CRKT Swindle - The Wimp Clip

Kershaw Swindle, the more expensive version

I lost my original Swindle while fly fishing. The lesson is to ensure your pants are suitable for the Swindle's clip. Generally, when wearing my Wranglers or similar pants, the holding power of the Swindle's pocket clip is fine. However, given that it is spring loaded and does not have the power of a flexed piece of metal as is usually found on other knives, it can come loose under the right (or wrong, in this case) circumstances.

The wimp clip.
Looks good, but has to be used with the right type of pocket.

I was wearing lightweight summer pants, synthetic material, thin but tough. And slick. The pockets' top seams, where they open at the top, are also very thin in comparison to Levis or Wrangler jeans. The Swindle clip tension is not very strong and security in the pocket also greatly depends on the top seam, which is thicker yet, holding the clip in place. Somewhere on the river during the day the knife worked loose from the pocket, the clip undoubtedly sliding easily over the thin pocket seam, and fell out. Adios, Swindle.

So, really liking the knife's design and blade shape, I bought another, the upgraded version with the harder steel blade and ribbed handle. I prefer the look of the plain handle but I decided to go with the better blade steel so that it would hold a sharper edge longer.

Not a good choice. I use this knife constantly on anything that needs it. Wood. Cardboard. Plastic. Onions. Meat. Potatoes. Small branches,... you name it. I'm also sharpening it every week or two. It takes a good edge, but it wears too quickly for what it is supposed to do. I think the "lower grade" steel would work as well and have to be sharpened about as much, and costs less too.

My other complaint about this knife is with the blade attachment screw. The blade rides on ball bearings - one of the innovative and strong selling points of the Swindle - and it certainly makes opening the blade extremely easy. (You have to be careful if you close it one-handed because that blade swings easily in either direction.) But, as with sharpening, I find I have to tighten it every couple of weeks because the main screw works loose.

I put a dab of a lock-tight material on it the other day, so it may stay in place now. Or not.

Given all this, I would have been better off to have bought a straight-across replacement for the less expensive Swindle. If I lose this one, or break it, I won't be getting another of the expensive versions.