CRKT

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HiDive

HiDive

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Mar 12, 2020
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Hawaii
I have never really cared for CRKT Knives but I think I found one that I will like and ordered it. About 12 years ago my younger Son was in the Boy Scouts and I gave him a CRKT M16 knife that he broke in the first month or so, and they would not do anything about, so I did not buy another one since. I later gave him a Microtech Socom folder and he still owns it.

Any way I read about the CRKT Panache LE folder and it sounded very nice so I ordered one today. Hopefully it will be a good choice. It cost about ten times as much as the M16 that I bought my Son, so it should be a healthy bit better. It looks very impressive for a CRKT knife.

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Interesting. I didn't know that CRKT was making any knives with CTS-XHP blades. It looks like a pretty nice knife.
 
I've handled a few of them, owned a couple years ago. I think they are a quality knife at the price point. They make most of, if not all of the Ruger knives. But I have just never found anything they make that I like.
 
I want to like CRKT, but they make it difficult. For the price of the Panache, materials should be far nicer. XHP is now even standard on Cold Steel, at like half the price. The other issue is that mid grind height which will make for poorer cutting performance.

The main competition CRKT china has is other China companies that have accelerated quickly to dominate the market at that price point, but they actually make a stellar knife. WE, Reate, Rike, Kizer, Best tech, these are all companies that I would go with if I was buying a knife not produced in the US at the price point of the Panache.

Sorry, not trying to poopoo your latest score, and I hope you enjoy it. You will have to be the judge if the price is equal to the value you get.
 
I bought a bunch of CRKT m16 knives around christmas when they popped up on gun.deals for 12 bucks each just to give for gifts or carry around the house. They are great for everyday carry and are far better steel than other 12 dollar knives or the flea market knives I had as a kid. I wouldn't give much more than that for one however.
 
CRKT is an American company but unfortunately the vast majority of their knives are made in mainland china with a few made in Taiwan. This is probably why I have had problems liking them in the past. When you get to CRKT's top five or so models including this Panache that I bought; they are made in Italy by Lion Steel. I liked the style of this knife and wanted to try something made with this relatively new CTS-XHP steel and it also has Titanium handles which is nice. I also got a fairly good discount on it.

Cold Steel does make about 5 models that use this steel (all made in Taiwan) and they start about $110 less expensive but I am not a fan of any of them. Spyderco makes 7 models with this steel (most from Taiwan, at least one from china) and some are ok but not that interesting. Eon knives makes a couple in the USA and Boker has a Taiwan model, none of which interested me. I am sorry but I will not knowingly buy a knife made in mainland china. We, Reate, etc. are also made in china, so I will not deal with them. I can get significant discounts on all of these brands.

I will give this CRKT / Lion Steel a try and if it doesn't make the cut I will sell it. That is pretty much how I get most of my knives, buy it, try it decide on it keep it or sell it.
 
I carry a CRKT CEO knife in the pocket of a dress shirt or slid into the button-up portion of a polo shirt on a daily basis. I find this knife easier to tote than pocket knives, plus it looks like a pen clipped in my shirt so it doesn't get a second glance.

So far it's been a handy little folder, but I've only used it for cutting open boxes/tape/string etc. so I don't know how 'farm-durable' it will be.

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911

I really like the design of the CRKT CEO knife, especially with the pocket clip on it so it looks like a pen. Thanks for the heads-up!
 
I keep a CRKT Nirk Novo in a kit which I keep in the glove box. It doesn't get a lot of use, but it has worked well when I've needed it. It did well cutting a plastic tie-down that I could only get the tip of the knife on (Couldn't get under the tie-down). The sheep's foot design worked well I thought, for that particular cutting job. It's a nice little knife that fits in my pocket Maxpedition.

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The only CRKT knife that I own is my Pangolin. Now that I am retired I often like to wear a small fixed blade instead of carrying a pocket knife. I am pretty happy with the Pangolin for this purpose. I would like it better if it was US made.

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I think the only CRKT knife I've had was a K.I.S.S. model I bought when they first came out. I thought it was an ingenious design, and seemed well made.

I give it to a friend who was enthralled with it, but I never replaced it.
 
I've got a few CRKT knives that I like quite a bit. The Ripple models that the did with Ken Onion's design are some of the best-slicing flippered knives I've ever seen. Hollow grind and a good belly makes them into little razors. And I like their small fixed blade "minimalist" series as easily pocketed fixed blades. I have other knives that are "nicer" by any objective measure, but I've enjoyed those two families of knives for many years.
 
I really like CRKT knives. Ken Onion, Ed Halligan etc knives are IMHO are great knives for the money. AUS-8 is a good everyday working steel, easy to sharpen, holds an edge.
Halligans H.U.G.S. is the only 2.5" knife I can open and close with only my right hand. Onion's Shenanigans is a solid working knife.
I gave a M-16 Big Dog to a friend entering the Military. Desert Sand, appreciated!!
 
The CRKT Panache recently came in, and here is my impression and a bunch of pictures.

This CRKT is better than I expected. Smooth opening and very solid lockup. It is easy to flip open with the forefinger and when open the blade does not budge at all. It is a relatively large folder and has a good feel in the hand; and I have pretty large mitts. It slices very small ribbons off the edge of a cash register receipt paper and cuts a free hanging piece of 550 cord. Examination of the edge with a 10x loupe reveals an evenly ground edge with about an 800 grit finish compared to a wicked edge sharpener. This is better than most factory knives and as good as some customs. I will leave it, as is, for now but may sharpen it later.

When closed the blade is perfectly centered in the handle, and the overall fit and finish is very nice with a lot of fine detail in each of the parts. I think the knife is worth the price at $200 to $300 regardless of it's origin and is well made.

The Titanium and Carbon fiber handle is roughly 0.555 thick and the CTS-XHP blade is about 0.15 thick. Most of the other dimensions can be seen in my 2nd picture or found on the CRKT website for this knife at: https://www.crkt.com/panache.html

These are a limited edition and serial numbered from 1 to 550 for what that is worth, mine is #421 of 550. My general impression of the knife is that it is as good or better than most other knives in this price range.

Hopefully most of the other pertinent details are shown in the pictures. If not let me know what you would like to know about it and will try to answer.

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I am not a knife person but they seem to have some interesting stuff. It also seems like they sell stuff that runs from just junk to higher end, along with stuff that does not seem to have all that much utility.

I think of the eatn tool whenever someone mentions crkt. It is well designed, well made, low cost, and ultimately all but useless as an eating utensil. But they managed to sell a bazillion of them.
 
I have a CRKT M21-10KSF as my daily carry knife. It’s designed by Kit Carson. I like the thin profile and the skeletonized design makes it very light. To me, the flippers are just a tiny bit too long, but it’s not a deal breaker. I think it’s a great knife for the money!

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I have a KISS. The keys to the bike locks are on it and there's a couple of $20 bills in the clip. It stays in the undersaddle bike bag. For that use, it's fine.

I think that's what's called damning with faint praise.
 
I've had a few CRKTs over the years. The Folts Minimalist Wharncliffe is one of my favorite neck knives, not as refined or upscale as the ARK, but a handy little package. The slightly larger SPEW makes a practical small belt knife at a bargain price.

The M16 series I think are good knives for service members, when they can be found on discount.
 
I have a question.

The Bell Micro ruler.... where/how/when?

I haven't seen that ruler in what seems like 20 yrs..... Avent bought them out around 10+ yrs ago.

Nice looking knife!.....btw.
 
danez71 said:
I have a question.

The Bell Micro ruler.... where/how/when?

I haven't seen that ruler in what seems like 20 yrs..... Avent bought them out around 10+ yrs ago.

Nice looking knife!.....btw.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure that I have had that ruler for 20 years or so
 
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