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

I think my first CRKT that I owned was a voodoo. We had a friend who gave my family some really good deals on CRKT's so Ive owned a bunch and have been seriously disappointed with every one of their products except for the My Tighe which is an outstanding folder for like $55. I got into CRKT's before I knew anything about knives so I thought that they were great until I started buying spyderco's and benchmades and experienced a truly quality product. Every CRKT I owned (many M16 variants, lightfoots, etc..) all had very poor lockups and the knives basically would fall apart on their own with a weeks worth of use. I also had many lock failures especially with the Voodoo, which would close on you if you squeezed with any pressure whatsoever.

All I can say is that CRKT generally puts out a very, very poor product for the price. And for all their knives they sell for LEO's and Military personnel, all of them are crap and they should feel guilty for even marketing a product that way. Poor steel, poor designs, poor CS, and deceptive marketing. I know for one that I will never own another CRKT knife again. Not even if you gave it to me for free.
 
KalEl said:
I think my first CRKT that I owned was a voodoo. We had a friend who gave my family some really good deals on CRKT's so Ive owned a bunch and have been seriously disappointed with every one of their products except for the My Tighe which is an outstanding folder for like $55. I got into CRKT's before I knew anything about knives so I thought that they were great until I started buying spyderco's and benchmades and experienced a truly quality product. Every CRKT I owned (many M16 variants, lightfoots, etc..) all had very poor lockups and the knives basically would fall apart on their own with a weeks worth of use. I also had many lock failures especially with the Voodoo, which would close on you if you squeezed with any pressure whatsoever.

All I can say is that CRKT generally puts out a very, very poor product for the price. And for all their knives they sell for LEO's and Military personnel, all of them are crap and they should feel guilty for even marketing a product that way. Poor steel, poor designs, poor CS, and deceptive marketing. I know for one that I will never own another CRKT knife again. Not even if you gave it to me for free.
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Strange that people can have such vastly different experiences with the same brand of product. I, like many others, have had nothing but good experiences with CRKT.

I've only owned two of their folders, but they were both near flawless in quality and design. One of mine was stollen, but the other has seen many years of daily use without showing any quality issues. And sure AUS-8 isn't as fancy as some super steels, but it is pretty decent for less than $40.
 
My first close to $100 knife was a CRKT M16 large folder.....think it was the special response team or something one. Carried and used for a few months, developed bad blade play, wanted to send it in, but cost would have been same as the knife...retired and reborn a week ago as this!

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I have four CRKT knives and each of them still sees some pocket time. I have the Ken Onion Ripple 1, the M16-01KZ EDC, and two Drifters (a G10 and ss version.) I like them all, but with price considered, I am most impressed by the Drifters! Surprisingly well-built (especially the stainless steel frame-lock model) and extremely affordable.

The stainless steel Drifter...
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My first quality (< $50) was a CRKT M16-04 when I was 16 or 17. It was confiscated and destroyed by an overbearing and paranoid aunt. I replaced it a couple months before I joined BF when I started college at 18 with a M16-14. I later sold that for $50 to a LEO (student job at the university police dept) who was Navy Specwar inactive reserve.
 
CRKT STIFF KISS, if you read some of my other posts, you'll find i speak highly of this knife. Still carry when i can, love it for what it is, and for $16, I couldn't go wrong. My most recent is the SOTFB Tanto, it reminds me of a bigger version of the STIFF KISS, because its a tanto and is half serrated. Love both of them and I enjoy CRKT's Knives. I just dont understand the hate projected upon them, ive had nothing but good experience with their CS department also (Sheath for STIFF KISS broke and they had a new one which was better and had a belt plate shipped to me within a week.)
 
Hmmm... Certainly not my first knifes, but I have a virgin pair of early BladeLocks from CRKT / Michael Walker. When was that... early '90's?

Sure, CRKT has QA issues, and an unfortunate love affair with redundant locking systems, despite the complaints. But look for the unique gems, and you may find a few in the CRKT stable:

The McGinnis "Tuition" is one of my favorite EDC's. Light, tough, and sheeple friendly.

The Ringed Razel is as wicked as any Karambit, but more useful. (my opinion, mind you. I'm no knife fighter).

Also from the Graham brothers, the wonderful "Stubby Folding Razel". It's a cute and chubby little fist full of attitude. LOVE that little thing. It's just OBNOXIOUS. More importantly, the ladies love it. Every time I pull it out, they want to look at it, and hold it. Really.

At the higher end, I have a pre-order in for the Nirk Tighe production model.
OK, it's strange looking, and I'm sure it's not going to be a practical carry, but I like strange knifes.
I just have a feeling this might be a good one. It's certainly unique.

You just have to be willing to keep an open mind. If it were all just Spyderco and Benchmade,
it would be a pretty boring hobby.

-Berk
 
My favorite CRKT knife is the M21-04. The only gripes I have with CRKT are 1) the blades of many are chisel ground on the left side, which is bad for right handers; 2) the weight of the knives are a bit high; and 3) the heat treat of the blades is on the soft side. If you're going to use AUS8 steel, heat treat it like Cold Steel does. I love the blade design of the M21 and its deep belly. I also like the LAWKS. I'm not a big fan of the liner locks, so I'm going to want something there to prevent failures.

CRKT makes many great knives, but their serration patterns are horrific! Who needs 'em?
 
I had a M16-10KZ for a few years but it broke last summer as I was using it a little too hard. I still have another one and carry it from time to time. Great little knives.
 
My first was a Montana gentleman knife that I found as a drunken highschooler at a party cleaning up the next morning. I don't even remember finding it haha. Anyway it was a great knife until I lost a screw for the frame, CRKT couldn't replace the screw (on a knife never purchased by me) so they gave me the MSRP value towards a new selection. I got a new A.B.C. for kayaking and CRKT got a customer for life. They even threw in one of their sporks as an added bonus.

Over the years I picked up a few CRKT but I will never forget their generosity when making a new knife purchase.
 
My original one was the first M16 model plain edge ATS34 no lawks and no flipper and it still looks like the day I bought it over 13 years ago. I wish all the CRK&t knives had the quality they once had.
 
The Ringed Razel is as wicked as any Karambit, but more useful. (my opinion, mind you. I'm no knife fighter).

Also from the Graham brothers, the wonderful "Stubby Folding Razel". It's a cute and chubby little fist full of attitude. LOVE that little thing. It's just OBNOXIOUS. More importantly, the ladies love it. Every time I pull it out, they want to look at it, and hold it. Really.
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I was really interested in one of the Graham Bros Razels. I priced them and decided I really needed to get some idea whether or not I would even like the knife day to day. I wasn't going to spend $400 to find out I don't like a blade. Bought the CRKT Ringed Razel. I liked it, but never could get used to the extra edge and cut myself a few times. Not to give up on the concept... I bought the Stubby folding Razel and I like this blade. Been carrying it most of the time for the last couple of months. It needed some work on the front edge, but after touching it up, so far I am pleased with this Chinese blade. There lies the problem for me... didn't know it was made in China until I already paid for it and looked at the box. Nothing on the blade. I still like it, but this alone has nudged me away from seriously considering another CRKT knife. It is a truth in merchandizing kind of thing for me and I feel their approach is deceptive.
 
My first CRKT is my Mirage, semi-serrated that i found in a lake. It was open in the water and i almost sliced my bare foot open on it while trying to un-snag my sisters fishing line line from a rock. I cleaned it up and gave it a nice edge. I was about 11 and it was my first 'big' folder ever. :D
I still own it too, it is razor sharp and my EDC! Great find, though it is low-end, I love the dang thing to death
 
my first was the edgie, i took the dumb sharpener thingy out of it and removed the pocket clip havent carried it for a couple years now but i took it out to play with it a couple days ago.

its an alright knife for the price, i would much rather have a drifter though.
 
My first CRKT was a M16-14 with the titanium handles. Partially serrated tanto blade-loved that thing. Bought it at the PX on Ft. Hood in 2003 or thereabouts. I don't have it anymore, I broke the tip off using it like a crowbar (typical 11Boogaloo-we always break shit!)

I remember thinking how scary sharp it was when I got it... M16-14's are an excellent series of knives. I still have a desert big dog in my EDC rotation, look to be adding a M-21 and one of the Hissatsu folders in the coming months.
 
Though no where near my first knife, my one and only CRKT is the Kit Carson M21. I was offered it at dealer cost so I figured why not? I like the looks of it and I prefer a large folder. I carried it for a few months and beat on it pretty hard. I have to say, it held up pretty well. I just think you get more bang for your buck from the other big knife companies than you get from them. As to the OPs question/statement, I think that the looks, designs of CRKT are very attractive to folks just getting into knife herding and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I think the more companies and styles you try the more you learn. I still wish I had one of their Turtles.
 
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