My first CRK knife. Before & After

[arijer]

Hi everyone.

Just got in the mail my first CRK knife. its a Nyala, i am waiting on my Sebenza and Mnandi to come in hopefully by the end of the week.

Ok so first the knife itself feels great in my hands. its very light but feels like a solid piece of work. hard to explein otherwise but that is how it feels to me. The sheeth it came with is nice also, very nice actually. But i have a bad habit of trying to improve on things

So i grabbed the sheath earlier today and started coating it with Obenauf's oil. it actually took 6 coats, it was a thirsty little sheath. then i finished with 2 coats of Obenauf's wax and set it outside in the cold Orlando, Florida sun to set in. so here are the pics before and after of my first CRK.

here it is after the treatment

The knife itself as i said i really love the quality. the only "issue" i might have, is that i can not find a single spot on the spine of the knife that is sharp enough to strike a ferro rod. not a deal breaker, but something i like in my knives. Just my taste. It has very comfortable thumb grooves on the spine and a exposed tang behind the scales in case you want to batton that way.. Nice hollow grind also.

The thing I know nothing about is the steel. I have knives in s30N and 440c, vg10 and spgs from fallknive... but this one is made of sn35vn??? any ideas on that?

thanks and glad to be aboard with my first CRK

 

[gundude73]

i really like the "after" sheath!

and CPM S35VN is an upgraded S30V form what i understand. it should also sharpen easier than standard S30V. great choice!

 

[RussB]

Nice little knife you have there, and the sheath looks much improved by the oiling job:thumbup:

 

[Morrow]

The sheath looks so much better. Sweet knife too.

 

[arijer]

Thanks all,

the sheath feels a lot better in the hand now. not sure that it really needed it though. My understanding is that its more for weatherproofing, it does not really help shelf life, does it?

now i am waiting impatiently on my folders. What a expensive hobby

 

[prime77]

Great job on the sheath. It really turned out nice.

 

[peppercorn]

Congrats on the CRKs, the sheath looks great!

 

[ZippoThisKnifeThat]

I love the looks of the Nyala, but can't justify buying one for I don't have any use for it...BUT I still want one. lol

Anyhow that sheath looks far classier and congrats on the series of CRKs you have acquired/acquiring!

As far as CPM-S35VN...this is a quote directly from Blade Magazine.

""CPM-S35VN is Crucible's newest cutlery steel and is poised to dislodge S30V and CPM-154 from atop the hot steel chart....Chris Reeve of Chris Reeve Knives also had a hand in helping the company develop S35VN. "Crucible had begun working on S30V and S35VN as early as 2000", he explained "When we settled on the final version of S30V, I challenged Crucible to come up with an improved version of S30V within two years waiting in the wings. Crucible agreed."....It was not until 2008, Reeve noted, that he convinced Crucible to get him a sample.""

"Reeve said he found it to be tougher, polish and machine better, and have excellent edge retention. Reeve is already selling a kitchen knife [Sikayo] and the Nyala using the newest CPM, so do not be surprised if he moves his other models in this direction."


phew that was the most I have ever typed here on BladeForums....hope this helps and is insightful to others looking on at this new CPM.

 

[Professor]

Nah, not too expensive a hobby. Think about classic car collectors, or folks who spend $500 on single golf clubs...

Your CRK's will be in use and tickin' long after other hobbies' objects of affection have lost their allure.

Professor.

 

[arijer]

Nah, not too expensive a hobby. Think about classic car collectors, or folks who spend $500 on single golf clubs...

Your CRK's will be in use and tickin' long after other hobbies' objects of affection have lost their allure.

Professor.

Very true, except my fishing hobby is even more expensive then this. factor in the top shelf reels and then the out of the country fishing trips and it gets expensive...

but hey i get pictures like this

Very true on the knives, its on of my few hobbies that i can say i use every day. right now until my CRK comes in i use my spyderco bradley and it gets used every day. opening boxes, letters, packages to cooking or food prep kind of stuff. even in a restaurant, you cant believe the crapy knives they give you even in a place like Ruth Chris or New York Prime.

thanks guys and as i said glad to be aboard. I think this knife will be a user real fast.

hope to post a review soon.

 

[marthinus]

I love the darker sheath and congrats on a very fine knife!