Crkt Wasp

[Andy]

Right this is my first review so there may be a few spelling mistakes and or grammar mistakes thrown in for good measure. If there are any please point them out to me and I will correct them.

I wasn’t quite sure where to start but pictures seem like as good place as any (the two little holes in the handle near the blade are where I removed the pocket clip)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/arlongden666/cutlery%20photos/DSCN0665.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/arlongden666/cutlery%20photos/DSCN0662.jpg


(Courtesy of Slidje)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/arlongden666/cutlery%20photos/s4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/arlongden666/cutlery%20photos/s3.jpg
I was looking around Heinnie Haynes at a few offering from CRKT and found the Wasp which I decided was rather nice looking if a little over my normal £25 or so for a knife. After a quick look on ebay I was emailing this guy in the US about one, when I put some money into my bank so that I would be able to pay for it someone else had done the buy it now. Later I have come across another seller offering these at a very good price and bagged on for myself in total it came to £25.10 including postage and currency conversion through paypal. The knife took a week to get to me via USPS but no customs charges were incurred

First impressions.
The knife was quite stiff to start off with and couldn’t be opened with one hand. The Edge wasn’t amazing but seemed to do the job of shaving my arm quite well. The handle isn’t as rounded off as I expected and it took a bit of getting used to compared to my Nieto lock knife. The end of the handle also has a bit of upsweep which my dad finds very uncomfortable though he does have large hands. Like my Nieto lock knife I couldn’t stand the pocket clip so this came off and the knife now stays in a little pouch (which only cost £2.5).The other advantage of keeping it in a puch is taht it prenvents coins from bashing the edge of the blade since it is an open back design. I don't really see why they haven't filled it all the way along. From the first time I opened this knife however I could tell the quality of it. The blade moves with a nice constant resistance until it clicks softly into place at which point it doesn’t move at all in any direction. This is just how a lock knife should feel.

I’ve now hand the knife for about 5days and have had chance to use it for the little jobs that crop up with an EDC knife. After taking off the pocket clip and getting used to the feel of it I’ve grown more fond of this knife. Whilst making feather sticks the wire edge came off leaving me with a much better edge. A little work on a fine stone and now I’m very happy with it. I really like the feel of the G10 handle slabs and they give a reassuring grip. I’m still not convinced by the rubber insert in the thumb stud though and the stud has got in the way on a few occasions though with the larger model there is enough blade for this not to be too much of a problem, apart from when sharpening that is (I’m temped to take it off when it needs some work doing on the edge). The AUS118 steel seems to hold an edge very well, it doesn’t show any sign of getting dull after making a load of feather sticks cutting bits of paper and cutting through the grape vine in our garden (the vine really can dull an edge). Slidje has the part serrated version so he may be able to offer comments on that aspect if that takes your fancy. If you want detail of where I got it from just send me a pm.

[Slidje]

i really like part serrations at the base of the blade. i do all my fine with at the front end of a knife. ive only ever used the base of the blade for dragging ropes across, so serrations are perfect there.

i left the pocket clip on because i use them.
it also helps when you when the knife one handed.

one thing i noticed the most about this knife is the symmetry. i like my knives ambidextrous but you cant set this up left handed. the pocket clip only fits on one side, same for the blade pin. they could easily make this knife for lefties.

build quality, materials, assembly is all execcellent. no loose bits or laziness anywhere on it.
if anything its a little too stiff like andy metnioned. when i got it, it was very hard to push open. a little handy oil fixed that though.

[Danzo]

Good review Andy and additional input Slidje.

:biggthump

Thanks guys.

:approve:

Danzo

[bla3000]

Good review! You encouraged me to buy one :)
I recieved my wasp (small, plain edge) from ODS this morning. I have to agree with andy, the back of the handle is suprisingly sharp, making it slightly uncomfortable to use for more than a short time.

[Basemetal]

Can you tone it down with a fine stone?
:bandit:

[bla3000]

I wouldent dare try. Being me, I would probably make a fine mess of it :oops:

[Andy]

This ones a bit old, never expected to see it again. I've been temped to have a go at making some scales for it that are thicker then the ones it comes with. I could then round of the edges of the replacement scales and not risk damaging the knife. I have considerd making the scales the full size of the handle as I'd think it would look silly with thich scales that only cover the area the current ones do. This would cover up the holes from where the pocket clip goes.
Mostly I've just left this knife to be a posh knife for when I'm in a suit and hope the Calypso Jr will be my user

[ODS]

Good review! You encouraged me to buy one :)
I recieved my wasp (small, plain edge) from ODS this morning. I have to agree with andy, the back of the handle is suprisingly sharp, making it slightly uncomfortable to use for more than a short time.

Another one falls victim to the ebay deals of ODS :approve:

The Wasp is a good little knife it comes big or small... comboedge or plain

The handles are Titanium so it is light in weight. The scales you could pop off and replace with something else. Though there is also a Carbon Fibre version made for a limited production run.

I would say if your going to use it heavily then you would want to go with the larger version. As bla3000 noted it does have a wicked curve on the base of the handle and can dig in over a short period of time.... the larger though will resolve this problem for most.

cheers,
Joe