Cryo Pocket Knife, EDC Knife with Speedsafe Assisted Opening, 2.75 Inch Stainless Steel Blade, Multiple Styles

This is a good knife for the price. My other Kershaw knife finally gave up after many years of service. This one appears to have the same build quality.

Smooth and responsive action, solid lock-up (doesn't move at all while deployed) feels good in the hand. Seems to keep a decent edge but will probably reprofile the blade soon. Nice pocket clip with 4 carry options. Use it every day at work in the Arctic oil field. For the price, you can't go wrong.

Can’t beat it! Nice one kershaw!

I recommend you go pick this knife up. It is small enough to keep you from running afoul of any legalities (2.75" blade) and while it is a speed safe knife, if assisted opening causes you any grief, that too can be disabled. This knife is worth more than the price by far, IMHO.And now for the details. $32 buys you a Kershaw made knife designed by Rick Hinderer, and made in China. (That last thing might be a no-go for some of you, if so, I understand.) The knife has a 2.75" drop point blade in 8Cr13MoV. Closed length is 3.75", and it allows for tip up or tip down carry on either the left or right side. (4 position clip.) The clip rides fairly low in the pocket and the knife is small enough to be fairly innocuous. The knife is a frame lock and has an over-travel stop to keep you from bending the frame lock too far out under stress. While the knife does have ambidextrous thumb studs on the blade, I found them to be fairly worthless, and instead I only use the flipper to activate the speed safe system. The entire knife (handle and blade) is coated in a gray titanium carbo-nitride finish. The weight of the knife is right around 4.0 ounces, which is somewhat heavy for a knife of this size, but certainly not this style of construction, which is beefy. The frame is open/pillar construction, so it is easy to clean out lint or other dirt with compressed air or q-tips, should the need arise.I have found 8Cr13MoV to take and hold an edge well. I can quite readily bring it to a hair shaving edge, and it keeps that edge for a bit. Certainly not as well as a premium steel like S30v or better, but again, we're talking a lower price point. I like the Chinese 8Cr13MoV much better than Aus8 or 440 variants, as those other steels never seem to get quite as sharp as I would like. The one downside I have found to 8Cr13MoV is corrosion resistance, and the Cryo gets around this by coating the blade. Obviously the edge could still tarnish, and one would need to guard against that with an occasional wipedown with some sort of CLP. (Or hell, let it rust if you want. $32!) The knife arrived reasonably sharp, certainly usably sharp. Knowing me, of course, I had to sharpen it further, and I quite readily got it to a shaving edge.The speed-safe mechanism really seems to shine with smaller to medium size blades, and this knife exemplifies what I'm talking about. The blade snaps out and locks with authority. I'm very happy with the speed of deployment and the lockup. I could discern no blade play from either side to side or fore/aft. Lockup feels amazingly solid. In my opinion this knife opens faster than any auto I've played with.The knife also has a good size lanyard hole, so if you're inclined to do a paracord lanyard, that should be easily accomplished.I should also mention that this knife was designed by Rick Hinderer. His knives go for $500 from him and typically double that on the secondary market. (He doesn't make a lot of them.) His knives also tend to sport lots of nifty features like really exotic steels and ball bearing pivots. This Cryo has none of those exotic features, but it also has none of that exotic price. (Did I mention $32?)Here's the downside to this knife...Chinese made. Maybe you aren't down with that. If so, this knife is not for you.The knife steel isn't top tier. I am a big fan of S30v and D2, but obviously this knife has none of that.It is not a big knife. If you need a bigger folder or fixed blade, this knife will not suit you.It is also heavy. For a knife length under 3", a weight of 4 ounces is probably a lot, and would cause some to balk.So anyway, that's the full deal. If you have no objections to the downsides, I still say, BUY THIS KNIFE! ($32? Buhler? Anybody?)

Buy this knife and you will wonder how you lived without it.From a very early age, I was taught that a good pocket knife is a essential every day carry tool. I have have owned dozens of pocket knifes, many of which were loaded with gadgets (sizzors, files, even toothpicks). All of them lacked the engineering forethought required to fulfill the duties of a great pocket knife. What are these attributes?Sharp- The most dangerous tool can be a dull knife, so this knife is one of safest I have ever bought. This knife really does come from the factory razor sharp, and you will find yourself spending some time on the stone to recover this edge when you finally do dull it.This tells me the steel is reasonably hard and is supported by how long it carry’s a sharp edge. I have owned this knife for 2+ years and have sharpened it 3 times. I use it 2-3 times per week!Rugged- An every day carry gets used for every day tasks and must stand up to these varied uses. My knife is used to cut nylon rope, cardboard boxes, packing foam, fishing line, small gauge wire and frequently my lunch. The all steel construction of this knife coupled with a durable mechanical assist opening mechanism fits the bill for creating one tough knife.Safe- A good blade lockout is essential to safety. The lockout on this knife is rock solid. Absolutely no blade wiggle and does not close even with full pressure in the closing direction (though I don’t recommend you do this intentionally, use of common sense is essential and supprisingly uncommon). It is also easy to unlock, and with a bit of careful practice can easily be done with one hand.Comfort- The grip on this knife seems as though it was molded to my hand. Every grip edge has been thoughtfully rounded so it does not cause compression uncomfort. The smooth design also allows it to slide easily within my pocket which means my thigh doesn’t get pinched when I sit down. The addition of large knurle like knobs adds enough grip so you don’t feel like you are grabbing a bar of soap.Affordability- While it isn’t a $5.00 infomercial special, it is affordable and I am not scared to use it in fear of loosing my investment. In fact, I have bought 4 of these knifes. 2 of them were confiscated at airport security (forgot to take them out of my pocket), one is in my pocket now and the 4th is safely stored in the event I need to replace the one I currently carry.So why not 5 stars? - There are really only two very minor issues with this knife. They are:1. The mechanical assist takes about 100 cycles to wear into an “easy opener.” The first few openings seem stiff, but stick with it. In a short while the blade will be wizzing open faster than WalMart on Black Friday.2. While the smooth outer surface prevents thigh pinching, it does also mean that if you hands are covered in a slippery stuff (like the mucoprotine coating of a fish), handling the knife becomes a cautious activity. For this reason, I tend to avoid using this knife when processing game and favor a fixed blade with a non-slip grip (specifically the Cutco drop point hunting knife item # 5718).Bottom line, the only reason I would ever consider an alternative every day carry knife would be the inability to procure a replacement for the knives I already own.My complements to Rick Henderer for designing one fantastic pocket knife!