Question about Refinishing a CRK One Piece, South Africa made .....

[yannouille]

Hello everybody,

I am the proud owner of an old Chris Reeve Aviator model from South Africa.
I have bought this knife used, without identification card and box, and actually it shows some noticeable wear/scratches on the handle and cap.

I've been told the new refinishing from CRK is more grey than the old SA finish which was darker/black. Is it true ?
Do you think refinishing an SA made Aviator will decrease the knife value because of the clearer color? Maybe I should keep it in its original condition .....what guys do u think ?

The identification card has been lost over the year, is it possible to get a new one ?
Actually do you think a CRK without box and papers would not be collectible ?

Thank you for the info.

[jwolf90]

I would say don't do it if its a SA made, use it with pride

[RiverRat84]

I would say don't do it if its a SA made, use it with pride

I agree, that's very cool

[archieblue]

Pics or it diddnt happen!

[james g]

I have 4 of the SA one piece knives that I purchased directly from Chris and Anne. They were completely refinished by Chris and with all of the original paperwork as well as a signed statement from Chris that he did the refinish work. They are all numbered 3. I consider these to be collectible,however,after viewing this forum,I now have some doubts. These were purchased, post apartheid. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Jim

[김원진]

as none paying members i believe asking about price/value is a no no. Like the others have said though, use it with pride. It's something you can pass down, and something not many have.

[yannouille]

Thank you for your replies, I am going to keep it and use it in its original condition. I received an email form crk today and the new finish is different than the old SA finish ...Here is my knife :

Sorry for the poor quality picture but I live in France and I haven't received the knife from the US yet, the pic is from the previous owner.

I've done some research on the internet and I found some interesting info about this SA made n°862 :
This particular model was on sale on another forum 4 years ago and the previous owner got knife's history frome Anne Reeve :

Verification from Anne Reeve that the knife is indeed of S. African origin... the steel is D2 steel, not A2.

Any knives made in South Africa can be recognized by either no country of origin marking or by "Made in RSA" marked on the blade. We did not mark the knives at all until 1987 when a shipment coming into the US was stopped at Customs, and they required the country of origin marking. From +/- May 1987, all knives were marked.

However - for every rule, there is an exception!!
When we moved to the US from South Africa (we arrived March 8, 1989), we brought some partially completed One Piece blanks with us, and the Aviator in question is one of them. I have no records of how many we brought but it wasn't many - we could see we would run out of time to complete them in SA! Aviator 862 was marked on February 4th, 1989 - but it was finished in the USA. I wrote the guarantee card (I confess to less than perfect penmanship!) at the time the knife was completed. It took a while for us to get set up with a US sheathmaker and we ordered sheaths from South Africa for a year or more.

All One Piece Knives made in SA had hex butt caps, and continued to use hex for quite a few more years. We have used the same coating, then called KalGard, now called KG Gunkote, for as long as we have made this range of knives. The color varies slightly, much like regular paint, with different batches.

Hope this clears a few details - if only knives could tell their stories of travels from SA to the US to Australia to Afghanistan!

Regards to all
Anne Reeve
Chris Reeve Knives

Through Internet I also found a photo of the knife's original papers but unfortunately the original guarantee card has been lost over the years .... CRK can reissue a card with an approximate date of manufacturer. The card will state that it is a reissued card. Once again Great Service from CRK
Nevertheless, if the previous owner read this thread and still have the card please send me an email

[Steven65]

I have 4 of the SA one piece knives that I purchased directly from Chris and Anne. They were completely refinished by Chris and with all of the original paperwork as well as a signed statement from Chris that he did the refinish work. They are all numbered 3. I consider these to be collectible,however,after viewing this forum,I now have some doubts. These were purchased, post apartheid. Any feedback would be appreciated. Jim

If you purchased them directly from Chris and Anne why would you doubt their provenance? I assure you that they would be genuine.

In the early days Chris has a number of collectors who automatically took all of a certain serial number of of knives. Yours probably came from a collector who only collected number 3's. Personally I have never seen any One Piece knives with duplicate numbers, and I have seen a lot of them.

South Africa has been "Post Apartheid" since '94 but there is no reason to think that your knives are not the real thing.

If you post pics and tell us exactly which models they are we could help you date them. There were subtle changes to the various patterns over the years and if yours are well known patterns with such low numbers they should be easy to verify.

[Dane.Chichester]

If you purchased them directly from Chris and Anne why would you doubt their provenance? I assure you that they would be genuine.

In the early days Chris has a number of collectors who automatically took all of a certain serial number of of knives. Yours probably came from a collector who only collected number 3's. Personally I have never seen any One Piece knives with duplicate numbers, and I have seen a lot of them.

South Africa has been "Post Apartheid" since '94 but there is no reason to think that your knives are not the real thing.

If you post pics and tell us exactly which models they are we could help you date them. There were subtle changes to the various patterns over the years and if yours are well known patterns with such low numbers they should be easy to verify.

I am not sure he doubts the authenticity of the knives, but rather the collectability of them. I believe the OP thought the knives to be worth more than he has recently seen. I could be wrong though.

[Haze]

I don't know why you have any questions, the knives and literature you have with them tells you everything you could ever want to know.
SA one piece knives are valued/sort after more by collectors than the US made knives regardless of when they were made or if they are numbered.

As to the OP, you made the right choice. Use that knife and enjoy it just how it was supposed to be.

I have 4 of the SA one piece knives that I purchased directly from Chris and Anne. They were completely refinished by Chris and with all of the original paperwork as well as a signed statement from Chris that he did the refinish work. They are all numbered 3. I consider these to be collectible,however,after viewing this forum,I now have some doubts. These were purchased, post apartheid. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Jim

[james g]

Hello Steven

I wasn't questioning their authenticity, I was just curious about their values. Steven, I have a question about those two Wilkinsons (from the late eighties, one blk and one chrome) I'll PM you tomorrow

Jim Piretti

[Haze]

Please update you user group or you are breaking the fourm rules. You seem to have membership but have not changed your status.

Non paying members can not ask about price and certainly can't jump about behind the scenes talking prices and potential sales.

Hello Steven

I wasn't questioning their authenticity, I was just curious about their values. Steven, I have a question about those two Wilkinsons (from the late eighties, one blk and one chrome) I'll PM you tomorrow

Jim Piretti

[Steven65]

Hello Steven
I wasn't questioning their authenticity, I was just curious about their values. Steven, I have a question about those two Wilkinsons (from the late eighties, one blk and one chrome) I'll PM you tomorrow
Jim Piretti

Jim it is good to hear from you and see you on Bladeforums. I now understand your question about that set of number three's.
It is also good to know that you still have the two FS's that I sold you so long ago.

As Haze has said you need to upgrade your membership status. If you are having trouble figuring out how to do it shoot me a e-mail and I will help you.

Please update you user group or you are breaking the fourm rules. You seem to have membership but have not changed your status. Non paying members can not ask about price and certainly can't jump about behind the scenes talking prices and potential sales.

Hi Haze

I have known Jim for over 25 years and he has a wonderful collection of CRK knives and has known Chris and Anne just as long.
I assure you that our PM conversations are about old times, not sales. My guess is that he is having some trouble changing his membership status as he was an adult long before the microchip was invented and he is probably a little overwhelmed by the forum software.

I will try and help him to change it.............

Cheers.......Steven

[Haze]

I'm not trying to say anything underhanded is going on, it's just that is why those rules are in place. I'm not sure if you still get dinged for that or not ? Better to be safe than sorry I suppose.

The having to activate your membership from your profile has confused many people here for a long time as you probably well know.

Jim it is good to hear from you and see you on Bladeforums. I now understand your question about that set of number three's.
It is also good to know that you still have the two FS's that I sold you so long ago.

As Haze has said you need to upgrade your membership status. If you are having trouble figuring out how to do it shoot me a e-mail and I will help you.



Hi Haze

I have known Jim for over 25 years and he has a wonderful collection of CRK knives and has known Chris and Anne just as long.
I assure you that our PM conversations are about old times, not sales. My guess is that he is having some trouble changing his membership status as he was an adult long before the microchip was invented and he is probably a little overwhelmed by the forum software.

I will try and help him to change it.............

Cheers.......Steven

[Steven65]

I'm not trying to say anything underhanded is going on, it's just that is why those rules are in place. I'm not sure if you still get dinged for that or not ? Better to be safe than sorry I suppose.
The having to activate your membership from your profile has confused many people here for a long time as you probably well know.

You are absolutely correct to point it out..........I will try and help him get squared away........ Cheers mate.

[james g]

I don't know why you have any questions, the knives and literature you have with them tells you everything you could ever want to know.
SA one piece knives are valued/sort after more by collectors than the US made knives regardless of when they were made or if they are numbered.

As to the OP, you made the right choice. Use that knife and enjoy it just how it was supposed to be.

You missed the point of my question. Nothing in my statement pertains to authenticity. I was curious about value only.

[Haze]

And you missed the point of my answer, obviously. You're also still a nonpaying memebr so you can't ask that question any way. Update your user group from your profile or you will start to get infractions.

You missed the point of my question. Nothing in my statement pertains to authenticity. I was curious about value only.

[Kiah]

James, you can click here to fix the user group issue. Just click the circle next to your subscription and click "Update ..."

[james g]

Kiah and RevDevil
Thank you both for your help and posting a direct link that made the upgrade very simple.
In the next couple of months I'll post my CRK collection. It's not quite as numerous and unique as St James' collection, but close.

Jim

[김원진]

looking forward to the pictures

Kiah and RevDevil
Thank you both for your help and posting a direct link that made the upgrade very simple.
In the next couple of months I'll post my CRK collection. It's not quite as numerous and unique as St James' collection, but close.

Jim