Was your first a crkt, and do you still have/use it?

S

SurpriseGoat

Joined
Apr 28, 2011
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So this is my first thread and instead of the usual "help me find a knife" thread, i thought i'd try to start a thread that might be interesting. I like crkt, have 19 knives or tools, and appreciate them for what they are. Like many of you, a crkt was my first "real" knife and what brought me to knife collecting and the forums. So the questions i pose to the community...What was your first crkt knife? Do you still have it or use it? What was your impression of them then verus now? And do you still consider crkt products for purchase?

As i read back over this i realize it sounds like i'm a crkt shill. I'm not, i just don't understand some of the hate directed to crkt. I now collect kershaw/zero tolerance, and i don't try to compare the two brands, except maybe the lower or mid level kershaw offerings. CRKT isn't Zero Tolerance, CRK, Hinderer, or even Spyderco, but without the lower end knife companies to introduce people to knife collecting, then how would this disease spread? :D And it seems like quite a few custom knifemakers have worked with crkt, and i know that as soon as i can afford it i plan on ordering a "real" polkowski/kasper companion to go with crkt version i have, and isnt that a good thing to?

Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling, and i look forward to your responses!
 
I still carry my drifter from time to time, it feels great in the hand....certainly not my first, but it was early. Oh and the tuition, I don't use or carry it very often, but it keeps a place in box.
 
I think a lot of people are annoyed when companies make misleading statements about their products, like "we chose premium 8Cr13Mov steel for this knife." And a lot of CRKT's offerings are in the $50-60 street price range, where they're competing against better made products from the big three. That being said, I still think my Tiny Tighe Breaker is a cool looking knife for the price.
 
Almost half of my knives are CRKT, other half - spydercos.
First serious knife - Desert Cruiser, still in use by my father. Looks and works great.

I like CRKT very much - they are not so much in steel, but like to explore different designs not just one or two tastes and patterns.
 
You know I, too, like CRKT. I don't remember which was my first one, but I edc a M16-13 from time to time. I tried the zytel version and gave it away. If you can find one, the original with aluminum handles, pre auto LAWKS, and A-8 blade it is a good knife if you upgrade to bronze washers. I also own a 7" first strike (greatly disappointed by the edge geometry), PECK, the aforementioned M16-13, and a Folts minimalist. The Folts necker is actually one of my favorites, and to get real micarta scales, usable sheath, and a decent edge for $20 is hard to beat. I did seriously consider the Ripple and it is surprisingly well made.

Something else to give them credit is I had them go above and beyond for a warranty replacement, when clearly stated in their policy it wasn't covered. I had broken the tip off of a M16-13Z (A-4 steel) and decided to get a regular one to upgrade. After about 6 months I decided to give them a call to see if they will replace the blade or something (fully expecting to pay), so then they tell me they don't offer blade replacement of any kind but this time only they will replace my knife for free! They offered this, and I never even asked for anything free, but for a company to offer this on their own accord was exceptional. I boxed it up that day and got a new one back in about 2 weeks.


Although I have been curious about their traditional slip joints recently.



Cheers-
-Xander
 
Thanks for the replies so far! I guess i should have answered my own thread though...My first knife was a small buck lock back copy, and a few passed down slipjoints, and they worked for me on the farm were i grew up, used them until i went to college. But they were just used, not appreciated. About 5 years ago i saw a m16-14zsf at a gander mountain and the wife bought it for me as a gift. It cost a little over $50 at that time. While that isn't the highest quality crkt i currently have, it still remains the most expensive! I guess i've been pretty lucky to pick up almost all my crkt's on sale. And i do understand the complaints against the steel, i'm not a huge fan of the 8cr13 either, and have found that generally i prefer the earlier taiwan production knives and the aus 8. But, until i had that knife, i had never even shopped for a knife much less considered collecting them! That knife led me to their website, which then made me curious about the designers themselves and learning a little bit about knives, which eventually led me here where i have learned so much more. (as a lurker)

I have recently purchased a m1 lightfoot to round out a particular area of my collection, and i am loving this knife! Great size and feel, blade shape, i don't know for sure what it is about this knife but it has joined my zt 300 or 200 as a edc. The next knife from them i want is the large razel folder, not great steel, but the design interests me. After that...Maybe something from Gerry McGinnis, that kid has some talent!
 
My first was a Voodoo. Very cool assisted opener with a fatal flaw in the spring. Broke 3 springs and moved on to an M16 and M4. Have penty of other models of theirs, and they all spend plenty of time in the rotation.

Great knives, excellent service, nice pricing. Good people. I'll keep buying their knives for a long time to come.
 
I've used to have a lot of CRKT stuff, gave a lot of them away, but do actually still have my first one, the Jim Hammonds designed "Mirage" folder.
 
My first CRKT was a Crawford/Kasper, the smaller one. It's clipped to my back pocket right now. I like it.
 
My first CRKT was a Tiny Tighe and I got rid of it as fast as I could because it kept opening in my pocket when it wasn't supposed to. It sliced my favortite denims (6") the last time I carried it and drew blood on my thigh and my hand when I reached in after I felt it cut my thigh while I tried to sit in a chair. Maybe it should be called the Tiny Thigh Breaker . . .

I couldn't adjust the pivot to stop it without being too tight to open properly.
 
i have 4 crkt's i think my first was the ultima 7 it got a good testing and held up more than i expected it would, the only problem if you could consider it one was that i dropped it accidentally a few times and the handle near the edge got a decent sized chunk out of it. so i grabbed my leatherman and its file and filed down the sharp edges and now its hardly noticed in the hand. the second is a M60 SOFTB and i haven't tested it out yet. third and lastly is the kasper/crawford dragon and it looks alright to edc but i haven't really tested it out either. oh and almost forgot i have the hasattsu which i dont have any enemy combatants to try it on its not tested either.
 
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My Point Guard was love at first sight. The blade shape and grip ergos really did it for me. It has the LAWKS on it which I am ambivalent about. I guess you could say it was my first tactical folder, even before I knew what tactical was. I never carried it much, because it always seemed too agressive. Since that aquisition in my teens, I have over the years purchased a few more cheap CRKT's because of this or that innovative feature. I like thinking outside of the box, and that is one of the things that is great about CRKT, thier designs...for better or worse. Now that I am older and have some disposable income, I aquired a custom titanium Crawford Point Guard which does not have the LAWKS. I guess it all comes full circle eventually, huh?
 
SurpriseGoat said:
… I have recently purchased a m1 lightfoot to round out a particular area of my collection, and i am loving this knife! Great size and feel, blade shape, i don't know for sure what it is about this knife but it has joined my zt 300 or 200 as a edc…
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M1 Lightfoot was my first CRKT. It’s a pretty stout folder! I was so impressed I bought a back-up in case I lost or wore out the first one, but I haven’t even come close. Still in my EDC rotation, used for back pocket carry when front pockets aren’t accommodating enough:thumbup:
M21-Lightfoot.jpg


-sh00ter

Edit: Got a Heiho too, it’s been getting lots of pocket time as of late. It just carries so well and has a cool/sleek design.
 
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My first one I just bought a few months ago, an Ultima plain tanto blade, satin finish. They'd been on clearance for a long time, so I broke down and satisfied the knife itch with it. Not a bad knife for the price. The grip is very "grippy" but somewhat rough and uncomfortable. The blade is decent, but I haven't really beaten on it at all. It will make for a decent pig sticker during archery season.
 
Reeek said:
My first CRKT was a Tiny Tighe and I got rid of it as fast as I could because it kept opening in my pocket when it wasn't supposed to. It sliced my favortite denims (6") the last time I carried it and drew blood on my thigh and my hand when I reached in after I felt it cut my thigh while I tried to sit in a chair. Maybe it should be called the Tiny Thigh Breaker . . .

I couldn't adjust the pivot to stop it without being too tight to open properly.
Click to expand...

Yeah I had that problem too; their A/O system isn't the best. But it only takes one torx screw loosening to take the bar out, and the problem is solved. The knife works much better as a manual folder IMO anyway.
 
My first (and last) CRKT was the Denali. Until it quickly started falling apart. One of the screws holding it together disappeared very early on, and the thump stud for the special CRKT blade lock fell off.

Oh yeah, worst. Serrations. Ever.
 
My first was a 10th Anniversary gold tone PECK & KISS. I just like the designs, some however are almost useless like the main blade on the 2-FER? If I wanted a chisel, well I have several. But the secondary blade & the double lock just make it interesting. For the past month, I've been carrying a SLIP KISS - it does the job (light duty)
 
I believe my first CRKT was a Natural, and I still have it. At its price, a pretty impressive item. Micarta, jeweled bolsters, file work...overall making a very attractive piece.

I've had numerous CRKTs since. Most have gotten traded off, but a few have been kept.

CRKT has some very interesting ideas, but frequently the implementation of those ideas leaves much to be desired.

My main frustration with CRKT is that they seem to be all over the place in terms of quality and functionality, and its frequently hard to pick out the "good" ones. Since I don't have a local store where I can actually handle them, I've sort of given up experimenting with them.
I know I'm probably missing out on some nice items because of that.
I recently picked up a Full Throttle a local club member was selling. I'd never given it any notice before but handling it I realized it was a little jewel of knife at a very reasonalble price point.
 
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