chris reeve vs. william henry

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ph.ht1

Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Messages
219
Just wanted to share my opinion on crk and wh. I own 2 wh (titan westcliff zdp and carbon fiber kestrel) and 2 crk (regular sm seb and mnandi). I think both companies produce fine knives that appeal to me. In terms of fit and finish, wh is a 9 out of 10. CRK is a perfect 10. I find small flaws on my WH knives, but I can't find a single flaw on my CRK. I just received my snakewood mnandi today and love it. It is light, small, and perfect for those do not want to feel a knife in their pocket. I definitely like my CRK more than my WH. Do custom knives have better fit and finish than CRK? I do not own any customs yet.
 
flatgrinder said:
Not necessarily.
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+1

Maybe they can offer cuter finish (it depends of your own preferences) but if you can't find a flaw on a knife, how would it be better?

I've a question for you. The CRK usually feel pretty strong on hand, is it the same with the WH?
 
In response to solid feel, WH is not solid like CRK. WH are more gents knives and made to be thin and light. The button lock is not solid like the frame lock. I once cut a piece of cardboard and my finger accidently pushed on the button lock and the blade closed halfway. CRK is the best.
 
Both knives have their place... but beating high-end verison of Mnandi in terms of fit, finish, usefulness, quality or just class is not possible for WH.

Are there better made custom folders? With finer fit & finish? Well... Ron Lake? Perhaps? ;)
 
I'm glad this thread came up. I've been pondering picking up a WH for a while now, but I guess I won't bother.
 
Dave, don't get me wrong... WH makes awesome knives. Also considerably lighter and some of them smaller than Mnandi. In fact I think that their B09 "Kestrel", especially Nautilus series, makes great shirt-pocket gent's knife. I like WH as well. Just different approach. Different knives and different philosophy. Both have their place. But again, I carry mnandi MUCH more often that my WH. But WH is still great piece of folder.
 
Especially the small button-locking, ti-handled models. The Monarch (I'm pretty sure it's called) nearly knocked the small Seb out of my pocket for EDC, but it just ain't meant for the same uses as my Seb. Not sure I'd debur a hole I drilled through aluminum with the WH. I cannot for one stomach the thought of treating a folder gingerly, but the WH is simply a different animal.

No doubt the Seb has spoiled me in that regard, but when you've got folders like Seb's with 2.9" and 3.4" blades, why carry fixed blades that are not considerably larger?

I will not even touch my fixed blades with sub 3" blades these days for outdoor uses, etc. since I know my Seb's will do the job without having to bother with a sheath.

Professor.
 
As far as toughness goes, if that's what you want in a WH, get the Tom Brown model. I understand he and his instructors have beaten the tar out of them for far longer than any other small folder they have used.
 
By the way,
HOW DO YOU POSSIBLY EXPECT FAIRNESS POSTING THIS QUESTION IN THE CHRIS REEVE FORUM? :grumpy:
Seriously, how can you ask a manufacturer or his fans what they think of the competition and expect an unbiased answer. You should ask this in the general forum.
DUH!
And double DUH!
 
Walking Man said:
By the way,
HOW DO YOU POSSIBLY EXPECT FAIRNESS POSTING THIS QUESTION IN THE CHRIS REEVE FORUM? :grumpy:
Seriously, how can you ask a manufacturer or his fans what they think of the competition and expect an unbiased answer. You should ask this in the general forum.
DUH!
And double DUH!
Click to expand...

That is right! Most people frequenting this forum are CRK followers and this is not fair to WH knives. I have both and both are great! In terms of blades as in the ZDP of WH, CRK can not compare! I also find no problems with the finish for both. As much as I like CRK folders they should branch out to other materials for blades. I understand Mr. Reeves started the S30V blades.
 
dannyvi, I agree with you in regards to zdp. ZDP cannot be beat. The WH zdp is excellent and well worth the money. I wish CRK had a zdp option.
 
ZDP is better only for fine cutting... but also it's considerably more brittle then S30V. Got both so I have my opinion. Also overall fit & finich of CRK is better. And can't be otherwise due to pivot construction. Show me ONE WH without ANY SLIGHTEST blade play? There is none. Show me ONE MNANDI with ANY BP? No, there is none. Got the point? :D

So again I have both and use both, but simply Mnandi is better made knife. Now the queston is which one YOU like better... but it's just a matter of taste & needs. I prefer Mnandi... and that's also why I post on this forum, of course. If you ask that question somewhere else I wouldn't even notice it ;)
 
WH makes a very nice knife, but, personally, I prefer CRK products. The Mnandi is sheer perfection. Best gent's knife ever .....
 
PiterM said:
ZDP is better only for fine cutting... but also it's considerably more brittle then S30V. Got both so I have my opinion. Also overall fit & finich of CRK is better. And can't be otherwise due to pivot construction. Show me ONE WH without ANY SLIGHTEST blade play? There is none. Show me ONE MNANDI with ANY BP? No, there is none. Got the point? :D



I don't know how to show you but I have WH kestrel(ZDP) and not a hint of blade play!! I don't know how you can make a statement like this about the WH folders, maybe the ones you own does have blade play but mine sure has none!.:confused:
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dannyvi... with simple screw-pivot and teflon washes it's VERY hard (I hate the word "impossible", but it'd probably fit here) to have a knife with no BP at all under harder use than cutting through paper. The pivot bearing & bronze washers is different story.

Just for your info... I once asked WH about theire pivot construction and blade play. I just received a question from customer and asked WH for a piece of advice of how shall I answer. And I received this statement asa formal replay for my customer:

"We use threadlocker on all screws. The pivot, by design, has permanent
threadlocker and may or may not be able to be adjusted. We decide optimium
tension and bladeplay and set the pivot here."

Well... that's very honest answer! Good for WH! We tightened the pivot a bit so it was a bit stiffer than originally, but the BP was almost gone even with higher load on the blade. But still it was not the kind of rock-solid action one can see in CRK folders. Well, whatever you do... nylon washer will be never as hard as bronze. However, again, these knives (WH) are not heavy duty knives and are not designed to take big load. For what these knives have been designed they perform extremely well and they look awesome. Just awesome. Great gent's knives. But the action is not like CRK, sorry. And WH also realise that. BTW, as far as I can tell and as far as I could have seen in Atlanta, CRK and WH are in excellent relations and I think that a discussion like that is in fact benefitial for both companies. And both companies score very high in B2B relations and in customer service.
 
I suppose you're right. I don't subject my knives to really hard use and so far my WH has no play. Frankly, even by sight, CRK look tougher than the WH.The main reason for my WH is the ZDP which I really like. When my WH is all banged up, I do intend to change the washers to bronze. I don't know why they don't use,at least, a thin bronze washer.Guess the lock also makes a difference, framelock for me! I hope Mr. Reeves won't mind but a choice of blade material would be nice for his really great folder design!:thumbup:
 
Danny, BTW, I've had an honor to have a dinner with WH marketing manager in Atlanta. We've taken nice steaks. Guess which steak-knives did we use? Rick used his B-15 Quest (ZDP) and I used my damasteel & mammoth Mnandi. Now that was fun! And we discussed all aspects of both knives and philosophy behind them. And you know what? That was one of the best discussion about gent's knives I've ever had in my life. And of course both knives performed as good as a knife only can!

Anyway, ZDP Mnandi would be cool for sure...
 
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