CRKT M16-04Z blade steel?

Aus 4 or 6 on most of the M16 line but I'm convinced the cheap ones that were sold at walmart had some sort of crappy mystery gerbish type metal that holds an edge about as well as a bar of soft aluminum. I love the form factor but hate the lack of edge holding on that knife. I have the big brother with the spear point blade, better steel and holds an edge for my uses.
 
JBC6650 said:
Aus 4 or 6 on most of the M16 line but I'm convinced the cheap ones that were sold at walmart had some sort of crappy mystery gerbish type metal that holds an edge about as well as a bar of soft aluminum. I love the form factor but hate the lack of edge holding on that knife. I have the big brother with the spear point blade, better steel and holds an edge for my uses.
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why, yes. that would describe AUS4
 
I didn't realize Aus 4 was that poor of a steel, now I know what to stay away from.
 
definitely aus 4, not that great, but alright for edc, if you already have it. if you don't, $40 cold be better spent. 16 for a kershaw chill. all the same factors that make the m16 a great knife, except $24 dollars cheaper and without the spearpoint blade which is horrible for edc. 35 dollars could by you a kershaw skyline, and 45 cold by you a sog flash 2
 
CRKT needs to step it up to be competitive today. The steels they use for the prices are atrocious. $20 for an AUS-4 knife, when you can get an AUS-8 knife for the same price is just dumb.
I should also note that their heat treat for the majority is really soft, too soft to get the maximum performance from the steel.
 
Cold Kill said:
CRKT needs to step it up to be competitive today. The steels they use for the prices are atrocious. $20 for an AUS-4 knife, when you can get an AUS-8 knife for the same price is just dumb.
I should also note that their heat treat for the majority is really soft, too soft to get the maximum performance from the steel.
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Unfortunately, they don't. Gerber has massive sales off cheaply-made, bad value knives, and CRKT seems to be trying to "worst?" them at their game. They used to make titanium framelocks with ATS-34 blades, but now their catalog looks like it came straight from a TV infomercial. It's really too bad that so many people buy their knives from places like Big 5 (where the cutlery section is so shoddy that CRKT knives like this are the best of the bunch) without bothering to research.
 
I have seen one single CRKT that I liked, and that is the Ripple. Good steel, good hardness, superb opening, and good F&F. But even a blind dog can find a bone.
 
i believe this model has been made with several steels over the years ranging from Aus8 to what is most likely Aus 4 today.
 
Cold Kill said:
I have seen one single CRKT that I liked, and that is the Ripple. Good steel, good hardness, superb opening, and good F&F. But even a blind dog can find a bone.
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The ORIGINAL Ripple framelock with IKBS and Acuto+ steel is good. The machining of the SS frame is very good. The grinds are even and well finished. Idunno about the new Wal Mart bubblepack Ripple. If I had to guess I'd say it's lower quality.
 
RandomAyes said:
The ORIGINAL Ripple framelock with IKBS and Acuto+ steel is good. The machining of the SS frame is very good. The grinds are even and well finished. Idunno about the new Wal Mart bubblepack Ripple. If I had to guess I'd say it's lower quality.
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The Wal-Mart one is actually the one I liked, the aluminum gives it a nice light feel. I just didn't like the price, and I feel like I should have gotten better for $40, but I'm a deal snob.
I should also note that I was not too hot on the "worn" finish, it was a very unnecessary step.
 
Appreciate all your info, but I should have been more detailed in my first post. The M16-04Z I have does not have the auto-lawk feature and has an open pillar design on the handle. Got it about 4-5 years ago. Is this still AUS4?
 
Manix07 said:
Appreciate all your info, but I should have been more detailed in my first post. The M16-04Z I have does not have the auto-lawk feature and has an open pillar design on the handle. Got it about 4-5 years ago. Is this still AUS4?
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Take a look at the box if you still have it. I could be mistaken, but I believe the older variants made in Taiwan use AUS4 and the newer Chinese models use 8Cr15MoV. Hope this helps! :)
 
Found this retailer's description of the knife saying it is AUS4 (link). The retailer last updated their posting in June 2008, which is pretty close to your time frame. This is also the regular LAWKS version (not AutoLAWKS).
 
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