First Look: CRKT Folding Razel

I ordered my CRKT Folding Razel from BladeHQ and got it today! That's a 3 day wait! I ordered it because I love the blade style the Razel has and I intend to beat on it over the next few months using it as a chisel and a prybar to see how it performs. First thoughts are: Wow, this knife is beefy! The blade and liner are as thick as my Gerber is and the handles nearly double the width! It is a liner lock knife but the lock liner itself is roughly twice the width of the opposite liner. It also has a secondary lock to lock the blade open, effectively making it a fixed blade knife. I do already have a complaint about it though, and that is that the smaller tip up carry pocket clip hurts if you have your hand on it, in my first test with the knife I tried to slice bark off of a stick and when I hit a knurl in the wood the small clip dug in hard. Not fun. The small clip is coming off...

You can see just how much bigger the
knife is, fairly beefy. I like it. I ordered from BladeHQ and they really made sure it was not coming out, I received it in a cardboard flat rate mailing envelope that was pretty beat up so I was almost worried about it...

...at least until I opened it to find a second priority mail envelope folded over itself and taped shut.

Ok, now I'm feeling better, my knife was pretty cozy on the way here. I'm liking how BladeHQ does business. Overkill is the only way right?

Sweet, I can't tell you how hard it was to keep stopping and taking pictures, I just wanted to open everything up and play with it!

CKRT Catalog and hiding in the corner, MY RAZEL! I wasn't sure about the scales and if I would like them or not but once I saw it I was sold.

For a knife that is sold on its ability to take a beating they sure packaged it up! I like that. Good points to BladeHQ.

On to the knife itself! This thing is heavy, I'll post a more detailed review of it tonight after I use it some more and another a few months down the road. So far I like it, the weight is nice, almost a welcome relief knowing exactly where it is.

Here is is with my Gerber, I won't be carrying the Gerber that much anymore so this is probably the last you will see or hear of it for awhile, as a farewell I will say that I am very pleased with it and it is a great knife for the money, I might even miss it and carry it every once in a while.

This is what sold me, that is one BIG liner lock. It feels very solid and there is no wiggle whatsoever. You can really see the width of this knife here, the Gerber is almost dwarfed by it. I do like the size because it fits my hand very well and has a solid weight and feel to it.

 

Here is the secondary lock, I believe it is called LAWKS but whatever it is, the blade is not going anywhere, this locks the blade open making it pretty much a fixed blade, great for stabbing, I tested it on a tree earlier and it felt very sturdy. 

I'll leave you with this horribly over exposed picture of the 2 knives, these are currently the only 2 knives I own as I sold the rest a few days ago to fund purchasing the Razel, it was worth it in my opinion as the other knives were horrible quality 420 steel with disgustingly poor fit and finish, I learned my lesson there... Again, I bought it from BladeHQ and I highly recommend them. Fast shipping and very well protected.