I just received two new knives from Columbia River Knife and Tool and I have mixed feelings about them.
I was very excited about the Fire Spark.
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| CRKT's Assisted Opening Fire Spark |
It’s a new addition to their black box professional line. (Gee, I wonder who they are copying.) I really like the way the knife looks. Spear point blade with false edge, black blade and outburst opening system which opens the knife with a little thumb pressure. Very nice indeed.
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| Has both the LAWKS and Fire Safe systems. A nice combination of features. |
But then add the Lake and Walker Knife Safety System (LAWKS) which prevents the open knife from unlocking during use and the knife should be a world beater. The metal handle has a nice G10 insert and is tapped to accept the clip in all four locations, tip up or down and left and right. I talked to CRKT years ago about doing that on their knives and was stonewalled. I’m glad to see the change.
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| And it's tapped to move the clip to any position. |
All and all, it’s a good looking knife.
Except it doesn’t open very well. On my knife, the blade only opens part way. No, I’m not hampering it with my fingers and I’m giving it enough of an opening shove. I also don’t like the way the spring rattles in the knife when it’s open. That’s preferred to rattling when closed, but still knives shouldn’t rattle.
What really has me spooked is it doesn’t match the images on the CRKT website. Maybe the images are from prototypes. Maybe there’s been a design change. Maybe, maybe and maybe….
Nope, it’s going back!
I also got an M21-02GL. It’s a true left-handed knife.
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| It's not just for Lefties, but it's great for them! |
With most liner lock knives your right hand thumb pushes the liner lock to the unlocked position and you close the blade. For lefties their thumb must pull the liner lock over. That’s not easy, but it’s not impossible; it just takes a little more practice. This knife has it reversed. The left thumb pushes it to the unlocked position.
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| Photoshop sucks at annotating, but it's a left liner lock. |
The Auto-LAWKS is located on the left side so the left thumb doesn’t accidentally bump it off as you move the knife around in your grip. It’s also easier to manipulate with your index finger when closing.
Like all the M16/M21 knives it has the flipper that enables you to open the knife so fast, so easy and efficiently you’ll wonder what’s all the hubbub about automatic knives. The G-10 scales are textured and give you great grip. But the knife is set up for only tip down carry. Bummer. I guess they haven’t gotten the message after all.
Okay, I’m not a lefty. My sister is and I remember the bad old days when everyone forced you to be a righty. She had it pretty hard in school and the world doesn’t make too many products for southpaws. So I’m very happy to see the possibility of a line of real left-handed knives.
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| CRKT's Left-Handed M21 next to my right handed Kasper |
It was funny, but not fun, to watch right-handed people try to use this knife. I practice with my left hand a lot. I struggled a little. Maybe the best reason to own this knife is to remind us of tolerance for people who have difficulty doing a task we find easy to master.
If you carry a knife in the left pocket, you might want to check it out.
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