Crk's Factory sharpness

I've had at least twenty CRK's, and the Sebbie 25 was the only one that was scary sharp...
Most of them would not shave arm hair, either new or fresh from spa.
Of course, most of us can fix this pretty easily.
 
I have only two CRK, a large 21 (diamond plate CGG, made in 2013 if I'm not mistaken) and a Pacific made in 2015. All came shaving sharp.
 
None of my CRKs came hair popping sharp. They nice edge grinds, but always needed a touch up and a stropping to bring that razor sticky edge out!
 
+1

My Large Insingo was sharper than my 25 but both needed a little help. I few minutes on the Wicked Edge and both were shaving sharp.

91bravo said:
None of my CRKs came hair popping sharp. They nice edge grinds, but always needed a touch up and a stropping to bring that razor sticky edge out!
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I have 2 Classics, large and small, and an Mnandi. The large was purchased new and was little more than a stick when rec'd. Came up nicely on the Sharpmaker but still very disappointing. Small
was used but unsharpened; super edge out of the box. Mnandi also purchased new and easily the sharpest of all.
Apparently luck of the draw.
 
I recently purchased my first, a Large Micarta 21. It was shaving sharp out of the box, and with some very light honing on a leather strop could whittle hair easily. This was a 2016 knife.
 
just to throw my .02 i always sharpen my blades on the wicked edge when i get em...I did that with both my CRKs as i cant stand convex edges....
 
Something has obviously changed at CRK.

In the '90s everyone would rave about their Sebenza's "appleseed edge grinds" that were so sharp the hairs on your arm would leap off in terror.

When I finally bought my first Sebenza a couple of years back, I received a folding butter knife. Literally couldn't slice paper. My second CRK is ok sharp: it can cut paper...kind of (more like controlled tearing rather than actual cutting). Forget about hair shaving, but at least you can actually use it as a cutting tool.

I'll send this one in to CRK and hope for the best.
 
By the way, I know I can just sharpen it myself. But why should I? At this price point, I expect a useable edge. Kind of embarrassing when an off-the-rack Delica outperforms your Sebenza lol!

The customer shouldn't have to do the final finishing on a $450 knife, especially when the brand is built on attention to detail and excellent fit & finish.
 
Emre said:
By the way, I know I can just sharpen it myself. But why should I?

Because no body, not even CRK will know the degree of sharpness you want/expect in a blade. When you get it back from sending it in for sharpening, how do you know it will be to your standards?

That's why if I'm not happy with a factory edge, I'll sharpen to my likings.
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Emre said:
By the way, I know I can just sharpen it myself. But why should I?
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Ajack60 said:
Because no body, not even CRK will know the degree of sharpness you want/expect in a blade. When you get it back from sending it in for sharpening, how do you know it will be to your standards?

That's why if I'm not happy with a factory edge, I'll sharpen to my likings.
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I can see both points here. First, it is a high dollar knife and should probably come somewhat sharp and Anne has stated that they strive for this. My personal opinion on the matter is that no one, and I mean nobody (correct me if I'm wrong) starts with a high dollar knife like a CRK. When going to the price point of $400+, I VERY much appreciate the manufacturer giving me the benefit of the doubt as an aficionado and not removing any excess metal.

IMO, it is very reasonable to believe that someone who is at the level of a CRK at least knows how to sharpen a knife to their liking.

ETA: I have received a CRK or two that wasn't to my "sharpness liking". The way they left it for me literally took 45 second to a minute on the Sharpmaker to make it scream. You just have to know what you are doing.
 
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Ajack60 said:
Because no body, not even CRK will know the degree of sharpness you want/expect in a blade. When you get it back from sending it in for sharpening, how do you know it will be to your standards?
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By all accounts, CRK's used to ship razor-sharp until a couple of years ago when something changed. Maybe quality control slipped or there's less time for hand-finishing as production numbers have gone up? Maybe they haven't yet adapted to the newer steels or harder heat treats? Who knows?

What you're suggesting is that CRK has fundamentally changed their philosophy and made a conscious decision to stop shipping hair-popping sharp knives. Then why all the "Be careful...this knife is SHARP! The sharpest thing you've ever seen!! You'll put your eye out!!!" rhetoric? Just tell us "We think the end user should decide how sharp his knife should be; we're leaving edge finishing to you."

Corytr said:
IMO, it is very reasonable to believe that someone who is at the level of a CRK at least knows how to sharpen a knife to their liking.
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"Can" and "should" are not the same thing. Like most people, I can sharpen a knife. Should I really have to on a factory-fresh knife? At least give me a basic, working edge (i.e., sharper than a paint scraper). They're selling complete knives...not half-finished knife kits for the DIY crowd.
 
In response... As I said, I see both sides. Anne is really the only one who can truly answer for CRK.

To further my point though, CRK's uses a conservative (obtuse) angle. They provide an edge that is workable (touch-up-able; if you will) by anyone with even the slightest touch of competence.
 
I have the same experience. Have owned about a dozen and every single one of them was not hair popping as u would have hoped. For me not really an issues since i have a WE pro and would prefer to put a mirror polish anyways. But purely based on principle imo they should have put a bit more attn to the edge..

EDIT: in addition that about 1/3 of the CRK that have come my way with factory edge bevels were uneven and need to be corrected. Could have sent it to them but me being OCD I know they have belt sanders and it would take much more steel than I would on my WE so I correct the bevels myself.
 
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kidcongo said:
Factory edges are Meh,
CRK makes very few mistakes when grinding edges, other than final sharpness, which most of us have the ability to resolve ourselves.
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I've only had one sharp CRK knife and that was a model 25. Cut me the first time I closed the blade without removing finger first.
dumb...
 
My experience with CRKs is they don't come particularly sharp. Definately sharp enough to cut paper and most things. I agree though a little love with the Sharpmaker stones and the edges get much much sharper.
 
My Wilson Umnumzaan is definitely workable. Wouldn't take much for me to get it to hair-popping status. But I've heard knives that go in for spa treatment come back with a properly sharp edge. I think I'll try that route.
 
I reprofile every knife I get, so for me edge evenness saves me much more time then sharpness out of the box. The grind definitely seemed a bit steeper on the few Spydercos I've had pass through my hands, and they were definitely sharper then my CRKs, but my edge evenness was better on the CRKs. That said the sharpest edge I have received to date was on my M390 mini barrage
 
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