CRK Aviator differences

J

JoeW

Joined
May 5, 2004
Messages
113
I,m sure you blokes already know of the manufacturing differences in the aviator.I have two Made in SA serial 290,s and 860,s range .Makers mods obviously
Length of the serrations[longer on 860]
Distance from the handguard to the cutting edge[longer on 230]
Size of the "nobs"on the handguard[bigger on 230]
Differences in the handle checkering[tighter on 860]
Interesting I thought...Is anyone going to write a book on Chris Reeve Knives??
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Thanks for the comparison. You should get one the latest ones with the round cap before they are discontinued and see how it differs from the two you already have.

-Troy
 
Joe after looking at your pic's even further in detail, are you sure the smaller grey-blue coat is made in S.A.? or a numbered USA. If it was stamped Made in South Africa or even Made in RSA, it had to be refurbished to have that grey coat. All early South Africans were distinctly darker/blk coated.

Plus here's a real kicker for you! on the grey aviator shown has the numbers are on the right side/wrong side. CRK Knives are always numbered of the left side with the CR Symbol!:eek::confused: I would love to see more close up pics of that knife if you can take them.

Because it's one of three things. 1. very, very rare! 2. re-ground, refurbished and re-stamped - incorrectly. 3. or a fake!

My call personally is that it was #2! Re-ground, refurbished and incorrectly re-stamped. Which makes it rare and unusual!

Jules
 
Here is the answer I received from Jules on my early Aviator ,Turns out its a scarce knife...Jules is the Man:thumbup:
llo Joe, yes I figured it was a refurbish and a re-issued Aviator. The early South Africans were blacker in color. Also by the graphing paper in the photo's, I assumed they were 1" squares, noticing the slight variations. Plus the heavy stampings shown on the blade and re-knurling on the grip, smudged the original handle dimples.

What the big plus of that Aviator is and in my opinion would make it even more valuable then the other original South African Aviator is that you have the refurbish Birthday card and the blade is stamped on the wrong side with the numbers. But even more then that is that tiny dot after the numbers. I only saw that one other time before. The theory behind that was, when a CRK was re-issued, re-ground and refurbished they dotted the blade near the markings. To distingush that from the others. So no one would feel that it would might be an excellent copy or fake, because of the slight alterations. To my knowledge it was only done in a very small amount, generally never noticed by most. Unless you have owned and seen many, many CRK's.

The Aviator in question turns out to be a "rare find" Please never loose the re-issued Birthday card. Keep that Birthday card in a protective sleeve. It will be most helpful for you if you ever want to sell it or trade it. Along with this information.

Congratulations mate! you have a rare, very rare Aviator!
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It was my pleasure Joe! Thanks for sharing with us that rare Aviator!:thumbup:

best regards,

Jules
 
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