Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Blade Material
Cons: Lock Ease of Use, Pocket Clip
DO NOT buy this knife.
I have no idea how Case is still in business at this point. This is the third knife of theirs that I've tried, & will be the third (& final) that I've returned. Where do I even begin... I couldn't even keep this knife if I wanted to - because the person that put it together stripped the pivot screw & I wouldn't be able to properly take care of it because of that. It has noticeable detent lash. I have to literally PRY the lock bar out of the locked position with force because it's so unbelievably sticky. It's painful. Not to mention the smooth, but slightly uncomfortable & useless jimping on the flipper tab & on the spine of the blade. The flipper tab is shaped poorly for such a strong detent. It's like a solid seven, if 10 was too strong to break the detent. You can't pull from your pocket & flip without deliberate placement of your finger, & only a light switch method. As soon as I took it out of the box the first thing I noticed was how dirty the blade was. Almost looked like the stonewash was approaching a black stonewash. It was noticeably darker than a normal steel color. And the finish on the blade is like somewhat stonewashed, but mostly just poor machining grind lines. Especially near the folding tang. I wish they allowed pictures because this knife's fit & finish would speak for itself. The edge of the blade is sharp, but looks terrible. It looks like someone was speeding through sharpening multiple blades. It's all over the place & noticeably tall up the blade. Like something you would see from a rough Ryder traditional, except mostly burred. The pocket clip has mushrooms for screws & they get caught 100% of the time I utilize the clip. Points for getting the size & shape of the clip right though. Overall, the handle material & finish, & blade steel are nice, the flipping action is crisp & smooth, & the coating on the pocket clip is proper. But this knife is a trash fire at $116. I got the new exclusive Black/Orange G-10 Crag & the fit & finish on that knife is flawless at $45, other than maybe a slightly stronger detent than it should be. This knife really goes to show how important fit & finish is. Especially for a folding knife with moving parts & bits. This knife deserves that two-star rating.
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