Are Damascus CRKs rough opening??

kidcongo

kidcongo

Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
3,199
Hey folk,

I have never handled a DT Damascus CRK, and was hoping my CRK pals could answer some questions. I have often wondered if you feel the detent ball bumping across the pattern when you open and close the knife. Are the DT CRKs as velvety smooth as the normal S35VN knives? Do they start rough and end up smooth over time? Is a bit of a gritty feeling the price you pay for the beauty of the blade?
 
Some knives had the detent ride over the etched part, that gave a slight "ratcheted" feel to opening that people complained about. CRK then masked the travel area for the detent when etching. That masked area round the pivot stopped the "feel" but was visible when the blade was open......yes, people then complained about that too. :p

The Mnandis I have in damascus are all older knives with the "ratchet" feel to them and I have no problems with that at all. The later made knives will be similarly smooth to standard s35vn blades......unless something else has/gets changed. :)
 
Haze said:
Some knives had the detent ride over the etched part, that gave a slight "ratcheted" feel to opening that people complained about. CRK then masked the travel area for the detent when etching. That masked area round the pivot stopped the "feel" but was visible when the blade was open......yes, people then complained about that too. :p

The Mnandis I have in damascus are all older knives with the "ratchet" feel to them and I have no problems with that at all. The later made knives will be similarly smooth to standard s35vn blades......unless something else has/gets changed. :)
Click to expand...

Yep, yes, and right on.

You can still feel the pattern on the ones that were masked as well, just not as noticeably.
I had a high carbon black and white ladder damascus CRK and it was really "ratchety", I didn't like it at all. Non of the Stainless damascus blades I've had have been bad, but it is noticeable.
They'll still have that famous feel and will have a smooth action, there's just a little more character in it. Definitely don't let it slow you down or keep you from getting your first damascus CRK, with how you love the knives Cody you deserve to try one out.
 
I have a raindrop mnandi from '11 that has a bit of "gritty" feel to it. Bugged me at first, CRK said they would try to smooth it out but wouldn't promise anything. I didn't send it in and now like the feel, it's become one of my favorite knives. ( thanks Big E)
 
I have three smalls sebenzas with Damascus blades, and they all started a little rough but have since smoothed out. Don't let it stop you from getting one!
 
Mine were a little rough at first, but it didn't take long for the detent ball to polish a smooth track in the blade.
 
I have a PJ large and small. I got 1 as a user and 1 lnib. I've had the large about 5 weeks and carry all the time. It's smooth,

the small user isn't quite as smooth. I can't feel the damascus pattern in either knife. These 2 sebs are by far my favorites

of my CRK's.....just something Really cool about a PJ with damascus. I can use my PJ's a lot easier than I could if they

were inlays or uniques.....no worries about scratches or marks.:D:thumbup: PJ's with damascus are harder too find tho.

Hope this helps, Cody.
 
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I have had several. One small basket weave and two large ladder. I guess I can see where you would think it would be ruff opening. Mine have all been super smooth. My two large 21 ladders are like glass straight out of the box. Here are some photos.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1437338728.762073.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1437338746.238939.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1437338760.627434.jpg
 
Damascus has not been an issue for me, been carrying a reg lg ladder for 10 years…. butter!Got a newish (used) Raindrop lg , still buttery…..IMHO holds as good an edge as BG42/30/35 easily……Bart
 
In time, even on the models that have that "washboard" feel due to the layers of damascus contacting detent ball, they will smooth out. All of my Devin Thomas blades glide open and close on their own weight. My first DT blade had the washboard effect, the other two have been smoother than any S35VN action I've had.
 
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