Can you turn someone?

S

smitty1505

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Oct 24, 2009
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So with Christmas coming up Ive decided that I want to get something really nice for my brother. He has carried a knife on and off for years but never carried one steadily for a long period of time. So my question to you guys is do you think getting a quality knife for him would make him more likely to carry one on a regular basis? We recently started a landscape business together and figured he could use a good quality knife. Right now Ive narrowed it down to a small micarta 21 insignio, an inkosi or a 3" XM-18 ( I'm leaning towards the small micarta, I feel like that's pretty much considered the perfect all around edc ). I'm just not sure if it'll be a waste of money. Have any of you done anything like this before and if so what was the outcome?

Also on a separate note does anyone have a picture of a small sebenza in the CRK belt sheath? I'm trying to decide if I want to get one of those for him or a custom that will fit it better. Thanks!
 
Not everyone looks at knives the same way many of us here do... For many people it is just a tool, and as long as it works, that
is all they are concerned with. I'm sure there are exceptions, but for a non-knife person, they probably wouldn't be able to tell the differences in a well made knife.

If I was thinking of doing that, I would show the person a knife similar to the one you are thinking of getting them, and see what
their response is. It's a nice gesture, but there really isn't much point in spending that much $$$ on a knife, if the person shows no interest in it...
 
What a great gift!

Of course, you should do whatever you think works, but I have tried to convert non-knife people and they often end up just losing knives. I am trying to get my wife into knives and lights, and I am slowly succeeding, but she prefers something cheap so that she won't feel bad about using and maybe losing it.
I would have no problem giving her one of my CRK if I thought she would like it, but I honestly don't think she would care, and the cost of the knife would probably stress her out more than anything else. I think it takes time to get into the mindset of using a $350+ knife.

That said, I love CRK and will always pick CRK over any other brand I have handled, but the XM-18s are great knives for the money (especially now that you can find them below retail value!) and I love using mine for yard work.
 
Awesome gift, bet he loves it!

I've given away a few CRK's and one Hinderer. Each recipient was 'converted' by the quality they hadn't known existed before then.


ETA: I should qualify this. I haven't converted a non knife lover into a knife lover, I've converted a few people who had no idea that there's a world beyond Buck and Gerber.
 
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To be honest, I wouldn't try to 'turn' anyone into a knife lover. IME, it doesn't work; I've tried it before, although not with anything near as high-end as a CRK. And truthfully, I don't think the average person who's not interested in knives could tell or appreciate the difference in quality between a Sebenza and, say, a Gerber. I'm not trying to discourage business away from CRK, but I would not buy one to give to a non-knife person. It's too much money, and they'd probably end up messing it up, losing it or leaving it in a drawer somewhere and forgetting all about it.

Personally, if I were to try giving him a good knife, I'd get one that's under $100 and see how that works out.

Jim
 
I know this is the CRK forum but if I were to try to get someone their first quality knife to try and turn them into a "knife guy" I would start by finding a nice, barely used PM2. I carry a crk daily, but every now and then just for giggles I will stick a pm2 in my pocket. They still have a place with me and a pm2 was my first "high quality" knife. Just my .02
 
I love my CRKs, but if someone had given me one starting off I would have thought they were crazy for two reasons. First why would you spend that much on me, and second, why so much on a knife when I hardly use one as is. I had to learn about knives in order to appreciate a CRK. I also had to learn what type of knives I personally enjoyed when starting out. I would get him something else, imo. To me, even if he was just getting into knives, it is like a dad getting a 16 year a Porsche for their first car when they may actually want a older truck to fix up.
 
This is a tough call. He might convert to where we all are, or he could stay the same and not realize what it's worth.

If it were me....I would get him the small or large Insingo. Such a workhorse of a knife. I love me large Insingo
 
I'd personally start him on something easy to use, with a good steel and around $100. Steel is a big thing here too I feel, get something he can learn to sharpen hard steels on. BD1, VG10, 154CM, ect.

Manix 2 $95
Griptilian $85
Paramilitary 2 $105

If he likes one of those let him spend the $400 down the road if he wants to get into the high buck production stuff.
 
That's a mighty generous thought but the gift is likely to be unappreciated or at least not fully treasured by a non-knife person. I have given away about 10 Spyderco Delicas to friends and family. Two of them get carried religiously and I'm told how much they are appreciated frequently. One of those friends has developed an interest but even he thinks I'm crazy to carry a CRK. The others drive me nuts by asking me to borrow a knife despite my having given them one.
So, I'd start him on something nice but a great deal less expensive.
 
He's your brother, yes, give him a CRK. Even if he doesn't carry it every day, it's the only knife he'll ever need and will serve him for a long time. You will have the opportunity to educate him why a CRK will last a life time. You can show him how to take it down for cleaning and re assembly. He may see your enthusiasm and love for CRK's and may spark an interest for him.

I'm saying this because that's what I did with my brother, even though he doesn't carry every day, he now knows the importance of a good quality knife. I've also got my two nephews knowledgeable on quality knives.
 
I'd also start cheaper; at least until you know he'd appreciate and use a nice framelock folder. Some "knife people" don't like CRKs for one reason or another, so I think it a risk going all-in on a high-end folder until you learn a little more about what he might really want and use.
 
Go for the Small Micarta Insingo, it is the most fool proof knife I can think of. Show him how to disassemble/reassemble it, and how to maintain the edge - he is set for life. The Inkosi would also be great, but the bushing pivot (crank it down and go) makes the SMI too foolproof to pass up.
 
By giving him such a nice knife you give him responsibility.
You expect him to appreciate it, carry it (not loosing it), care for it, ...
I'd say start with something cheaper and lead him to the quality knife.
I'm sure there will be more opportunities to give him a nicer knife at a later point.
hope this helps
 
While I carry and use CRK's exclusively, I always get Delicas or mini grips for those I am trying to convert and "show the light" of having a quality edc.

These are also usually the people who tend to ask me repeatedly to "cut this" or "open that" for them, always expecting me to be around, or risk damaging their teeth In my absence.

There is nothing like a CRK and every knife person I let handle and use one of my CRK's is awestruck, but typically non knife people are unimpressed beyond "it's a knife so what's" (that is except for my wife's friends, smart women seem to recognize the quality immediately)

In my experience, taking the steps to incrementally acclimate someone to the world and tiers of knives is the way to reach the true destination of CRK with the appreciation and understanding that the journey is what makes the destination.

That said, everyone is different, a sebenza is possibly the greatest gift you could give. A tool that is also art, and exists as the pinnacle of its species. An irreplaceable item equal in its beauty and function that is the most pure connection to our primal ancestors.
 
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dubya3 said:
I'd personally start him on something easy to use, with a good steel and around $100. Steel is a big thing here too I feel, get something he can learn to sharpen hard steels on. BD1, VG10, 154CM, ect.

ZT 566 $125
Griptilian $85
Paramilitary 2 $105
Sage 1 $90
.
Click to expand...

I would recommend something along these lines. Start with a middle of the road knife to introduce into nicer knives, then maybe upgrade him over time if he really takes to it.
 
I will admit that the Sage 1 is a ridiculous knife for the price, and one that's easy to fall in love with.
 
The best gift is something your brother wants, or doesn't know he needs/wants, not something you want to give him.

For a landscape worker, a serrated blade in a knife cheap enough to readily lose and replace may be more useful.

Does he have a leatherman? Most people who work in any type of trade have one of those, even if they do not carry a knife.
 
Ccc said:
I think it takes time to get into the mindset of using a $350+ knife.
Click to expand...

This. If you'd given me a CRK a few years ago, I'd been terrified of using it as I occasionally carried a knife and really thought they were all the same as I used to use knives as screwdrivers and hammers. Minus the few traditional folders I had, I had a cheap Kershaw folder I got as a gift that I abused the hell out of for years and didn't care about higher quality knives. I wouldn't have known or probably cared about the difference in a CRK, and it was several months once I got more serious into knives before I was comfortable about even considering buying and carrying one.

Although your generosity and thoughtfulness really shows here, I'd have to second getting maybe a Doug Ritter Griptilian or PM2 to expose him to quality above $100 and see if he really cares. Then he can see and handle your CRKs over time and ask about or notice the differences. Then maybe by this time next year, if he hasn't already bought his own, you'll know if he wants to take the leap to a costlier knife. But yes, a quality knife will tend to make someone want to carry it more. When I set out for my first Benchmade, the intention was to actually carry it and enjoy it everyday while I sporadically carried the beat up Kershaw.

Everyday, people buy and wear $1000+ watches without batting an eye, drive $70,000 cars at 90 mph, carry and bang around $1000 pistols, wear $300 boots in mud and rain, carry $1000+ packs on a weekend hike, buy a cup of coffee everyday that in 2-3 months would've paid for a CRK, and drop their $600 smartphones in the toilet. But for some reason, some people tend to have an extremely hard time fathoming purchasing and especially using a $400 knife that can be serviced and warranted by the manufacturer for a lifetime, truly a tool for life. Why the difference in opinion on that, I'll never understand now, but I was once one of those who took some seasoning. Once your brother gets the importance of first actually carrying a knife daily, then he will naturally progress from there about what his wants and needs in a knife are.
 
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