If you’ve been craving a Rick Hinderer knife, but couldn’t quite part with the bucks, your last excuse has just disappeared. The Cryo is the result of collaboration between Rick Hinderer and the design and production engineers at Kershaw. And we’re sure it will satisfy both your Hinderer craving and the demands of your wallet.
A classic Rick Hinderer design, the Cryo is built of pure stainless steel coated with matte grey titanium carbo-nitride for a no-fuss look that lets the design shine through. Like all Rick’s knives, the Cryo benefits from Rick’s real world experience as a fire fighter and EMT. It’s designed to be a sturdy knife that’s still aesthetically pleasing and feels good in the hand.
For secure blade lock up, the Cryo offers a tough frame lock with lockbar stabilization. The Cryo also features Kershaw’s SpeedSafe assisted opening for fast and easy one-handed opening. Access it with either the built-in flipper or the thumbstud.
Slightly smaller than some Hinderer pocketknives, the Cryo is a superb knife for every day carry. EDC this guy for a while and we think you’ll soon appreciate its virtues. You get the tactical, hard-use looks you’re looking for, a Hinderer design, and SpeedSafe opening in this amazingly affordable Kershaw that’s destined to be the Hinderer for the rest of us.
This Kershaw spring assisted knife features a 2-3/4″ plain drop point blade made from 8Cr13MoV steel.
8Cr13MoV steel and the MoV (or Cr) series of steels originate from China and are equivalent to AUS-8 but containing slightly higher carbon content. You typically get great value for money with this steel and Kershaw have perfected the heat treatment process to bring out its best. 8Cr13MoV means that this knife’s steel contains approximately .8% carbon and 13% Chromium. 8Cr13MoV is a very capable steel with no evident weaknesses. Leading knife makers compare it to AUS-8. It retains its edge well, but is not as abrasion resistant as VG-10 or S30V. Edge stability is good, which means the edge can be thinned well. We’ve found that this steel is among the least complicated to hone. Kershaw’s 8Cr13MoV steel is usually hardened to HRC 58-60.
Drop point blades are a style of knife blade that slopes on the spine of the blade from the handle of the knife to the tip of the blade. This allows the spine of the blade (where the blade is thicker, and accordingly stronger) to continue forward to the tip of the blade. This way the point is also aligned with the center axis of the knife, removing any pitch momentum when stabbing.
The curve on the top of a drop-point blade is always convex, which is what distinguishes it from a clip point blade. The drop point is a common design for hunting.
This spring assisted knife has a 410/Titanium Carbo-Nitride handle.
