Diamond in the Rough at Lowes

This weekend I was in Lowes and decided to take a look at their knife offerings on a lark.  I was surprised to see a couple of well known knives like the CRKT Pillar Large, Piet, and an M16.  Next to them I saw a couple of knives that I, and most enthusiasts, would normally skip over.

One did catch my eye however, a knife made by Crescent, yes the wrench company.  Most knives in this category have steels that are barely worthy of the name or are generic like "stainless steel".  This knife however, was advertising D2, a well-regarded steel.  For only $25 I decided it was worth picking up to see what was wrong with it.

This knife has a 3.25" (82.55mm) coated D2 drop point blade. The handles are anodized aluminum scales over full steel liners (no weight reduction) and are 0.59" (14.95mm) thick.   The knife runs on ball bearings (look to be stainless steel) caged in brass or phosphor bronze bushings.  Because of the full steel liners and thick scales it comes in at a hefty 5.82oz (165g) according to my scale.  The blade is also fairly thick at 0.145" (3.75mm) but comes to a very sharp edge that cuts paper very smoothly and easily.  This liner lock knife is deployed via a fairly large flipper tab (you will definitely feel this in your pocket).  It has a nice deep carry pocket clip that went over the fabric of my jeans very easily and has enough tension that it will not fly or fall out.  To take the knife apart there is only 2 T6 screws on the body that go into the 2 red barrel spacers and a T8 screw for the pivot.

The action on this knife is very nice for the price point.  The detent is a little weak (you can shake it out) but the large flipper tab does a pretty decent job of deploying the blade reliably (you can fail it if you try).  The ball bearings were a surprise on a knife made by a company know for other products and they are pretty smooth.  After applying some Knife Pivot Lube they are very smooth.

The ergonomics on this knife are very comfortable for my medium size hands.  The thick scales feel comfortable and I imagine they would feel good while wearing gloves too.  The aluminum is not slick but not overly grippy so it feels secure in the hand without being a pocket destroyer.  The pocket clip is right hand only and is recessed into the body of the knife with fully recessed screws.

I would have preferred to see phosphor bronze washers instead of bearings and a non-deep carry pocket clip in a knife meant for heavy work.  The bearings and deep carry pocket clip are more suited to a more EDC friendly knife, but this one is a bit heavy and thick for this purpose.

Overall, this knife was a very pleasant surprise.  It incorporates many features I would expect of a knife from a dedicated knife maker or from a more expensive knife (ball bearings in a brass or bronze cage, deep carry pocket clip, D2 steel, very sharp edge, recessed screws and pocket clip).  All for $25 is impressive.  I would not EDC this knife but it seems like it would make a great beater for a toolbox or workspace.  Great job Crescent.