Longevity.......how does it factor in your knife purchases?

kidcongo

kidcongo

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Jan 12, 2013
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Clearly CRK is not the only player these days making very cool Ti frame-locks with stunning designs, and high levels of fit and finish. There seems to be more and more amazing pocket knives hitting the market every day. Every once and a while I consider if I should "get out more" and maybe branch my serious collecting and spending out into other brands. Get something different and maybe more 'modern' for a change. There is nagging question that holds me back more than anything: Am I buying a design that will last under use, or am I buying a knife that looks really cool, but has no life expectancy?. I don't ask myself this question when I buy a CRK.

I can justify the cost of a CRK folder, as I know I will have it and enjoy possibly my whole life, and maybe pass it on to my child, or grandchild. I know they are built to last, which is in many ways more important to me than a good warranty, because you can't predict the future of a company, not even CRK. With the 21, I feel the essential design has been around long enough, that if the blade was going to get loose, or the heat-treated Ti lock was going to rock or wear out, we would have heard about it by now. Even the Umnumzaan ceramic interface that is now on the 25 has been on the street for about 6 years without issue.

How much does the lifespan of a knife factor in your CRK knife purchases? Are they other premium brands that instil the same confidence in you and have the same longevity as a CRK folder?
 
Lifespan is important but more important to me is quality of customer service as well as a companies longevity. There are a lot of ti based knives coming onto the market from new companies (companies with less than 5 years in the industry). Can they guarantee that they will be there in 5 years when your lock has moved all the way over? What if you need a reblade? That is why I typically buy from companies that are well established (crk, Emerson, benchmade, spyderco, strider).
 
I own production folders from four companies; CRK, Strider, Spyderco, and Hinderer. All four companies make quality knives, are well established and stand behind their product.
It really gets interesting when you move into the Custom realm such as Mayo, Terzuola, Boguszewski, Carey, etc...
 
That is the exact reason that I recently sold every knife I own (even selling my last two safequeens - TAD DAUNTLESS MK3 and POHL FORCE MIKE ONE) because of this very idea. I want to carry one folding knife everyday for as long as I can. When my son (who is only 3) is old enough I plan on giving him this exact knife. My grandfather gave me his slipjoint that he carried for well over 40 years and it was the only knife he needed. The blades were worn down but they still had a lot of life left to them. Unfortunately I received it too young (around 12) and subsequently lost it doing boyhood things. I wish I still had it. My point of this is I want a knife that can hold up to the abuse of daily carry for years. Also, I want a knife from a company that can replace blades or parts if anything goes wrong. This is why I just picked up a Large Sebenza 21 Micarta. I know that if 10 years down the line a inlay comes off or the blade needs to be replaced, CRK will be there to remedy the situation. It is for this reason alone that I picked the 21 as the knife to carry and later hand down to my son.
 
I know what is going to arrive when I order up a CRK, but just recently I have had the itch to sell off a few and try out some other makers. A few months back I purchased a Shirogorov mod95 and have really enjoyed it.......so yesterday I picked up a Shiro F3. I feel the confident in a Shiro the same way I do in a CRK, but now I am forced to decide which CRK(s) have to go, and is proving to be a difficult task. It is tough when you have a lot of favourites, but like mentioned above CRK is not going anywhere anytime soon so there is always the opportunity to buy one back if I miss it. It is really interesting once you get into customs how inexpensive CRK becomes, and makes you realize what kind of quality you are into for $500.......but I cannot contain my curiosity!
 
This was one of my main reasons into going to CRK...and actually also why I will keep my Benchmades (and yeah, all 4 BM's I currently own were gifts so I wouldn't part with them anyway). In the few days leading up to the purchase of my first CRK, I got the opportunity to handle a Spyderco Southard for a couple days. At this time, I hadn't spent beyond $150 on a knife and the Southard retails as you know between $210-$250 these days. While no doubt that the Southard is an extremely well made knife, I started thinking about could I spend that much for a Taiwan made (no knock on Taiwan Spydies, I love the Gayle Bradley very much, favorite overall Spyderco esp. at $120) knife that I considered a "passing knife". Cool for right now, but what about in a decade or two or three? Spend $100 more and I could have a CRK that will stand the test of time, that can be refurbished back to new, have parts replaced, and new blade if I screw mine up, and it's made in the USA with a personal touch...something that can really be passed down. My collection then shifted to almost strictly knives that are classics respective to their brand, and have longevity. The four BM's I have I consider classics of the brand plus their great customer service, and I really trimmed my Spydercos down from about 9 to 3 which are all tools and users to me, nothing there to pass down to the next generation. Spyderco makes outstanding ergonomic tools with an awesome variety of steels, but IMO, that longevity (I don't mean whether Spyderco will be around in 20 years or not) and "classicness" isn't there compared to CRK and a select few Benchmades. At this time, the only other thing I might would be interested in branching out and trying is a 3" Hinderer, but I also have my opinions on how much they're worth to me...so I may be waiting awhile. Just my 2 cents.
 
When asked what I would recommend if you could only have one knife, my answer is always the Sebenza. I have a number of nice knives and expect all to last or be repaired by the maker-so all should be around for a long time. What sets the Sebenza apart is it is simple and well designed. The chances of my having a problem when I need a knife are slim and the chances of that problem making the knife useless are almost non existent with the Sebenza. I have full trust in the Sebenza.
When looking at knives I not only consider the longevity of the knife, but even the maker(or company)-customer service doesn't mean much is the maker is retired and they all do sometime along the line. This is not the only factor I consider, but I do consider it.
 
Certainly. As long as the cutting tasks are reasonable for a folder, there's no doubt a Sebenza would last a lifetime. For me, one of the biggest selling points is being able to be readily refurbished to "like new" condition. After using a Sebenza for 10 years, I could send it to the spa and get the handles/blade refinished and the lock tuned. Then, I get back a new knife essentially. If you do a lot of cutting, you could perhaps wear a blade out but that could always be replaced.
 
Well, what got me started on the CRK line was what everyone was saying and has been saying for a while, most knives are compared to a Sebenza. After reading/hearing that for some time, I bought my 1st Sebenza, cant say it moved me that much. It sat in the safe for nearly a year without much use. In the mean time, I bought my share of Spyderco's, Benchmade's, TAD, Kershaw, ZT's, Hinderers, and Striders. The Bodega I had was cool as hell, just not practical for me. Now, by no means, am I knocking any knives, I still have many of the knives I've bought and love them all equally. The TSF Beast is a great knife and one of my top three. However, the two that I carry more than any other is the CRK and Strider followed by the Beast. The others I've convinced my self to be a part of my collection :). I say, venture out and try something different, Just don't go bats**t crazy like I did because you'll find yourself going back to the CRK. Talk about longevity, we've all seen recently what some of the earlier CRK's went for on the bay. Tell me what other knife you've seen go for those stupidly high prices???? Comparatively speaking of course. I think 25 years of CRK's speak volumes for longevity. But that's just me.
 
It's the Maseratti I'll never own… I carry it in my pocket, and it lives up to my expectations every day. The amount of wear I see on it after carrying it for 5 years, tells me it will for sure outlive me , and be passed down…. if I don't loose it first! I'm sure there are lots of knives that will last as long, but I've had a LOT of knives , and CRk's just feel special to me.
 
It gives me comfort that Mr Reeve not only puts so much into the production of his knives but that he keeps everything relatively plain. What needs to be changed is. What works seems to stay.

In short, what he does is why I've invested (relatively) so much in his knives
 
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