chris reeve factory/workshop

E

englishteacher

Joined
Oct 24, 2002
Messages
84
It's in Boise, isn't it? I'm going to be in Boise this summer. Has anyone been to the Reeve factory? Is it open to the public at all? Would they sharpen my Sebenza while I was there? Tours? Free samples?


Or should I just take a picture of the building and frame it?
 
Yes, we are in Boise; yes, we will gladly show you around; yes, we'll sharpen your Sebenza while you are here; no, we don't hand out free samples! :)

We are more than happy to show folks around - please just call or email ahead to make sure the time is convenient. We'll be glad to give you directions how to find us, too.

You are welcome to take a picture of the building but it's really not all that impressive!!

Anne
 
englishteacher said:
Free samples?
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Oh, that'd be sweeeet... I'd take some samples of damascus benza. Oh, one or two of "wood inlay S" as well of course. :D
 
I used to live in Caldwell, a small town about 25 miles west of Boise. I bought my Sebenza at the shop and have been there about 5 or 6 times, talked to Anne, Chris, and Bridget! Great folks! Bridget cut through the red tape in helping me get my Sebenza for military duty with the Idaho Army National Guard!

I once thought about going through their dumpster, looking for factory seconds but I never did.

Bruce Woodbury
 
I want pictures! I've always wanted to know what the inside of the place looked like.
 
I visited their shop about a year ago. I had to speak at a conference in Boise, and one afternoon I took one of the attendees to shoot at an indoor range closeby (me no golfy ;) ). I had looked up CRK's address, and it was very near to the range, so we stopped in. The Man himself was not there, but I did have a chance to ogle some very nice "showpieces" under glass. I bought a t-shirt and was given a pair of leather coasters, with the CRK logo on them.

I had taken delivery of my Stars and Stripes about two weeks previous to the visit, and my time there only made me want to get another Sebenza, which I was able to do about 9 months later. geegee
 
Nathan S. although I'm not originally from Idaho (Utah actually), and I'm gone from there now, Idaho has some very beautiful and interesting features. Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television and Gutzum Borglum, the builder of Mt. Rushmore, were both Idahoans.

I see you're an attorney in Italy (do not insert attorney jokes here). My wifes family is from Bari. We've enjoyed our visits to that beautiful country.

Bruce
 
bruce said:
Nathan S. although I'm not originally from Idaho (Utah actually), and I'm gone from there now, Idaho has some very beautiful and interesting features. Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television and Gutzum Borglum, the builder of Mt. Rushmore, were both Idahoans.

I see you're an attorney in Italy (do not insert attorney jokes here). My wifes family is from Bari. We've enjoyed our visits to that beautiful country.
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I was just poking a little harmless fun at Idaho, nothing serious, as I hope was apparent from my post. Never been there, so I'll assume that it's a nice place.

And, yes, I'm an attorney in Italy. Thanks for restraining yourself from the lawyer jokes! Bari is down the Adriatic coast from where I live, about a 5 - 6 hour drive (driving like an Italian, in other words at warp speed ;) ). I've driven past Bari on a few occasions, but have never really visited the city.
 
Nathan S., Idaho is easy to poke fun at because hardly anyone has ever been there. It's one of those places that one says they will have to visit some day, but hardly anyone does -- and that ain't bad!

We spent some time around Florence, Pisa, and a little bit in Rome on our visit. Even though I was used to driving in Germany and Britain, I couldn't get used to city driving in Rome or Florence! You've probably picked up some bad driving habits by now (bad for the US that is).

What is the knife community like there?

Bruce
 
Virtual tour might be a bit beyond my capablilities but here are a couple of photos. You can see our front door here http://www.chrisreeve.com. The shop is 4,000 square foot, with a mezzanine above the offices. The two pictures are taken from the mezzanine.

The one looking down the length of the shop: the top of the mill (Tree) that Lisa uses for graphics is just visible in the foreground (greenish color), then the Lagun which was our first CNC mill (blue), the Hardinge machining center (cream) and the Matsuura machining center (green). Just past the Matsuura is a lathe that backs on to the heat treatment area - the ovens are against the wall. On the other side of the white wall to the right of the picture (behind the Tree and Lagun) is the grinding room. The brightly lit area far back right hand side is where the knives are coated with GunKote. Behind the white walls on the left side of the photo are the packing room (where Stephanie has her desk), reception area (where Bridget has her desk) and Chris' office. The office that Rose and I share is below the spot where the photographer was standing.

Part two in next post
 
The second picture is taken from on top of the grinding room: in the immediate front is the area where, among other things, Bryan fits locks and there is a surface grinder just right off the picture. Behind that you can see Keith at the other surface grinder and Alan, who is hand rubbing faces of Sebenza handles. Against the wall, the white cabinet is the sand blaster. In the far back, Lisa is spraying one piece knives with GunKote.

Althought these pictures are both a couple of years old, not too much has changed. Hope this helps you understand a little bit about what we have here --- in BEAUTIFUL IDAHO :) !

Anne
 
Thanks for the pics Anne. I know those of us on the East Coast really appreciate it since it's less likely that we'll ever make to Boise. ;)
 
Chris Reeve Knives said:
... and Alan, who is hand rubbing faces of Sebenza handles.
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For as much fun as working with these knives must be, I can't help but think what a monotonous drag this particular aspect of the job could be. I sure hope someone takes good care of Alan.

I'll bet his car hasn't been hand-waxed (at least by him) for a while.
:p

--

Mark
 
wow, so that is where these babies are born. I was surprised at how clean the shop was. Thanks for the tour.
 
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