Is the carbon-fiber done in-house?

E

ecdc

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May 9, 2022
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I know there are two kinds of carbon fiber Chris Reeve knives. Inlay and whole front side handle. Is all the carbon fiber work done in-house, from layup to cutting to autoclave to finishing?

All I know is the carbon front handle of my small Sebenza 31 is as perfect as the titanium back side handle. And the knife's production quarter and year are stamped (carved? engraved?) on the inside face of the carbon fiber handle the same as on the inside of the titanium handle. What do we know about how the carbon fiber work is done on Chris Reeve knives?

Here's mine.

kmT8xzm.jpeg
 
This is a great question, I’ve wondered the same thing! I have a carbon inlay and front face and they are both perfect and the nicest carbon fiber I have seen on a knife. I hope someone here has an answer. My guess would be they get high quality carbon fiber slabs outsourced and only do the milling in house. They don’t seem to do enough carbon fiber work to justify absolutely everything, but who knows! I’ve tried to think if there is some way they could make a carbon lock side, but I don’t think it could ever match the lock strength and could get damaged easier.
 
I don't know, but anecdotally...I bought a backspacer for a large Inkosi. It won't fit on a 2023 CF-slabbed Inkosi. Seems that the scale is a tad bit larger than the Ti scales. Same part fits perfectly on a 2023 PJ Inkosi.

So, if tolerances are a bit different between Ti and CF (as mine are), it seems like maybe the CF isn't milled on the same equipment as the Ti scales. Pure guesswork on my part.
 
jacobconroy75 said:
I don't know, but anecdotally...I bought a backspacer for a large Inkosi. It won't fit on a 2023 CF-slabbed Inkosi. Seems that the scale is a tad bit larger than the Ti scales. Same part fits perfectly on a 2023 PJ Inkosi.

So, if tolerances are a bit different between Ti and CF (as mine are), it seems like maybe the CF isn't milled on the same equipment as the Ti scales. Pure guesswork on my part.
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I’m curious if the tolerances are different, or if it just has to do with how much torque is applied to the body screws. On the CRK website they do list a different factory torque for carbon and Ti scales, I doubt any of us are being that precise when we put ours together but still. So essentially are the scales larger or could it be that the screws are tighter and the spacing is smaller, thus your backspaced can’t fit. Over time the screws can lose tension/torque in carbon fiber too and I suspect that’s why there are reports of the blades being off center.
 
Foxhound13 said:
I’m curious if the tolerances are different, or if it just has to do with how much torque is applied to the body screws. On the CRK website they do list a different factory torque for carbon and Ti scales, I doubt any of us are being that precise when we put ours together but still. So essentially are the scales larger or could it be that the screws are tighter and the spacing is smaller, thus your backspaced can’t fit. Over time the screws can lose tension/torque in carbon fiber too and I suspect that’s why there are reports of the blades being off center.
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All I know for sure is the distance from the lanyard pin hole to the outside edge of the scales were different (CF was farther away). Since the backspacer for the Inkosi relies on that distance to avoid rotation, the scale was sitting on the BS cutout instead of in it, if that makes sense. This spread the scales apart and pinced the blade in front.

I don't have the tools or knowledge to measure any of it accurately though, and honestly am not concerned enough about it to investigate. :)
 
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