A friend of mine who uses Leatherman products a lot recommended this knife for me. He told me it was a great knife, great price, and much better than those China and Taiwan-made folders of the same cost. It's the Leatherman Crater, model c33. The Crater comes in many different configurations; plain-edged or partially serrated, a variety of tools, and different steels. This is the basic Crater; a plain-edged knife made with 420HC steel and only one tool: the carabiner. The c33 is American-made and costs around $19. It weighs in at 2.36 ounces. Let's take a look at it...
Handle Details: The Crater is 3-7/8" closed and 6/16" thick. It's a pretty compact knife and it weighs next to nothing. The handle scales are made of black Zytel. They offer absolutely no texturing, save for a run of vertical lines. The scales are linerless as well to save weight. Handle construction consists of only two T-6 screws per side; one at the blade pivot and one at the carabiner pivot. This gives you a nice flow-through design so you can blow out debris and gunk as the need arises. Even though there are no pillars or reinforcements in the middle of the handle, it's stiff enough not to bend. There's a recession to serve as a finger choil, and a swell to give your hand a nice place to sit when using the knife. This is a three-finger knife for me.
The knife locks open via linerlock with no blade play. The pocket clip is removable, but not adjustable; it's mounted for right-hand tip-down carry only. It's held in place with three T-6 screws, and it's polished stainless steel. Retention is a bit iffy; mine came with a very visible gap where it should be pinching the pant pocket, and I had to remove it and carefully bend it to get it right. Even this isn't a sure guarantee against loss since both the handle scale and the clip itself are very smooth. I find the Crater moving around a lot because of this, and it's fallen out of my pocket a few times.
The Carabiner: The carbiner locks open as well, and I'll describe this as best I can...
The carbiner swings out of the butt end of the handle just like the blade swings out of the other end. The carabiner then locks open and will not disengage until you push it in, then swing it back into the handle. When closed, the carabiner has a small lip protruding that you use to pull it out. Swing it into place and it locks. When locked, there is play, but I'm told that this is normal and is the same with all of the carabiners. When locked open, it is 1" long. The carabiner itself is just a bent piece of steel with another wire-like piece of steel attached to it. Lock it open, and the wire piece (I guess I'll call it the gate since it's a carabiner) moves back-and-forth under spring pressure. The gate doesn't lock, but it does its job in keeping the Crater attached to wherever you put it.
Blade Details: The Crater's blade is 2-3/4" long with a 2-5/16" cutting edge. It's bead-blasted 420HC and just between 1/16" and 1/8" thick. It's hollow ground and bears the following lasered-on markings: LEATHERMAN on the left side of the blade, c33 on the left side tang. The right side has no markings. The left side also has the thumb stud, which is mounted on the left side only and is not reversible. Opening is actually pretty fast because they used thick phosphor bronze bushings, and you can easily flick the knife open. The blade came pretty dull, but it took a nice edge quickly. It loses this edge quickly as well, quicker than Buck's 420HC or Kershaw's old 440A. I can cut through maybe two cardboard boxes before it loses enough edge to be noticeable. My biggest complaint about the blade, however, is that it rusts. A lot. I know that 420HC is pretty rust-resistant, but I think the bead-blasting was a mistake. I can pocket the Crater for a normal work day and it will have rust spots on it when I get home. This isn't from getting it wet or from sweating all over it; this is pocket carry with a minimal amount of use. I've never had a knife as prone to rust as this, not even carbon steel knives.
In conclusion, the Crater is a miss for me. The blades's lack of rust resistance, poor edge-holding, and the questionable pocket clip make it unsuitable as an EDC or even as a work knife (for me). Go with one of those "other" $20 knives; Byrd, Buck Bantam line, Kabar Dozier line, etc.
Handle Details: The Crater is 3-7/8" closed and 6/16" thick. It's a pretty compact knife and it weighs next to nothing. The handle scales are made of black Zytel. They offer absolutely no texturing, save for a run of vertical lines. The scales are linerless as well to save weight. Handle construction consists of only two T-6 screws per side; one at the blade pivot and one at the carabiner pivot. This gives you a nice flow-through design so you can blow out debris and gunk as the need arises. Even though there are no pillars or reinforcements in the middle of the handle, it's stiff enough not to bend. There's a recession to serve as a finger choil, and a swell to give your hand a nice place to sit when using the knife. This is a three-finger knife for me.
The knife locks open via linerlock with no blade play. The pocket clip is removable, but not adjustable; it's mounted for right-hand tip-down carry only. It's held in place with three T-6 screws, and it's polished stainless steel. Retention is a bit iffy; mine came with a very visible gap where it should be pinching the pant pocket, and I had to remove it and carefully bend it to get it right. Even this isn't a sure guarantee against loss since both the handle scale and the clip itself are very smooth. I find the Crater moving around a lot because of this, and it's fallen out of my pocket a few times.
The Carabiner: The carbiner locks open as well, and I'll describe this as best I can...
The carbiner swings out of the butt end of the handle just like the blade swings out of the other end. The carabiner then locks open and will not disengage until you push it in, then swing it back into the handle. When closed, the carabiner has a small lip protruding that you use to pull it out. Swing it into place and it locks. When locked, there is play, but I'm told that this is normal and is the same with all of the carabiners. When locked open, it is 1" long. The carabiner itself is just a bent piece of steel with another wire-like piece of steel attached to it. Lock it open, and the wire piece (I guess I'll call it the gate since it's a carabiner) moves back-and-forth under spring pressure. The gate doesn't lock, but it does its job in keeping the Crater attached to wherever you put it.
Blade Details: The Crater's blade is 2-3/4" long with a 2-5/16" cutting edge. It's bead-blasted 420HC and just between 1/16" and 1/8" thick. It's hollow ground and bears the following lasered-on markings: LEATHERMAN on the left side of the blade, c33 on the left side tang. The right side has no markings. The left side also has the thumb stud, which is mounted on the left side only and is not reversible. Opening is actually pretty fast because they used thick phosphor bronze bushings, and you can easily flick the knife open. The blade came pretty dull, but it took a nice edge quickly. It loses this edge quickly as well, quicker than Buck's 420HC or Kershaw's old 440A. I can cut through maybe two cardboard boxes before it loses enough edge to be noticeable. My biggest complaint about the blade, however, is that it rusts. A lot. I know that 420HC is pretty rust-resistant, but I think the bead-blasting was a mistake. I can pocket the Crater for a normal work day and it will have rust spots on it when I get home. This isn't from getting it wet or from sweating all over it; this is pocket carry with a minimal amount of use. I've never had a knife as prone to rust as this, not even carbon steel knives.
In conclusion, the Crater is a miss for me. The blades's lack of rust resistance, poor edge-holding, and the questionable pocket clip make it unsuitable as an EDC or even as a work knife (for me). Go with one of those "other" $20 knives; Byrd, Buck Bantam line, Kabar Dozier line, etc.
) asked me to look into leatherman knives, as his neighbor has a few he doesn't want, but won't just give to him. This was a while back, so I am not sure it is this one, but I will make sure to check before he asks to buy it, now.