# crkt and emerson



## antec20 (May 24, 2006)

i'm looking at crkt folders. as i understand it crkt has the lawks system with the lever that keeps the liner lock from failing.

emerson has a liner lock. 

how does the lawks system of the crkt stack up to that of emerson locking system?

obviously the emerson has better quality components and you pay around 200.00 plus for that. but is it really worth the price for an emerson.

how good is the wave opening feature on the command-bt by emerson? is it as smooth as other emerson models with the wave opening feature?

then there's some crkt folding knives with a true hilt once the blade is engaged. is this really needed for martial combatives and general useage?


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## Phil Elmore (May 24, 2006)

Understand that when you buy an Emerson, you're paying for slightly better steel and workmanship, at least in theory, but what you're really paying for is _demand_.  A functioning liner lock is a functioning liner lock, period; I doubt there's any real difference between the strength of a CRKT liner lock and the strength of an Emerson (though I would not be surprised if the Emerson could take more pressure before it gave).  The steel in the Emerson is likely better, particularly compared to some of the lower end steels in many CRKT models.  Personally, I love CRKT and their designs;  I think their knives represent a very good cost-to-value ratio.

The LAWKS is a piece of metal that rotates into place to stop the liner lock from moving aside to clear the blade tang:












The wave on most Emersons is pretty much the same, from the models I've used -- which is to say, they all can fail, if you don't draw them correctly.

A flipper hilt is a very useful thing to have -- it protects your hand in the event of blade failure and prevents your hand from sliding down onto the blade.


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## argyll (Jun 1, 2006)

Just want to add if you're thinking about a CRKT with the LAWKS, I'd go for one of the new models in which the LAWKS engages automatically, as opposed to the ones where you have to take the time to engage it. 

Best regards,

Argyll


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## antec20 (Jun 2, 2006)

argyll said:
			
		

> Just want to add if you're thinking about a CRKT with the LAWKS, I'd go for one of the new models in which the LAWKS engages automatically, as opposed to the ones where you have to take the time to engage it.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Argyll



i ordered a newer crkt folder with auto lawks. it's great. M21 Special Forces model. it's a little more at AG Russell but it's worth it. a customer service person at Knife Center told me if something isn't listed on their web site description then it doesn't have it. before AG Russell i ordered a different crkt folder that didn't list auto lawks on the web site but had the sales person pull the model from inventory and they assured me it had auto lawks and when i received it it didn't have that feature; thus in my opinion ag russell actually seems to know that they're doing better in regards to pulling a knife from the inventory and being able to tell if it has something not listed on their site. needless to say knife center lost a customer that was planning on doing more business with them in the future if they actually knew what they were doing.


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