Van Hoy On-Fire, OutBurst, 420J2/6061 T6 Handle, ComboEdge Knife

I have CRKT's M16-14 knife and love it but it's way too big for a pair of dress slacks that I wear at work. I thought the Van Hoy On-Fire would fit the bill nicely. While the quality of construction is great, the size of the knife was much too small for me to operate safely as I have rather large hands.The initial force required to open the knife is considerable but then the assist takes over and the blade opens very quickly. Since the blade is razor sharp I felt very uncomfortable/unsafe opening this knife, I returned it.It may work better for those with smaller hands.

The release action on this knife is great and it is sharp and ready to go right out of the box. The tip is great at minimizing damage in case you accidentally put it 1/4" deep into the palm of your hand like I did, so that is nice.

This knife is by Columbia River and is perfect for mutiple purposes. The design is really a work of art, feels very solid and well balanced in your hand. The assisted opening is very easy to get used to. This is a great knife at a great price, very pleased with purchase. I should pick up another in the event this is lost or stolen.

Pictures do this knife no justice . When you get to hold this in your hand you can appreciate the beauty and engineering . Buy it ! You know you want it !

Opens very easily, lock works great, clip keeps it firmly attached to pocket, Opens very very easily, lock works great

My favorite EDC

So I'll start with a quick run down of things I like and don't like:Pros:--Shaving sharp out of the box--Gimping on the back of the blade--Very light. I appreciate the skeletonized design.--Nice, thick blade for such a small knife.--The frame lock feels very sturdy. None of that half on the blade half off many folders (including kershaws) have.--Add the LAWKS to it... very tight setup.Cons:--This thing is crazy difficult to open. The pocket clip shifts before I apply enough force to get the spring to kick in. Also, due to the small size of the knife, getting your hand in the right position is a bit tricky. I say this as someone with well below average sized hands. I would think this would only get worse with larger hands. This knife screams for a flipper IMO.--Nothing really stopping your index finger from sliding onto the blade in certain grips. That being said, with a blade this short and a handle this small, you're probably not going to grip it that close.So, after all that... I have a lot more positive to say about it than negative... so why the 3 star review? It's really the deployment for me. That thumb stud just really does not do the job. (Though, to be fair, I'm not really a fan of thumb studs in general.) And this is a big deal in any knife. Why? Because there are so many options out there... why would you get one that doesn't deploy easily?I have a lot of knives. Way too many... I've EDC'd almost all of them. Some about this size (Spyderco Tasman Salt, Kershaw Chive). Some quite a bit larger (Spyderco Police 3, Microtech LCC, Kershaw JYD). I don't see myself ever carrying this one around. Between all my other knives that are a dream deploymentwise... there's just not a lot going for this one IMO.Another thing to put this into perspective... The only other knife I wouldn't consider carrying around? Another CRKT. For the same reason (well with the added reason that that knife is also very difficult to close). So it might just be that the designs don't work well for me. YMMV.

Update! the frame screws on one of my On Fire knives started coming loose. The irony is that it's the one I haven't even started using yet. Upon calling customer care they pretty much asked me "What do you want us to do about it?" They offered to send me new screws which after 3 weeks have yet to arrive. I'm not at all happy with this. I purchased a finished product not Legos where I need to be putting it together on my own.CRKT, if you're reading this. This is going to be my LAST CRKT knife ever.Dropping star rating from a 4 to a 2.Recently got my new CRKT On Fire (actually 2, 1 w/combo Edge, 1 w/Plain Edge)Initial impression: It looks and feels way more solid than I expected. The fit and finish is really quite nice.Pros- Razer sharp- Frame lock is solid, no up/down or side-to-side play- Blade feels very solid and not as thin/fragile as I had originally feared- When opened correctly, the blade deploys very quickly (Fastest I've seen, ever)- Great clip - wide w/a generous opening which helps the knife clip easily onto any pocket- Subjective: the styling is very unique and it's really nice how form meets function w/the skeletoned handle and blade.Cons- Deployment: if you do not catch the thumb stud at the correct angle it is very frustrating to open. VERY frustrating (What works for me: push upwards and very slightly outward and slightly down on the blade) (The combo edge one I have is a dream to open, and his brother the plain edge one is a nightmare so I guess YMMV)- Grip: It has an all metal very oddly shaped frame. I haven't used it w/a wet surface but I can only guess that could be problematic.- Right hand only open. The blade is only exposed on one side and only has a thumb stud on the right side.- Not great clip PLACEMENT: about 1/3 of the knife sticks out because the clip starts below the giant hinge. This makes it feel less secure in the pocket and I've had it come close to falling out.Comparison to the Kershaw Scallion.Note below:Scallion will be referred to as (S) and the On-Fire as (OF)I have the (S) with 1/2 serrated blade and the black glass filled nylon handle.The (S) is a love it love it knife with an attractive design, super fast deployment, comfortable (thought small) in the hand. It has a tip safety to prevent accidental deployment. It came razer sharp.The (S) is no frills, practical, and not flashy. The blade is not the best at keeping an edge.Compared to the (OF) the (S) is easier to open, opens reliably every time. No surprises. (S) more ergonomic to hold. (OF) opens faster and has striking aesthetics. (OF) Blade is sharper. (OF) Although I have not used it much yet, seems to be more sturdy. (OF)is slightly longer.(S) is made in the US and Kershaw provides free sharpening.Conclusion? It's hard to say. If I had to rely on a single one of these knives I'd choose the (S) but the (OF)has so much more "personality." If you get one that's not evil to open then it's actually pretty awesome.