The CRKT Cottidae Pocketknife: The Full Nick Shabazz Review

Today, we'll take a look at a knife whose main attraction is the FieldStrip 2 technology built into it, at a smaller size: the CRKT Cottidae.

[@evanacey1414]

I never in a million years thought that I would hear a “hot dog down a hallway” reference in a Nick Shabazz knife review video... But I’m damn glad I did!! 🤣

[@FLASHAHOLIC_TV]

Throwing a sausage up Westgate

[@knoxknifemods]

Every time you say “bricky” of course I think of Pete’s best friend, Bricky.

[@csquared4538]

I think bricky is gone. It's wall-e now

[@NotReallyRicky]

R.I.P

[@tkindschi]

I initially thought we were being cheated out of a disassembly when I saw the review standing alone! Turns out, we got 3 or 4 disassembles anyway. Like the earlier field strips, it's an intriguing idea....

[@unknownartist47]

This is a well made piece. I use it as a shop knife in my wood shop. I did carry it in my pocket for several weeks and found if pressure is put on the flipper tab it can push out the blade enough to get cut. If carried with the blade to the inside of pocket , no problem. For me its a tool I will keep and use.👍👍

[@frankkollar2278]

It's cool they should put a sharpening surface on the inside of the scales maybe a rough and a fine on either scale so you can clean and sharpen without tools

[@hityoutwo]

Hey CRKT, hire this guy

[@fireemblemistrash75]

Ive found a love for bricky thick knives like this ever since the CRKT Ryan 7. Favorite knife

[@maxthemaker9845]

Personally as a maple sap collecter I have never had my knife fall into Maple syrup.

[@SlavicCelery]

Are you really collecting maple syrup? Sounds like someone from Connecticut who talks a big game.

[@maxthemaker9845]

@@SlavicCelery No I don't collect Maple syrup, I collect maple sap then my family cooks it down into maple syrup.

[@kiwi_comanche]

The handle has some serious Extrema Ratio vibes going on....

[@marksd5650]

I can’t remember if you review fixed blades, ever, (I don’t think I’ve ever seen one) but just bought a Toor fixed blade and it’s a gem. You ought to take a look.

[@lz3390]

I picture handing this to a non-knife person and having them hand me it back in pieces when they try to unlock it and think the field strip tab on the front is the lock.

[@EerAzuil]

That actually happens. I have both the Bona Fide and this one, and I just learned to not hand it to someone else without a bit explanation. Love the design though. I am never "in a field" cleaning this, but knives pic up dust, sand and lint in your pockets as well and I take the knife apart every day and clean it, all in less then 30 seconds. I am hoping that CRKT will offer other blades soon, so we can switch to whatever blade we want for that paricular day. Serrated, or even tougher steel, different colours... or maybe even a saw or whatever they can come up with.

[@usergonemad]

I like the easy to clean aspect very much but it doesn't seem to "go" with this pattern. Not sure who this knife be perfect for but I'm glad it's there for that person, y'know? The more they use the new iteration of field strip technology, the cheaper it will become to incorporate in future designs. I can *certainly* imagine enjoying a utility EDC with that feature someday.

[@davidkbailey]

Looks to me like the blade needs to be that thick in order to fit both of those captive bearings in the pivot. I'd guess that the Bona Fide is about the same thickness, but just doesn't seem to be as thick since the blade is longer.

[@josephtortona824]

doesn't the gen 2 CRKT field strip defy their basic principle of CLEANING WITHOUT USING TOOLS? i noticed that the locking mechanism is housed in one of the side panels so how would you clean the INSIDE of the locking panel with a liner without the use of tools?

[@johnwest4492]

Hi Nick, could you put phosfer bronze washers in the home front? Or not at all?

[@krystofmraz]

What got this knife sold to me Is you Can use the Blade alone for really fine works Like shaving for example. Field strip And big enough choil make IT usable As a razor, which is awesome to me.

[@Adam.297]

2 for 2 with full aluminum scales... wonder if that is needed for the v2 to function? I guess we'll see when more designs get released.

[@markcollins2704]

Wow I've never seen that field strip thing before that's pretty great.

[@harveynoshoe8085]

Ken Onion designs don't accommodate us southpaws. Glad they added the ambidextrous pocket clip option to a knife with Field Strip technology!

[@SlavicCelery]

Well, if we know anything, lefties are probably friends with Satan. (Coming from a mostly ambi-dexterous person who's been judged for using his left hand for a lot of things.)

[@nihilus5740]

large finger choil is probably made with gloves in mind. Makes sense with the grippy handle as well.

[@gaberoo9099]

I'm gonna score the pun attempts at "Gem" level. Keep em coming!!

[@Cadwallader38]

I'd have preferred washers or bushings but thank gourd no teflon.

[@ryanc2696]

I wonder if it has the same backspacer issues as the Bona Fide. The field strip tech is cool, but their manufacturing tolerances are too loose. Gonna have QC issues for sure

[@Acre00]

That's honestly my main problem with CRKT, and the reason I don't buy their knives. They have awesome designs, but they can't(or won't) do them justice

[@dipensor]

I’ve been slamming shut the blade on my Cottidae and so far the blade doesn’t contact the backspacer

[@ryanhill7318]

I'm.looking at one for my wife for her camping knife. She uses it for everything, food, wood, rope....it's nice for her to be able to quickly pull it apart.

[@logand1737]

I bought my inara based on your review and honestly I gotta say crkt has really outdone them selves with budget/quality knives.

[@unknownriderinbound]

Angling to land fish puns can leave you reeling!

[@Zaque-TV]

Properly heat treated D2 has higher edge retention than s30V so you just need to keep it clean and dont chip it and its a beast of a steel

[@birbman9363]

Highly illegal UK knife. Flipper tabs and springs became illegal on March 9th. Too many springs and tabs were killing people apparently.

[@jagpilotohio]

If you guys could still kill each other with guns like we do in the states no one one give a damn about knife laws because no one would use them for killing each other. 😳

[@birbman9363]

LoL, very true. There's plenty gun crime here though, just the bad guys with them unfortunately. These whacky politicians. They constantly ignore the fact that 90% of knife crime recorded is with kitchen knives and never an expensive pocket knife from an avid collector.

[@jagpilotohio]

@@birbman9363 exactly. Most people grab the 8 inch knife out of the butcher block to stab someone. Watch out, at some point they will realize this lurking terror and there will be no cutting of meat or dicing of veg allowed at home. Maybe you will need a permit and background check to buy a chefs knife.

[@birbman9363]

😂😂/😢😢

[@macmurfy2jka]

@@jagpilotohio that’s not a far fetched concept already over there. Legislation has already been proposed to ban pointy kitchen knives all together.

[@HollywoodTacticool]

totally agree, about field strip tech, no idea why people think it's not necessary, try digging ditches and see your knife that was in your pocket, i don't want to sit around cleaning my knives everyday after a dirty day of working

[@williamrhyne2639]

Does the field strip lock feel like it might disengage during use?

[@NickShabazz]

I've not had that feeling at all, no. But I haven't done super abusive testing, either.

[@EerAzuil]

Totally does not happen. Its pretty sturdy.

[@senrab253]

I appreciate the pun attempts at the end. You have a rough job sometimes :)

[@1980JPA]

The grip issue is because it's designed to be a mechanics knife, for use with possibly oily hands.

[@MyKnifeJourney]

I don't like how when it's locked shut the lock bar is akimbo, messes up the clean look

[@jamesharris1493]

Hi Nick! Like always I enjoy your opinions. Nick I started collecting about a year ago and am wondering if by chance are there any knives by chance that you own that you no longer want or have grown bored with and would be willing to help someone with their collection plz pass them to me.

[@TheJeffFortner]

Reminds me of a Fällkniven. Very interesting.

[@tomnelson8515]

Pick the right knife for the job. If one needs to clean their knife often, this 'might' work. (I for one am tired of stripping T6 screws.) But I just picked one up for $28 shipped, so I have no problem that it is not going to work well as a 'gentleman's knife.'

[@NotReallyRicky]

But Nick, where's the disassembly video?

[@Sir-IKON]

legal measures straight line from tip to shortest distance to handle. sharpen blade length means zero across the board

[@thejuicer9706]

I agree. In generally speaking. Nice review!

[@gorantenja]

I cant get over that finger choil. Maybe to see a more classic choil or no choil at all.. move the flipper tab a bit to front, and cutting edge to meet the flipper tab, it would be reminiscent of a pukko... I don't know.

[@SlavicCelery]

Honestly, so many finger choils are so terrible, that this one sticks out as functional.

[@JustIn-op6oy]

It's weird that the giant choil is ergonomically very appealing to me but I don't think I could get over the dreadful looks. The odd proportions of the knife make it stand out even more.

[@clintonlewis1261]

Nice little knife, I agree on the bad you meantoned.

[@TNea0926]

Nick, when will you review the TRM Shadow?

[@NickShabazz]

Saturday!

[@Nordraw]

I wonder does it ever accidentally come apart in your pocket?

[@ryanc2696]

Nope. Not really possible, with how much resistance the field strip has

[@ytJnC]

Mine arrived today. Handles feel like sandpaper.

[@d1grizz]

Hotdog down the hallway? You've been watching too much Frankie and Bird.

[@MetrologyEngineer]

I want one just to see how it works.

[@Chamdar17]

the choil isn't really that large, just seems like they took an extra 1/8" off the heel of the edge to provide more room above the flipper tab which had to be located where it is. The handle is super short, trying not to waste space that isn't housing the blade, so they extend the handle region that little bit by grinding the choil that little bit higher. Sure, they could have left a giant ricasso and integral guard below a notchless choil like Spyderco's Chaparral or Cold Steel's Mini Tuff-Lite (which does have a small notch at the choil, then a generous index groove in the ricasso), but they didn't. The flipper ends up as a pseudo 'sub-hilt' - think about where it is on the tang relative to most other flipper-tabs. imgur.com/hyszg5f

[@gmorel1916]

That handle finish wears off to bare metal so fast. I bought mine when they first came out and after a week of just pocket and fidget wear there’s bare metal exposed.

[@sauce1302]

That's the budget aluminum handles life!

[@ambientrelaxationandfocus5252]

with this video, im glad i Cotti(to)dae before buying this knife

[@hellcat4384]

11:58 "Thick boi build here" yessir

[@marksantostefano1637]

That finger choil is just a little too big for my liking and I really like finger choils!

[@Yogithesoyman]

Should I Cottidae or Cottimorrow?

[@motaman8074]

Thats Nick's line

[@fa-tre2869]

This seems like an answer in search of a problem.

[@awwwshucks443]

what they need is lc200n on a feildstrip 2 knife.

[@CKshouta]

Crkt going that high-end? Nah, 8Crkt for you! Honestly, they really should use at least 14c28n on a knife marketed as low effort maintenance at the price they are asking.

[@SlavicCelery]

Is it perfect? Hell no... But is it one of the best designs from CRKT? Possibly.

[@dirtrider88]

"maple syrup fields". those are called forests

[@gaberoo9099]

I was kinda expecting "have yourselves a wonderful cottidae"...too much??

[@Lack_of_response]

I think they named it Cottidae just to impede your puns

[@WhoIsSerafin]

Everything you don’t like I like

[@speckledjim_]

Not a garbage steel in a CRKT, that's new

[@kjgas6945]

👍👍🤠🤠

[@Cadwallader38]

I LOVE the knife and the design but 100 dollars for D2 and aluminum feels like a joke.

[@dfailsthemost]

That's the downside of their using d2. If it were 8cr13mov or even AUS 8, it'd be $40 cheaper, I bet. Ppl demanded D2, but it makes $30 crkt knives fewer and farther between.

[@Cadwallader38]

@@dfailsthemost CRKTs prices are inconsistent but usually too high but there's no reason for it. My favorite CRKT the offbeat 2 is 20 dollars on blade hq and for that price I can justify 8cr but one step up to D2 adds another 80 dollars?? It's awful and their QC isn't even good.

[@stephenbarone4053]

@@dfailsthemost no, because they are selling knives with field strip that have 1.4116 pot metal steel for $100. Also, they regularly sell Aus 8 blades for $50 to $70, like the Foresight - $80.

[@dfailsthemost]

@@stephenbarone4053 Yeah, that's a good point.

[@ncsEsper]

Nick: Pocket pecker - problem or no?

[@wasylbakowsky5199]

Cottidae are the largest family of Sculpins, which are a type of bottom-dwelling fish...

[@picklewiickle.1583]

Be a good design if it was a craft knife or a stanly box knife. But for every day carry having quick release on blade is pointless.

[@baddoopey]

If you need to clean your knife in the field you definitely brought the wrong knife.

[@BeefGold]

No