Inkosi Ceramic Ball Groove Removed

We need to remember the Inkosi is just the next step of the 25 becoming its own knife in the product line instead of a Sebenza replacement. So its still going to sell just find to the same type of folks that love the 25.

However. I also see the groove as an improvement. I know first hand that this groove prevents flex of the lock like you see otherwise on the 25 , umnum and most other framelocks as well. Also it seems the groove would prevent failure with spine impacts and stabbing motions with the knife when piercing materials or stabbing it into a log for a photo like we see all the time.

Now if CRK says they tested this against the non groove version and there was not much of a difference. I do believe it.

In the end I have full faith that Anne and company want what is best and safest for all of us when it comes to these knives and the way they handle warranty work etc. It just proves that to me.
 
john98294 said:
I've got the small Inkosi and it has the groove. It seems to me that having the groove there is more contact area when the knife is in the locked position (detent ball to lock face) and removing the groove there would only be a fraction of lock face to detent ball.
It would also seem that there's more to it than just removing the groove, the lock face would also have to have been re-machined, also with the groove it would seem (to me) the knife would be more "locked in".
I'd like to see comparison pics of the the 2 designs side by side.
BTW, I can't find the large Inkosi anywhere and now....I'm not sure if I still want one after this change.
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Try looking online where the knives are known to ship for free. They have 'em.
 
Those knives that ship free AKA Kniveshipfree is a paid dealer- Mentioning paid dealers is ok :thumbup:
 
I had a large Inkosi and from what i remember, i didnt notice anymore sturdiness in the lock than a 25. That was a few months ago, so i would really like to have a 25 and an Inkosi in front of me now to compare lol.

The groove concept makes a ton of sense and im a little bumed that they did away with it already. With the tolerances so precise and tight on CRK's, im a little confused as why this groove is a problem/didnt work for them?
 
lemmuhj said:
I had a large Inkosi and from what i remember, i didnt notice anymore sturdiness in the lock than a 25. That was a few months ago, so i would really like to have a 25 and an Inkosi in front of me now to compare lol.

The groove concept makes a ton of sense and im a little bumed that they did away with it already. With the tolerances so precise and tight on CRK's, im a little confused as why this groove is a problem/didnt work for them?
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Yes, I am really confused about that.
 
It's been nice to read how you guys feel. I am starting to focus my attention to other great knife makers. Chris Reeve Knives is changing. I will not be buying an inkosi now or ever. Company is cutting cost but yet the profit margin is already huge in the product they are manufacturing. Losing interest fast! It's okay though, plenty of good knives to buy from other companies. :)
 
staysharp^ said:
It's been nice to read how you guys feel. I am starting to focus my attention to other great knife makers. Chris Reeve Knives is changing. I will not be buying an inkosi now or ever. Company is cutting cost but yet the profit margin is already huge in the product they are manufacturing. Losing interest fast! It's okay though, plenty of good knives to buy from other companies. :)
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How do you know what the profit margins are and if they are cutting costs or any of their internal workings for that matter?
There would be very few people with these details, so I am curious to how you came upon this information. Inquiring minds want to know.
 
bhyde said:
The groove in machining time is negligible. They save maybe 25 cents by leaving it off. In the grand scheme of things, the choice was likely more for user benefit than to make more money.
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I agree.

staysharp^ said:
It's been nice to read how you guys feel. I am starting to focus my attention to other great knife makers. Chris Reeve Knives is changing. I will not be buying an inkosi now or ever. Company is cutting cost but yet the profit margin is already huge in the product they are manufacturing. Losing interest fast! It's okay though, plenty of good knives to buy from other companies. :)
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I'd bet their profit margin in no more than it was 5,10, or 15 years ago. Maybe a bit less if anything.

Good luck, and maybe I'll see you in one of the other rooms around here.
While not CRK, Spyderco makes a good knife for the price.

BTW- If you find a company out there that makes a knife as good as CRK let me know please :)
I've never found one in my 40 years of buying/collecting/using.
 
It's amazing to me how quickly we feel "owed" a feature, that we never knew of or cared about until recently. This whole "I'll never buy another CRK now that they eliminated a 2mm deep groove off the back of the blade tang" just doesn't register with my world view, but hey, it takes all kinds, and the knife community has room enough for all kinds of obsessive behaviour.

This thread reminds me of somewhat of that Louis CK comedy routine where he takes a shot at airline travellers who complain the wifi is slow on the first flight to ever feature wifi.

Anyways......I never once picked up my 25 or my Umnumzaan and thought "....dang!!!! This knife needs a ball groove". Ironically both of those knives were built before CRK supposedly started cutting corners to maximize profit.

It still is the case that you are not going to get better value for your money in a $400-$500 dollar knife than a CRK. Groove or no groove. Hey, you could pay $1400 for a Medford and not even be able to slice an apple in half......and have no ceramic ball or groove......it's all relative I guess.
 
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2016 Blade Show Manufacturing Quality Award goes to............ Chris Reeve Knives!
CRK probably has more of these awards than Michael Phelps has Olympic medals.:D
 
I am not interested in whether "I believe in CRK and always will" or "I don't believe in CRK anymore". I am interested in technology. Is the groove helpful or harmful? How? And why?
 
bllewton said:
I am not interested in whether "I believe in CRK and always will" or "I don't believe in CRK anymore". I am interested in technology. Is the groove helpful or harmful? How? And why?
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If it was helpful it would still be there. From what I understand it was neither helpful nor harmful, but why put it on there if it turns out it wasn't as helpful as they thought it may be. Companies make small changes quite often, and they at times won't know what feature may be worth it until they get it in the hands of the masses.

Moot point now anyway, and does no good to speculate about it. Whats done is done.
 
Ken44 said:
If it was helpful it would still be there. From what I understand it was neither helpful nor harmful, but why put it on there if it turns out it wasn't as helpful as they thought it may be. Companies make small changes quite often, and they at times won't know what feature may be worth it until they get it in the hands of the masses.

Moot point now anyway, and does no good to speculate about it. Whats done is done.
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I thought it must be very helpful in improving the stability. Seems I was wrong. Just don't understand why it's not functional.
 
Here is my take.
Under perfect circumstances the groove adds to a perfect lock-up.
In real world conditions things my look different.
Think about the climate - heat or cold for example - the groove reduces the range.
So it could have been "overbuild"?
I experienced the temperature thing (another knife) while skiing.
Outside temp was below 0 Fahrenheit and when I came back in the evening the screws in the handle where lose.
Aluminum scales and stainless steel screws.
 
red mag said:
Here is my take.
Under perfect circumstances the groove adds to a perfect lock-up.
In real world conditions things my look different.
Think about the climate - heat or cold for example - the groove reduces the range.
So it could have been "overbuild"?
I experienced the temperature thing (another knife) while skiing.
Outside temp was below 0 Fahrenheit and when I came back in the evening the screws in the handle where lose.
Aluminum scales and stainless steel screws.
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Dynamical range reduced. Sounds like a good point.
 
I have grown to like my 25 and have no interest in the inkosi. So groove or no groove doesn't matter to me. Chris is still involved with the company from my understanding. It is just no longer his and he is not involved with the business side of it, but is still involved with design. Unless something has since changed...? There has been MANY subtle changes with the sebenza over the years. Some we embraced, some we did not. But in the end of the day, it's still a CRK. Anne has been there since the beginning also and she knows what she is doing.
 
My new to me large Inkosi, birthday July, 29 2016, indeed does not have the ball groove. I have not noticed any real difference in the lock up and when unlocking the knife between it, my small Inkosi (which has the ball groove) and my 25. The large Inkosi is noticeably smoother when opening and closing that my other CRK knives. Not saying the others are not smooth there is just a little extra buttery smooth feeling with the large Inkosi.
 
I think a lot of the improved smoothness comes from the clip not pressing on the lockbar.
 
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