Everyone should carry a pocket knife
You never know when it will come in handy.
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Showing posts with label backpacking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label backpacking. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Like New Again
So, my CRKT Carson Design M16-10KZ (which is a really long name for a knife btw CRKT, more on that later) came apart, mostly, in my pocket today at work. Nothing was damaged, just the main screw had worked itself loose and the blade had popped free from its pivot point. So, I took this as a sign that it would be a good time to take the knife completely apart* and clean it.
Now, its always important to maintain your gear and while I do sharpen the high carbon blade from time to time, I do admit that my everyday carry knife (EDC) does get a little less loving than some of my other backpacking, outdoors, fishing, camping, etc equipment. I just don't normally think about it, honestly. It goes in my pocket every morning with my wallet and cell phone and gets dumped in my wallet box every evening when I come home from work. I use it almost daily at work, giving it un-dignified work such as opening packages and mail.
Well, I was once again amazed at the quality of craftsmanship that convinced me to buy the knife originally. After cleaning all the parts and re-assembling it (I did have a little trouble getting the brass and the teflon bearings back in place) the knife works as good as new and I have a big smile on my face.
I've had it over 3 years and have been very pleased with the blade and the feel of the handle; many folders feel loose or slippery in your hands and can lead to you cutting yourself, this model just "fits". This good grip allows me to be confident when I am using it for something other than packing tape and I have yet to nick myself with it. As far as EDC's go, this one gets 4.5 stars (I would give it a full five if it had an easier name).
As for the name (CRKT Carson Design M16-10KZ), CRKT has a number of (Kit) Carson Design blades and they have a number of variations named M16-##XX, so many so that I have long since forgotten what my designation actually means, although I assume it refers to the tanto style blade. A simpler name might have been the CRKT M16 Tanto. For a company that does a really good job with their own acronym (CRKT stands for Columbia River Knife and Tool and I pronounce it "cricket") you think they would find a way to make saying the names of their knives a little less hard. Spyderco's habit of giving their knives one word names comes to mind. Its kind of like Ford vs Lexus. While a Mustang may be lacking in certain specs when compared to the IS F11, I would much rather tell people I owned a Mustang versus admitting to owning the Lexus alphanumeric mouthful. Just MHO.
*I didn't take the zytel scales off the steel frame as I saw nothing to be gained doing that, it would likely just loosen the factory screws forever and I also didn't take apart the nifty CRKT Auto-LAWKS safety as I figured that was just asking for re-assembly hell.
For anyone shopping for an EDC, I would highly recommend you at least glance at the knife in question, its about $25 on Amazon and no I don't get any money from Amazon for sending you there, I turned off all the commerce settings on my blog months ago.
Here is Kit Carson's M16® Every Day Carry (EDC) with our Zytel® InterFrame build. Our knife users told us, "We want an affordable work knife that we can give hard use without feeling guilty, and one that won't break us up if we leave it on a job site or drop it in the river."
We heard you. So we set about to make the Zytel EDC the best value in the work and sport knife world.
That starts with textured Zytel® scales and a dual 2CR13 stainless steel liner InterFrame. Assembled with Zytel back spacers and Torx® fasteners, the result is amazingly rigid. Zytel is a fiberglass-filled nylon that offers excellent toughness and resistance to solvents. Teflon® bearings at the blade pivot and an adjustable pivot screw allow for perfect blade action.
The blade is 8CR15MoV high-carbon stainless steel which gives an ideal combination of toughness and edge-holding ability in a work knife, and also allows easy field-sharpening.
The M16®-10KZ features a dual hollow grind Tanto-style blade with Combined Razor-Sharp and Triple-Point™ Serrated edges similar to our "Big Dog" M16 models. The result is maximum blade strength and ability to saw through cord, webbing, nets or vegetation quickly. It has a black EDP blade, black frame and hardware for a non-flective tactical look.
Of course, it features the Carson Flipper, which speeds opening of the blade and acts as a blade guard when the blade is open.
The real breakthrough was our ability to engineer our patented* AutoLAWKS™ knife safety into all models, which automatically actuates when the blades are open, making these folders into virtual fixed blades when locked.
Add to these features the standard removable Teflon®-plated stainless steel clothing/gear clip plus the CRKT limited lifetime warranty, and you have one of the truly great knife values of our time.
Now, its always important to maintain your gear and while I do sharpen the high carbon blade from time to time, I do admit that my everyday carry knife (EDC) does get a little less loving than some of my other backpacking, outdoors, fishing, camping, etc equipment. I just don't normally think about it, honestly. It goes in my pocket every morning with my wallet and cell phone and gets dumped in my wallet box every evening when I come home from work. I use it almost daily at work, giving it un-dignified work such as opening packages and mail.
Well, I was once again amazed at the quality of craftsmanship that convinced me to buy the knife originally. After cleaning all the parts and re-assembling it (I did have a little trouble getting the brass and the teflon bearings back in place) the knife works as good as new and I have a big smile on my face.
I've had it over 3 years and have been very pleased with the blade and the feel of the handle; many folders feel loose or slippery in your hands and can lead to you cutting yourself, this model just "fits". This good grip allows me to be confident when I am using it for something other than packing tape and I have yet to nick myself with it. As far as EDC's go, this one gets 4.5 stars (I would give it a full five if it had an easier name).
As for the name (CRKT Carson Design M16-10KZ), CRKT has a number of (Kit) Carson Design blades and they have a number of variations named M16-##XX, so many so that I have long since forgotten what my designation actually means, although I assume it refers to the tanto style blade. A simpler name might have been the CRKT M16 Tanto. For a company that does a really good job with their own acronym (CRKT stands for Columbia River Knife and Tool and I pronounce it "cricket") you think they would find a way to make saying the names of their knives a little less hard. Spyderco's habit of giving their knives one word names comes to mind. Its kind of like Ford vs Lexus. While a Mustang may be lacking in certain specs when compared to the IS F11, I would much rather tell people I owned a Mustang versus admitting to owning the Lexus alphanumeric mouthful. Just MHO.
*I didn't take the zytel scales off the steel frame as I saw nothing to be gained doing that, it would likely just loosen the factory screws forever and I also didn't take apart the nifty CRKT Auto-LAWKS safety as I figured that was just asking for re-assembly hell.
For anyone shopping for an EDC, I would highly recommend you at least glance at the knife in question, its about $25 on Amazon and no I don't get any money from Amazon for sending you there, I turned off all the commerce settings on my blog months ago.
| Dimensions | ||
| Open Overall Length | 7.125 inches | |
| Closed Length | 4 inches | |
| Weight | 2.3 ounces | |
| Blade | ||
| Length | 3 inches | |
| Thickness | 0.08 inches | |
| Material | 8Cr15MoV | |
| Blade-HRC | 58-59 | |
| Finish | EDP | |
| Grind | Hollow | |
| Style | Tanto | |
| Edge | Triple-Point Serrations | |
| Handle | ||
| Material | Zytel | |
| Liners | 2CR13 | |
| Lock | ||
| Type | Locking Liner | |
| Safety System | AutoLAWKS | |
| Carry | ||||
| Carry System | 1 Position Clip | |||
Here is Kit Carson's M16® Every Day Carry (EDC) with our Zytel® InterFrame build. Our knife users told us, "We want an affordable work knife that we can give hard use without feeling guilty, and one that won't break us up if we leave it on a job site or drop it in the river."
We heard you. So we set about to make the Zytel EDC the best value in the work and sport knife world.
That starts with textured Zytel® scales and a dual 2CR13 stainless steel liner InterFrame. Assembled with Zytel back spacers and Torx® fasteners, the result is amazingly rigid. Zytel is a fiberglass-filled nylon that offers excellent toughness and resistance to solvents. Teflon® bearings at the blade pivot and an adjustable pivot screw allow for perfect blade action.
The blade is 8CR15MoV high-carbon stainless steel which gives an ideal combination of toughness and edge-holding ability in a work knife, and also allows easy field-sharpening.
The M16®-10KZ features a dual hollow grind Tanto-style blade with Combined Razor-Sharp and Triple-Point™ Serrated edges similar to our "Big Dog" M16 models. The result is maximum blade strength and ability to saw through cord, webbing, nets or vegetation quickly. It has a black EDP blade, black frame and hardware for a non-flective tactical look.
Of course, it features the Carson Flipper, which speeds opening of the blade and acts as a blade guard when the blade is open.
The real breakthrough was our ability to engineer our patented* AutoLAWKS™ knife safety into all models, which automatically actuates when the blades are open, making these folders into virtual fixed blades when locked.
Add to these features the standard removable Teflon®-plated stainless steel clothing/gear clip plus the CRKT limited lifetime warranty, and you have one of the truly great knife values of our time.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
My review of underwear...yeah..underwear
See orgininal post here
Uncle,
gotta agree with you, those boxers rock. Might be TMI, but I’m wearing a pair right now. I picked a couple up a year or so ago and wore them on a 5 day backpacking/kayaking trip and was very pleased. They hold your junk comfortably, they wick away moisture and they are just a lil slippery to avoid any kind of motion rash while hiking. I now own bout 7 pairs. They are expensive, but I find good deals at places like campmor and sierra trading post from time to time. I also recommend their nomad pants as they have many of the same qualities for hiking, etc. While I’m at it, I will say I have thrown out all my cotton socks and replaced them with more expensive “whicking” socks from addidas and others. Trust me, when your feet and family jewels are dry and comfortable, life is good.
As for the wearing them for more than one day, I do rinse and dry before wearing them again, hence the two pairs for the 5 day trip. I carry an extra nalgene bottle on top of my pack, attached via a caribiner, and put yesterdays socks and underwear in there with some water and camp soap. They get washed as the water rocks back and forth during the days hike. Take ‘em out at the end of the day and hang them up in your tent, near the fire, whatever, and they are nice and dry and ready for you the next morning. Modern fabrics are a wonderful thing….
Now that I have done a review of underwear and socks, and how to do your laundry, I’m going to go do something manly like kill a bear with a knife or maybe eat a cheeseburger…
Uncle,
gotta agree with you, those boxers rock. Might be TMI, but I’m wearing a pair right now. I picked a couple up a year or so ago and wore them on a 5 day backpacking/kayaking trip and was very pleased. They hold your junk comfortably, they wick away moisture and they are just a lil slippery to avoid any kind of motion rash while hiking. I now own bout 7 pairs. They are expensive, but I find good deals at places like campmor and sierra trading post from time to time. I also recommend their nomad pants as they have many of the same qualities for hiking, etc. While I’m at it, I will say I have thrown out all my cotton socks and replaced them with more expensive “whicking” socks from addidas and others. Trust me, when your feet and family jewels are dry and comfortable, life is good.
As for the wearing them for more than one day, I do rinse and dry before wearing them again, hence the two pairs for the 5 day trip. I carry an extra nalgene bottle on top of my pack, attached via a caribiner, and put yesterdays socks and underwear in there with some water and camp soap. They get washed as the water rocks back and forth during the days hike. Take ‘em out at the end of the day and hang them up in your tent, near the fire, whatever, and they are nice and dry and ready for you the next morning. Modern fabrics are a wonderful thing….
Now that I have done a review of underwear and socks, and how to do your laundry, I’m going to go do something manly like kill a bear with a knife or maybe eat a cheeseburger…
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