Yes, Yes, No: The Almost-Great CJRB Scoria Folding Knife

CJRB is one of the better budget makers out there. The Mini Feldspar and the Pyrite are both great, but they are clearly the result of heavy penny-pinching (the high-end Pyrite is a different beast entirely).

So what would it look like if CJRB tried to aim at the middle of the market? The answer is the Scoria, a knife that packs in a lot of high-end features for the money. It’s available in a bunch of different handle materials, but the blade G10 version was the first to market.

In short: This is a true mid-priced knife ($70) with features that reach into the high end all for a decent price. But the weak detent leaves something to be desired.

CJRB Scoria

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Specifications

• Steel: AR-RMP9
• Grind: Partial flat grind with an unsharpened swedge
• Lock: Liner lock
• Blade length: 3.48"
• Handle length: 4.53"
• OAL: 8.01"
• Weight: 3.53 oz.
• Price: Starting at $70
• Country of origin: China

Pros

• Exclusive AR RPM9 steel
• Sculpted handle scales
• High value
• High end touches with a blind clip and pivot collar

Cons

• Weak detent
• Scratch-prone coated blade
• Blade longer than 3.5 inches could be illegal in some jurisdictions

Anthony Sculimbrene

CJRB Scoria Review

The Scoria is a liner lock flipper. It has a thumbstud for an alternate opening method. The blade is a drop point. The pocket clip is sculpted and the handle scales are as well. There’s a lanyard attachment point that doesn’t ruin the knife’s look or design.

CRJB put a few high-end touches on this knife. First, it has a decorative pivot collar. The pocket clip is also attached with “blind screws” (meaning screws are invisible on the outside of the knife).

This is the least expensive knife I know of with blind screws on the clip, a step that requires a bit more labor and planning. The blade steel is Artisan/CJRB’s proprietary powder steel, AR-RMP9.

CJRB Scoria Design

The first thing you notice when you pick up the knife is just how well it fits in the hand. This may be one of the best handles of any folder in the production world.

The sculpted scales and clip feel nice, filling up the palm and providing a good grip with very few hot spots. The fact that the clip has blind screws only adds to the tactile and pleasing grip of the Scoria.

Only something like a full custom Jarosz M75 or the hard-to-find Strider PT CC has a better handle. Both of those are out of production and when available, cost well over five times the price of the Scoria.

The flipping action is solid, but you absolutely need to nail the technique. If you don’t, prepare for some premature deployments (more on this later).

The knife’s all-black appearance is striking and the forward finger choil lends some precision that’s often missing on bigger blades.

Shortfalls

The only real weakness of the Scoria is the detent. Detents range from “mild suggestion” to “painful like an ejector seat.” Most hardcore knife folks look for a very snappy, hard detent. Knives like those customs made by RJ Martin have absolute shotguns for detent — hard to overcome but truly explosive.

This ensures that the knife opens completely every single time the detent is overcome. Production companies typically tune their detents softer than this, allowing some resistance but not enough to wear out a thumb or finger.

The Scoria’s detent is too soft. It flops the knife open at times and for reasons unclear. A bit more work on tuning the detent could go a long way to making the knife superb.

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CJRB Scoria: Conclusion

A good handle and a crappy detent make for a decent knife. With more tuning, the detent could match the other high-end features of the knife. If you really like the look and feel of the Scoria, you can make the weak-sauce detent work, but for the money there are other, better knives out there.

Not recommended.