CRKT K.I.S.S Knife
Designed by Custom Maker Ed Halligan it is available in several combinations of blade shape and color and size.
I will review the KISS, though at several times in the past I have used/owned the PECK and other blade shapes of the KISS. KISS stands for Keep it Super Simple, which is what the knife is. 2 Main Peices, Frame and Blade. The blade closes flush against the frame so the blade edge is protected from cutting you. The edge on the blade needs to be chisel ground in order for that to work, which makes the blade cut crooked and more fragile.
I’ve had incidents where the knife has popped open when I carried it on my keychain, and after that i decided to remove it. It apparently works well as a money clip too. I do not use a money clip so i can’t really comment on that.
The action is smooth on the knife, and it is relatively easy to open with one hand for me, however because it is so thin, i can see how others many have difficulty opening this knife with one hand. Blade steel is AUS-6M, which is a steel used primarily by CRKT, and is AUS-6 with added Molybdenum, which adds to its edge retention substantially over standard AUS-6.
I don’t really like this knife as a user. It looks very cool and is compact to carry, but it falls short when you use the knife to cut anything more substantial than paper. I was cutting a cardboard box once and the thing twisted on me upside down and almost closed on my fingers, when the box disengaged the lock.
The knife itself doesn’t give much of a handle to hold, and suffers from many functional flaws such as hotspots on your hand when using it, and lack of comfortable holding positions. If you are keeping it around as a backup knife or something to open a bag of chips once in a while, then it will suit your needs, otherwise, look elsewhere.
Blade: 2.25″
Overall: 5.75″
Steel: AUS6M