Hi All!
I was thrilled when I first heard that Columbia River Knife and Tool Co. was going to make a production version of the fantastic Crawford-Kasper Fighting Folder(KFF). I had always wanted to own a KFF, but just couldn't bring myself to spend the cash for Pat Crawford's custom version. The CRKT KFF seemed like just the solution I'd been waiting for. Then I learned that CRKT had chosen to use AUS-6 for their KFF, and I- just like many of you who posted on the Forums- was disappointed. I was concerned that the AUS-6 was not a quality Stainless Steel capable of withstanding the rigors of training, much less combat. It made me question the quality of the whole knife.
I decided, after reading misque's and 2Sharp's terrific initial reviews of the CRKT KFF, to try and find out if it could perform up to the level I, and other bladeplayers, need in a tactical folder. They inspired me to E-mail CRKT and ask if they would send me some to put through my usual battery of test and then post a review of my findings for you all.
Rod Bremer of CRKT got back to me immediately. He readily agreed, and quickly sent me some KFFs from the first production run as well as info on changes that will be happening in future production runs of the KFF(which I will detail below). Rod's been absolutely terrific to deal with from Minute One.
First, a picture of the CRKT KFF in its various forms:
First Impressions:
The pics I had seen in no way prepared me for how substantial the CRKT KFF is- this is one honkin' sturdy folder! The handle is 5 1/4" long, and 1/2" thick looking down at its spine. It is a 1 1/4" wide from the spine side to the edge side at the front end of the handle and at the pommel. And, the KFF weighs 7.5 oz.! But, in no way does it feel heavy or awkward. The KFF feels tremendous.
I was amazed by the ergonomics of the handle and by how instantly comfortable and familiar it felt. When open, the KFF is 9 1/2" in OAL, and with its balance point right at the forefinger groove, actually feels much more like one of my favorite finger-groove handled fixed blade fighters than a folder.
Fit and Finish- The grind lines of the blade are perfectly symetrical and it is polished to a nice satin finish. The blade rides perfectly centered between the scales in the closed position. The blade opens very smoothly with either the thumb stud- which is ambidextrous- or with a snap of the wrist. In the open position, the blade is rock steady at the pivot.
The liner lock engages securely, and the secondary LAWKS safety mechanism is intuitive to operate and effective at preventing the liner lock from disengaging.
The handle scales, of Zytel, are textured and the edges nicely rounded. The stainless steel liners show slight cutting marks and the steel spacer isn't perfectly flush to the liners at one spot along its length, but, other than that, the overall fit and finish of the knife are excellent considering its price- certainly better than I ever expected.
The KFF arrived hair-popping sharp.
The clip is on the right side, positioned for tip down carry. It is not reversable. It is fastened at the extreme forward edge of the handle, so that the knife rides virtually completely concealed when clipped in my pocket.
Feel and Maneuverability:
As I stated above, the KFF felt amazingly comfortable and familiar in my hand from Minute One. This sense of comfort and security only grew stronger as I used the KFF against a variety of targets. The knife was totally secure in my hand during full speed, full power slashing, witiking(snapcutting), thrusting and checking against both my training dummy and the De Cuerda(hanging rattan target). I developed no hotspots or blisters, no hand irritation of any kind, even after over two hours of continuous hard training on each of two consecutive days.
The KFF moves effortlessly in my hand, transitioning easily through all grips in realtime while attacking targets. It is wicked fast and accurate against hanging targets of all kinds, and a real joy to use.
Accuracy:
I can hit within 1/4" of Sharpee dots drawn on a sheet of cardboard that I hung and set to swinging, at will. This is extremely accurate for a folder of this size.
Impact Resistance:
The Dreaded De Cuerda- This was a crucial test for the KFF and for CRKTs choice of AUS-6 steel for this knife, IMO. By harsh experience, I've found that folders are often not sturdy enough to withstand repetative impact against the De Cuerda, and suffer failure at the pivot joint or lock even if the blade survives. I was shocked, therefore, when the KFF performed absolutely brilliantly against the De Cuerda.
I executed full power witiks, backcuts, slashes, and parries with the edge, spine, and flat of the blade in realtime against the rapidly swinging rattan and the KFF took it all in stride. The AUS-6 blade cut nicely into the rattan(many blades just bounce off), and it suffered absolutely no damage- no chips, no rolled edges, nothing. The blade actually showed no signs of having been used at all.
The liner lock held firmly through the entire test. The LAWKS mechanism did have a tendency to slip backwards slightly from its fully engaged position under the rigors of impact, but it never disengaged. I normally do not use a saber grip. If I had, my thumb would have prevented this movement of the LAWKS lever.
The blade developed the slightest lateral play at the pivot after two days of testing, but approximately 1/16th of a turn with the torx driver returned it factory specs. I have to tell you that most of the folders I've used against the De Cuerda become quite loose at the pivot very quickly. So this is an awesome result, and one which really surprised me.
The Training Dummy- The KFF cut cleanly through the dummy's skin and deep into the foam underneath- excellent! The blade geometry of this knife is outstanding. Thrusts were absolutely fantastic as well- all the way down to the wooden core, with no flattening or bending of the blade's tip. Likewise, the edge once again suffered no damage against the training dummy. It did lose its shaving sharpness and had to be resharpened with my DMT diamond hone, but that is not unusual.
Further Cutting Tests:
Single Hanging Sheet of Paper- the CRKT KFF cut cleanly and straight through the paper at any angle.
Hanging Sheet of 1/4" Cardboard- Here again, the KFF slashed straight and clean consistently 4"-5" in from the edge of the cardboard.
The Hanging Roll of Exam Room Paper- The KFF cut extremely well into the roll of paper in realtime, often all the way down through the paper and sometimes through the cardboard roll inside. My BM 710 will not do this. With thrusts, the tip penetrated all the way down to the rattan pole beneath. This is a tremendous result for a blade of only 3 7/8" in length.
Leg of Lamb Cutting- I executed several slashes and thrusts at various angles through a large leg of lamb with the KFF and it cut through the dense fascia and muscle beneath effortlessly- no resistence at all. Long, clean cuts measuring a good 4"-5". It even consistently cut a good 1/2" or more into the femur bone of the thigh, once again with no damage whatsoever to the edge.
Thrusting was also effortless- all the way to the hilt and beyond. I purposefully thrusted against the femur bone several times and the tip bit in well and sustained no damage. In fact, the whole blade looked completely unused after all this cutting, and remained razor sharp.
So, there you have it .
IMO, the folks at CRKT have created one hell of a fine tactical folder in the KFF, using Bob Kasper and Pat Crawford's outstanding design. I own production and custom folders, some costing over six times as much, that cannot do what the KFF did. That's amazing. I have to tell you guys that I never expected the CRKT KFF to perform anywhere near this well given my prior experience with other inexpensive folders. And, for me at least, the question of whether or not AUS-6 was a good choice in steel for this knife has been answered. It works beautifully.
I have so much confidence in the CRKT KFF, in fact, that I intend to buy two for myself to replace my Mission MPF and BM 710 as my daily carry blades.
Negatives? My only suggestions to Rod for future production runs were:
1.To deepen the forward detent of the LAWKS, so that it is less likely to partially disengage during training against dense targets.
2. The clip on the knife is very smooth, providing little purchase for the index finger. Likewise, the handle scales are rather smooth as well, providing little grip for the thumb. It is easy therefore for the fingers to slide off the knife when one is trying to draw it rapidly from its clipped position in the pocket or waistband.
I taped some bathtub traction tape along the clip and trimmed it to shape with a razor, thus increasing the grip for the side of my index finger. I next roughened up the handle scale on the opposite side of the handle from the clip in the area where my thumb touches as I grab the knife to draw it. This gives the pad of my thumb something to grip. With these two minor modifications, I can now draw the KFF from its clipped position in my pocket or waistband very rapidly and securely every time, snap it open as I draw, and bring it to target in one fluid motion. Its perfect. Therefore, increasing the grippiness of the clip and the scales in future iterations of the KFF would be useful.
3. Make the clip ambidextrous.
I realize that these suggestions are minor and almost ridiculous to suggest in a knife that is so inexpensive, but I thought that CRKT- and you all- ought to know about them since they improve the knife's tactical performance. Rod assures me that they will consider these changes for future production runs. He also informed me that at due to feedback from Bob Kasper, in approximately 45 days, the next generation of KFFs will have:
1. The serrated section of liner- at the area of the choil behind the lock- will be lowered 1 mm to sit flush with the handle/frame.
2. The barrel of the LAWKS liner lock safety will be shortened so that it rides below the surface of the handle/frame.
The bottom line? I'm blown away by The CRKT KFF's feel and performance. The fact that it costs so little is just icing on the cake- delicious icing, to be sure, but just icing nonetheless. After the way it performed(and BTW, each of the four KFFs that CRKT sent me demonstrated the same high level of fit and finish and performed exactly the same), I would buy this knife, as is, even if it cost quadruple what our very own One Stop Knife Shop is selling it for. Now, would I someday like to see CRKT produce a slightly more upscale version with fine micarta scales and a finer overall fit and finish? Absolutely. Is it necessary, Hell no!
Bravo, CRKT. Bravo!
Mario
------------------
Gaucho
Tuvo muy mala suerte...se callo en mi cuchillo.
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 05-11-2000).]
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 05-11-2000).]
I was thrilled when I first heard that Columbia River Knife and Tool Co. was going to make a production version of the fantastic Crawford-Kasper Fighting Folder(KFF). I had always wanted to own a KFF, but just couldn't bring myself to spend the cash for Pat Crawford's custom version. The CRKT KFF seemed like just the solution I'd been waiting for. Then I learned that CRKT had chosen to use AUS-6 for their KFF, and I- just like many of you who posted on the Forums- was disappointed. I was concerned that the AUS-6 was not a quality Stainless Steel capable of withstanding the rigors of training, much less combat. It made me question the quality of the whole knife.
I decided, after reading misque's and 2Sharp's terrific initial reviews of the CRKT KFF, to try and find out if it could perform up to the level I, and other bladeplayers, need in a tactical folder. They inspired me to E-mail CRKT and ask if they would send me some to put through my usual battery of test and then post a review of my findings for you all.
Rod Bremer of CRKT got back to me immediately. He readily agreed, and quickly sent me some KFFs from the first production run as well as info on changes that will be happening in future production runs of the KFF(which I will detail below). Rod's been absolutely terrific to deal with from Minute One.
First, a picture of the CRKT KFF in its various forms:
First Impressions:
The pics I had seen in no way prepared me for how substantial the CRKT KFF is- this is one honkin' sturdy folder! The handle is 5 1/4" long, and 1/2" thick looking down at its spine. It is a 1 1/4" wide from the spine side to the edge side at the front end of the handle and at the pommel. And, the KFF weighs 7.5 oz.! But, in no way does it feel heavy or awkward. The KFF feels tremendous.
I was amazed by the ergonomics of the handle and by how instantly comfortable and familiar it felt. When open, the KFF is 9 1/2" in OAL, and with its balance point right at the forefinger groove, actually feels much more like one of my favorite finger-groove handled fixed blade fighters than a folder.
Fit and Finish- The grind lines of the blade are perfectly symetrical and it is polished to a nice satin finish. The blade rides perfectly centered between the scales in the closed position. The blade opens very smoothly with either the thumb stud- which is ambidextrous- or with a snap of the wrist. In the open position, the blade is rock steady at the pivot.
The liner lock engages securely, and the secondary LAWKS safety mechanism is intuitive to operate and effective at preventing the liner lock from disengaging.
The handle scales, of Zytel, are textured and the edges nicely rounded. The stainless steel liners show slight cutting marks and the steel spacer isn't perfectly flush to the liners at one spot along its length, but, other than that, the overall fit and finish of the knife are excellent considering its price- certainly better than I ever expected.
The KFF arrived hair-popping sharp.
The clip is on the right side, positioned for tip down carry. It is not reversable. It is fastened at the extreme forward edge of the handle, so that the knife rides virtually completely concealed when clipped in my pocket.
Feel and Maneuverability:
As I stated above, the KFF felt amazingly comfortable and familiar in my hand from Minute One. This sense of comfort and security only grew stronger as I used the KFF against a variety of targets. The knife was totally secure in my hand during full speed, full power slashing, witiking(snapcutting), thrusting and checking against both my training dummy and the De Cuerda(hanging rattan target). I developed no hotspots or blisters, no hand irritation of any kind, even after over two hours of continuous hard training on each of two consecutive days.
The KFF moves effortlessly in my hand, transitioning easily through all grips in realtime while attacking targets. It is wicked fast and accurate against hanging targets of all kinds, and a real joy to use.
Accuracy:
I can hit within 1/4" of Sharpee dots drawn on a sheet of cardboard that I hung and set to swinging, at will. This is extremely accurate for a folder of this size.
Impact Resistance:
The Dreaded De Cuerda- This was a crucial test for the KFF and for CRKTs choice of AUS-6 steel for this knife, IMO. By harsh experience, I've found that folders are often not sturdy enough to withstand repetative impact against the De Cuerda, and suffer failure at the pivot joint or lock even if the blade survives. I was shocked, therefore, when the KFF performed absolutely brilliantly against the De Cuerda.
I executed full power witiks, backcuts, slashes, and parries with the edge, spine, and flat of the blade in realtime against the rapidly swinging rattan and the KFF took it all in stride. The AUS-6 blade cut nicely into the rattan(many blades just bounce off), and it suffered absolutely no damage- no chips, no rolled edges, nothing. The blade actually showed no signs of having been used at all.
The liner lock held firmly through the entire test. The LAWKS mechanism did have a tendency to slip backwards slightly from its fully engaged position under the rigors of impact, but it never disengaged. I normally do not use a saber grip. If I had, my thumb would have prevented this movement of the LAWKS lever.
The blade developed the slightest lateral play at the pivot after two days of testing, but approximately 1/16th of a turn with the torx driver returned it factory specs. I have to tell you that most of the folders I've used against the De Cuerda become quite loose at the pivot very quickly. So this is an awesome result, and one which really surprised me.
The Training Dummy- The KFF cut cleanly through the dummy's skin and deep into the foam underneath- excellent! The blade geometry of this knife is outstanding. Thrusts were absolutely fantastic as well- all the way down to the wooden core, with no flattening or bending of the blade's tip. Likewise, the edge once again suffered no damage against the training dummy. It did lose its shaving sharpness and had to be resharpened with my DMT diamond hone, but that is not unusual.
Further Cutting Tests:
Single Hanging Sheet of Paper- the CRKT KFF cut cleanly and straight through the paper at any angle.
Hanging Sheet of 1/4" Cardboard- Here again, the KFF slashed straight and clean consistently 4"-5" in from the edge of the cardboard.
The Hanging Roll of Exam Room Paper- The KFF cut extremely well into the roll of paper in realtime, often all the way down through the paper and sometimes through the cardboard roll inside. My BM 710 will not do this. With thrusts, the tip penetrated all the way down to the rattan pole beneath. This is a tremendous result for a blade of only 3 7/8" in length.
Leg of Lamb Cutting- I executed several slashes and thrusts at various angles through a large leg of lamb with the KFF and it cut through the dense fascia and muscle beneath effortlessly- no resistence at all. Long, clean cuts measuring a good 4"-5". It even consistently cut a good 1/2" or more into the femur bone of the thigh, once again with no damage whatsoever to the edge.
Thrusting was also effortless- all the way to the hilt and beyond. I purposefully thrusted against the femur bone several times and the tip bit in well and sustained no damage. In fact, the whole blade looked completely unused after all this cutting, and remained razor sharp.
So, there you have it .
IMO, the folks at CRKT have created one hell of a fine tactical folder in the KFF, using Bob Kasper and Pat Crawford's outstanding design. I own production and custom folders, some costing over six times as much, that cannot do what the KFF did. That's amazing. I have to tell you guys that I never expected the CRKT KFF to perform anywhere near this well given my prior experience with other inexpensive folders. And, for me at least, the question of whether or not AUS-6 was a good choice in steel for this knife has been answered. It works beautifully.
I have so much confidence in the CRKT KFF, in fact, that I intend to buy two for myself to replace my Mission MPF and BM 710 as my daily carry blades.
Negatives? My only suggestions to Rod for future production runs were:
1.To deepen the forward detent of the LAWKS, so that it is less likely to partially disengage during training against dense targets.
2. The clip on the knife is very smooth, providing little purchase for the index finger. Likewise, the handle scales are rather smooth as well, providing little grip for the thumb. It is easy therefore for the fingers to slide off the knife when one is trying to draw it rapidly from its clipped position in the pocket or waistband.
I taped some bathtub traction tape along the clip and trimmed it to shape with a razor, thus increasing the grip for the side of my index finger. I next roughened up the handle scale on the opposite side of the handle from the clip in the area where my thumb touches as I grab the knife to draw it. This gives the pad of my thumb something to grip. With these two minor modifications, I can now draw the KFF from its clipped position in my pocket or waistband very rapidly and securely every time, snap it open as I draw, and bring it to target in one fluid motion. Its perfect. Therefore, increasing the grippiness of the clip and the scales in future iterations of the KFF would be useful.
3. Make the clip ambidextrous.
I realize that these suggestions are minor and almost ridiculous to suggest in a knife that is so inexpensive, but I thought that CRKT- and you all- ought to know about them since they improve the knife's tactical performance. Rod assures me that they will consider these changes for future production runs. He also informed me that at due to feedback from Bob Kasper, in approximately 45 days, the next generation of KFFs will have:
1. The serrated section of liner- at the area of the choil behind the lock- will be lowered 1 mm to sit flush with the handle/frame.
2. The barrel of the LAWKS liner lock safety will be shortened so that it rides below the surface of the handle/frame.
The bottom line? I'm blown away by The CRKT KFF's feel and performance. The fact that it costs so little is just icing on the cake- delicious icing, to be sure, but just icing nonetheless. After the way it performed(and BTW, each of the four KFFs that CRKT sent me demonstrated the same high level of fit and finish and performed exactly the same), I would buy this knife, as is, even if it cost quadruple what our very own One Stop Knife Shop is selling it for. Now, would I someday like to see CRKT produce a slightly more upscale version with fine micarta scales and a finer overall fit and finish? Absolutely. Is it necessary, Hell no!
Bravo, CRKT. Bravo!
Mario
------------------
Gaucho
Tuvo muy mala suerte...se callo en mi cuchillo.
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 05-11-2000).]
[This message has been edited by Gaucho (edited 05-11-2000).]
