I have to say that I'm not sure that it's good form for your first post here to be an attempt to generate traffic to your site. Any chance you could go ahead and post your review here?
There is a 15,000 character limit on this forum so I couldn't post it all here but here is the first part of it... all links and videos have been purposely removed...
=================================================================================================
Review Of The CRKT M16-13SFG Folding Knife For Tactical & Every Day Carry Purposes (EDC) - By Tai Zen
In my first weapons review, I’m going to review a very popular knife made by Columbia River Knife & Tool, also known as CRKT.
I will be reviewing the CRKT M16-13SFG Folding Knife.
The knife was designed by former U.S. Army Sergeant Major, Kit Carson, who has been designing knives for over 30 years.
Here is a video of Kit Carson on YouTube talking about his knife making philosophy.
I will review this knife based on my first hand experience in dealing with knives while hustling on the streets and surviving in prison and other real world SHTF situations.
I really do not care that the knife is made by CRKT or designed by a former army sergeant with 30 years of knife making experience. Those facts are irrelevant to how I view and use the knife.
M16-13SFG Tanto Knife Specs
Dimensions
Open Overall Length = 8.25 inches
Closed Length = 4.75 inchesReview of the CRKT M16-13SFG Folding Knife
Weight = 4 ounces
Blade
Length = 3.5 inches
Thickness = 0.1 inches
Material = 8Cr14MoV
Blade HRC = 58-59
Finish = Titanium Nitride
Grind = Hollow
Style = Tanto
Edge = Veff Serrations
Handle
Material = G10
Liner = 2CR13
Lock
Type = Locking Liner
Safety System = Auto LAWKS
Carry
Carry System = 4 Position Clip
Features
Flipper = Yes
CRKT M16-13SFG Folding Knife Review
I grew up machining and welding a lot of metal so I’m fairly knowledgeable about manufacturing quality so I really don’t get attached to a knife due to it’s price or name brand.
So let’s get started. In part 1, I’m going do a General Review of the knife:
Part 1 – General Review Of
The CRKT M16-13SFG
Today, I’m going to review one of my favorite EDC’s.
For you guys who just started collecting knives for the first time, EDC stands for “Every Day Carry”.
This knife is called the M16-13SFG by Columbia River Knife & Tool.
The SFG stands for “Special Forces”.
This is their Special Forces edition and I’m going to go over that in a minute the reason why. But I have five categories of things that I’m going to cover on this review.
There’s a lot of materials that I can cover in this knife, so I have a list in front of me and some bullet points I’m going to go over with you so I won’t forget any of it.
The first category is just the general specs of this knife and the characteristics of it.
The second thing that I’m going to go over with you is the tactical or ability of this knife.
The third is the real world, every day carry of this knife.
The fourth is the design of it and…
The fifth is what I do not like about it and what could be made better – basically the potential improvements.
Let’s go and get started.
Quick Disclaimer & Background About Tai
Let me share this with you guys.
Before I start reviewing the CRKT M16-13SFG, I want to give you guys a background of who I am so that you guys could understand the reason why I review this knife the way I do, its functionalities in the way I do. I just want you to see where I’m coming from so that you guys understand.
First of all, I was a former prisoner of the failed U.S. War on Drugs.
I was put in prison for drugs for 13 1/2 years.
I grew up in the streets in East Texas and the ghettos and the poor neighborhoods so I have seen how knives are used.
I’ve seen people stab and get stabbed with it.
I’ve seen people defend themselves with it and I’ve seen lots of things in the real world what people would do with a knife to hurt someone else or to protect themselves.
I have used knives when I was locked away in the violent prisons in America to protect myself and I have to take it from other people who have tried to hurt me with it.
The other thing too is that I grew up as a machinist and a welder so I am very familiar with working with metal so I just want to share that with you guys.
And the other background information that I want to share with you is that I’m also the creator of the the S.M.A.S.H Self-Defense Program which teaches people how to defend themselves in a real world situation.
So just keep in mind guys, the streets, my prison background, the machining and welding background and self defense instructor.
So I’m sharing with you guys my background info so you’ll know why I review knives the way I do.
Let’s go in and get started because I got a lot to cover from this.
Part 1a – Steel Type
The first point I want to cover about the CRKT M16-13SFG is the steel type.
I’m not going to go into detail about the steel type of this knife simply because in my experience I’ve seen people get killed, stabbed and severely wounded with a plastic knife, a wooden knife and a plastic spoon in prison.
Whenever I hear people debate whether or not one type of steel is better than the other for a blade that’s only a few inches long I’m not going to sit there and debate that.
So whatever steel this is made out of, it’s fine with me because I’ve seen people seriously get hurt over a plastic knife in prison.
So I’m not worried what kind of steel this is. Whatever steel this is made out of I’m not going to be able to have the scientific knowledge to explain it.
And the other thing too is I know whatever it’s made out of it, it can definitely cut. I have not seen somebody’s flesh that is stronger than this steel. I’m not worried about that.
Whatever steel this knife is made of is plenty strong for pretty much any situation or condition.
As long as it’s made out of a reasonable quality steel, it’s plenty good enough for me.
Part 1b – Blade Length
The blade length on the CRKT M16-13SFG is decent.
In Texas you can carry a blade length about 5.5 inches.
This one is supposedly 3.5 inches but to me it kind of wobbles a little bit because of this tanto point. So you actually lose about 3/8 or half of an inch so really the blade is probably about three inches so that’s the blade length but it’s still functional.
I personally prefer a knife blade to be be at least 3.5 inches or longer when possible because it’s pretty much the “legal” length for almost every state in America.
Part 1c – Blade Thickness
The thickness on this blade…
You won’t be able to see that in the video but it’s about 1/8 of an inch thick and it’s a very thick quality blade.
When I talk about the quality, I’m not talking about the chemical composition of the steel.
I’m talking about a blade that is thick enough to stab somebody or defend yourself.
Keep in mind that this is a tactical special force knife so when you guys hear me talk about this knife it’s usually in a tactical, self-defense manner don’t get freaked out when I talk about some of these aspects of the knife.
Anyway, when you go to stab somebody with a knife and you hit bone or something hard, you want a blade that is thick enough so when you go to stab somebody that it does not bend, chip or break the blade when you hit bone, body armor, belt buckle, etc.
Some knives have smaller blades and I do not like that.
I’ve seen knives with the blades a lot smaller in it and it’s good for peeling fruits, apples and mangoes or stuff like that, or cutting chicken to eat but not to do “tactical” or self defense related activities.
Knives with thin blades do not serve well when it’s actually time to go and actually put it to work, to protect yourself. For example, the knife blades on most Swiss Army knives are practical for every day use and survival situations but not at all suitable for self defense or tactical applications.
I just don’t believe that the metal is thick enough in thinner blades (like the Swiss Army knives) to prevent bending and warping when you have to use it in an extremely violent manner.
This knife blade is definitely thick enough and you don’t have to worry about that.
Part 1d – Cost
The other thing too is that the cost of the CRKT M16-13SFG is relatively cheap.
You can get the CRKT M16-13SFG for like $37-$47 or something like that online.
And from a machinist and a welding background, I would have to say that the construction quality of this knife is worth the money and you definitely get what you pay for and probably a little bit more…
It’s definitely worth the money. You get a lot “bang” for the buck!
Part 1e – Durability
The next thing that I want to talk about is the durability of the CRKT M16-13SFG.
Like I said before, from a machining and welding background, I would have to say that this is a very precision made knife.
If you look at it, you might not probably see that on video but…
There’s no play
There’s no slack
There’s no sideways wobble in the blade.
And when you use it for a while and it begins to loosen you can always tighten it back up accordingly.
I have done this in the past with my previous EDC which was also a CRKT (desert tan version) and it was the spear tip and it did not have the hilt on it. When it loosens up you can always tighten the screws on it and readjust it so it’s really cool.
As far as durability goes, in the construction material the way it’s made of metal and its composite material, this will definitely last a lifetime with regular sharpening and stuff.
The thing is when you use this, you’ll probably lose this knife long before the knife wears out or gets broken. It has a very good quality, so I would not worry about the durability on this knife.
The other thing that I forgot to mention with you guys is that I’ve used other knives in the past. And when I carry a knife as an EDC, I use that knife constantly for everything, including:
I cut everything with it including meats, fruit, vegetable, electric wires, wood posts, branches, etc.
I use it as a screw driver.
I use it as a “Phillips”.
I use it as a pry bar.
I use it for everything that they tell you not to use the knife for because I could care less because it’s my knife and I can do whatever I want with it.
And plus if it does the job, I’m going to use it because I can use this little tip here to unscrew some screws at the back of my laptop when I’m trying to replace a hard drive or something. I’m going to use it if I don’t have a screw driver around.
I actually use this knife on a daily basis for almost everything.
When I carry this as my EDC, when I go and cook some chicken to eat, I don’t even use thick knives, I use this knife. The reason why is because I like to feel the knife in my hand so the day that I need to use it for a self defense situation or something like that, the knife is comfortable in my hand.
So when I eat apples, I eat fruit, I chop vegetables, I do everything with this knife. I don’t use my kitchen knife at all.
My wife uses the kitchen knife and she thinks I’m crazy for using this pocket knife but I have my own reasons.
Just keep that in mind guys that no matter what steel you use, no matter how strong or how tough they say the steel is, if you use your knife constantly every day, it’s not going to get dull and you will have to sharpen the edge.
I don’t care how sharp they say it is; the reality is if you use a knife or blade constantly, you will have to sharpen it.
In this first section I just wanted to review the overall general specifications of the M16-13SFG.
In part 2, I’m going to see if the knife can function as a tactical knife in battle or just another fancy piece of metal.
Part 2 – Tactical Review
The second section that I want to review is what I call the “tactical capabilities” of this knife. I chose this knife a lot for its tactical reasons.
I had the M16 desert tan version before and it was good. It does everything this does but there were some tactical options that it did not have that I wanted it in my new EDC.
Part 2a – Blade Edge
Let me go over those tactical features with you starting with the knife edge.
It has a straight edge combined with a serrated edge. This serrated edge is a new type of serrated edge and not your standard edge. It’s not like the standard serration that’s on my previous desert tan version.
A standard serration usually has a combination of large and small tooth grinds pointed directly downwards at a 90 degrees angle (perpendicular) to the knife edge.
The M16-13SFG uses a Veff serration edge that was invented by Tom Veff and Columbia River Knife & Tool is the first knife manufacture to market this type of serration.
The veff serrration has only one size tooth and it’s angled at around 50 degrees downward towards your hand and sits perpendicular to the knife edge.
This knife has a serration and there may be people that like this.
I DO NOT like serrated blades!
I want a full straight blade because I sharpen my knives to be really razor sharp so I don’t care too much for the serrated blade.
The previous M16 that I carried for like almost four years, I have never ran into a situation where the serration was useful. It always got in the way especially at sharpening a knife.
When you use a serrated knife to make a lot of fine delicate cuts you need to hold your finger down near the base of the blade (near the swivel joint) and it was truly difficult because the serration is always in the way and tends to cut your fingers because you have to place a finger there for balance and control of the knife.
I would prefer that they did not put the serration in there.
It would be better ifCRKT did not put that in there and gave the option to the customers to buy the knife with or without the serration. That’s just my personal opinion.
Part 2b – Knife Point
Let’s move on to the knife point. They offer several different versions at CRKT. They offer the tanto version and the spear point version. And if you do some research online there’s not a lot of information to explain why a knife has a spear point versus the tanto point.
But the spear point comes out and it has a smoother edge shape that typically resembles a spear head or arrow head.
The tanto point is shaped like the tip of many samurai swords (tanto blades) and much better suited for tacticwill
If you plan on having to stab something that is thick or is very hard or very durable, the tanto point has an advantage because the point is so short that the chance of you chipping the tip, breaking it, bending it or damaging the tip is a lot lower probability then using the spear point because the spear point comes up to a longer, more elongated point which is thinner.
