Squid XM

Excellent quality control. No blade wobble. Secure frame lock. All screws snug. Opens and closes with ease. Good design, ergonomics and build. I recommend this crkt knife as a good investment, well worth the price. Outperforms knives costing double this price.

It’s sharp and sturdy

Built solid, no blade wiggle at all, came with a good edge on it. Fits the hand well despite its small size. Not as light as some others this size, but undoubtedly more rugged. Good EDC. The stonewash is a very nice looking finish.

These are a very solid, convenient little knife. I've had several and will probably buy a few more - I use them at work and they are occasionally stolen by jealous coworkers.It fits nicely in the pocket after breaking in the clip, and fits well in my average-size hands. Opening and closing works smoothly with one hand. Wearing gloves doesn't affect it much, unless they are very thick. I've used this knife under water, in snow, in mud, and in dry dirt. I've had them covered in stuff that should never touch human skin. After a good wash, the blade operation has remained very smooth.I use a small whet stone to sharpen the knife in the field, but the jobs the knife is performing take a toll on the edge quickly. It's been a screwdriver, scraper, and digging tool multiple times. It's easy to sharpen and I'm happy with the lifetime of the edge that I get.

Absolutely one of my overall favorites in my knife collection. The size, weight and mechanism all feel amazing. Even though it is sub 3”, it fits the hand a lot better than other knives that size.

I was hesitant to give this a good review because to be honest, the design is great but there's a few pain in the butt things about it. I was looking for compact EDC knife with a 2" or thereabouts locking blade, two handed operation, more utility work than anything else and definitely not for self defense.The clip, as well as the locking portion of the blade, is really well designed. Nicely shaped, easy to use with or without gloves for two handed opening but also one handed if you're pretty dextrous, easy to lock and unlock without it accidentally folding closed on your fingers. I really like this design, and with the steel they use I don't think it will wear out that quickly like my old Spyderco knife did for EDC use over a year. The handle is easy to hold with a notch for the index finger, using Allen key screws to hold everything together, including the clip with two separate screws for that. On the Spyderco I had before I was pretty happy to remove the clip as it was more of a pain in the butt than functionally useful (I was always afraid to break it), but I rather like this clip and it's a nice, solid piece of metal. I wear XL gloves for most gloves and I find the knife handle a tiny bit on the small side; I think this is acceptable as it is only a 2.14" blade, and to me it does look a little strange to have an excessively large handle on a smaller blade.On the not so good side, CKRT has a compromise when thinking about the idea of what a cutting edge should be. I'm a bit of a snob here so I'm willing to give it a free pass on this one, but all my EDC knives are sharp enough to cut through a kiwi fruit or grape - kitchen knife edge sharp. While the knife edge was a workable edge for utility work and would maintain that edge for a long time, the cutting edge on the knife is rather dull to the point of actually tearing stuff rather than cutting it. The tricky part here is the steel used is pretty typical of this price range of knives: not so good for abrasion resistance but will hold an edge nicely, same for Spyderco's Endura knife which has similar steel properties and a similar blade angle from the factory. I prefer a much sharper edge, which tends to require more maintenance for this grade of steel, so if you're looking for a super sharp knife that is also a pocket folder I would say this could do the job, but there's probably other ones out there that could do the job better and they probably cost a lot more.The only other thing that was somewhat annoying was that the open-assist knobs at the base of the spine cannot be removed. For the Lansky blade sharpening system, where a clamp attaches to the blade and you can use that to set a grind angle, the knobs can get in the way of sharpening. If you're using a conventional wet stone setup it'll be fine, but there's just a bit of a gotcha there.Overall, I actually really like this knife, even more so now that I gave it a half decent cutting edge, and if I lost the knife I wouldn't be that upset because it is so cheap. The design is very well thought out and I don't think it will wear out that quickly. Thinking about the price and value for money, I'd give this a solid 5/5 rating in all departments for what you get if you buy this. To put it another way, if the price were tripled, I'd still give it about a 3.5-4 out of 5, with the design being quite solid but the blade lacking and the solution being to use a better steel variant for the blade itself.

I first bought the Black Stonewash a few years ago as a cheap EDC for about $24. At such a cheap price it wouldn't be the end of the world if it was lost or damaged so I could be rough with it. It held up perfectly well to this day, still almost as good as new. The original Squid is short, sturdy as hell, and nonthreatening in shape, perfect for less permissive environments. The steel of the Squid is 8Cr13MoV, perfectly reasonable and serviceable for its low price point, but you'll be honing the edge a little more frequently. The grip is a little small, but a short paracord lanyard helps the pinky get a little more purchase on the handle while assisting on the draw from the pocket. The frame lock is strong and locks up very positively, and it's wonderful to fidget with, making a satisfying click when it engages. The tightness of the pivot screw is tough to keep perfectly adjusted with its nylon bushings, with a tiny sweet spot between too tight to smoothly open and so loose as to be wobbly and flaccid. The tricky tightness is also key to keeping the blade centered in the grip when it's stowed.Then the Squid XM released and I purchased it immediately. First from a different site before it was available on Amazon, then again as a gift once it came to this site. The XM is a direct and total upgrade to the Squid. The D2 steel is tougher stuff than the original's chinese steel, but that doesn't mean you should slack on edge maintenance. Honing the edge will keep it razor sharp for longer, and I find a 25° angle edge is the best for this blade. The longer blade and handle make the XM better for bigger mitts and jobs where you need a little extra to bear down on. The G10 is incredibly grippy while being gentle on the hands, as opposed to the smooth steel face of the original. The assisted open is seriously strong, bordering on overkill, to the point where the knife has jumped out of my hands before I got used to it. The XM's assisted open does lower the fidget factor, but it's an entirely welcome upgrade over the thumb-stud-only of the Squid. The flipper on the heel of the blade serves as a finger stop so you can choke up higher on the blade than the original. The ball bearing pivot means that you can torque down the pivot screw a little more without seizing up the action, keeping the tip centered in the grip.In summary, this is seriously my favorite knife, and with proper care and cleaning it will last for years. The XM is absolutely worth the price over the original.

I love it. I have two and carry one everyday!