Customer Reviews

Columbia River Knife and Tool's M21-14SFG Special Forces Big Dog Deep-Bellied Spear Point Knife with Veff Serrated Blade

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a fantastic, heavy duty knife. I'm a two-tour Vietnam Veteran who has had many knives in my lifetime and this is one of the best I've ever seen. Columbia River products are well made. You don't have to sweat this purchase. Without question you will be getting a superior knife.

This folder is one of the smoothest opening frame locks on the market. Its one disadvantage is its weight: over 6 ounces! This makes it a little on the heavy side for every day carry, but not too bad. Strong, fast-as-lighting and scary sharp. I have never seen this amount of workmanship, for the money, in a commercial pocket knife that wasn't custom-made. With a Full-Lifetime warranty from Columbia River. And rest assured- SAFE. Why do some people think Auto LAWKS is a "nothing" feature. Without the secondary safety feature, I would have never made this purchase. I rate it a 9.9 of 10. You cannot beat this item, for the money. The ONLY other con may be it is much too easy to open from the factory. And that is adjustable. It is virtually indestructible. Great product CRKT.

This knife is a MONSTER. If you think this knife is big, you need to think even bigger. It still works for pocket use, but it's quite heavy. But even for its size, it still has that incredible CRKT feel, ease of use and smooth operation. It comes quite sharp and the serration is very, very deadly. I'd use this if I had to cut a seatbelt, easy. The Auto-LAWKS system makes it very safe for the handler, stopping the blade from EVER coming crashing in on your hand due to the dual-lock feature, yet it can be easily closed with one hand. I use this knife for pretty much everything, though it can be quite a bit more intimidating in public use than your average "pocket" knife. Makes you almost want to join the army and get full use out of it, really.

The M21 is a heavy-duty, fighting and utility, tactical folder. This really is a great knife for the price. I was quite impressed, favorably by this blade, I think it compares very well to blades costing more than twice as much. The blade is an excellent, meant-for-work design, that can function in almost any role. I use it as an edc/camping knife, and the blade shape and size have proved very efficient for my use. Although it is large, I've found it to carry fairly well, but if your looking for an every day carry knife you might want check out its smaller cousin, the M16 (Columbia River Knife and Tool M16-01KZ 3-Inch Zytel Folding Knife with Autolawk and Spear Point Razor Edge Blade, Black). As far as the serrations, they are, well, different. They cut amazingly well, through anything! There crazy sharp! But the down side is they dull and nick really easy, so not great for tough material, which is mainly what serrations are for anyway. They do more cutting than sawing. Luckily Tom Veff, the designer, has a Youtube video on how to sharpen the serrations. One down side of the blade is is stabbing potential. Frankly, it sucks. The width of this blade make it a poor stabber, so if that is your main concern look elsewhere. On to the action: The action (where the blade opens) is fairly smooth. The long flipper helps to deploy the blade, but don't expect a switchblade. It still takes a bit of a flick to open the knife. The thumb stud is different, but not bad. It can be difficult to get your thumb on, but with practice works relatively well. The second flipper (on the top) can be used to open the knife when drawing from the pocket (like a Wave opener). While this doesn't really help me, I can see how this could be really useful to someone in a more tactical role, like a police officer or a soldier. The handle is nice, a fairly basic shape, but the G10 adds some contour, making it a fairly decent handle. It doesn't have to be great though, because the knife has a full hilt, so theres no way you'll lose your grip. The handle has thick (like really thick) steel liners, which help make the knife very strong. They are drilled out in the signature Carson circles, helping to do reduce weight. This is a heavy knife though, so don't think this is something you can throw in your pocket and forget about; you will know you're carrying a blade. The lock is nice, its essentially a liner lock with a safety (Auto-Lawks). It's not the strongest, but it does its job and will keep you safe. If you want stronger look at Benchmades Axis lock or Cold Steels Tri-Ad, both of which are superior in strength to this. The knife has a standard, black pocket clip, mountable in all four corners. Its simple and effective. As far as steel, the blade has 8cr14Mov. I'm not an expert, but from what I've heard this is basically a Chinese version of Aus-8, and Aus-8 is very good (not the best, but very usable and very effective. High to mid range). In conclusion, this is the knife issued to, and designed with input from, the US Army Special Forces, and if its good enough for them, its good enough for me.

Here are some higher price knife that this knife compares to:
Cold Steel Recon 1
SOG Trident
Cold steel Voyager large
Kabar Mule
Ontario Rat 1

*If you look, there are some more reviews on YouTube that provide some helpful insight on this blade.

As a veteran, a knife collector and a knife maker, I don't buy toys. I don't see any worth to those half plastic knives made in Pakistan or the two ton wall hanger swords made out of car bumbers that aren't even worth melting down. It isn't worth a red cent if you can't count on it.

The M-21 is a great knife with a lot of heft for a folder and CRKT is a great company that offers some of the best bang for your buck out there(I also own the smaller M-16 with the tanto point). This knife will seriously mess up whatever is on its business end, you won't be disappointed. It is big, so be warned if you're looking for an everyday carry.

There is only one thing that I should mention about this one. I've noticed that the Veff serrations create a very thin edge and can curl on you in the shallows or the tips can bend or break. Performance wise the Veff are great serrations for cutting rope or soft material, a review in Knives Illustrated compared them to spyderco and found them to be equal or better. Go for the plain edge if you want to abuse the knife and not spend time resharpening your serrations.
Great knife all around though, one of my favorites.

If you've been looking at it, and wondering, then STOP and buy it! I've taken this knife on 3 tours in Afghanistan and countless training missions in the Army.. No problems. The Veff serrations smaller finer points have since worn down after years of use/abuse but I purchased this looking for a cheap and hefty tool that would take a beating. I'd say CRKT has done just that with this bad boy. I make a point to carry this with me anywhere I go while in uniform, and it's comfortable with an ease of use that's unmatched by any other knife I've had in the passed. This, along with the M16 have sold me on the CRKT brand. Cheap only in price, but not quality and reliability. Bought another yesterday for the wife to carry around out here, since she's been without any blade other than a standard issue multitool. I simply cannot allow THAT. She gets what I trust and rely on. Best value, still on Amazon!

OK, if you wear slacks to the office, this might be a little big. Get a 2" mini-swiss. Otherwise, if you wear jeans or Carharts and get your hands dirty, you'll never notice the weight of this knife. And for that trade-off, you'll pull the most bad-ass folder of all time out of your pocket when you need it. It flips open easily, and you can shave with it. Strong men will be envious; women will faint, and it's unbelievably inexpensive. If you're interested at all, GET IT!! You won't be disappointed.

While this is a big knife for daily carry, it is not so big that it would create a problem. This knife is meant to be carried in the front pocket where it can be quickly deployed for use. The pocket clip can be placed in one of four locations on the knife, two on either side, making it suitable for either a right or left handed person, front or back pocket carry. The knife was razor sharp straight out of the box. In addition to being a daily carry knife, it has enough heft to be considered a "survival" type as well. While the extra locking mechanism takes a little getting used to, it can be closed with one hand with a little pratice. I would not recommend this knife for someone with small hands; get the next smaller size (M16) in the CRKT line. I give this knife 5 stars for its quality. I'm extremely glad I purchased it & I found Amazon had the best price.

I purchased this knife directly from Amazon along with the Columbia River Knife and Tool 7133 Lake Thunderblot Folding Knife (which was for my younger brother). The free shipping was fast, and the knives arrived in perfect condition. The M-21 itself is the sharpest of my nine knives and feels very durable, although only time will tell. The G-10 handle seems very strong and the scales grip your hand well, but it could be just a little more ergonomic, and I also recommend that if you want a sheathe for it, you should order it with the knife, because it's almost impossible to find one big enough at a local store. Another complaint is that sometimes the Auto-Lawks feature gets in the way, although usually it's not a problem, and it does make it almost impossible for it to close accidentally. As for the Veff serrations, I haven't used them yet but from what I've heard there very useful. Overall I find it to be a very nice knife, but be warned, this is also a very large knife, and if all you want is something to carve wood then I recommend you look elsewhere, but, if your looking for a large all-purpose camping/survival knife, then I strongly recommend you give this one a look.

Pros:

Sharp and
large Blade.
G-10 Handle.
Auto-Lawks.
Seems durable.

Cons:

Slightly uncomfortable
handle shape.
Auto-Lawks

I picked up the M21-14SFG Big Dog to replace my M16-14T. I loved the 14T and carried it during my tour in the sandbox as a back up to my applegate fairbairn fighting knife as far as edged weapons go. When it was lost I was pretty crushed, and eventually decided on the M21 to replace it. So far it hasn't failed at a task, and it is actually faster to deploy than the 14T was. The extra guard/flipper makes for very quick deployment of the blade from deep carry in a pocket or from a vest.

The factory edge is razor sharp, and once I've worn it down a bit I'll re-hone it to more of a working edge. The veff serrations have tackled rope and nylon very well so far, but look a bit delicate for any sawing of wood (something I haven't tried yet.)

All in all, with amazon's great price on this knife, it's solid locking, fantastic ergonomics, and great blade you'd be hard pressed to find another knife good for EDC that can also be used defensively/offensively as the situation dictates. This is NOT a small knife however, and if you are looking for more of a gentlemen's folding knife, this is not the one you want.