Smith and Wesson Extreme Ops CK113S

It's Presidents' Day weekend.  So by all means, sales all around!  This weekend, Big 5 had a sale on a few of their Smith and Wesson knives.  I decided to stop in for a peek (the ad didn't really specify which models, or rather, I didn't look closely enough).  I've been quite happy with my S.W.A.T. for a light to medium duty knife so I figured, at $10.00, why not check out what they have to offer.

When I came in, I wasn't really impressed with any of the knives until the Extreme Ops one twinkled in the corner of my eye.  Yep.  It twinkled.  :P  That's 'cause it's got a stainless steel handle covered in black aluminum.  I'd asked the guy at the counter if I could handle it and I was very surprised at how lightweight it is.  I don't have a scale so I can't comment on that.  But it's really light.

It also features a liner lock, which I really like.  I've been playing with frame locks recently and I'm not sure if it's a feature of /all/ frame locks or not, but I found them hard to close, though very sturdy.

These are bad pictures and I'll need to retake them in better lighting... but you can make out the colors there.  :)

The other thing that caught my attention was the small blade size.  I've been looking for a nice EDC knife that would stay below most if not all of my state and local (including university) knife carry laws and will also take care of light-medium duty work.  This one fits the bill, falling at about 3" long.  It's also got dual thumb studs and a nice pocket clip.

I was a little sad that they didn't have the plain edged one (model CK113), but that's okay.  This drop point (?) blade with the half serration looks pretty cool.

I'd like to note here that the blade wasn't sharp out of the box.  But after running it through the ceramic sharpener a couple of times, it was razor sharp and cut through paper like there's no tomorrow.  Maybe not sharp enough to shave, but I don't believe I've ever gotten a blade that sharp yet...

Upon checking it out online, most of the stores carry these for about $10.00 and a couple dollars for shipping.  So it wasn't truly a bargain.  I know Big 5 always runs "sales" and the MSRP really isn't the MSRP.  But I do like frequenting their sales simply because of instant gratification.  I really hate shipping times.

I don't know if it's because of the light-weight-ness of the knife overall or not, but I'm not QUITE as happy with this knife as I am with the S.W.A.T.  Somehow the S.W.A.T. just feels more robust.  Even the blade - maybe because even that weighs more?  I think the blade on the S.W.A.T. is thicker too, but I'll have to check another day.  But I'm still fairly satisfied with it.  I'm particularly happy that this knife flicks open with such ease!  I've never had a knife that flicks open this easily before.  :)  And it's wicked fast too.

UPDATE (20 February 2012):
Now that I've been playing with it for a while... I still like it.  However, I think I'm going to need to tighten the screw at the pivot point.  It's nice that the blade flips out so easily.  And the liner lock does a remarkable job at keeping the blade locked.  And there is no blade play whatsoever.  BUT.  For whatever reason, when pushing the liner lock out of the way to close, I think the blade's a little too loose and just falls.  There's no friction between it and the handle as I'm used to on my S.W.A.T.

UPDATE (02 March 2012):
I think I'm a little over this knife now.  It's still a nice little knife to have around, but I'm not impressed by the blade material.  It doesn't hold an edge very well.  S.W.A.T. does a better job at that.