| The Spyderco Cricket is a deceivingly small knife.
So small that, even knowing its exact dimensions, I was
still surprised by its diminutive size. Like I said
though, it's deceiving. While not ideal for self defense
or hunting-related tasks, it excels at most utility
purposes. Still, for people with large hands, the
Cricket's size could be a problem. With its handle being
a mere 2 ¾ inches long, it
only accommodates three fingers. That's never bothered
me, though. The handle is made of two stainless steel
scales, with an open spine, making for easy cleaning.
Everything is screwed together with Torx screws, so it
can be easily disassembled if you really want to scrub
it down or if you just like doing that sort of thing.
The lock is actually part of the handle scale, making
for fewer moving parts and parts that can break. The
stainless steel pocket clip is very smooth, sliding
easily on and off the pocket. It's tight enough not to
fall out of sweat pant and jean pockets, but it can
slide unnoticed off of thinner materials--a lesson I
learned the hard way. (I don't wear thin pants anymore.)
The clip also isn't reversible, so you're stuck with
right-side tip-down carry, but it's also attached with
Torx screws, so it can simply be removed if unwanted.
Additionally, there's a small hole in the bottom of the
handle for a lanyard or fob.
From base to end, the blade is pushing 2 inches, but
the cutting edge, measured straight from end to end, is
just a little over 1 ⅝ inches.
This is useful for places with a 2-inch legal limit,
and, to its credit, the curving "reverse-S" blade
profile gives it more functional edge, and the hooked
shape is very useful for pull cuts. The blade came
shaving sharp out of the box, as I've come to expect
from Spyderco, and is made of high-end VG-10 steel, so
the edge will last you a while and sharpen fairly easily
when the time comes. The opening hole is only 11
millimeters in diameter, making it rather difficult for
gloved thumbs to handle, but shouldn't be a problem
otherwise.
The Cricket isn't for people with big hands or who
commonly use their knives while wearing gloves. It's
certainly small and kind of cute, so don't worry about
scaring passersby while you use it. For office use and
general utility use, the Cricket is an excellent tool,
and because of its small size, can even double as a
money clip. Mine earned a five star rating. - CB |
