New CRK Owner: First Time

five.

five.

Joined
Nov 18, 2010
Messages
369
I have a Small Sebenza Insingo on the way via the exchange. I can't wait. I will post pics as soon as it arrives.

In the mean time, I want to buy some grease and a small CRK pouch. I have looked online at several places, but haven't seen anywhere that had both in stock.

Is the CRK fluorinated grease really necessary? For my G23 I have some WeaponShield (by Steel Shield Tech), would that work ok?

I am also on the lookout for a sharpener. I did some searches on the forum and it seemed the best one in my price range is the Spyderco Sharpmaker. I am a little worried about this review on Amazon.com, can I get some thoughts on it. Has there been a reduced QA recently? I am pretty much a knife newb, as far as nice knives go. Always just carried beaters. About the only time it ever got sharpened when I would go to the local B&M gun store occasionally.
 
You can buy both the grease and pouch directly from Chris Reeve Knives.
I recommend the Sharpmaker. I haven't heard any negative feedback about that sharpening system as in that Amazon review. i think it's simple to use and almost fool proof.
As far as the grease the CRK Fluorinated grease isn't a must have. Sometimes I use gun lubes on my CRK's and the knife is even more smooth but the CRK grease will last longer.
Congrats on the knife man. Let us know what you think once you have had some time with it.
 
Congrats on the Insingo, I love mine! I would reccomend the sharpmaker, it works great and is easy to use and maintain.
 
BBQ BOY said:
You can buy both the grease and pouch directly from Chris Reeve Knives.
I recommend the Sharpmaker. I haven't heard any negative feedback about that sharpening system as in that Amazon review. i think it's simple to use and almost fool proof.
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+1.

I've never heard anything negative coming from someone who actually knows how to properly use the system. :confused:

All I've ever heard has been nothing but positive. Which I agree with.
It works great for touch up's and keeping a sharp edge.

Don't be put off by one bad review. Check out all the other positive one's.


Congrads on your first Chris Reeve knife.

It will most definitely not be your last. ;)
 
CRK grease isn't necessary, just nice.

I haven't tried the lube you mention, but one benefit of the Seb is it's easy to disassemble, so try it and determine for yourself if it's good :)

As for the Sharpmaker, there are some problems that pop up here and there. In terms of design, it can be hard to reprofile an edge, but once you're there, it's very easy to resharpen and maintain. There are also threads about the rods coming curved (not straight) and with bumps, but if that happens, a call to Spyderco is all it takes to sort it out.
 
I just bought a sharpmaker this week. I did some research and almost everything I heard about it was positive.
 
I bought my sharpmaker a month after the gentleman in the review. There is nothing wrong with the sharpmaker it is a fine sharpener. I can sharpen my good knives to the point that they will tree-top hair (float the blade above my skin and they will still cut hairs as they pass over the cutting edge).

The gentleman in the review owned an older sharpmaker, the older ones were set up to sharpen at 25 and 20 degrees per side. He said he used the old one alot, which means the edge profiles on his knives were 20 degree primary and 25 degree microbevel. Fast forward to 2008 when he buys his new sharpmaker, which now is set up for 20 and 15 degrees per side. Now at the 15 degree setting, he is trying to take down the shoulder of the primary edge grind. This is an enormous task. He finds himself getting nowhere fast, switches to using the points of the coarse triangles (the fastest way to remove steel), still not getting sharp so he starts to really bear down, beating the hell out of the sharpening triangles.

This is of course an educated guess on my part, but I'd bet more than a quarter I am pretty close to right.

Fear not, the sharpmaker is great. Oh, and Spyderco has great customer service, so if you really had a problem with a triangle disintegrating like that or something they would take care of you.

ThumperACC
 
Thanks for all of the positive feedback on the sharpmaker.

Any thoughts on the extra stones available: diamond, medium, ultrafine, and fine. Are they necessary? (I'm a newb at sharpening, plan to watch a few youtube videos.)
 
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As long as your knives dont get completely dull you can manage just fine with medium/fine. Now if you like getting your blades laser sharp with a shiny edge (not practical but feels great) than get the UF rods as well. Honestly I think its a worthy investment to get all the rods including diamond because you just never know and you can always use the rods as benchstones with the sharpmaker if needed.

The CRK lube is amazing. I went from using oil like 3-1 to CRK lube and it makes the knife feel even more tight and solid as well as smooth as hell. Other lubes work just fine too so its more of a luxury but I still like it alot.
 
Finally got around to shooting some pictures. I have to be honest. I have never held any other really expensive brands. I have a few cheapos to compare it to and it just blows me away. It is so stout and solid. I almost think that it is a fixed blade. No worries at all when using it that it is going to close on me. I am just so happy and pleased that I pulled the trigger. I just open it and admire it all the time. I am thinking that I will switch all of the blue pieces over to silver ones. I called CRK and got a quote on that.

The only concern I have, if I tap the rear of the knife with my finger, where the lanyard snap goes, I can hear an audible metallic/hollow sound. Is that the sound of the lanyard snap? If I remove that, will the noise go away?

Onto the pictures:
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In Action:
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Mismatched slabs:
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You better remove the lanyard pin before you lose it. that is the sound that you are hearing. The pin will fall out and only stays in when a lanyard is affixed to it.
 
BBQ BOY said:
i did not know that. Mine fell out. I think.
Click to expand...

Maybe they aren't all rebated! The only ones I have in my smalls are from Plaza, special order from CRK, so maybe they're different - that could easily be...so we'd both be right... ;)
 
Some of the lanyard pins you have to take apart in order to get them out. In my experience the small sebenzas have lanyard pins with "shoulders" on them which means you must dissasemble the knife to remove them, whereas the large sebenzas usually have lanyard pins that fall out without a lanyard attached.
 
This weekend I will probably disassemble for the first time. I am pretty efficient with taking pistols apart, so I think I will be okay. However I'm a little worried about the Sebenza. I read on another forum, that the tolerances were so tight on the Sebenza, that when put back together sometimes the washers get pinched and the alignment gets off.

Is that really a concern? Or should I just follow the official instructions and I will be okay?
 
I just got my sharpmaker last night and got my heavily abused griptilian to shaving sharp in 5 minutes tops. It is incredibly easy to use. Sharpening free hand I can eventually get shaving sharp, but it takes more like 15 minutes at least, and the edge is not nearly as uniform as it is with the sharpmaker. The uniformity of the edge is the main reason I bought it.
 
five. said:
This weekend I will probably disassemble for the first time. I am pretty efficient with taking pistols apart, so I think I will be okay. However I'm a little worried about the Sebenza. I read on another forum, that the tolerances were so tight on the Sebenza, that when put back together sometimes the washers get pinched and the alignment gets off.

Is that really a concern? Or should I just follow the official instructions and I will be okay?
Click to expand...

The "official" instructions will prevent washer pinch. :thumbup:
 
Am I the only one that loosens up the 2 handle screws a little bit to get the blade and washers in? I'm not too sure why this isn't recommended.
 
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