- Joined
- Jun 5, 2002
- Messages
- 2,761
Well, i suppose im something of a knife snob, i tend to buy and collect either high end production, like Chris Reeve and Microtech, or high end customs. I do own several relatively cheap knives, like a Kershaw Boa and Chive, a Cuda, and its these i use for daily chores so as to save my nice knives and keep them pristine. In any case, whenever i do occasionally go to a local knife shop, there arent too many in my area, i always check out any new knives, either from Benchmade, Spyderco, Buck, Cammilus, etc, and the other day, the guy there who knows me handed me a knife and said, check this out. What he handed me was a large CRKT M18 all black with a Carson blade and flipper design. I know about this knife, but admit i never actually handled one.
I have to admit, i was impressed by this knife, particularly at its relatively low price, and ill tell you why. First, the action was extremely smooth, as smooth as anything ive seen before, im guessing theyre using teflon washers, true, id prefer a bit more tension, but the fact remains, this knife has an incredibly smooth action. I didnt expect that. Second, ZERO blade play in any direction! I also didnt expect that. The liner lock was a little thin for my tastes, but it seemed fairly solid and it engaged a little left of center, which seemed pretty good to me. I moved the blade pretty firmly up/down/side to side to see if the liner would move, or even disengage, it stayed put. Also, this knife has that liner safety, whereby it makes it virtually impossible for the liner to disengage accidentally, and i must say, it works like a charm. Seems there is no way the liner can disengage unless you want it to. Next, the knife has a stong ball detent that gives you that very satisfying and precise thunk when the blade closes that last 1/16". Next, believe it or not, the blade was actually perfectly centered in the handle! I know some makers of $3,000 customs that could take a lesson from CRKT on that! The flipper worked very well, and opening the knife was a breeze, and fun. Finally, the edge was very well ground, even, and extremely sharp, the literature says the blade is AUS-8, so its even a pretty good steel. One thing i noticed though is that the bevel on one side is fairly wide, but on the other side its practicaly zero, dont know why. Cheaper i guess?
So, all in all, for about $75, this seems to me to be one heck of a knife. Its possible that the one i examined was one of the good ones and theyre not all this perfect, but i would say, look around, find one like the one i saw and buy it, it seems like a real bargain to me, and i was VERY close to buying it, but the store wants, get this, $150! I like to support B&M stores as much as anyone, but come ON!
It was very refreshing though to come across a large, $75 knife that was well made and designed.
I have to admit, i was impressed by this knife, particularly at its relatively low price, and ill tell you why. First, the action was extremely smooth, as smooth as anything ive seen before, im guessing theyre using teflon washers, true, id prefer a bit more tension, but the fact remains, this knife has an incredibly smooth action. I didnt expect that. Second, ZERO blade play in any direction! I also didnt expect that. The liner lock was a little thin for my tastes, but it seemed fairly solid and it engaged a little left of center, which seemed pretty good to me. I moved the blade pretty firmly up/down/side to side to see if the liner would move, or even disengage, it stayed put. Also, this knife has that liner safety, whereby it makes it virtually impossible for the liner to disengage accidentally, and i must say, it works like a charm. Seems there is no way the liner can disengage unless you want it to. Next, the knife has a stong ball detent that gives you that very satisfying and precise thunk when the blade closes that last 1/16". Next, believe it or not, the blade was actually perfectly centered in the handle! I know some makers of $3,000 customs that could take a lesson from CRKT on that! The flipper worked very well, and opening the knife was a breeze, and fun. Finally, the edge was very well ground, even, and extremely sharp, the literature says the blade is AUS-8, so its even a pretty good steel. One thing i noticed though is that the bevel on one side is fairly wide, but on the other side its practicaly zero, dont know why. Cheaper i guess?
So, all in all, for about $75, this seems to me to be one heck of a knife. Its possible that the one i examined was one of the good ones and theyre not all this perfect, but i would say, look around, find one like the one i saw and buy it, it seems like a real bargain to me, and i was VERY close to buying it, but the store wants, get this, $150! I like to support B&M stores as much as anyone, but come ON!
It was very refreshing though to come across a large, $75 knife that was well made and designed.
