Wanted to try auto-lawks... M21 any good?

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Lock1454

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Jan 4, 2009
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So I wanted to give CRKT a shot and try an auto lawks knife but didn't feel like spending all that much money. I was looking into getting an M16 but wasn't really happy with what I found. The ones that were in my desired price range ($20-30s) only offered AUS4, and the ones that were available in AUS8 knocked the price up too high for my liking (~$50+).

I was a bit saddened and was about to give up when I remembered the M21s. Checked them out and whammo! M21-02G has 8Cr14 (roughly same performance as Spyderco's 8Cr13MoV I'm guessing/hoping?) and only $30 with an upgrade from Zytel to G10 handle to boot! Also has better belly so it seems like it'd seem to be a better all around performer for EDC than a tanto or spearpoint blade shape.

Any opinions on this knife / steel? Seems almost too good to be true. 8Cr13+G10 for the same price as Aus4+Zytel.

And also, I'm assuming the M16 and M21 are both chisel ground? :grumpy:
 
Most M21s I sold were not chisel ground. M16s were another story. It was weird. Some of them would be chisel ground and some wouldnt.

AUS4 is possibly the worst steel in the industry. IMO it doesnt even belong in this industry. No other knife company uses aus4, and for good reason. The thing it is best at is getting dull. Easy to sharpen, but not worth it considering the edge retention is terrible.

8CR is a decent steel. I love it on my Spyderco Tenacious. Its just as good as AUS8 which is what CRKT used to use.

This is just my opinion. If you like the way crkts feel and look, get one. I just dont think they are worth the price asked at all. They have cool designs, but for the most part not good blade steels and the awtolawks system is probably the most impractical and annoying feature on a folder you could ever ask for.

Have you looked at Spyderco, Benchmade, Buck, or Kershaw? I'd Give them all tries before crkt.
 
I have a CRKT Tiny-Tighe with Auto Lawks and I'd say it is the best feature of the knife. There are some reviewers out there who seem to think it's hard to close, but they must be clutzes.

The knife can easily be closed with the right hand, using two fingers and your thumb in rapid succession with ease. So it requires one more finger to close than a regular liner lock-no big deal. You pull back on the red lock button with your middle finger, push the liner in with the thumb, and pull the blade closed with the index finger. A lot of clutzy people forget the last part-move your thumb out of the way!

The auto open is very quick.

The Tiny Tighe itself is an OK knife, it loses a lot of points for using 440-A. With better steel, you should be pretty stoked with your new knife if you decide to go with the AL feature.
 
I've had an M21-14 for about 2 years and it's a helluva knife. I don't mind the AutoLAWKS and FWIW, the liner lock has never given me any doubts. I think the G10 scaled versions use an AUS4 or AUS6 equivalent, while the aluminum scaled models still use AUS8 which is a better steel.
 
I just realized how far down the clip is mounted, a major peeve of mine is low mounted clipping... Gah! :(
 
You might be able to locate a fold-over type of clip. Check Knifeworks.
 
Splat said:
You might be able to locate a fold-over type of clip. Check Knifeworks.
Click to expand...

Not quite sure what you mean... CRKT sells after market fold over clips for their knives? Or are you suggesting just to check KW for another model of knife that has a fold over style clip? If the former, where abouts can I find them? Can't seem to locate where they are :\
 
To me, AutoLAWKS is a nice idea but... It annoyed the hell outta me. Having to disengage it everytime I closed the knife was annoying, it made the knife a 2 handed liner lock. Assuming the M21's are like the M16's, they should be a decent performer for the price, although there are better choices of knifes in that price range.
 
You can look on the bay or elsewhere for the older M21's , which do not have the auto lawks feature , just the manual lawks. Mine is aluminum handled ( which IMO is gorgeous albeit a tad slippery feeling ) and Aus 8 ( a great working steel also IMO ), although it is annoyingly chisel ground with serrations , talk about a PITA to sharpen!

I still love the M series from CRKT though , Carson has it right on with his flipper.... so much to the point that similiar type knives without flippers do not attract me anymore.

my two cents :)
 
Ive had CRKT's with and without autolawks, I still have the one without. Its not hard to disengage or anything, more or less its just a pointless feature. But you can always remove it.
 
You can always remove the spring or the whole LAWKS mechanism. It never bothered me. Is it needed? That's your call. My M21-14's lock has never let me down. I wish I could say the same about some high-priced knives I have.
 
All of the M16's, Apaches and the like that I had years ago were ATS-34. When they stopped using that, I stopped using their products.

mike
 
Maybe it's just me but I don't really get the point of the autolawks thing.
A lock to lock a lock?
What's next, a lock to lock the lock on a lock?
And then maybe put a lock on that? Autolawslocklocklock?

I happen to own a CRKT with autolawks (and in spite of what some claim it's actually easy to close with one hand) but I still don't get the point.

Once upon a time a lockback knife almost cost me a couple of fingers, but I don't really see that happening with a linerlock.
So what's the point of locking the linerlock?

Am I missing something?
 
i do not care for autolawks, i can live with the std lawks i suppose but i do not like the autolawks,
 
I had a M21-04, good knife, built solid.

I traded it because it was too bulky for me.
 
i like the shape of their folders but most of the steel that they use sucks
i hate having to keep sharping them ALL THE TIME.......
and the autolawks is a pain in the a$$
it wasnt too bad when u could manually use it, but when they started making them auto lock bad news...

if it were me double check which steel is used (anything less than aus8 should be trashed) and take the autolawks spring out
Edward
 
It's not that bad.. I have one. It works easy with a little practice. I'd rather they remove the auto-lawks and just put a thicker liner lock on it.. I would think that would be cheaper overall and they could forget all the Lawks stuff.
 
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