CRK 'Green Micarta'......fact or fiction?

kidcongo

kidcongo

Joined
Jan 12, 2013
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I keep seeing CRK knives at sellers sites and various exchanges, including both sebenza folders and fixed blades, listed as having 'green micarta' inlays or scales. I am thinking this information is wrong and that CRK only uses black Micarta, and the brown on the nylala, but correct me if I'm wrong.

Are there any CRK knives with 'green micarta' inlays or handles, or is this all just misinformation?
 
The CRK Military knives such as the Pacific, Green Beret have Green Micarta.
 
Some micarta inlayed models were inlayed with green even though it is marked as black.
 
I think the green micarta that is on the Military Knives would look pretty interesting as an inlay in a sebenza.
 
I have seen at least one green micarta inlaid Sebenza. I cannot confirm that it was from CRK like that...it could have been a VERY well done aftermarket customization.

Sometimes I wonder what sort of special changes a guy could accomplish by contacting CRK and custom ordering a knife (and waiting patiently)?
 
I respect that those who commented here know what they are talking about, but is it really "green Micarta"? What confuses me is the CRK website lists it as black blasted micarta for all of the models. There is no mention of green micarta anywhere on their official documentation, only black, so what gives?:

http://www.chrisreeve.com/Pacific

http://chrisreeve.com/Green-Beret

http://chrisreeve.com/Impofu

Green Micarta, in my mind would actually have green epoxy/resin as the base, with whatever canvas or linen added to it.

So my questions now are (sorry guys just want to figure this out once and for all):

1 - Is the base resin in the Micarta on a Pacific/Green Beret actually green, or are they just dyeing the exposed threads of black micarta green?
2 - Is the "green" just an optical illusion because the sheaths and lanyards are green, and the knife is actually black micarta with off-white linen threads like listed on the CRK site?
3 - Does CRK simply no longer make green knives when they once did?

Thanks guys for helping me get this figured......it's just a question that always nags at me, and I can't find a picture that offers me the answer. Sometimes these knives just look like they have greyish handles, and other times they kinda look green.
 
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Micarta can be made with many/any color of cloth. The cloth need not be dyed afterward. The resin can be speced in various hues also.

The green micarta Sebenza I saw appeared to have the same dark resin and green canvas. It was a subtle difference and I'd perhaps not have noticed if it wasn't explained explicitly.

Again, I cannot speak as to weather or not it was a true CRK offering, but I think it may have been.
 
Like many black micartas it takes on a slightly green hue. I have one and can attest to this, my vote is fiction, or to clarify, slight color and interpretation variation, but no true green inlays.
 
The difference between green and black micarta can be a suble one at the best of times. There was green canvas used as I had a Pacific that was clearly green canvas micarta. The latest fixed blade knives seem to all have black canvas micarta though (bar the Nyala of course). The blasted finish CRK use also plays tricks on your eyes as it exposes the cloth fiber in a way that a hand sanded finish doesn't and hides the colour. :)
 
Haze said:
The blasted finish CRK use also plays tricks on your eyes as it exposes the cloth fiber in a way that a hand sanded finish doesn't and hides the colour. :)
Click to expand...

This ^^^ and note that dirt and skin oils will also affect how the micarta looks.
 
When I bought my 21, it did have a green hue/tint to it. Once it was violated it started darkening up. The 25 with the micarta did not have the same green look. I've seen them before on sites look greenish, but they're black. I've got several that range from black seeing the canvas material to being black on every spec of canvas. I've never washed one to see how clean it will get. These are the best pics I can produce. You can see the different shades of black

 
Ajack60 said:
When I bought my 21, it did have a green hue/tint to it. Once it was violated it started darkening up. The 25 with the micarta did not have the same green look. I've seen them before on sites look greenish, but they're black. I've got several that range from black seeing the canvas material to being black on every spec of canvas. I've never washed one to see how clean it will get. These are the best pics I can produce. You can see the different shades of black

Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to post these pics Ajack. Very interesting.
 
Good question.
When I got my lg classic micarta Sebenza in 2006 and compared it to the GB, I thought it would be nice if the color of the handles matched.
So I wrote to Bill Harsey and asked him about the colour used. Guess what, he told me, that the material was cut from the same block of micarta.
The difference in the appearance is caused by the way the material is cut.
Knowing CRK it made sense.
hope this helps.
red mag
 
red mag said:
So I wrote to Bill Harsey and asked him about the colour used. Guess what, he told me, that the material was cut from the same block of micarta.
The difference in the appearance is caused by the way the material is cut.
Click to expand...

This is kinda what I have been suspecting is the case. So the only question is whether there is (or was) ever any green colouring added at any time, or if the process adds a greenish hue. The handles on my Micarta sebenza certainly have no greenish hue at all, though they will turn a tad yellow.

Anyone out there with pics of their green handles they can post?

Again, a trivial question, but interesting at least to me.
 
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kidcongo said:
This is kinda what I have been suspecting is the case. So the only question is whether there is (or was) ever any green colouring added at any time, or if the process adds a greenish hue. The handles on my Micarta sebenza certainly have no greenish hue at all, though they will turn a tad yellow.

Anyone out there with pics of their green handles they can post?

Again, a trivial question, but interesting at least to me.
Click to expand...
Not trivial at all, I've been wondering about the different shades in the CRK micarta as well
 
Black micarta is a better choice, when green micarta gets dirty, it looks "weary", "sad", etc.
You can wash it, and it looks good..........for about 15 min.
Better with black.
 
On my large 21, the micarta started off with, and has taken on, a more definite greenish hue over time.

So much so, in fact, that when I bought it last winter I put an olive green lanyard with a Ti bead on it to match, and posted a thread about it. It also developed yellowish undertones.

My newer micarta 25, however, has a definite gray tint to it.

I clean the micarta on the 25 occasionally with 70% alcohol in an attempt to help keep it from developing a greenish tint, and it is also stored in a dedicated knife storage toolbox away from indirect light in case that is what happened to the 21. The micarta turning green would clash with the gray CRK with Ti bead lanyard I modified to fit on it, and I'm trying to keep that from happening.

Cleaning the greenish micarta on the 21 repeatedly with the same alcohol has not reversed the color change. It remains green with yellow and black threads throughout.
 
Have a look.



The whole knives.



The GB is y2003
The Insingo is y2013
The classic is y2005.

Probably my impression is caused by the name, but the GB seems to have a green handle.
The classic looks like black after lot's of use.
The Insingo is mint as of today.

Let me know what you think.

red mag
 
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