Microsilk Nyala

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Nrthfce

Joined
Sep 17, 2014
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450
Has anyone else seen this? I would link to it but I am not sure if that is appropriate. I get emails from Best Made from a purchase a long time ago, but still love window shopping their stuff. Looks a lot like micarta, but this is apparently pretty revolutionary stuff. Better be for the $268 up-charge over the standard price of a nyala. Whats the deal????
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Also in midnight...
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If it’s appropriate, or I get the go ahead, I’ll post a link... until then I guess I’d just have to suggest going though the Best Made website to read the details. I just can’t figure out the increase in $.

Edit: I guess it’s a $248 increase, I didn’t know the price of a nyala had increased from $230 to $250
 
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“A fool and his money are soon parted”......these ol’ sayings didn’t come out of nowhere.
 
So is it micarta made from real silk? I don’t really see the application as the best use of silk’s properties.
 
kidcongo said:
“A fool and his money are soon parted”......these ol’ sayings didn’t come out of nowhere.
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My dad said that when I bought my first Sebenza. Now he owns two.
My question was two fold... first had anyone else seen this Microsilk Nyala? And second, this Microsilk stuff is made by bolt industries out of California, has anybody seen, used, or know specifically what make this such a special product? Their website seems a bit vague. AFAICT for the handles, it’s pressed synthetic spider silk ‍♂️ but they also make it into garments. IDK
 
I had Cuscadi make scales for my Nyala, I think if bestmade has this material Cuscadi probably does to why not send them an email and ask?
 
Nrthfce said:
My dad said that when I bought my first Sebenza. Now he owns two.
My question was two fold... first had anyone else seen this Microsilk Nyala? And second, this Microsilk stuff is made by bolt industries out of California, has anybody seen, used, or know specifically what make this such a special product? Their website seems a bit vague. AFAICT for the handles, it’s pressed synthetic spider silk ‍♂️ but they also make it into garments. IDK
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I get your point, but I don’t see paying $250 USD for the upgraded (?) scales. Like.....it looks just like linen micarta, and micarta has no issues for durability. Many beautiful aftermarket scales can be bought for the Nyala for a fraction of that price.

Unless you absolutely need to complete a Nyala collection, or have some specific need for spider silk handles, you are achieving nothing in terms of a true upgrade. The handles just are not that beautiful in the micro silk versions. Just looks like normal micarta or G10 to me.

Just my opinion.
 
It's really beautiful handle material, but I really can't see that it's worth basically paying double for it.
 
Agree with all, just thought I was missing something and believe it was also worth noting and noticing if others had not.

Do you think CRK does this as some collaboration or give approval? Or is it some secondary market upgrade (? As stated) that tries to key on certain people’s cool radar?
 
The best made website describes it as a collaboration. I believe everything is done at CRK. Bolt just makes the raw material, and best made sells it in a cardboard box with a little booklet.

There is no rebranding going on. The knife still says CRK, and is sold as such.

If you look close there appears to be anodization in the “Idaho Made” writing. That’s gotta cost a couple hundy bills right there!
 
kidcongo said:
The best made website describes it as a collaboration. I believe everything is done at CRK. Bolt just makes the raw material, and best made sells it in a cardboard box with a little booklet.

There is no rebranding going on. The knife still says CRK, and is sold as such.

If you look close there appears to be anodization in the “Idaho Made” writing. That’s gotta cost a couple hundy bills right there!
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Bestmade actually manufactured the scales according to one of the CRK employees on the book of faces- They provided the geometry.
Steel doesn't anodize- Likely a color stik fill if there is anything there.
 
bhyde said:
Bestmade actually manufactured the scales according to one of the CRK employees on the book of faces- They provided the geometry.
Steel doesn't anodize- Likely a color stik fill if there is anything there.
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Right you are about steel not anodizing......forgot that point. It does look like there’s some colour in there.

I wasn’t aware Best Made did any in-house work. My understanding was they were just a company that found outside products, and applied their own label, packaging, marketing, and mark-up. If they are making the scales in-house that would seem, to me at least, to be a very strange endeavour when you could just ship the blanks to CRK and have them run the material on the jig/CNC program they already have.

I have been very wrong before and will likely be wrong again many times in the future.
 
kidcongo said:
Right you are about steel not anodizing......forgot that point. It does look like there’s some colour in there.

I wasn’t aware Best Made did any in-house work. My understanding was they were just a company that found outside products, and applied their own label, packaging, marketing, and mark-up. If they are making the scales in-house that would seem, to me at least, to be a very strange endeavour when you could just ship the blanks to CRK and have them run the material on the jig/CNC program they already have.

I have been very wrong before and will likely be wrong again many times in the future.
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The post I was referencing didn't say that Bestmade actually made the scales come to think of it..It only stated that they received the CAD for the scales. Possible that a third party made them? I am not familiar enough with Bestmade of anything to say for sure. Are they like Massdrop in a sense?
 
I'm not sold on this and I don't know why? Haha. CRK drops something and always on board. Something seems fishy I'm losing my mind maybe
 
bhyde said:
The post I was referencing didn't say that Bestmade actually made the scales come to think of it..It only stated that they received the CAD for the scales. Possible that a third party made them? I am not familiar enough with Bestmade of anything to say for sure. Are they like Massdrop in a sense?
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Like anything that is just a branding exercise, their website is a bit cagey. Certainly they sell metal camp cups that say “best made” on the bottom, but I don’t think they are running a factory making cups. They are just issuing a spec to someone who already makes cups I would assume.

I believe they are trying to act as a “purchase filter”. In other words, they do the research, and you buy they stuff they are branding or repackaging, and you receive the benefit of them having selected a product that meets their standard. I am sure there are people who have a whole collection of their branded items and feel very good about the fact it’s all the “best”.

The Nyala is a good knife, and CRK does make great quality products, so the partnership makes total sense from the standpoint of a “purchase filter”. Is the doubling of the price a good value???.......probably not.....but hey..... “Synthetic Spider Silk”......holy jamolee!!
 
They also sell Sebenza 21 pjs at msrp... just as a side note.
For they most part, they are as you guys described, an retailer searching out the finer products (selling them without re-branding) and then in certain cases selling them with their trademark as an up charge. However, I know they do manufacture their own axes as well as other some other items. I just enjoy window shopping as stated.

Who knows? Maybe this Microsilk Nyala will be a rare model in 20 years and someone will have to have it to complete their collection. We have seen that before and man has it cost me some coin. How many other dealers/accessories places do this with permission or collaboration with CRK?
 
It is of course a cool conversation piece but I personally don't like the look of the amber-colored scales, just reminds me of that Bakelite stuff.
 
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