Rorschach’s House O’ Spyders

Sometimes you get smitten by an idea that almost delivers. I bought this last year and totally forgot about it until going through some photo archives.

Behold the CRKT Hissatsu folder. The original and variant Hissatsu fixed blades were great looking military-use blades. The thought of buying yet another nice looking fighter-fixed blade which I would never carry pushed me to look at the folding version. CRKT is a solid company which makes good stuff a reasonable prices.

This knife is no exception… dare I say its almost too solid! Check the width compared to my almost monogamous EDC the Caly3. I guess that’s the point, this knife is supposed to be all business. No time for fancy details.

I don’t own many assisted openers, and this is my first “large” knife with such technology. The spring bar is very tight and the opening action takes a lot of pressure on the thumb stud to get the blade in motion. In my opinion, too much. I tried some tactical deployments with this monster and its just too difficult to get consistent results for me. The thumb stud is a hair too far back on the spine to afford consistently solid purchase on a rapid opening.

Design wise, what we have here is a mismatch. Long elegant and skinny blade shape matched to a brutish boxy handle. If you go back and look at the fixed blade version, they are evocative of samurai short swords with textured grips, pommel, and even kindof a faux menuki area. The folder has some crude texturing to imply grain on the handle, but the poor clip and shape ruin the effect.

Edge wise, the knife is fine. The blade shape is appealing and it was taiwan-sharp out of the box. The black coating seems done well, but alas it will not get much use as the tight deployment would frustrate the heck out of me on a daily basis.

Recap:
pros:
+ beautiful blade shape
+ good price
+ extremely solid and heavy folder
+ kudos to CRKT for effort

cons:
- way too difficult to open
- thumb stud is back too far
- handle is chunky and uninspired
- LAWKS (can’t stand it)

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Here’s to a 2010 that finds you happy, healthy, and prosperous!

2009 ended with the solar atomic 6900 from my folks, a lovely G1000D from Mrs Rorschach, and a Spyderco Terzuola Slipit from, well, myself!

Haven’t carried the slipit enough yet to review it, but its a beauty.

Cheers!

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MIIW Riseman.
Not sure what happens as you get older. 10 years ago you could not have paid me to wear a white plastic watch. Sure I wore a black G Shock back then, but only as a casual watch.

I think one of the benefits of age-accreted wisdom is the ability to shrug off worrying about what people “think” of you and just be yourself. Or even someone else for a day. Guess how many times someone has commented on the fact that I was wearing a white watch? That would be zero.

(If GW-9200 had a compass in the same footprint it would be perfect)

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Back from a 16 day trip. Some random shots.

I love Tokyo. Like tomorrowland everywhere you look.

Ordinary drink vending machine.

BBQ Duck in Seoul. One of the culinary highlights of the trip.

You know, the dragon. The one with the wings. And the Antlers. And the elephant snout. Yeah that one. (near Penang)

Tea plantation in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. One amazing place I never expected to visit in my lifetime. Near the equator yet at higher altitude, it remains cool all year round. Nice.

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Carry on only, foreign cities, foreign languages, hurried schedules. This has been my go to EDC for many years.

Swisstech Utilikey. Has a little of everything. Goes anywhere. Inoffensive. Highly useful.

Tissot T-Touch. The compass, thermometer, and barometer functions have proved invaluable on many trips. Mine is old and pretty beat up, but the titanium band is so light that the watch weigh less than all my others.

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