CRK Sharpening.

kidcongo

kidcongo

Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
3,195
I bought a used 2008 Zaan a while back. It came with a slightly goofy spot on the edge where the grind went uneven on the belly, just on one side. It had the appearance of a small 'flat spot' on one side......forgot to take pictures. It was supposed to be LNIB, so maybe it was just a bad grind from the factory. It looked like a mark from the belt or wheel so I think so. It was a minor detail, but kinda picked me as it was a mark I didn't put there if that makes sense.

I sent the knife back to CRK to be factory sharpened as I did not feel I had the skill to correct the uneven spot on the grind, and worried I might make it worse. During the couple months I waited for it to come back I was a little nervous with all the negative comments lately about their sharpening. Anyways, the knife came back and it is absolutely perfect, and wickedly sharp. I have had very few knives this sharp in my hand. Push-cuts through thin paper, fillets a tomato, all the good stuff.

Anyways.........for the few misses they seem to have in the sharpening department, my umnum was not one of them. They did a tremendous job and I'm thrilled that I made the effort to send it back to the mothership for some TLC. Their production knives may not all leave the factory that way, but if you send them your knife to be sharpened, they take it to task!
 
Cody, I have a large regular that I bought from Dave, Zaan Man. I can just can't seem to get it sharp on my SM. I've spent at an

hour without getting it any sharper. I don't use it because it's not sharp enough. I have several other CRK's I can use.

I'm just to cheap to send it to spend $25-$30 to sent it to CRK or Richard j to get it sharpened.

CRK has sharpened a couple user regulars I have. They did a Great job.
 
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I have been toying with the idea of sending my Zaan (2010) back for a face life. This just pushed me over the edge. Thanks for the post.
 
I would rather do my own.
When I first get a new knife, I usually reprofile the edge because most factories belt grind an angle too steep for good slicing. From then own, all I need to do is strop it to keep up a razor edge, with a Sharpmaker pass occasionally. CRK puts a good edge for overall cutting, that's good.
 
I'm a bit of an edge snob. I have invested a fair bit of effort to develop my abilities, blah blah blah.

Long story short, CRK knives are among the few that consistently come to me from the maker with edges that I use instead of immediately re profile;)

I'm sure they have blunders, but from my meager sample size, they are consistently good.
 
clockman said:
Cody, I have a large regular that I bought from Dave, Zaan Man. I can just can't seem to get it sharp on my SM. I've spent at an

hour without getting it any sharper. I don't use it because it's not sharp enough. I have several other CRK's I can use.

I'm just to cheap to send it to spend $25-$30 to sent it to CRK or Richard j to get it sharpened.

CRK has sharpened a couple user regulars I have. They did a Great job.
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I had good luck keeping a CRK sharp with a SharpMaker though I never let them get too dull. I have since invested in a Wicked Edge. After a year of practice I used the WE to sharpen my Sebenzas. Both my 25 and my large Insingo are sharper now than ever before. The WE is a huge investment but for me was worth it just have have my Sebenzas this sharp. Plus there is no need to send them to the factory and deal with the wait.
 
Bob45 said:
What angle and stones do you use on your wicked edge for Sebenzas?
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I go about 18 degrees per side. For stones I start with the 600s to avoid deep scratches and the go up through 1000. After the 1000 stones I tape sandpaper (1500, 2000 and finally 2500 grit) to the stones to continue refining before I strop. Works great for me.
 
I cannot recommend a edge pro enough, many years ago I couldn't sharpen a blade to save my life unless it was a full convex, and even then if the edge was too thick, I was either stuck with a thick edge or send it back..this got old over the years and when I was introduced to the edge pro, my knife usage and buying changed.
If any of you are in that boat, you owe it to yourself to learn to make your blades wicked sharp.. CRK knives are pretty easy to re profile and keep sharp. After receiving my 25, re profiled it and for the past month a quick stropping is all that has been needed to touch it up..

Feels good knowing that you can maintain your blade when ever it needs.
 
I have to agree about the Edge Pro. It takes a little effort to get good at it, but once you get it down it's easy to keep the Sebenza very sharp. A little while ago I was having a very hard time getting a good edge with the EP. I got discouraged. Then I got the brilliant idea that if I cleaned the stones with water and an old washcloth after sharpening each side, I may get better results. And what do you know? It worked like a charm. Now I have a Starbenza and a large Insingo that I can keep incredibly sharp with very little effort. Edge Pro and Sebenza, it's a great combination. :thumbup:
 
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