Anyone ever received a "dull-ish" new CRK?

uofaengr said:
I'll say the majority of the Spydercos I've gotten new have came ridiculously sharp, but usually at the expense of noticeably uneven bevels from side to side, bevels that change width from heel to tip, and jacked up little recurves in the heel of the blade. Something I've never gotten with any CRK and at least appreciate that much.
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I agree with you. The Taiwanese Spydies being a little closer to CRK for evenness. My Southard was nearly perfect.

So maybe CRK focuses their efforts on even bevels, rather than giving the blades that last run on the wheel to make them super sharp, but ruining the appearance of the bevels.


Still if everything we have all said here is true, that a couple strops and our new CRKs are sharp, it does beg the question as to why they don't just do it at the factory. In my time on this forum there has to have been at least two dozen threads that cover the subject of a new and dull CRK in one form or other. Everyone like a nice sharp knife out of the box. Especially collectors who will never touch the edge themselves.
 
kidcongo said:
I agree with you. The Taiwanese Spydies being a little closer to CRK for evenness. My Southard was nearly perfect.

So maybe CRK focuses their efforts on even bevels, rather than giving the blades that last run on the wheel to make them super sharp, but ruining the appearance of the bevels.


Still if everything we have all said here is true, that a couple strops and our new CRKs are sharp, it does beg the question as to why they don't just do it at the factory. In my time on this forum there has to have been at least two dozen threads that cover the subject of a new and dull CRK in one form or other. Everyone like a nice sharp knife out of the box. Especially collectors who will never touch the edge themselves.
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Yes, the Gayle Bradley and Sages I had had good, even bevels. The Delica (Japan) I got in last week is a little wonky, but it's so crazy sharp, and therefore, it's in my pocket today. Hate to say it, but I won't carry my new Umnumzaan until it's been sharpened because what's the point of carrying a dull blade?

I just think someone is probably a little heavy handed when taking the blades to the buffing wheel to get that semi-polished, convex look and it just destroys the apex.
 
For me it's 50/50 at this point. My first CR, a small micarta Insingo came fairly dull. My second, a small sebenza with DT basketweave damascus and snakewood inlay is sharp enough to whittle individual strands of hair. Maybe just luck of the draw? Either way, I am going to pick up a Wicked Edge here in a month or so and will remedy the Insingo once I get good with cheaper knives.
 
Just received a new Umnumzaan today with factory build date of 02-October-2014. It's hair-splitting sharp. The edge looks perfectly clean and uniform under magnification. The harpoon/swedge is also perfect-- just a few thousandths from becoming a knife edge. Somebody took their time and did a nice job on this one.
 
I owned 2 new. Large reg and 21. Both barely cut paper and were uneven. But this is the first I ever spoke of it. I sent one in years ago and it came back worse with a rounded tip. I take it for bad luck. Everything else about them was perfect.
 
My large Micarta Sebenza came sharp but my small Sebenza not so much. Took a little time to get a razor edge on it using the Sharpmaker. Even my large Sebenza was no where near as sharp as my Spydercos were from the factory.
 
I received my first Sebenza 21 a few weeks ago and was a bit disappointed in the edge. It was not dull by any means, but every single Spyderco I have ever owned came sharper than my Sebenza. I'm talking even a $30 Tenacious came sharper.
 
As much as ppl rag on 8cr13mov taking a crazy edge quickly was never a big complaint. I try not to judge a blade though until after the 2nd or 3rd sharpening and sometimes a reprofile even.

I thought my first opinel 9 in carbon had a crappy blade. I thought ppl were bloody crazy calling it a slicing animal. Then I put it over a smith's Tristone and almost cut my finger down to the bone by accident. Which I've done with a knife in 440a and a thin geometry before as well. Really need to be more mindful.
 
My first CRK was a Sebenza 25 Micarta. It came sharp from the factory. Today I got my Large Sebenza 21, with a birth date of Jan. 19th 2015. And it was really dull. It had trouble cutting paper. Compared to my 25, it was very disappointing. Fortunately I have a SharpMaker, so I was able to get the edge to an acceptable sharpness. But for those who do not sharpen their knives, this would have been an issue. Surprised that some knives leave the factory like this.
O well, gotta go play with the new 21........ going to have fun wearing the blue off the thumblug. :D
 
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I must be lucky, but the 30+ CRK products I have owned all came scary sharp. Well, the three I bought used were not, but that is okay. :)
 
Not denigrating anyone at all but until I read this thread I really never considered that someone would spend $400+ for a knife (or any amount really), presumably to use on a regular basis and not have the most basic skill set and or equipment to at least touchup the edge regardless of how it was dulled. :eek:
 
on 2x 2013 CGG Diamond plates, pretty on the dull side and with a very thick belly (thick grind/edge thickness), I got one resharpened higher than before and sold the other one
bought a 3rd 2014 one, perfect in any way, maybe a faulty series/lot? I noticed it more or the satin than stonewashed one, maybe there is a reason behind why it can happen.

so yes it can happen, with anything.
 
Most of my CRK's have been very sharp out of the box, but a few needed a burr removed. Not much of an issue for me as they all got dull after being used for awhile. Any knife will need to be sharpened at some point.
 
Badhammer said:
Not denigrating anyone at all but until I read this thread I really never considered that someone would spend $400+ for a knife (or any amount really), presumably to use on a regular basis and not have the most basic skill set and or equipment to at least touchup the edge regardless of how it was dulled. :eek:
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I understand what you are saying, but Yes, MANY buyers of high end knives do not, will not, or are afraid to sharpen them.

It is not too difficult to understand someone having apprehension about potentially scratching or otherwise goofing up a very nice looking knife.

It is also not too difficult to imagine that a person that can afford a knife like this can also afford to have others put a really stellar edge on it for them...in much the same way that it is easy to imagine buyers of high end vehicles probably have no trouble letting pros do the maintenance on them. (I have a friend with a Lamborghini, and he does not know how to open the engine bay.)

It really is not even that difficult to imagine a person that buys something capable of great things, but chooses to only admire the appearance of the item and not the performance. Some even pay others to boost the performance (that they will not be using) further...just because they want to;)
 
unit said:
I understand what you are saying, but Yes, MANY buyers of high end knives do not, will not, or are afraid to sharpen them.

It is not too difficult to understand someone having apprehension about potentially scratching or otherwise goofing up a very nice looking knife.

It is also not too difficult to imagine that a person that can afford a knife like this can also afford to have others put a really stellar edge on it for them...in much the same way that it is easy to imagine buyers of high end vehicles probably have no trouble letting pros do the maintenance on them. (I have a friend with a Lamborghini, and he does not know how to open the engine bay.)

It really is not even that difficult to imagine a person that buys something capable of great things, but chooses to only admire the appearance of the item and not the performance. Some even pay others to boost the performance (that they will not be using) further...just because they want to;)
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Very true Ken... Some years back I went to look at a 70 SS Chevelle that was for sale. I talked to the guy on the phone, and he told me about all the money he had spent having the 396 built. It was a very nice engine. Great parts, and built by a very respected racing engine builder...

I went to their house to drive it, took it out and drove around normal to get everything up to temp, and then asked if he minded if I got on it.
He said, No that's what it's for. So I obliged him. It was still searching for traction when I banged third gear hard, hit fourth hard and found traction.
As I backed out of it, I looked over at him and he was white as Casper :D
I asked him if he was alright, and he said, Oh... I've never driven it like that before. That's kinda scary. I asked why he spent all that money having a nice engine built and never enjoyed it ? His answer, just in case :confused:

Back on the dull edges, this has been a semi-regular complaint for other brands. I am actually a little surprised and disappointed to see that the issue has found its way into the CRK factory.
Don't get me wrong, I will still own one soon, but after watching the videos of the factory, it is a little surprising to hear of them coming out with less than stellar edges.
Anyone have any possible reasons as to why ? While it's not an excuse, is it possibly because they production numbers continue to grow, and they are having a harder time keeping up ?
 
I don't think it matters to most. Knives get sharpened, Many times over while in one's possession. Sometimes it's just a stropping and not a sharpening that it needs also I'm sure most people on the forum have a very f*ed up concept of sharp. What I consider to be just sharp to me to my non-knife nut friends, family and my wife is considered sick in the head, laser scalpel cut off your finger axe murderer sharp. So it's pretty relative.

With a crk I get pillar construction scales, awesome blade to handle ratio, compactness in pocket and lightweight. It's very no frills in a lot of ways and that's what I respect about it. Its awesomeness is in what it isn't. The last point is really important to me as its pretty easy to get side tracked with so many cool designs in the knife world.
 
338375 said:
Anyone have any possible reasons as to why ? While it's not an excuse, is it possibly because they production numbers continue to grow, and they are having a harder time keeping up ?
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You will notice that growth and issues grow in proportion to each other. I would guess that as production increases and people are added, quality can diminish through boredom..Only a guess on my part..Run thousands of the same part, it's easy to become complacent as it can get very boring...I can only imagine that sharpening thousands of knives is the same way. Get a knife in the morning,..it's probably a razor..perhaps not so much in the late afternoon. It's not an excuse, but a reality of human nature.
 
cchu518 said:
I don't think it matters to most. Knives get sharpened, Many times over while in one's possession. Sometimes it's just a stropping and not a sharpening that it needs also I'm sure most people on the forum have a very f*ed up concept of sharp. What I consider to be just sharp to me to my non-knife nut friends, family and my wife is considered sick in the head, laser scalpel cut off your finger axe murderer sharp. So it's pretty relative.

With a crk I get pillar construction scales, awesome blade to handle ratio, compactness in pocket and lightweight. It's very no frills in a lot of ways and that's what I respect about it. Its awesomeness is in what it isn't. The last point is really important to me as its pretty easy to get side tracked with so many cool designs in the knife world.
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While that is true, there is absolutely no reason a knife should leave the factory, anyone's factory, with an edge that needs work. Especially on a knife that sells at this price point, and is known to be a very high quality knife...
I do agree that there are different perceptions of what sharp is. One of the guys I work with was installing new rubber grips on his motorcycle and was trying to cut them with his crappy old pocket knife, and he was struggling. I asked if he wanted to use a sharp knife, and he said he had just sharpened his. I handed him mine, and it sliced right through :D

bhyde said:
You will notice that growth and issues grow in proportion to each other. I would guess that as production increases and people are added, quality can diminish through boredom..Only a guess on my part..Run thousands of the same part, it's easy to become complacent as it can get very boring...I can only imagine that sharpening thousands of knives is the same way. Get a knife in the morning,..it's probably a razor..perhaps not so much in the late afternoon. It's not an excuse, but a reality of human nature.
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Good point. It is also hard to find people that take pride in their work, no matter what they do. I know I couldn't sit in one place for 8 hours doing the exact same thing over and over. I would go bonkers, but I would still make sure everything I did was the best I can possibly do it.
 
Of the CR knive i own, they were all sharp, I mean really sharp. The exception was the very first Sebenza I had, it was one with a puzzle pattern, it was not sharp at all. I sent it back and got one with the Micarta inlays instead, and that was super sharp. Huge difference. My Umnumzaan was one of the sharpest I had out of the box. The fact is that all manufacturers let something lide through QC that is not at 100%, humans make the knives so it is part of the game. Given the chance, I've rarely seen any manufacturer not make a whole hearted effort to make it right.
 
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