Let it be said that when it comes to knives, I'm still a little in the dark... I know what my own personal preference in knives tends to center on, and pretty much don't strive much for expanding my knowledge of the industry. I would have happily dropped that sentiment long in the past if it weren't for the hefty price tag that accompanies most modern pocket knives, but have grappled often with just how worthy a tactical folding knife really is of a $100+ price tag. Let it never go unstated that I am a person of expensive tastes, if my budget doesn't necessarily allow for it, and I can see well ahead the money I will be spending on these little guys.

Some time ago, earlier in the summer, Aaron gave me a nice little pocket knife, made by Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT). The model is the Pazoda, and I have utilized it more during the ensuing months than I would have thought upon first receiving the little thing. Now, what with my participation with this blog, and endeavoring to bring readers an idea of what they might be geting into, I am constantly on the lookout for a solid performing knife for the budget-conscious, so when Big 5 listed the CRKT Crawford/Kasper folder in their weekly for $20, I had to get me one.

I didn't even wait until I got to home to pull it from the box and give it a test for sharpness right out of the package, and this thing was shipped razor sharp, like scary sharp to be honest. I would feel comfortable using this bad boy as a field scalpel if the need arose, but that's assuming the SHTF... so to speak. But back to the knife, it boasts a 3+ inch teflon coated AUS 6M stainless steal, and the handle is a burly scaled Zytel that feels perfect in my hand.

Added to this model is the manual LAWKS security switch, which handily prevents the user from closing this blade on themselves, if it wasn't in an assured fixed open position after bringing out the blade, though the action on this big guy is smooth as butter. I've been playing with it fairly constantly, and am at the point where I'm having no trouble swinging it out of its resting place within the handle myself. Unlike the CRKT M16 series of knives, though, the LAWKS system on the Crawford/Kasper folder is not automatic, so the user will need to consciously remember to engage the safety after opening the knife themselves. Nonetheless an awesome addition to the blade.

I haven't had much of an opportunity to test the thing on the field, but for overall initial impressions, this thing is a winner. Of all the makers of knives and multitools out their that I have so far loked into, CRKT is easily in my top 3 of interest. The designers that put what I would literally describe as their art into the blades/concepts coming out with the CRKT name on them are some of the most innovative that I have seen. And while the Crawford/Kasper may be an older model, it's still an exemplary display of what a modern pocket knife should offer the user.

Expect more from me on these things, as I can easily see where the bug most knife collectors out there comes from. Not that I have the additional money to be blowing, but I'll be damned if I won't anyway.