What's with CRKT? Attractive knives, poor quality materials?

craytab said:
Have you owned any of the knives you quote? The lake was the single worst knife I have ever bought. If you want, you can get the Kiss and drifter from China without the CRKT surcharge, I mean name on the blade. Have you owned a Kiss?

If you are fine paying $50 for Chinese produced 8cr blade, go for it bud. I'll take my $25 Tremor or my $30 thermite, or better yet a Rat 1 or the always awesome $25 Utilitac II. At least these knives are priced for what they are and have actual companies that make knives to back them up :thumbup:
Click to expand...

You can get a lot of knives out of China without the corporate brand markups, but, I prefer the brand nanes, which come with useable warranties.
I never owned a KISS, no, I think they're absolutely hideous, I was merely listing cheap knives per company to show how Kershaw's Chinese knives are not in fact cheaper, as you falsely claimed. But rather both have many equally priced knives. Some folks might love the KISS though, there's definitely a reason they make more then one style knife.

I typically go through at least 10 sub $30 knives a year however. Even since buying $100 knives and such, I still love buying up cheapos with my larger orders to play with, try out, beat on, and eventually lose, break, give away, or throw away, ultimately extending the overall life of my more expensive knives by avoiding abusive tasks. One might even say I actually USE my cheap knives more extensively then my expensive ones, "gasp"!

I do currently own a 3" Lake, and as yours was the "worst knife you ever purchased", mine actually isn't that bad at all. I like it. Worst thing about it is the ugly little denim sheath that came with it, and i actually still carry it, typically in the summer when I go to the shore or large cookouts where high alcohol consumption is likely to occur. I've definitely owned worse, much much worse. Including the Kershaw cqc2 I'm carrying now, which I bought just to try out the wave feature, and wasn't a huge fan, so tossed it in a box and forgot about it. Of course I also don't own Hinderer's and CRK's either, as I'm just a po' boy, since birth, and as such I do still appreciate $20 knives for $20 knives, (give or take), with realistic expectations like a pack of smokes and few hours at the bar. My Lake is much better then a Buck Spitfire or small Bantam for example, hands down, in every way. And i actually like my Bantam too!
I also own a crkt Free Range folder, which I quite like, much more then my Buck Vantage select, (not as much as my vantage pro though), and more then a handful of other Kershaws I've owned and handled, including more expensive ones. It's my favorite yard work knife. I also own a 3" Pazoda, which I also like for the price I paid... Simplicity. Another of my shore/cookout knives. Places where I don't feel the need to carry a Benchmade or whatever, for a multitude of reasons.

Again, they're not "great" knives... Not even close, and im not here to say they are, But great for the price, i'd say absolutely. I also own a Thermite, good knife but i much prefer the Scrambler in every single aspect, so much so I bought a second. The Nura I thought was absolutely horrible and gave to a friend. I thought the Endorser (CRKT) was a great little slicer, but gifted it to my step son to give to his father for father's day last year, and came close to buying a Hootenany and a Ripple on more then one occasion after having handled both, just never pulled the trigger. I like both in hand much more then my Tremor (yup, got one of those too), but not to say I don't like my Tremor.

Overall, I do like Kershaw better, but I have yet to have any of these horror stories folks claim about CRKT. Maybe I'm just lucky?

The current budget lineup:

UC Blondie
Tremer, Thermite, Scrambler x2, Free Range, Lake 111z
Bantam, Quickfire, Vertice, a pair of Böker magnums, cqc2
(Not pictured: Pazoda currently in someone else's possession. S&W Border Guard in truck.)
All under $30
 
Last edited:
RX-79G said:
It wasn't a complaint. It was genuine wonder at the things folks here find interesting, and all the things they do not.

I've certainly started plenty of threads on things I find interesting.
Click to expand...

OK...my apologies for jumping to that conclusion. My bad.
 
I bought a CRKT Wrinkle from here. I paid $20 and it's a great little knife. Aus-8 steel, bearings, aluminum handle and perfectly centered. c700x420.jpg
 
my biggest concern regarding CRKT is that they aren't a knife manufacturer. They buy or commission designs, and outsource production to other companies. This is why there can be such a gap in QC....all their different models are manufactured by a bunch of different companies and they have little to no control in the actual manufacturing process. Lately they begun using lionsteel more...which is great, but its not a representation of CRKT (just smart outsourcing that adds extra cost). I would love to see them become a manufacturer....but I don't think that's what they are going for. Kershaw, Spyderco, and others have offshore manufacturing facilities....but the difference is they own many, and the ones they don't own they use regularly. This helps ensure a more consistent quality experience. Plus they have in house designers on top of their outsourced designs...again adding to their ability to manufacture and understand the needs of their facilities. I've had a few CRKT knives over the years, mostly as projects to work on or upgrade, and none of them impressed me. The LAWKS system, that's just a sad, sad "feature" designed to make up for shortcomings. They have some great designers they work with regularly these days...and I would love to see them step up with some quality materials to match the designs, but until they actually become a manufacturer I'm not likely to give them any of my money.
 
craytab said:
I'll take my $25 Tremor or my $30 thermite, or better yet a Rat 1 or the always awesome $25 Utilitac II. At least these knives are priced for what they are and have actual companies that make knives to back them up :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Wow! Thankfully they started doing that. When I bought all three Tremors I own, the Kershaw sub forum was still here, and they tipped me off to the Tremor and the fact it was discontinued. Kershaw didn't make them at that time, but Thomas (if you are a Kershaw guy you certainly remember him) told me he was glad to see them go as he hated the fact they contracted out so many of their lesser price/quality knives to different Chinese and Taiwanese companies. Along with their contract to build, they ordered buckets of extra parts. Although the Kershaws had a "lifetime" warranty on them, he told me that when the parts were gone, so was the warranty. Thankfully, my two brand new Tremors await their turn in the tool belt as the first one I bought several years ago works great. Interesting to note that Kershaw jobbed these out as many other makers do with some of their designs today.

Have the RAT1, and the original guys that designed it an participated in its build had it made in Taiwan, and Ontario "slapped its name" on them. It is a great work knife as the steel is so soft I don't worry about damaging the blade. The bad news is it only holds an edge just well enough to stay on the job. The ESEE boys didn't make knives (still don't), and didn't have the capital to build, work out the manufacturing logistics, or the financial horsepower needed to make their own knives, so they partnered with Ontario.

I really like my Utilitac II as it is very well made, but it wasn't $4. Made in Taiwan, it came in at $28 plus tax and shipping, so mine was more than yours, about $35 when the dust settled. Great knife, good heat treat. Apparently, Joe Pardue used a couple of his old designs as well as lending his talents to Ontario's design group to make these knives. Yet again, not one part is made in the US, but my contact over at Ontario told me years ago they were made by the same guys that have the United group, which used to make only junk knives. My Utilitac has the hardest steel of the lot and probably is the best value. After Pardue's participation these were completely jobbed out in Taiwan, had the Pardue/Ontairio "slapped on them" and are sold by Ontario as their knives.

Which they are of course; but like CRKT, these knives were not made by Ontario, designed by Ontario, or even assembled by Ontario. Like their business deal with Randall and Mike that created the RAT series of folders, it was just that. A business deal.

While typing this, I am trying to think of any knife company here in the USA that doesn't follow the "buy a name and slap it on a product" scenario. Some used to outsource to other US companies, but I think they are gone now. I can only think of one US company that makes their own knives from their own designs, but even they outsource parts and pieces.

Robert
 
I have to admit, the complaint that a company doesn't directly manufacture the knives has always baffled me a little. There are too many fantastic knives made by OEM, many of which come with solid customer service and warranties, for me to worry about who actually made the knife (as long as country of origin is accurately and honestly disclosed.) I don't think having the CRKT name on the factory that makes their knives would up their quality or marketing strategy, nor do I think a company like Spyderco, Benchmade or ZT would suddenly see their quality drop if they moved their manufacturing from facilities they owned to a US OEM. Companies pay for materials, QC, R&D and quality designs or they don't. Doesn't matter much whether the folks getting the paychecks are employees or subcontractors.
 
My Eros is an exceptional knife with a premium steel at a price 1/3 of a Sebenza, but a flipper, with IKBS and very close in fit/finish. My Bud Nealy pesh kabaz was weird, but cheap and fun. I like CRKT. :) You get what you pay for.
 
CRKT licenses really innovative designs, and has for years. Their execution in my experience is marred by substandard steels such as AUS-6 (before they really cheaped out and went to AUS-4, 420J2, and 3cr), weak ball detents, weak liner locks, and poor to nonexistent heat treat. For that reason I'll only own their fixed blades, and those have to be cheap enough to be considered disposable, such as the Minimalist.
 
I'd kill for a better steel in my Minimalists.

20160127_151056_zpszqrjb6nx.jpg


I'd pay double for my Hissatsu if it had a decent, nicer thing than 440A.

20160102_091601_zps7vxo4av8.jpg


I'd buy a lot of CRKTs if they upgraded from the pot metal they currently use to minimal quality materials in many, many of their blades and tools,



...please CRKT, you know we want it and we're going to pay for it!
 
RX-79G said:
Well, we are the market for $4 Ozark Trail knives, so I don't see why we wouldn't be the market for CRKT. I would consider buying another if I actually perceived something I wanted for the price.

I have gotten the impression lots of folks here have bought the Drifter model over the years.
Click to expand...

Don't knock that Ozark trail, it is one heck of a knife for the $3 I spent! :D

And to add to the topic: I was looking at getting a neck knife and was considering the CRKT Folts series but kept looking due to the crappy steel. I found the Boker Lil Friend then the Gnome and went with that (Gnome) due to the better steel.
 
Last edited:
I almost feel sorry for CRKT now. They take flak for using LionSteel to produce a knife and Spyderco and DPx get a pass? Although the Hi-Jinx pricing is totally insane. I'd like to have some of what they were smoking when they priced that knife...

Here's an example of CRKT doing it right...http://www.bladehq.com/item--CRKT-Burnley-Squid-Knife-Carbon--32054...a run of 500 sold out in less than a week. I'm playing with #426 as I type this and I'm impressed with the F&F and materials for the sub-$50 price. Sandvik, Ti, CF and a Designer's name for $43? This IS a step in the right direction and if CRKT keeps up this kind of work, they'll get a few of my knife dollars.
 
The No Bother I got for my wife and I is a nice, solid little fixed blade.
No worries about it. :)

Some of their offerings are good, and some of them suck.
Don't buy the ones that suck.
 
GatorFlash1 said:
Thanks for the plug. I bought three when they were first released. If you are interested in the one I have for sale make an offer.
Click to expand...

So you bought multiples of a limited knife and are now selling them for far more than you paid. Awesome.
 
The minimalist is one of my favorite neck knives. I'll be picking up a custom from Folts at blade this year, I like the M-16 line, but wish for better steel for the price.
 
craytab said:
So you bought multiples of a limited knife and are now selling them for far more than you paid. Awesome.
Click to expand...

Dude. No need to shit on the guy.

People buy multiples of things that they expect to become collectible all the time, and then profit when the values go up. That's the nature of a hobby that happens to be a collector market.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top