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

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?)

I bought the Kershaw Cryo as a replacement for my old Schrade. I purchased the knife as a general purpose everyday use carry knife for the home and office.Size: The knife was just the right size for me, closed is 3 3/4 inches and the blade 2 3/4 inches. Since I carry this at the office to open boxes, cut straps, etc, I couldn't get a larger knife. They frown on weapon looking knives but tool looking knives are okay.Weight: This knife is solid. It weighs more than a Zytel handled knife but I did not find it too heavy. At this point, I an not aware most of the time that I am carrying it when I use the belt clip.Belt Clip: The belt clip is movable to 4 locations. You will need a very small tool to change it. After playing with it awhile I ended back at the original position. You can also remove it entirely. The clip is stiff and may eventually wear the pocket edge after considerable use. It is also a bit tricky to use at first. I now have no problems.Sharpness: It was able to shave arm hair right out of the box. I have opened boxes, trimmed plants, cut vines, etc and it still cuts hair. I have not attempted to sharpen the blade yet.Blade: As I researched this knife I read a lot about blade centering issues. The one I was shipped was nearly perfectly centered. The blade is much thicker than my old Schrade and also wider. It is very sturdy. I did not buy the serrated version because of the tool vs weapon situation. I may get a serrated version for a camping knife later on to cut rope and other things.Assisted Open: There are 2 methods of assisted open. I found the thumb stud to be completely useless. If I did manage to get it open, the blade would only travel part way. There is also the lever method. This feature was excellent. There are 2 basic ways I have found to use it. In YouTube videos they mostly show using you index finger tip to actuate the assisted opening lever. While this is okay, I found that if I hold the knife so the lever contact near my large knuckle of my index finger is much better. The knife is held more secure, it opens with a slight squeeze of your finger and is in the ready to use position immediately. Other assisted open knives have a safety lock to prevent the knife from opening in your pocket unintentionally. This knife does not. I think it is due to the distance the lever needs to be moved before the spring takes over makes this safe without the lock. It's really nice to be able to open the knife one handed rather than fumble with a safety lock while balancing a box with the other.General Construction: The Cryo seems very sturdy and has screws to tighten the parts if they come loose. The blade locks tight and has no noticeable wobble.The jimping on the blade and handle seem to be in the correct position. The finish looks nice and I use the pocket clip to keep it away from my keys so I don't know how durable it is.I love this knife and carry it everywhere. I have recommend this to several friends and would consider this knife again. I wished I could have given a 5 but due to the stud opening issue and the potential clothing damage on the clip, I gave a 4. Had the studs not been installed, it would have been a 5. Over all this is my favorite pocket knife that I have every owned.Update 12/3/2021I update my option to 5 stars. Years later, this is still my favorite pocket knife. The clip has not worn my pocket as I suspected it might. I still can't work the opening stud but don't care any more.

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.