Reviews and Ratings for Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters

Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolstersrated 2 stars out of 5 (1 review)
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Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453 inch 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters

 

Price: $99.95

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Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters
rated 5 stars out of 5
Carl
Oregon City, Or
Apr 08, 2021
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None

My 5th CRKT DEADBOLT Very pleased

I just received the Carson M40-3 and the knife is a home run. I was wary of the M40-3 due to negative reviews. Well there is nothing negative about this Deadbolt at all. The action-opening and closing is flawless and effortless. The blade needed only a very slight honing. The knife is perfectly balanced with one finger behind the flipper tab. I plan on carrying the M40-3 when I want to carry a lighter knife. All said, it goes well with my four other CRKT Deadbolts.
Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters
rated 5 stars out of 5
Ds
California
Nov 27, 2020
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None

Wonderful knife

Brilliant design! Love the blade, overall quality, and the action. But it's not ready to use out of the box. You definitely need #6 and #8 Torx bits and a flat bladed screwdriver or slot tool. After you lightly oil the blade and hinge area, carefully, disassemble the lock button. This will release the lock button, spring and the U-shaped deadbolt on the other side. Using a flat bladed screwdriver or similar tool, carefully tighten the axle bolt of the blade, which tends to get loose with use. Reassemble and tighten the button with the #8 Torx bit. Then on the clip side of the knife, remove the two screws holding the black plastic grip with a #6 Torx bit. Tighten the screws underneath to secure the offsets between the two sides of the knife. You can use GlueLock to keep them from loosening. Reassemble the grip. Finally, on the button side of the knife, carefully back off the deeply countersunk screw a little to soften the lock keeping the blade closed. Do not over-loosen or the blade can open by itself, which is dangerous and can be illegal! You now have a beautiful knife with an action that's smooth as butter.
Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters
rated 5 stars out of 5
Michael
Green Bay, Wi
Oct 23, 2023
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Sheath, Weight
Cons: None

Wow, glad I took a chance on this

I read all of the reviews (unfortunately AFTER I ordered it). Looked pretty dismal. Received the box today and my experience is quite opposite of the negative reviews. This knife is very well executed. The design is outstanding and the lockup probably one of the best I've seen. I have not disassembled it yet, and don't plan to right away. But fit and finish-wise, it's excellent for a production knife. Very sharp out of the box. The grind lines are perfect, the jimping on the flipper tab and blade spine are perfectly located. The action was initially a little stiff out of the box, but a drop of CLP on each side of the pivot, and it's all good now. Nicely done CRKT!
Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters
rated 4 stars out of 5
Ken
USA
Jan 18, 2020
Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Pocket Clip

A Beauty

Certainly the nicest of my CRKT knives. Fit and finish are beautiful. The assisted opening on this knife, though, isn't as smooth and easy as my others....maybe just this knife. Also, the pocket clip is too small. Anyway, I'm keeping it.
Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters
rated 2 stars out of 5
Sav
Washington state
Nov 27, 2020
Pros: Pocket Clip, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Weight, Handle Feel, Lock Ease of Use, Handle Material

Good concept poor execution

I’m a big fan of CRKT. My first knife was a m16-01z, and I have a ton of memories with it. I still carry it in my edc rotation, even though I have much higher end pieces. I was so excited seeing a follow up on the m16 platform, but with updated materials and function. The deadbolt lock seemed super wicked to play with, and I was head over heels for the design (those aluminum bolsters look so beautiful). On to the actual fit, finish, function of the knife. Out of the box, the blade came razor sharp and with a very even grind (better than my bugout). The blade was dead centered and all the sand blasted parts matched color and finish. The actual function of this knife is abysmal.. upon first opening the knife, the detent was super week.. I thought “no big deal! It has an adjustable detent, I’ll crank that up, and I’ll be on my way”. Even with the detent fully tightened, the knife wouldn’t deploy every time. I dumped some nano oil on the bearings and tried to work it in, and after about an hour of fidgeting, no improvements were noticeable. I should state, that I’m a very competent bike mechanic. I also own north of 20 knives, and do a fair amount of modification and regular maintenance. I know my way around knives and am comfortable working with small parts. The fasteners on this knife are absolutely horrible. After one takedown, the pivot screw threads broke, effectively locking the knife together. I’m really pissed at CRKT for how they manufactured the knife. I don’t know who thought these cheap fasteners, overly thick bladestock, and weak ass detent were acceptable. The price tag is also outrageous! $100+ for a hardly functioning knife is not acceptable. I don’t think CRKT will see this, but if y’all do, the very least you can do is learn from your mistakes. Do more R&D, push back on your factories who supply inadequate products, and set a higher bar for your products. I see y’all trying to get into the higher end (and I fully support that), but please learn from this knife.
Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters
rated 2 stars out of 5
Allen
Arkansas
Oct 19, 2020
Pros: Handle Material, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use, Pocket Clip

CRKT M40-03

Pros Very sharp! Handle feel and Materials are good. Good concept. Cons This one needed alot of work to make it work! Button screw was over tightened which which bent lock bar. The bar had a bur on it, that made it that made hard to engage. So had to straighten and buff out. That solved those problems. Next the button sits to low to engage. The fix for that was, clean treads and use blue locktite and set screw, with blade open and button bottom edge even with trim ring. If you don't it sits to low to reach with your thumb and backs out when you use it. Finally works like it was designed. Way to much time and work to return it now. Thats why 2 stars!
Columbia River CRKT Kit Carson M40-03 Folding Knife 3.453" 1.4116 Spear Point Plain Blade, Black GRN Handles with Aluminum Bolsters
rated 1 stars out of 5
Jaydee
Virginia
Feb 06, 2021
Pros: Ease of Opening
Cons: Handle Feel, Handle Material, Pocket Clip

Cool design but poor quality

I bought this for edc. I never really had any issue with the detent. The blade material is crap. My buck 420hc holds an edge much better. The single screw in the pocket clip is a terrible design. The plastic grip is all that keeps it from rotating so it eventually spun and broke the grip cover/skin. I should have known better not to buy a made in China edc.
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