fair job, it took some effort on my part to get it to cut through. Not because the blade was dull - it is actually very sharp - just very thick.

The flipper is smooth as silk and you need very little effort to get the blade open. The frame lock is very easy to disengage. The pocket clip is one of the strongest I've seen. I do believe it would take an unnatural act for this one to accidentally come out of your pocket.

 

[Toyz]

Even though this is one heavy folder - I find it very easy to carry in jeans and shorts.

The shape of the knife has been called "brick like", and thats a fair assessment. It does, however, feel really good in the hand. The tang of the flipper offers protection for your finger so it doesn't slip and run up the blade if you are in heavy cutting / prying mode. Fit and finish is some of the best I've seen in a knife - especially of this size. It would be hard to hide a flaw when you are building a beast like this one. Blade steel is triple treated CPM S30V. Not sure how hard it will be to sharpen, but it looks like it might be a daunting task.

There is absolutely no blade play up and down or side to side with this knife. The lock - up is solid and early, and from the way the titanium was cut - it will probably take a lifetime before the wear forced the frame lock over to the other scale.

The detent is very strong - no fear of the blade coming out of the scales on it's own.

There is no lock stop like you would find on a Hinderer or Strider - but I believe you really don't need any on this one. The titanium is so thick you would have to purposely go out of your way to overextend the frame in order to do it. Also - the pocket clip is soooooooo big and beefy, and it rests perfectly centered on the line between the lock and the scale, exerting additional pressure against the lock. The clip is milled out of a solid piece of titanium and doesn't give easily.

The blade has a lot of belly - and I really like the shape. It actually is very utilitarian. Mine came with a thumbstud also (right hand only), and it is very easy to open the knife in this manner also.

Overall - if you are into big tactical overbuilt tank-like folders - this one is for you. I have owned Hinderer XM-18 and Striders, and they are not in the same league as this bad actor!! I'm not really sure what I will do with it yet - maybe go to a junkyard and cut thru some old cars and busses.

BTW - if I keep it - I absolutely plan on continuing to carry it nights and weekends. I never buy knives to sit in the safe. I use them or sell them.

 

[DennisStrickland]

toyz you've said it very well.i have your twin & its smaller brother in 3in. blade. till one actually holds this monolith the great slabs of titanium go unappreciated. reminds me of the rock monster in "The Neverending Story".i pictured my smaller model last week in a piece about mirror polishing that had been slicked up by knifenut1013.he cut thru a nail from a nail gun & examined the edge under a microscope. he was amazed at the very minor deformation left in the edge & remarked " this is the way all s30 should be heattreated" you must have an imposing physical structure to pack this baby. at 5'9" i would list sideways toting this booger.whatever this knife is or is not --it certainly will grab attention.if you need to use it defensively a hard throw will dispatch most comers. thanks for the pics. dennis

 

[jack lowe]

nice pictures of a fine BEEFY folder! :thumbup:

 

[Bill86]

Is it me or.....Why is the pivot so small? Why not hinderer/strider sized pivot? To me that would be the weak point of the knife.

 

[Josh K]

Is it me or.....Why is the pivot so small? Why not hinderer/strider sized pivot? To me that would be the weak point of the knife.

+1. The other thing I noticed was the stop pin seems tiny in those pictures. Perhaps a better shot of it? It looked smaller then the GB at least.

 

[Toyz]

Ok - you guys forced me to. I didn't want to take it apart - but I did so I could try to report some real information.

I measure the pivot pin at 1/4". I was on Rick Hinderers website, and he reports a 1/4" pivot pin also for the XM-18. I don't have my 18 any more so I cannot do a real world comparison.

I sold my SnG last year, and the Strider website doesn't report their pin size - so I would need some help from BF members to report the size.

The stop pin measures 3/16", appears to be quite a bit larger than the stop pin in the Gayle Bradley, and slightly bigger than the one on my ZT 0200.

The titanium scales are around 3/16" thick each.

Just to reaffirm my earlier statement about fit and finish on this - it took quite some effort to get this bad boy apart as the stop pin and the pivot pin are TIGHT in the frame.

I also think the hardware looks so small because the scales are so big - I measure just over 1 1/4" wide - they're just huge chunks of titanium.

Picture of the disassembled knife below.

If I keep it I may do some long term testing (hard use) and report back with my findings.

 

[d762nato]

Nice review and yes those are tanks. I've looked at them for some time they look like a fixed blade folder pretty much. Thanks, :thumbup:

 

[Tostig]

Nice...... That knife is what I think of when the ideal titanium framelock comes up , not the usual ,overly common and boring offering.


Nice score !

Tostig

 

[Josh K]

Ok - you guys forced me to. I didn't want to take it apart - but I did so I could try to report some real information.

I measure the pivot pin at 1/4". I was on Rick Hinderers website, and he reports a 1/4" pivot pin also for the XM-18. I don't have my 18 any more so I cannot do a real world comparison.

I sold my SnG last year, and the Strider website doesn't report their pin size - so I would need some help from BF members to report the size.

The stop pin measures 3/16", appears to be quite a bit larger than the stop pin in the Gayle Bradley, and slightly bigger than the one on my ZT 0200.

The titanium scales are around 3/16" thick each.

Just to reaffirm my earlier statement about fit and finish on this - it took quite some effort to get this bad boy apart as the stop pin and the pivot pin are TIGHT in the frame.

I also think the hardware looks so small because the scales are so big - I measure just over 1 1/4" wide - they're just huge chunks of titanium.

Picture of the disassembled knife below.

If I keep it I may do some long term testing (hard use) and report back with my findings.

Ah, looks bigger when not installed in the huge handles. Nice knife. :thumbup: