CRKT NIRK Tighe EDC Folding Pocket Knife: Stainless Steel Plain Edge Blade, Silver & Green Machined Stainless Steel Handle 5241

I have carried a number of knives over the years, starting with a Spyderco Resilience to a Benchmade Griptilian, I have also carried a Blackhawk CQD, a few Kershaws and Sogs, a Rat 1 and several others. Out of all of these knives I can honestly say that out of all of these this new CRKT NIRK Tighe is my favorite. Let me start by mentioning a few of the aspects which convinced me to replace my previous EDC options with this knife. In my opinion the perfect size, with a big enough blade to do pretty much anything you would need an EDC knife to do. The second highlight in my opinion is the slimness of the knife, it is thinner than any of the other knives I mentioned previously even the Resilience yet retains a nice chunky blade. The third thing that sold me on this knife for EDC is the weight, not only is it thinner but it is also lighter than most of the knives mentioned. These three aspects make this knife a no brainer for EDC, yet there are a few other aspects as well which contribute to its awesomeness as a carry knife. The clip is mounted about as far back on the knife as possible meaning that it rides extremely low in pocket, in addition the flipper makes for extremely quick and fluid deployment.Those are the aspects that make it great for carry, now here are a few that make it great for use. First off the locking mechanism is genius essentially its like a frame lockback, instead of having a locking bar at the rear of the knife the back part of the frame is the locking bar. This works astonishingly well and the knife has a very tight lockup in addition to a silky smooth opening, the other thing that I like about this mechanism is the fact that it holds the blade closed rather securely much in the same way a lockback does but flicks open with a light finger flick on the flipper like a frame or liner lock. The only possible disadvantage I can see to this mechanism is also a major advantage, since the frame is directly putting pressure on the blade to stay open, if you use a normal saber grip (thumb on top of frame near the blade) then there is extra force being applied to the lock holding it open even more securely, however if for some reason you chose to use a reverse grip then the pressure would be at the back of the blade, making it possible to unlock it. Just a heads up, the same is true of lots of other lock back designs and they all work fine too. In addition the blade itself is stout for a folding knife, great belly, perfect shape with just a hint of recurve, still easy to sharpen but adds some nice cutting power, and I even love the thumb holes on the blade reminiscent of my Spyderco's and Benchmade's. Finally the flipper, I have to say the shape on the flipper is much better than I have seen on other knives with this feature, it curves gently upward enabling the blade to be flicked open with little to no effort.Altogether I cannot imagine finding a better knife for the money, besides the fact that it is an extremely attractive design and very light, the ingenuity of the mechanism and the strength and size of the blade has caused this knife to beat out the other 30+ EDC knives I own and I'm sure it would be an excellent choice for any knife aficionado or just the average guy looking for a quality EDC option.

The CRKT Nirk Tighe Model 5241 is a uniquely designed EDC knife that is a stunning piece of engineering. The blade is 8Cr14MoV steel, which came razor sharp out-of-box. The blade length is 3.2", and has a slight recurve belly that is useful for pull cuts. The cutout can be used to slow-deploy, but the flipper tab works pretty well. The blade is nicely centered in the stainless steel handles, and when deployed, has no blade play or wobble. The lockup is very solid, and made even more so when gripped in hand, due to the design of the lockback mechanism. The green inlays are attractive as well. The large finger choil makes for a very secure and comfortable grip, with chamfering throughout.There is also a lanyard hole at the rear of the handles. The deep-carry pocket clip is tip-up only, and works fine. Overall, a good EDC that is highly recommended.

//this is a truly great knife. It is a peculiar like the one hand Russell original one hand. But once you understand, both do easily open and close with one hand. You have to be willing to learn,

Among a bunch of knives I've collected, most just stay in boxes in various bins and drawers. A very few are always out on display, and this is one of them. It just looks awesome.What makes it awesome is what you can see for yourself just looking at the product images, so I won't get into any of that. Instead I'll mention some downsides that may not be obvious, and might be important to someone who might buy this product for reasons other than its looks.- This is not a small knife (I suppose that would depend on who you ask), and I've been told people find it intimidating even seeing it on display.- For me the following would be a fatal flaw if I were to actually want to carry and use this knife: there's no safe way to close it with one hand. Back locks are generally problematic in this regard, but because of a combinaion of factors, this one is especially bad; 1. the lock release is at the very back; 2. the spring is super strong; 3, the handle is quite long. It adds up to a two-handed operation to close it, or frequent nicks on your index finger.- The bearing system is fine and all, but in reality, it's not any smoother than quite a lot of knives in the same price range that have regular washers. And in fact, maybe it's less smooth; the ride feels... bumpy? I guess.- There is some resistance to the blade swinging fully open; the "rest" position is half-open (90deg), from there you have to overcome some spring tension to either close it fully (ok...), or open it fully (huh?). To me this feels odd, and detracts somewhat from the experience of flicking it open. The flipper action does easily overcome this tension, no problem flipping it open every time, but there's a certain enjoyment in the "slow motion" opening of some other blades, that this knife cannot match; you have to generate enough angular momentum to overcome the spring, not just the friction.- The edges on all that milling on the handle are quite sharp; squeezing down hard on the handle can actually be painful. This couldn't work too well if you wanted to do some serious work with this knife.- The cutouts on the blade would fill up with fruit pulp or whatever soft wet stuff you're cutting through, and might be a bit of a hassle to keep cleanPersonally I can overlook all these things and still love this piece for the work of art that it is [Have you seen Tighe's customs, though? make this knife look downright pedestrian. Crazy stuff.] On pretty much any other knife, the single hand closing issue alone would make me dismiss it entirely.I also have the Nirk Tighe 2, the smaller version of the same knife, and that one I do carry (but in truth, not actually use much). The smaller knife is not quite as impressive, but also not as intimidating as the larger model, and more appropriate in a lot of settings. And just as spectacular looking. I'm also able to close it safely with one hand due to the smaller handle and softer tension; while the thumb works the lock release, the index finger catches the flipper/guard keeping the blade from closing on your fingers. All in all, I probably enjoy the smaller model more, though I'm never getting rid of either of them; one for the house, one for the car.One last thing, like another reviewer said, it's a lot of fun to put this knife into someone's hands and watch them try to figure out how to close it! Might want to put some tape on the edge though, yikes.