1346wildcat
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2023
- Messages
- 447
The 2024 EDC featuring a Chris Reeve Knives large Inkosi (Chief) with PJ titanium scales and drop point S45VN blade.
So I started off the year with the goal of carrying this knife every day in 2024. So now that the goal is complete I thought I would briefly chronicle the year and the reasons for choosing the CRK Large Inkosi as my “EDC”. When I was considering which knife I wanted to use as my everyday carry I took many things into consideration. My knife collection is large so I have many to choose from with knives that range from $50 to +$1000 values, all USA made and they ALL get carried. My work is fairly diverse with a fair amount of office time split with general building and equipment maintenance, customer service and agronomy field calls. Our home sits on 120 acres of timber, pasture and production agriculture that I own and maintain so there’s always something to do whether it be fixing fence, weed control, building maintenance, general mowing, timber management and hay harvest. So obviously my EDC is going to get much more use than the occasional Amazon package. The main reasons for choosing the Chris Reeve Knives large Inkosi (Chief) was mostly due to its simple & robust design. It has a fairly thick blade stock with simple yet elegant blade design without flipper tab to get in the way. The Chief only has two frame bolts, one pocket clip bolt plus the pivot so it is one of the simplest knives I own. Many knives in this category have as many as 9-10 bolts for use in their design and I wanted to avoid that complication. 2 Allen wrenches are the only tools needed for regular maintenance and the occasional breakdown to clean and lube and those tools can be found anywhere anytime. Many other knives in this category/quality require proprietary tools and several different bolt designs and sizes which I also wanted to avoid. I wanted subdued knife (just meat and potatoes) that was not flashy with anodized parts, fancy PCs or exotic hardware (no lipstick and glitter please) so the Plain Jane sandblasted titanium scales and stonewash blade of the Chief were perfect. Also wanted a knife running on washers as I feel like bearings have more points of failure. Remembering to pocket the knife every morning was only a problem a few times when I got distracted & forgot it at home so I would either turn around go back and get it or grab it at noon when I was home for lunch but it NEVER missed a day with at least some pocket time. All but those few days the CRK Ink would start the morning in my pocket and most days was the only knife I carried, but sometimes mostly weekends I would switch it out midday to give it a break and carry one of my many other knives in the collection. I’ve used the knife hard and it has exceeded all expectations. I’ve rolled the edge more than a few times and had to sharpen through several small mostly unnoticeable nicks/chips. The scales have become more beautiful everyday with many snails that show character and the elegant rounded edges of the scales have become a bit shiny to add to the patina of this fantastic piece of cutlery. The action has become quite smooth. The double stud bladed on this Inkosi can be deployed as a front flipper, reverse, thumb or drop and now has a nice controlled shake shut action. The signature blue factory thumb studs are mostly silver now from use and of course it comes out of the pocket many times a day just to fidget with. The stonewashed drop point S45VN blade has stood up better than I would have ever expected. I’ve sharpened and maintained it at a 19° near mirrored edge. The knife has been used for everything imaginable (all legal of course) it’s been a box cutter, pointer, screwdriver, prybar, meat cleaver, steak knife, bottle opener, can opener and fidget toy just to mention a few. The Chief has been in my pocket as I toured the country on/with my Harley Davidson Road Glide. This year I was only one state short of going coast to coast. States visited in 2024 were, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. There are a lot of stories to go along with those travels for sure. Many miles, smiles, bars and stars as memories and all with the Chris Reeve Knives large Inkosi by my side. Thanks for reading. Happy new year, Blade forum friends.
So I started off the year with the goal of carrying this knife every day in 2024. So now that the goal is complete I thought I would briefly chronicle the year and the reasons for choosing the CRK Large Inkosi as my “EDC”. When I was considering which knife I wanted to use as my everyday carry I took many things into consideration. My knife collection is large so I have many to choose from with knives that range from $50 to +$1000 values, all USA made and they ALL get carried. My work is fairly diverse with a fair amount of office time split with general building and equipment maintenance, customer service and agronomy field calls. Our home sits on 120 acres of timber, pasture and production agriculture that I own and maintain so there’s always something to do whether it be fixing fence, weed control, building maintenance, general mowing, timber management and hay harvest. So obviously my EDC is going to get much more use than the occasional Amazon package. The main reasons for choosing the Chris Reeve Knives large Inkosi (Chief) was mostly due to its simple & robust design. It has a fairly thick blade stock with simple yet elegant blade design without flipper tab to get in the way. The Chief only has two frame bolts, one pocket clip bolt plus the pivot so it is one of the simplest knives I own. Many knives in this category have as many as 9-10 bolts for use in their design and I wanted to avoid that complication. 2 Allen wrenches are the only tools needed for regular maintenance and the occasional breakdown to clean and lube and those tools can be found anywhere anytime. Many other knives in this category/quality require proprietary tools and several different bolt designs and sizes which I also wanted to avoid. I wanted subdued knife (just meat and potatoes) that was not flashy with anodized parts, fancy PCs or exotic hardware (no lipstick and glitter please) so the Plain Jane sandblasted titanium scales and stonewash blade of the Chief were perfect. Also wanted a knife running on washers as I feel like bearings have more points of failure. Remembering to pocket the knife every morning was only a problem a few times when I got distracted & forgot it at home so I would either turn around go back and get it or grab it at noon when I was home for lunch but it NEVER missed a day with at least some pocket time. All but those few days the CRK Ink would start the morning in my pocket and most days was the only knife I carried, but sometimes mostly weekends I would switch it out midday to give it a break and carry one of my many other knives in the collection. I’ve used the knife hard and it has exceeded all expectations. I’ve rolled the edge more than a few times and had to sharpen through several small mostly unnoticeable nicks/chips. The scales have become more beautiful everyday with many snails that show character and the elegant rounded edges of the scales have become a bit shiny to add to the patina of this fantastic piece of cutlery. The action has become quite smooth. The double stud bladed on this Inkosi can be deployed as a front flipper, reverse, thumb or drop and now has a nice controlled shake shut action. The signature blue factory thumb studs are mostly silver now from use and of course it comes out of the pocket many times a day just to fidget with. The stonewashed drop point S45VN blade has stood up better than I would have ever expected. I’ve sharpened and maintained it at a 19° near mirrored edge. The knife has been used for everything imaginable (all legal of course) it’s been a box cutter, pointer, screwdriver, prybar, meat cleaver, steak knife, bottle opener, can opener and fidget toy just to mention a few. The Chief has been in my pocket as I toured the country on/with my Harley Davidson Road Glide. This year I was only one state short of going coast to coast. States visited in 2024 were, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. There are a lot of stories to go along with those travels for sure. Many miles, smiles, bars and stars as memories and all with the Chris Reeve Knives large Inkosi by my side. Thanks for reading. Happy new year, Blade forum friends.
