CRKT Gallager Badger

The Badger is a folding tactical knife from CRKT with a single spear point blade.  The top of the blade is swedged along the last inch or so of the 2-7/8 inch blade.  It has an aggressive shape with a drop just behind the swedge down to the relatively thick spine.  This gives it a sort of arrowhead look and orients toward use as a thrusting weapon.  It will certainly do for a utility knife, but it is clearly has the blade design of a tactical weapon.

Probably the most interesting thing about the Badger is its assisted opening feature.  The spine of the hilt is a flat spring that wants to push the blade out.  There is a detente button that, with the linerlock, provides sufficient drag to resist this pressure and keep the knife closed.  To open, the user presses down and pushes out slightly on the thumb-stub causing the blade to snap quickly into the fully-open position where it is held by the linerlock.  It is cute and clever and seems to work flawlessly once the operator gets the very minimal press-push-release movement perfected.  It is not hard at all.  Essentially you are using the thumb-stud to push the linerlock away from the blade.  Before the liner can snap back the blade is clear of the grip. 

The opening mechanism is biased toward the right-handed.  I can work it with my left hand using my middle finger to trigger the release while holding the top of grip between my thumb and forefinger. I can also open it with my left thumb, but it means the knife opens upside-down.  

Other than impressing the chicks and maybe other knife guys I am not sure what the point of the mechanism is.  It's nice to say I have an assisted-opening knife, and it provides me with some mindless entertainment when I'm waiting for my wife at the mall or the salon or wherever.  I see in my current Midway catalog that the Badger is going for $49.99 — which is ridiculous.  I did not pay half that for mine.  At $20, the Badger is a nice little novelty knife.  At $50, you can get an American-made Case folder or some other knife that is a lot more value for the money. 

Aside from the opening mechanism, the Badger comes with good-looking dark green and black G10 scales with decent checkering.  The scales are reasonably ergonomic.  The knife is 3-7/8 inch long when folded with a slender profile that makes it pleasant to carry even in a suit or church pants.  The blade wears an elegant black coat, which, along with its slightly hump-backed geometry renders it pleasing to the eye.  Hollow-ground, it seems to take and hold an edge well.     

The single negative, aside from the price, is that the blade has a little side play when locked open.  I haven't tried tightening the allen screw as I suspect that will slow down the blade's movement slightly and hinder the assisted opening — which is, of course, why I have the little fellow in the first place. 

All in all, I am not really taken with this knife.  As a collector it is worth looking at because of the mechanics of the assisted-opening.  It is an attractive knife, and it will certainly cut.  I don't see it failing or causing problems, but I am very hesitant to recommend it at forty or fifty bucks.