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RR CRKT Bear Claw

P

Phillip

Joined
Dec 25, 1998
Messages
568
I know these are new on the market and probably not in general distribution, but would whoever gets one post a quick review?
It looks like a La Griffe (more or less), but with handle slabs.
 
well I picked on up today. yes it does look like a lagriffe but it is ground on both sides (very thin) shaving sharp out of the box. one weird thing though I putsome finger pressure on the blade near the tip and it flexed!!! then went back true. The sheath is not really comfortable like the stiff kiss (or the new straight peck) but it is nice. Also the finger hole is a little small (I can get it on but not get it off easily)
 
Hello,

about the CRKT Bear Claw design a friend of mine, (blues) has written that on the rec.knives

"Sure looks like he got his idea for that knife from Fred Perrin. Wonder if
there are any royalties involved?
Poor Fred. Seems everybody wants to copy his designs."

I don't understand well this will to copy without to contact the initial knifemaker...
But now I cant understand someone could have the "same idea" as Fred Perrin, 10 years (!) after Fred release and show his La Griffe...
This is sad.


Now we really liked CRKT products like the Kiss, Peck Stiff Kiss and Stiff Peck.
We would really like to try their Bear Claw but unfortunatly we don't have any of these in France.

Anyway, for almost the same price, Ernest Emerson do a very nice stainless version of Fred's La Griffe and at a really affordable price for a very high quality product.

Cheers,

JM
 
I totally agree with Nemo. The Emerson version is very nice and not that much more expensive. I try to stay away from designs that are obvious copies. I think production versions of custom knives are great. As long as they have permission from the knifemaker.

------------------
-Dennis


 
Well said, Shootist.

Fred Perrin is a good man as well as a talented knifemaker. Believe me when I tell you that he works hard and does not live like royalty. And, as many of you have learned, Fred is the first to praise the work of other knifemakers. A pretty rare quality, and one that makes me proud to have him as a friend.

It bothers me when I see these obvious copycat designs out there by some individual makers as well as a handful of companies that think nothing of ripping off someone elses work.

At least credit the source if nothing else.

Personally, I won't buy products (knowingly) from such sources.

Actually, one good thing did spring from all the controversy over such infringement. It was how JM (Nemo) and Fred and I all became friends to begin with and led to many pleasant days spent in each other's company.

Blues

------------------
Live Free or Die

 
I have the serrated version, and am very impressed with it except for the fact that the point is intentionally blunted, much like bandage scissors.This blade is very rigid. I have the plain blade on order and may comment on the differences when it arrives.I don't have a Perrin, so I can't remark on the similarity between them.In general, I have seen a lot of that lately.

------------------
"To grow older is inevitable.To grow UP is optional."


 
I also agree with Nemo.
I handled both of these knives at the store this week and for exactly $10.00 more you can get the real deal from Emerson Knives in 154CM instead of the cheaper and inferior 6M steel found in the CRKT's knockoff Bear Claw. I like the overall feel of the Emerson more and it looks like a knife I can get away with carrying on my job. WOOOHOOO!!
Emerson's got the better knife and I will be picking one of these up as soon as I can scrape up the money.
The other looks like a total knockoff and that really torques my nuts!
Don't get me started...

------------------
The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.


 
Yeah,

The Emerson is better than this thing from ckrt.

And the real thing (Perrin) is better yet.

I notice the crkt piece has a screw in front of the index finger hole. Could this account for for the flex mentioned above? Maybe the blade is a separate piece from the handle, tang, whatever.

Spend a couple of dollars more and get the real deal.

------------------
Regards,
Ron Knight

Yeah I'm crazy, but what do you want me to do about it
 
The screw in the Bear Claw matches a depression in the sheath to secure the knife into the sheath,a la Stiff KISS.

------------------
"To grow older is inevitable.To grow UP is optional."


 
Thanks for the link, Sing. What have we come to. It looks like this knife from Russ Kommer is a complete knock off of Fred Perrin's. It is even called "The Claw".

------------------
-Dennis


 
Where do you guys come off with all this self-righteous indignation? Kommer's/CRKT's
knife is not even close to the same knife as Perrin/Emerson's. How many fighters out there can trace their origin to a Loveless design,
but nobodys crying. There ain't much really new in knife design, just variations on a theme. Let's get over this and go on.
Charlie
Now, if Kommer's not getting royalties, we have a genuine concern.
 
Yes, I agree. I got one before I knew much about the LaGriffe(sp?) but I'm happy enough with mine. It's not a P.O.S. at all. I doubt CRKT even intended to rip off Fred Perrin, because it's stamped as a design by Russ Kommer.
Look at Benchmade. Their Pinnacle's mechanism is designed after the Sebenza, but nobody is boycotting them, and there isn't any need to, anyway.
No, the Bear Claw may not be my favorite knife, or even one of them, but I got one and it's a decent knife. And CRKT still makes a lot of great designs that I am still open to buying.
Jim
 
I have a CRKT and have now seen an Emerson,and must wieigh in with those who don't see the Claw as a knockoff.There are similarities,just as there are many differences between the two.I'm fairly certain that Perrin has no patent on a curved blade or a finger hole in the handle.Does Perrin pay royalties to Spyderco?I jest, of course, but just to show how far we can go if we want to. If a manufacturer or designer feels that he has been trespassed upon, he/they have legal recourse.As a hobbyist knife person,I'm not making that call unless one knife is an obvious copy of another,feature for feature.If inventors didn't build upon the ideas of others, we would at least be shooting muzzle loaders! It appears to be a matter of degree.

------------------
"To grow older is inevitable.To grow UP is optional."


 
I would like to get a Fred Perrin La Griffe
but I never see them advertised anywhere.
Any hints ?
Yancy
 
It's not a bad knife at all. I prefer it to the LaGriffe because of the palm swells, but the LaGriffe has a better steel.

Of the two, though, I really like the CRKT because of it's sheath, and that's where it really wins out. It's just so much more versitile, and that's big points for me.

Spark

------------------
Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
I haven't got or tried the CRKT claw, but I do have a Perrin "La Griffe" (the claw in french) I have the one with a wharnecliffe shape, 3 1/2" long, chisel ground, oil quench 1075 steel blade with the g10 slabs. it comes with Fred's kydex sheath which is set up for in the waist band reverse draw or cross draw for a point forward draw or as a neck knife. Simply awesome. The custom is much nicer than the production. At $150 (three years ago) It is so much more knife for so much less money.

Spark, an original perrin can come with slabs of g10, micarta, wood or stag (I seen all of these)

Yancy, try here www.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/custom/Perrin.htm

or here

www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/2292/entree.htm

or contact nemo at nemo@club-internet.fr

try it you'll like it!


------------------
~ JerryO ~
 
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