Knife review: CRKT M16-10KZ

For my first review of, well, anything on this blog, I present the Columbia River Knife and Tool M16-10KZ.  This knife has been my every day carry knife for the past year or so.  I ran across it at a store and picked it up on a whim.  At maybe $20 or $30 at the time, it was not a huge investment to try this knife out.

My well-used CRKT M16-10KZ.  Yes, a thumb stud is missing here.  I blame the washing machine.

Key features:

• Pocketable size
• Glass fiber reinforced nylon handle
• Single-handed opening
• Liner lock with safety

First, it's about 4 inches closed, making it easy to carry in a pocket without the clip.  I don't like advertising the fact I have a knife, so this is a major plus.  Also, this is not a wide knife, making it even easier to pocket.

I keep this knife in the same pocket as my keys.  The reinforced nylon handle holds up well to the wear that it experiences there.  I've also dropped it countless times and the handle is none the worse for it.

Maybe more than anything else, the ability to open it with a single hand is a great convenience.  With a small flick of the flipper or the thumb stud, it will open and lock without issue.  Closing it one-handed it a little more complicated but becomes easy after a couple minutes of practice.

The safety on the lock (called AutoLAWKS according to CRKT) is excellent.  I've always been a little leery of liner lock knives when cutting something that takes significant effort.  I get nervous that, when applying a lot of force, I may inadvertently force the liner lock open and close the knife on my hand.  On the M16, the safety is on the opposite side of the knife, making it very difficult to operate both while cutting.

Conclusion:

Great EDC knife for the price.