2018 CRK

Just wondering if anyone is actually receiving a knife or are they all back ordered for 4-6 months?!
 
Tobias70 said:
Just wondering if anyone is actually receiving a knife or are they all back ordered for 4-6 months?!
Click to expand...
They usually start on backorder. Last year took a little over two months. But for the Insingo Inkosis it took 4 months for my small and I ordered the first day. So there will definitely be a wait. I don't know if 6 months is being conservative or accurate thoigh.
 
Not much is new for 2018... I was hoping for something like an Impofu II
On the cape buffalo... is that image etched below the top surface of the handle scale... its hard to tell from the images that I have seen...
 
tank sniper said:
Not much is new for 2018... I was hoping for something like an Impofu II
On the cape buffalo... is that image etched below the top surface of the handle scale... its hard to tell from the images that I have seen...
Click to expand...

Yes

Its laser engraved. One thing about the laser engraved selections is that I understand that they are more resilient to wear because it's a series of micro dots burned into the surface. Had this conversation with Tim Reeve when I was looking at these the last time I was in the shop.
 
When is the last time that CRK came out with a new knife?

Note: I don't count the Inkosi, be it small or large, as being a new knife since it was a deviation from the Sebenza 25
 
tank sniper said:
I prefer the 21 to the chief .... not sure why CRK won't do something to spice things up a little...
Click to expand...
Agreed. Why not bring out a new design? Surely it will make more money for the company than hoping people buy the same knife over and over again. You can only sell so many of the same product until your target market is saturated. I'm not one of the ones lusting after new steel, but even a refresh in steel would trigger a whole new round of new purchases for those who already own a CRK. Heck, if a picture on a handle makes someone buy the same knife, a brand new steel + new picture would sell double. Still want CRK to make a lock back.
 
Mick_1KRR said:
Agreed. Why not bring out a new design? Surely it will make more money for the company than hoping people buy the same knife over and over again. You can only sell so many of the same product until your target market is saturated. I'm not one of the ones lusting after new steel, but even a refresh in steel would trigger a whole new round of new purchases for those who already own a CRK. Heck, if a picture on a handle makes someone buy the same knife, a brand new steel + new picture would sell double. Still want CRK to make a lock back.
Click to expand...

As much as all of us would love a new model from CRK yearly, CRK is in fact a small knife company and has limited production capacity. They have never been a company to offer "New" designs often. Its often several years between new designs. They did discontinue the Professional Soldier this year, but I am lucky enough to have 2 of em.

As for the same model, I dont buy into that. I have dozens of sebenzas and everyone is different. Different design ( CGG/UG ), different inlay, etc. I could easily buy another 50 sebenzas and would never feel I am getting the "same knife". Could care less about "new steels" either. CRK uses USA made steels, so you all can forget about M390 and other foreign steels. In their testing also, S35VN fares very well against many of the super steels some ask for. If you want a fancy steel, buy damascus. It performs just like S30V, which I still love very much.

My CRK want is a CRK paring knife to go along with my 2 sikayo. Again, even though prototypes have been made, production capacity comes into play. If they ever come out with one, I would buy several.
 
Could you guys say anything about the current quality control of CRK, please?

I'm thinking of buying my first CRK soon, but I've been hearing several youtubers talk about how their quality control has dropped now that it's basically Anne Reeve Knives,and that makes me a little hesitant. Also because I live in Europe, which not only makes the knive more expensive for me to buy, but also a lot harder to send it back in case it needs to be repaired. (I initially assumed I would never need to do that, since it's a CRK, but after what I've heard I get the impression that those days are over ... or are these people just exaggerating?)

Admittedly, I have never hold a CRK myself so all of this is 100% based on the opinion of others rather than personal experience, so I would very much appreciate it if any of you could comment on this matter.

Thanks!
 
Rhah said:
Could you guys say anything about the current quality control of CRK, please?

I'm thinking of buying my first CRK soon, but I've been hearing several youtubers talk about how their quality control has dropped now that it's basically Anne Reeve Knives,and that makes me a little hesitant. Also because I live in Europe, which not only makes the knive more expensive for me to buy, but also a lot harder to send it back in case it needs to be repaired. (I initially assumed I would never need to do that, since it's a CRK, but after what I've heard I get the impression that those days are over ... or are these people just exaggerating?)

Admittedly, I have never hold a CRK myself so all of this is 100% based on the opinion of others rather than personal experience, so I would very much appreciate it if any of you could comment on this matter.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Here's my honest thoughts after owning, using, maintaining, and like you i'm not in the U.S, i'm in Australia, so sending a knife back for repair is not something i'm willing to do, it's honestly more hassle than i can be bothered dealing with. 99.9% of the time you're going to get a perfect knife from CRK, but like any product on this planet, especially ones that involve hand fitment by human beings - once in a while, imperfections can slip through. My latest large Sebenza 21, was 99.9% perfect apart from one small thing, the washers from factory seem to have been sanded a fraction too much, resulting in a very tiny bit of side to side play when checking with the lock bar disengaged. Big deal? no, but i won't lie, it bugged me seeing as the reason i invest in a CRK is for the precision. Others I've owned/handled didn't have the issue. But as i said, this is a result of human error, it happens.

The one area i give CRK 100% marks on is design philosophy. The deep slotted hex screws that don't strip out, the robust anchor points, the single tool breakdown, the oversized washers and the simplicity and minimalist design is really something i wish other manufacturers would adopt - less is more. No rubbish tiny T6 torx screws holding big "overbuilt" parts together. Anyways, that's my 2 cents from first hand experience. If you're interested in one i say go for it, the warranty is great, they cut well, joy to maintain and the just have a classic look.
 
I bought about 10 CRK in the last 3 years and every single one was perfect. The last 3 i bought were from 2017, no problems at all.
Just go for it...:thumbsup:
 
Mick_1KRR said:
Here's my honest thoughts after owning, using, maintaining, and like you i'm not in the U.S, i'm in Australia, so sending a knife back for repair is not something i'm willing to do, it's honestly more hassle than i can be bothered dealing with. 99.9% of the time you're going to get a perfect knife from CRK, but like any product on this planet, especially ones that involve hand fitment by human beings - once in a while, imperfections can slip through. My latest large Sebenza 21, was 99.9% perfect apart from one small thing, the washers from factory seem to have been sanded a fraction too much, resulting in a very tiny bit of side to side play when checking with the lock bar disengaged. Big deal? no, but i won't lie, it bugged me seeing as the reason i invest in a CRK is for the precision. Others I've owned/handled didn't have the issue. But as i said, this is a result of human error, it happens.

The one area i give CRK 100% marks on is design philosophy. The deep slotted hex screws that don't strip out, the robust anchor points, the single tool breakdown, the oversized washers and the simplicity and minimalist design is really something i wish other manufacturers would adopt - less is more. No rubbish tiny T6 torx screws holding big "overbuilt" parts together. Anyways, that's my 2 cents from first hand experience. If you're interested in one i say go for it, the warranty is great, they cut well, joy to maintain and the just have a classic look.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Mick. I very much appreciate your clear and honest input on the matter.

You're right, human errors will always remain a possibility. I just got the impression, from listening to other's opinions, that the chance for these errors happening had significantly increased eversince Chris has (either forcefully or voluntarily) distanced himself from his company. But I simply don't know how valid these claims are.

It is also things like the below, which, according to the maker of those pictures, caused issues in the balance of the knife after sharpening that had me more worried. Because these look to be more rigorous discrepancies that obviously aren't that easily fixed... if at all.
And said person therefore made the claim that he noticed a clear and significant decrease in the quality control and thus perfection of current CR knives compared to their older productions.

In the end, what it comes down to for me is the reason why you'd want to buy a Chris Reeve knife, and why you'd be willing to spend that amount of cash on a pocket knife, is because you want to experience the best of the best; the excellence that is Chris Reeve Knives.
But when I then still have to deal with faults or errors, how small they might be, that kind of goes out of the window...

Though I admit that, since we're dealing with a man-made product, that is perhaps a little unrealistic to expect in the first place.
Perhaps I'm just not entitled to expect the amount of excellence that the hype surrounding this brand has led me to expect.

Or what do you think? Have the knives indeed experienced a clear decrease in their perfection due to poor(er) quality control, or are you convinced that I will still be buying an excellent knife that will meet my (admittedly high) expectations?

r8gu10.jpg

2iqbbde.jpg
 
Wish they would change the hex head screws to torx head... Torx head is a much stronger design... far less likely to strip out!
Not a lot of innovation currently going on at CRK
 
The newer CRKs have better quality control IMHO. I have about a dozen, and the older ones I have are the only ones with factory off-center blades and uneven grinds. The whole “every knife leaves perfect” was a goal, but never a reality. QA is better at CRK in 2018 than it was in 2007, based on my sampling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top