CRKT Bud Nealy folding Pesh Kabz - lot of knife for $20

[Lee1959]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v246/patycake21/neelyfolder1.jpg

Blade length - 3.5 inches
Overall length- 7.75 inches
Weight - 3.9 oz.
Blade Steel - AUS 6M
Handles - textured Zytel
Lock type - Liner with LAWKS

First Impressions:

I saw this in the Smokey Mountain Knife Works catalog for $17.99 and it was just too good to pass up for that price. I have the fixed blade version of this knife so I was well aware of what I was ordering, someone else may have a bit of a surprise waiting when it arrives. The most unusual feature of the blade is the inch at the tip, it is ground to a very steep bevel that is not quite sharp. This is Nealy's special penetrating point. Some people may not like it as it makes the tip of the knife not really usable for EDC chores.

However, I think it could very easily be reprofiled with a good sharpening system like the Lansky, especially one with diamond hones. I would probably do this if I carried this blade for every day.

I worked with this knife for a few days while putting in a new front door and screen door. I used it to cut all sorts of things including wood, packing straps, rope, tape, screen and the edge held up very well.

Plus' - There is a lot here for a $20 knife that is for sure. Start out with the Pesh Kabz design and that is a good start, especially in a defensive weapon. The pentrating tip really does penetrate well, I drove it through severallayers of panaling and a leather covered padded "arm" quite easily.

I am a very vocal critic of liner locks, but this one has the LAWKS and that helps a lot with safety. The "flipper" is something new to me, but it works very well once you get used to it, opening the knife very quickly and easily. Engaging and disengaging the LAWKS is very easy with the thumb.

The Zytel handles are very well textured, in fact, at first I thought they were G10 and not Zytel at all. They have a denser feeling than other zytels I have. The knife has a very solid heft to it overall. The pocket clip is long, and strong and held in place by three screws. The blade tensions nicely with the torx pivot screw.

Cleaning should be a snap with all of the screws to take it apart easily.

Minus - The handle is a tad short for my medium large hand. It is not uncomfortable, but just "close feeling" the way it is contoured The pentrating tip is not real handy as it is for every day cutting.

Overall, you are, if you get it, getting one heck of a lot of knife for $20.

[Lee1959]

I took some needle files and various light sandpaper and smoothed out the edges and serrations on the flipper, along the spine and the thumbstuds, and then rounded the end of the pocket clip. All of these were in my opinion a bit too sharp and were going to be real pocket wreckers. Besides, maybe I am a sissy, but playing with the knife for only a short bit gave a start of a blister on my thumb from the serrations on the flipper.

[dinoadventures]

BEAUTIFUL knife for the money.

my only gripe is the clip is utter trash. it gets caught on everything and deforms quickly. mine ruined the tapping of its screws from getting caught on so much stuff.

wonderful handle, really strong blade.

[Lee1959]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v246/patycake21/CRKTBoltaction.jpg

I carried the CRKT for a week and have come to the conclusion that it just is not for me for EDC. It just misses what I would carry for every day, and not because of the blade tip, that is an easy fix if I wanted it sharp.

Instead it has a couple minor irratations that could be fixed, one major irratation that could not be fixed, but could be lived with, and one that just cannot be.

The minor ones that could be fixed are all the sharp edges, they were a fairly easy fix, but had to be done because they were wearing on hand and pocket. The second is the pocket clip, if you look in the photo you will see that it is twice the length of the one on my favored EDC Myerco Blackie Collins designed Bolt Action. It also hs a sharp point in the wavy unneeded stylistic shape they gave it that catches on everything and is painful if you grasp the handle just right on it. The clip could be pared down and reshaped fairly easy I think and I will before I hand it over to one of my nephews.

The major irratation that could be lived with is the lock. The LAWKS makes the liner lock more sturdy and safe, that is a given. However it also makes the knife harder to close as it adds one more step. Also, liners are just harder to close than the Bolt Action which I can manipulate with one of my two middle fingers while pushing on the spine with my index finger to close the knife. It coud be gotten used to, but I prefer the Bolt Action, yes even though the CRKT steel is "Superior", I find steel type means very little in most decent blades for most tasks, especially if you sharpen well and use a steel/strop often.

The major irratation that I could not live with is the shape of the handle. I find it just too limiting. If you look at both handles, the Myerco is handy in all manner of cutting tasks blade up blade down, ice pick grip, saber grip, whatever. The finger grooves of the CRKT limit holds severely, and while the same overall length as the other, feel very cramped because of the choil and flipper/guard.