Nice heavy duty CRKT knife!

shesulsa

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That baby's going on my birthday wish list!
 

Carol

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Oooh....me like... :D :D
 

Rich Parsons

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whitedragon_48

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Risking sounding like a knife snob (which I am), Its not the best choice. CRKT has ok knives and crappy knives. Lately they've switched their OK knives like the M-16 and M21 series which used to be made of anodized alluminum with an AUS8 blade to Zytel handles with an AUS6 or AUS4 blades. This in comparison is like switchin say... 440B (somewhat ok steel) to 440A (crappy, only used on wall hangers) or 420 (even worse). Those M1 series are a brillliant design executed with utter mediocrity. Not meant for hard use, just meant to look that way. Save your $ and get something better. If you are lucky, you might still get one of the old M16/M21 which are of decent quality. As per CRKT's quality control, well , the're kinda hit-and-miss so it is a "buy at your own risk" thing. Sorry guys for the knife-nerd rant.
 

arnisador

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Well, can't you get these knives in a variety of price ranges reflecting a variety of degrees of craftsmanship? That's been my experience for a company's leading knives.
 

Jonathan Randall

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Very nice, Brian. I have a CRKT knife as well and it is DEFINITELY heavy duty and does have more the feel of a fixed blade and not a folder when opened. Also, CRKT is known for its reasonable pricing.
 

Jonathan Randall

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Risking sounding like a knife snob (which I am), Its not the best choice. CRKT has ok knives and crappy knives. Lately they've switched their OK knives like the M-16 and M21 series which used to be made of anodized alluminum with an AUS8 blade to Zytel handles with an AUS6 or AUS4 blades. This in comparison is like switchin say... 440B (somewhat ok steel) to 440A (crappy, only used on wall hangers) or 420 (even worse). Those M1 series are a brillliant design executed with utter mediocrity. Not meant for hard use, just meant to look that way. Save your $ and get something better. If you are lucky, you might still get one of the old M16/M21 which are of decent quality. As per CRKT's quality control, well , the're kinda hit-and-miss so it is a "buy at your own risk" thing. Sorry guys for the knife-nerd rant.

No need to apologize - you make good, well informed points (check your rep.). However; while my CRKT is made of 420, I use it as a utility knife (I'm a painter) and, trust me, for the price it was a steal. Also, the feel of it opened has saved me a cut or two. It's outlasted 3-4 $10.00 - $15.00 knives that I've kept in my paintbox over the years.
 

whitedragon_48

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CRKT knives are definetely good "user" knife. The kind of knife to use for moderate cutting jobs. I wouldn't put my life on the though. I do carry an M21 (the older version) at work because if I break or lose it I won't have an heart attack. When I'm not at work I carry my trusty Benchmade Skirmish. Now, on that knife, I'd put my life on.

What saddens me, and my point really, is that CRKT, much like Gerber did in the late 90s, is going down on quality as to produce moderately priced knives to appeal to a wider population with a smaller budget for a namebrand "good" knife. Gerber did that for years until us, the consumers, trusting the rep of the old Gerbers started to see knife failures that occur only in low-end knives. Nowadays, Gerber knives are of horrible quality. Gerber has begun work on that but its too little too late. Its all marketing really. Kershaw, for example, has been improving the quality of their knives as to compete with higher end knife companies such as Benchmade and Spyderco and like them, it makes great knives like the Spec Bump and the Offset while still making the more "affordable line" like the Chive. Spyderco has also inexpensive knives like the Native like Benchmade has the Black and Red classes knives, affordable yet very tough.
 
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