- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 13,656
With the recent popularity of aftermarket clips in addition to both of CRK's current offerings, I decided to do some testing. In addition to both of CRK's, the stock clip and the G & G Hawk designed clip originally offered on the Ti-Lock, I got one each of what I'll call the 'Big 3', Millit, MXG, and Ripps Garage Tech. From left to right;
Millit - Stock CRK - MXG - Hawk - Ripps
The knives that got to play this weekend. Left to right, all larges
2002 Annual with Bocote inlays
Pre-Idaho 21, UG 'Grapevine' with Citrine cabachon
Pre-Idaho 21 with Mammoth Bark inlays
Old pivot Umnumzaan
Classic with African Blackwood inlays
The first thing I compared is ease of putting the knife in pocket, and the amount of wear this causes to the pocket rim. With the disclaimer that I'm used to it, the Hawk wins both of them for me. I realize that one takes a bit of getting used to. The others, in my ranking;
Stock
MXG
Ripps
Millit
I must note that the Millit was a distant last, it was hard on my hands. It and the Ripps are also very hard on pocket rims. The MXG would take second place on gentleness to pocket alone.
The Pickpocket Test
The next thing I tested was pull removal weight, using a fish scale. I did 3 pulls per clip, making sure the scale was zeroed before each pull. I recorded the highest weight shown on each pull. Note that each is in pounds and ounces. In order from heaviest to lightest;
Hawk - 3-8, 3-6, 3-5
Millit - 2-1, 2-6, 2-4
Ripps - 2-1, 2-2, 2-3
Stock - 1-11, 1-10, 1-9
MXG - 1-7, 1-8, 1-8
The Hawk clearly had the strongest resistance to being eased out of a pocket, with the MXG at the back of the pack.
The Shake Test
For the next test I put 2 at a time in a pants pocket, turned it upside-down and shook until one fell out. This test is designed to simulate the knife staying in place if you were to fall or get knocked down or off a bike, etc.
To prep for this, I taped the fronts and sides. These may be my carry knives, but they're still Sebenzas and an Umnumzaan.
Here's how I did the shake test. I cut the pockets from an old pair of my jeans, then put 2 knives at a time in the pocket. I then folded the pocket so the knives would stay fairly vertical while I was shaking them downward. I put a blanket on the counter to protect the knives when they fell, and I used only the pocket that didn't have any wear from carrying a knife.
I did at least 3 shake comparisons of each pair, and paired them all off against every other to get a ranking.The results of the shake test are;
As I expected, the Hawk clip was the clear winner. It took some serious shaking to get that one loose. The Ripps performed the worst, surprising me a bit. It let loose much easier than the slow pull results had me expecting. Another surprise was the MXG. With it's low pull weight, I expected it to do poorly in the shake test. Instead it ended second place. The Millit in 3rd was pretty much a dead heat with the MXG, it took 8 or 9 comparisons before I got one to drop before the other. 4th place went to the stock CRK clip.
The Millit and the MXG really went head to head
Millit - Stock CRK - MXG - Hawk - Ripps
The knives that got to play this weekend. Left to right, all larges
2002 Annual with Bocote inlays
Pre-Idaho 21, UG 'Grapevine' with Citrine cabachon
Pre-Idaho 21 with Mammoth Bark inlays
Old pivot Umnumzaan
Classic with African Blackwood inlays
The first thing I compared is ease of putting the knife in pocket, and the amount of wear this causes to the pocket rim. With the disclaimer that I'm used to it, the Hawk wins both of them for me. I realize that one takes a bit of getting used to. The others, in my ranking;
Stock
MXG
Ripps
Millit
I must note that the Millit was a distant last, it was hard on my hands. It and the Ripps are also very hard on pocket rims. The MXG would take second place on gentleness to pocket alone.
The Pickpocket Test
The next thing I tested was pull removal weight, using a fish scale. I did 3 pulls per clip, making sure the scale was zeroed before each pull. I recorded the highest weight shown on each pull. Note that each is in pounds and ounces. In order from heaviest to lightest;
Hawk - 3-8, 3-6, 3-5
Millit - 2-1, 2-6, 2-4
Ripps - 2-1, 2-2, 2-3
Stock - 1-11, 1-10, 1-9
MXG - 1-7, 1-8, 1-8
The Hawk clearly had the strongest resistance to being eased out of a pocket, with the MXG at the back of the pack.
The Shake Test
For the next test I put 2 at a time in a pants pocket, turned it upside-down and shook until one fell out. This test is designed to simulate the knife staying in place if you were to fall or get knocked down or off a bike, etc.
To prep for this, I taped the fronts and sides. These may be my carry knives, but they're still Sebenzas and an Umnumzaan.
Here's how I did the shake test. I cut the pockets from an old pair of my jeans, then put 2 knives at a time in the pocket. I then folded the pocket so the knives would stay fairly vertical while I was shaking them downward. I put a blanket on the counter to protect the knives when they fell, and I used only the pocket that didn't have any wear from carrying a knife.
I did at least 3 shake comparisons of each pair, and paired them all off against every other to get a ranking.The results of the shake test are;
As I expected, the Hawk clip was the clear winner. It took some serious shaking to get that one loose. The Ripps performed the worst, surprising me a bit. It let loose much easier than the slow pull results had me expecting. Another surprise was the MXG. With it's low pull weight, I expected it to do poorly in the shake test. Instead it ended second place. The Millit in 3rd was pretty much a dead heat with the MXG, it took 8 or 9 comparisons before I got one to drop before the other. 4th place went to the stock CRK clip.
The Millit and the MXG really went head to head
Last edited:
