Good morning, forumites.
I really like his knife. It's my only tanto blade and my favorite grinds on a tanto blade. I've been prying and stabbing with it and it's still shaving sharp. Immediately after learning how to use it well, I took it and abused it to immenint death. Not a chance, the lock-bar seated better, and it took quite the beating. It was hard to do that with a special order knife that cost $425. I really thought small chipping or rolling would happen, but it didn't.
When I was considering CRK, because of their service and warranty, I researched quite a bit. For all the bad stories and accolades, there was good just as many positive. Let me add to the positive, CRK and this model rocks. Moreover, warranty/CS is top notch and CRK stands behind their product. Mercia!
Current conclusions: I don't think I could deploy this knife in a high stress situation; but this is my first modern knife I carry in a pocket...so practice...I guess. This is also my first modern folder without a flipper or auto (one way or another). As a smasher, I could do that, and then deploy, but as of now, that's my best with this knife. I do see exactly what CRK was doing designing this knife -- a sneak up silent deploying defensive tool made for "Chiefs." This one is gonna be bored in the suburbs, like so many, but that's a good thing, these days.