Are there no pretty plain Thuya Burl Mnandis left on the market?

Dullknivescut

Dullknivescut

Joined
Aug 10, 2016
Messages
411
This isn’t necessarily a want to buy thread and more of a request for advice and help thread so I feel it’s safe to post.

I can’t for the life of me find a plain thuya Burl Mnandi that is attractive, minimal spotting, and with a properly fit inlay without Damascus. They all either come with Damascus and are beautiful, have major spotting or even ( minor ) pitting, and / or have these weird gaps on the sides of the inlays.

Pretty Plain janes seem to be gone, found one decent at DLT and it sold out the next morning ( that’s my fault. ) All the ones left at DLT or other authorized dealers are either ugly or sold out. Anywhere from me to go from here to score a plain Thuya before they are sold out? I feel like I’ve checked out every single store on the CRK authorized dealer list.

If you want to send me some information that isn’t “ approved “ here feel free to email me at let_your_beard_wear_you@outlook.com and we can chat blades either way. I saw some beauty’s that peterbright peterbright posted I believe last month but I was late to the party on those and would prefer direct from an authorized dealer if possible ( eventually if I sourced every dealer and was unhappy I would be fine with a nib from a trusted member. )


Ps if anyone here with significant posts in the CRK general form and well known would be saint enough ( and feels like making some extra money ) by picking me up a blade show exclusive KOA please email me. Bhyde I know you’re out there and if any of these requests seem to be out of line don’t be afraid to mod me up and edit or request me to edit.. just got knives on the mind lately and thought I’d put this out there. Worst case scenario I’m just where I left off anyway, thanks in advance.
 
Apparently, the Thuya (two-ya or thoo-ya) Burl source dried up fast due to scarce sources in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. So yes, it's going to be hard to find them.

However, before you discount the specimens with "spotting" be advised that Thuya Burl is prized for the eyes (knots) and the more and tighter they are the higher the value of that burl. Research Thuya Burl to discover more about it-- it may change your view of burl wood (understanding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder). I highly doubt any of the inlay Mnandis from CRK have gaps. There is no way they would be built and leave the Boise factory that way so you must be seeing something else in poorly lit photos.

Your best option will be to watch the Exchange and snag one as quick as you can.
 
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Wavicle said:
Apparently, the Thuya (tw0-ya or twee-ya) Burl source dried up fast due to scarce sources in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. So yes, it's going to be hard to find them.

However, before you discount the specimens with "spotting" be advised that Thuya Burl is prized for the eyes (knots) and the more and tighter they are the higher the value of that burl. Research Thuya Burl to discover more about it-- it may change your view of burl wood (understanding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder). I highly doubt any of the inlay Mnandis from CRK have gaps. There is no way they would be built and leave the Boise factory that way so you must be seeing something else in poorly lit photos.

Your best option will be to watch the Exchange and snag one as quick as you can.
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Thanks for your response, had no idea that the knots were so sought after, I always loved the smooth and flowing “ clean “ look of some of the Thuya inlays.

Regarding the “gapping, “ this was an issue with some thuyas I’ve seen and CRK noted directly that these very minor gaps are “ within spec. “

But I don’t really want to get off track on that and I haven’t seen it with any other inlay, but have seen it first hand with Thuya.
 
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Dullknivescut said:
Thanks for your response, had no idea that the knots were so sought after, I always loved the smooth and flowing “ clean “ look of some of the Thuya inlays.

Regarding the “gapping, “ this was an issue with some thuyas I’ve seen and CRK noted directly that these very minor gaps are “ within spec. “

But I don’t really want to get off track on that and I haven’t seen it with any other inlay, but have seen it first hand with Thuya.
Click to expand...

Interesting regarding the fit of the inlay. I believe the Thuya is stabilized in a multi-year process but maybe it changed shape after being machined. I have two CRKs with Thuya and they smell just like a good ole' number 2 pencil. That tells me the wood is not completely dead even after being stabilized. No other wood inlays from CRK have any odor. Maybe you are onto something...
 
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James Longstreet said:
I am completely with Wavicle. The inlay is called "Thuya Burl" and the "knots" are making any burl wood exiting.

Just for reference, my large 21:

21, Thuya, Nichols Raindrop, 05 by Jedi, auf Flickr

21, Thuya, Nichols Raindrop, 07 by Jedi, auf Flickr
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Yes I understand but not every knot is exquisitely placed and they certainly don’t all look as good as your knives. We are at the proverbial bottom of the barrel in the retail supply since they are no longer producing them.

I’ve seen a lot of beautiful sebenzas currently knots and without, however with Mnandi it is a different story.

So I’ll change my tune but still stick by it being harder to find a good looking plain blade Mnandi with this wood at this time.

The “ spotting “ as I put it was referring to the knots, and I don’t mind them if they look good ( and agree that there are definitely examples of mnandis out there where the knots are on point. )

But I could post you about 10 good looking sebenzas with Thuya wood with knots available retail right now, I could only send you 1 decent looking Mnandi ( that also doesn’t suffer from some of the other issues that I had listed. ) Just my opinion. I probably worded my original post poorly if it made it sound like I was against all Thuya Burl with knots and that would be my mistake.
 
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Makes sense to me- you know what you want but just need to find it. I remember when all of the ones you are looking for were out there so there is a chance they will show up on a place like the Exchange here on the Forum.

I think this is what you refer to as spotting :
27572293447_bd5fa4d3a8_b.jpg
 
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Wavicle said:
Makes sense to me- you know what you want but just need to find it. I remember when all of the ones you are looking for were out there so there is a chance they will show up on a place like the Exchange here on the Forum.

I think this is what you refer to as spotting (it's one I just received yesterday from an Exchange purchase):
27572293447_bd5fa4d3a8_b.jpg


The clip side is better in terms of the gray/black areas, but I found a crack going from the pivot out to the edge near a knot. It worries me because that is the location outward pressure on the inlay is caused when disengaging the lock bar. It almost looks like CRK knew that cracked because I see small traces of glue/epoxy on the pivot near the crack and alongside the inlay... so it's probably okay.

27572295387_7916d8facb_b.jpg
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Love the “ backside “ pattern of your knife though, when I google “ Thuya Burl “ the knotting looks beautiful on a slab, it just all depends on how that translates to a knife.

I may have found one that I am leaning towards even with heavy knots. Mnandis seem to sell out faster than the rest when something gets discontinued ( no expert just an observation I’ve had with Thuya so far. ) Not sure about the crack
 
Wow, that is in a spot that would concern me if I was going to use the knife hard.
 
Lone_Wolfe said:
Wow, that is in a spot that would concern me if I was going to use the knife hard.
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Would CRK be able to do anything for him in this regard or would they consider this within spec? Also with Thuya discontinued I’m not sure if they keep some wood for the inlays in stock for replacements for sometime afterwards. I’m pretty curious about the latter.
 
Dullknivescut said:
Would CRK be able to do anything for him in this regard or would they consider this within spec? Also with Thuya discontinued I’m not sure if they keep some wood for the inlays in stock for replacements for sometime afterwards. I’m pretty curious about the latter.
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Call them after Blade and ask.
 
Dullknivescut said:
Pretty Plain janes seem to be gone, found one decent at DLT and it sold out the next morning ( that’s my fault. ) All the ones left at DLT or other authorized dealers are either ugly or sold out. Anywhere from me to go from here to score a plain Thuya before they are sold out? I feel like I’ve checked out every single store on the CRK authorized dealer list.
Click to expand...

Just one more thought for your search: Not all online stores do show actual pics of their knives in stock. This is a lesson I learned when I started into collecting CRK, particularly as I am focussing at inlayed Sebenza. Some shops do show pics of previously sold knives with the same inlay material. Some do show kinda catalogue pics.

As you are saying that you have scanned all dealers listed at the CRK site, I am not sure whether your conclusions about the knives in stock are correct, in terms whethere they are matching your preferences or not. Know what I mean? Could be that you have disregarded a Thuya Mnandi at one store by looking at pics which are not showing their actual knife in stock. Or the other way around.

Knives Ship Free do show pics of their actual knives in stock.
Same as GP Knives (if they show a catalogue pic you will tell right away).
KnifeArt does not always show pics of their current stock. Very often previously sold knives. Same as KnifeCenter. Both you would need to contact in order to doublecheck.
TNK (True North Knives) do show pics of current stock.
Knifeworks I am not sure about. I think they are mixing catalogue pics with real pics. You would need to ask them.
Blade HQ does very often not showing pics of their current stock, but previously sold knives.
Blade Gallery does show current stock.
Monkey Edge varies. Sometimes current stock. Sometimes catalogue pics.
DLT Trading I dont know how they handle this.

All these dealers are good to buy from. No question. But for some of them you need to check whether their pics are showing actual stock for sale. Otherwise you'll be misled with your decision. Hope this helps.
 
James Longstreet said:
Just one more thought for your search: Not all online stores do show actual pics of their knives in stock. This is a lesson I learned when I started into collecting CRK, particularly as I am focussing at inlayed Sebenza. Some shops do show pics of previously sold knives with the same inlay material. Some do show kinda catalogue pics.

As you are saying that you have scanned all dealers listed at the CRK site, I am not sure whether your conclusions about the knives in stock are correct, in terms whethere they are matching your preferences or not. Know what I mean? Could be that you have disregarded a Thuya Mnandi at one store by looking at pics which are not showing their actual knife in stock. Or the other way around.

Knives Ship Free do show pics of their actual knives in stock.
Same as GP Knives (if they show a catalogue pic you will tell right away).
KnifeArt does not always show pics of their current stock. Very often previously sold knives. Same as KnifeCenter. Both you would need to contact in order to doublecheck.
TNK (True North Knives) do show pics of current stock.
Knifeworks I am not sure about. I think they are mixing catalogue pics with real pics. You would need to ask them.
Blade HQ does very often not showing pics of their current stock, but previously sold knives.
Blade Gallery does show current stock.
Monkey Edge varies. Sometimes current stock. Sometimes catalogue pics.
DLT Trading I dont know how they handle this.

All these dealers are good to buy from. No question. But for some of them you need to check whether their pics are showing actual stock for sale. Otherwise you'll be misled with your decision. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your post, yeah I prioritize the stores that show the actual knives such as KSP ( sold out ) and DLT, Bladegallery ( only one in stock ) etc.. my only downfall is I tend to ignore the stores that don’t, e.g kniveworks ( listed discontinued ), BladeHQ ( sold out ), knifeart ( for some reason they chose to post a generic photo for their Thuya but not some of their box elder burl. )

I’ve narrowed my search down to three knives currently and I’ll make sure to post in the appropriate acquisition thread if I end up going for one. If I end up not going for a Mnandi or they sell out I’ll probably grab a small Sebenza 21 with Thuya from KSF as a backup plan.
 
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