Found: CRKT M16-01T Alternatives

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Tekno_Cowboy

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Oct 19, 2009
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I've been stewing over whether or not to buy a CRKT M16-01T to replace my very poor quality Gerber Evo.

I really like the slim design of these knives, and the "flipper" opening, but I'm not too thrilled about the vague "440" steel of the Evo and the AUS-8 of the M16.

Can someone recommend a knife with a similar style, but with a steel that has better edge retention?

Plastic scales are not my cup of tea, metal only please.
A clip is a must for me.

Thank You!
 
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AUS-8 is decent mid level steel, and most definitely better than 440A. The question is whether CRKT's AUS-8 is up to par. The only other slim all-metal handle flipper folder that comes to my mind is Kershaw Leek.
 
Don't throw money away on that knife, it's junk. Buy yourself a Kershaw Blur in CPM154.
 
^^^ what he said. The kershaw leek sounds like what you're looking for if assisted opening works for you.
 
RevDevil said:
Don't throw money away on that knife, it's junk. Buy yourself a Kershaw Blur in CPM154.
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I'm not a big fan of Kershaw knives.

Can you give me any reasons as to why it's junk?

L.J.Tibbs said:
^^^ what he said. The kershaw leek sounds like what you're looking for if assisted opening works for you.
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I'd rather stay away from assisted opening. I've had them open on my and give me a nasty gash. :(

I should mention my max price is about $200, so keeping it to just "cheap" knives isn't a must.
 
Well - AFAIK flippers in that price range will pretty much restrict you to Kershaw and CRKT. I do not have a Leek so cannot make a valid comparison but can't agree with those that say the M16Ti is crap. The M16Ti isn't a bad knife at all for the money - except for the PE blade. Wasn't that long ago that 440C was considered a "supersteel" and is still the #1 steel of choice for many makers and AUS8 is a also good steel, about equivalent to 440C, only a bit easier to sharpen. I personally think the M16-Ti is a tougher knife than the Ripple, which I also have, although the Ripple is prettier.
 
$200 won't get you a sebenza....honestly I'd get a ZT301. It's a damn tank and comes sharper than hell out of the box.

CRKT knives are trash they are made very poorly and really aren't good for anything besides opening packages.
 
Not a similar style, nor metal handles, but you would be very hard pressed to do better than a Spyderco Military. Or for that matter the Benchmade Deja Voo.
 
I had considered the Sebenza, but the price takes it off my list. I want a goood knife, but I want to be able to feel like I can use the knife too.

Abandoning the flipper, even though I really like it, I came up with a few other options from Benchmade, including the 940, 760BK LFTi, and 790, and the H&K 14700 or 14320.

While I can't say that I'd put a CKRT on a par with the Benchmades I've owned, they still make a much better knife that what Gerber has been making lately.

I absolutely hate any and all spyderco knives. I just can't bring myself to use knives that I find as hideous as those. Don't get me wrong, I can't say they aren't good knives, their design philosophy is something that doesn't meld well with my tastes.
 
Tekno_Cowboy said:
I'm not a big fan of Kershaw knives.

Can you give me any reasons as to why it's junk?



I'd rather stay away from assisted opening. I've had them open on my and give me a nasty gash. :(

I should mention my max price is about $200, so keeping it to just "cheap" knives isn't a must.
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As far as quality, materials, craftsmanship are concerned, CRKT is not . Maybe that will change with Ken Onion being on their team now, but it is hard to tell.
You stated yourself that you want to replace a Gerber that is low quality, why would you buy something in the same arena? Do a search on the M16 knife and you will quickly learn it is not associated with quality at all.
What dont you like about Kershaw?
 
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Mostly i don't like the kershaw designs. If i was given one I'd probably use it, but i wouldn't buy any of their current offerings.

I am curious as to what makes a kershaw with aus-6 blade better than a crkt with aus-8...
 
First of all those are very different steels and each company has their own recipie for heat treating the steel. For some country of origin of a knife is important. A long standing record of good quality, good service, and good overall value goes a long way too. Will both steels cut the stuff you want to cut? They sure will. It all depends on what you like, what is in you budget, the use, and you design preference. You wanted a recommendation on replacing a not too great knife, with an arguably worse one. There are just too many really great knife companies and steels out there to settle for something mediocre. Just look around and see what is out there.
 
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I did as you suggested and looked up the M16. Reviews from the "enenlighted" made it out to be pretty good, but the reviews of the more experienced told a different tale. While it would be hard to be worse than a knife that fell apart on me less than a day out of the package, I think I'd rather aim higher than the M16. It's really a shame, because I really like the design of the M16-01T. If only the quality was higher, it wouldn't be getting dropped from my list.

With a bit more reasearch I've narrowed what I'd like down to a few benchmades:

Top of the list, even though it's assisted opening, is the Benchmade 790. It's just outside my price range, but I'd be willing to spend a couple dollars extra if I need to. The reason I'm willing to give this assisted opening knife a chance is because Benchmade claims that the knife needs to be opened 30 degrees before the assist kicks in. The knife I had an incident with would open itself with as little as 10 or 15 degrees. The design really reminds me of PhotonFanatic's aka Fred's lights over at Candlepowerforums. One thing I'm not to keen on with this knife is the recurve blade, though I doubt I'd have any issues sharpening such a shallow recurve.

The 3-way tie for second is between the 940, with S30V or the 942 with 154CM. I'm really liking the looks of the reverse tanto blade.

The H&K 14320 makes the list as my lower-priced alternative. The design is fairly nice, but the blade steel doesn't seem to match the quality of the Benchmade knives I listed.

Out of my new list, can anyone point out some benefits/drawbacks that I missed?
 
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Tekno_Cowboy said:
I did as you suggested and looked up the M16. Reviews from the "enenlighted" made it out to be pretty good, but the reviews of the more experienced told a different tale. While it would be hard to be worse than a knife that fell apart on me less than a day out of the package, I think I'd rather aim higher than the M16. It's really a shame, because I really like the design of the M16-01T. If only the quality was higher, it wouldn't be getting dropped from my list.

With a bit more reasearch I've narrowed what I'd like down to a few benchmades:

Top of the list, even though it's assisted opening, is the Benchmade 790. It's just outside my price range, but I'd be willing to spend a couple dollars extra if I need to. The reason I'm willing to give this assisted opening knife a chance is because Benchmade claims that the knife needs to be opened 30 degrees before the assist kicks in. The knife I had an incident with would open itself with as little as 10 or 15 degrees. The design really reminds me of PhotonFanatic's aka Fred's lights over at Candlepowerforums. One thing I'm not to keen on with this knife is the recurve blade, though I doubt I'd have any issues sharpening such a shallow recurve.

The 3-way tie for second is between the 940, with S30V or the 942 with 154CM. I'm really liking the looks of the reverse tanto blade.

The H&K 14320 makes the list as my lower-priced alternative. The design is fairly nice, but the blade steel doesn't seem to match the quality of the Benchmade knives I listed.

Out of my new list, can anyone point out some benefits/drawbacks that I missed?
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The 94# is a really nice knife. Warren Osborne is a great designer and has a very distinct style that is user friendly and aesthetically pleasing. I own a 943 and the knife is awesome. I picked mine up about a year ago, and the person I bought it from said it was used, however, when it arrived I could not find so much as a piece of link on it anywhere. I got it for a great price too.

The HK variety you have mentioned is a similar to the Aphid, just under different branding. It's one of the more budget sensitive knives from Benchmade. I have never held one or seen one in person, so I cannot be much help on that.

If I may ask, what is your maximum budget? What steel would you like to try? Blade size? Prefered handle material? Would you be opposed to carrying a small fixed blade?

Edit: Take a look at the Exchange forum. There are a lot of high quality blades for sale that you might really enjoy, for a very reasonable price.
 
Also, check out the Buck Vantage Pro. It's a solid knife, awesome steel, nice handle, deep carry clip, great warranty, they run around $50.
 
RevDevil said:
The 94# is a really nice knife. Warren Osborne is a great designer and has a very distinct style that is user friendly and aesthetically pleasing. I own a 943 and the knife is awesome. I picked mine up about a year ago, and the person I bought it from said it was used, however, when it arrived I could not find so much as a piece of link on it anywhere. I got it for a great price too.
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Thanks for the testimonial. The more I see of the 94#, the more I like it. It's getting awfully close to the top of my list. :D

The HK variety you have mentioned is a similar to the Aphid, just under different branding. It's one of the more budget sensitive knives from Benchmade. I have never held one or seen one in person, so I cannot be much help on that.
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Thanks, I'll take a look into it.

If I may ask, what is your maximum budget? What steel would you like to try? Blade size? Prefered handle material? Would you be opposed to carrying a small fixed blade?
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My max budget, even if I stretch it out, is about $250.

I had a fixed griptillian in 154CM, and I really liked how well it stayed shaving sharp. I've also heard that S30V is a very good steel.

I have a Bark River Mini-Northstar, but it's not all that convenient as pocket carry due to the sheath, and I don't want to risk a cop taking it away, as I spend plenty of time in a not-so-reputable neighborhood when I go out shopping. The cops like to be extra-vigilant, and I can't say that I blame them in that area.

Edit: Take a look at the Exchange forum. There are a lot of high quality blades for sale that you might really enjoy, for a very reasonable price.
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I took a look, but anything I was interested in was already sold, or trade only. I think I've mostly settled on the BM940, unless I could find a 942 somewhere. That reverse tanto looks like just about the ideal blade shape for what I do. :D

Thanks for all the help!
 
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