Columbia River CRKT M16-03XK Carson Crossbar Lock Folding Knife 3.57" D2 Black EDP Spear Point Blade, Black Grivory Handles Ruslan
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Jun 24, 2025
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight
Cons: None
A Worthy Successor with a Fantastic Lock
The ergonomics on this knife are excellent. The blade is slender with a bayonet-like, spear point profile. While it's more of a piercer than a dedicated slicer, it handles everyday cutting tasks like food prep just fine. What's remarkable is that even with the new lock, the knife retains all the charisma of Kit Carson's original design. It feels every bit as solid and reliable as the DeadBolt version. The crossbar lock's performance is superb: deployment is smooth, and the lockup is secure. The action is a bit stiffer than on my Hogue Mysto or Benchmade Bugout, but it's perfectly comfortable and breaks in nicely. As a rule, I put my own edge on all my knives, but the factory edge on this one was more than sharp enough for any scenario right out of the box.
Columbia River CRKT M16-03XK Carson Crossbar Lock Folding Knife 3.57" D2 Black EDP Spear Point Blade, Black Grivory Handles Dale
Portland, OR
Jun 23, 2025
Pros: Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip
Cons: Blade Material
EDC Must
I live in a border region where my normal EDC, an automatic, is not legal when I move into a nearby state. That doesn't mean that I have less need for this useful tool, it means that I take it at my own risk. Living in the same town as CRKT I took the chance to purchase this and was very surprised on how useful and durable this tool was. I highly recommend it.
Columbia River CRKT M16-03XK Carson Crossbar Lock Folding Knife 3.57" D2 Black EDP Spear Point Blade, Black Grivory Handles Mtm
California
Jun 06, 2025
Pros: None
Cons: None
Needs a Flipper
I have a few M16's and used to EDC them. I was excited when I saw this version because I do like the crossbar lock and had phased out the M16 for knives with one. I have now gone to a knife store a few times to try this one out, hoping that I could get an M16 back in my rotation, but it just is not up to the task. Opening the knife is just not as secure as it should be. The handle geometry is just too small to get a good grip for either the thumbstud or the crossbar flick open. Also, the handle has a bit more "give" than I'd like. It could be that I'm just too used to the old M16 flipper and since I haven't had hours to work with this one, but my initial impressions, I keep going back to the store and trying it out, just aren't that good. Workmanship, etc., are great, can't attest to how sharp it is, etc., but in my opinion, the handle just isn't the right size for the opening and closing mechanism, you really have to get a bit awkward to make it work. If they could put a flipper on this to open, the crossbar works fine for closing, would probably be a five star then.
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Close-up of hand holding knife, opening or unsheathing knife, and then closing or sheathing knife.
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