New MIM clip now available from CRK

I got mine earlier this week. So far, I like it. It carries flatter than the original, which I appreciate on broken in knives. I don’t think I’d switch the original out on a new knife as I use the clip to get leverage.

I’m definitely getting a second for my other 31, but I’ll keep the originals on my older sebbies.
 

Mine finally arrived today after a 4 day shipping delay while paying extra for Priority shipping. :rolleyes: (obviously not CRK's fault, but still annoying)

Would not fit either of my Inkosis initially. I ended up taking it to a stone to very slightly narrow it, probably less than 10 seconds per side on the edge of an old Arkansas stone. I was able to get it started after that and seat it with the screw. Also had to pry it back out and very gently bend it, but had no issues with those things. In contrast to this, I have a friend who bought one and he had no problem with fitment.

Overall I think it looks good, the finish matches well, and it's slightly more comfortable in hand than the old clip. The retention/ease of removal is about on par with the old clip too. I think what remains to be seen is the long term durability of these and I'm slightly disappointed that the fitment wasn't better from a company that prides itself on tolerances.
 
My glass blasted one dropped right in with no issues.

The sand blasted one required to corners to be broken slightly to give it a lead in. But this makes sense - sand blasting is going to be more agressive and peen the surface which will dimensionaly enlarge the part.

Still I wouldn't hold that on the fact it needs a little assistance as the parts are likely manually blasted and media is probably changed causing slight inconsistencies with the surface finish. I see this quite a bit in the mfg world.
 
badmatt said:
My glass blasted one dropped right in with no issues.

The sand blasted one required to corners to be broken slightly to give it a lead in. But this makes sense - sand blasting is going to be more agressive and peen the surface which will dimensionaly enlarge the part.

Still I wouldn't hold that on the fact it needs a little assistance as the parts are likely manually blasted and media is probably changed causing slight inconsistencies with the surface finish. I see this quite a bit in the mfg world.
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I had a similar thought about the blasting process possibly causing inconsistency in the fitment, especially with trying to keep tolerances that tight.
 
After just a few days of carry and use my finish is already wearing down and getting dirty enough to match this crusty old Seb much better than it initially did. I'm still digging the new clip and very satisfied with it.

edit to request a favor: If anyone here is willing to invite me to the Facebook B/S/T group please shoot me a message. I've been a member in good standing here since 2009 and I have 96 confirmed deals on Reddit but I keep getting rejected because I managed to avoid Facebook until October so my account is too new.

F0WDuHk.jpeg
 
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dannyp said:
I had a similar thought about the blasting process possibly causing inconsistency in the fitment, especially with trying to keep tolerances that tight.
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I had a really difficult time getting my sandblasted clip in. I almost gave up. Id imagine the novice CRK owner would’ve given up lol but I got it in and it’s awesome, I love it, the low profile nature of the clip is appreciated greatly.

IMG_2707.jpeg
 
Finally got around to installing mine and while I love how they look and felt in hand when using the knife I put the old clip back on for one big reason. The MIM clip did not like going in and out of my pocket. I wear carhartts and heavy denim jeans with thick pocket seams and I could not find a sweet spot as far as adjustment. Adjusting it to slide in the pocket meant the clip wasn’t touching the scale and had about and 1/8 gap. Adjusting it to close the gap meant I couldn’t slide it in easily.

I will say they were easy to adjust. They didnt explode when I bent them trying to find the right tension so thats a win for MIM I guess?

Also installation went easy as well. They were super tight and wouldn’t snap in the cutout with finger tension but all I did was line it up straight and let the screw do the work. It seated perfectly.

I could probably really fine tune adjust them to make it work. And really the only “issue” was aesthetics. I hated seeing that clip not touching the scale. But the old clips are already perfect in that regard and I never thought they looked bad to begin with.
 
I have a number of knives with clips similar in design to what comes on CR knives and I have no issues with them. But I decided that my Inkosi deserved better so I got it a Lynch flat top clip. Honestly, I wasn't aware of CR's MIM clip being available. I have the curved version coming for my 'Zaan.
 
brownshoe said:
That’s because the Hawks let Boker use it for a $50 Grip-lok collaboration. It no longer has cachet.
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You’ve clearly never seen the secondary market on them. Also it was the same style clip. Nowhere near as refined as the crk version.
 
Jdottinger said:
You’ve clearly never seen the secondary market on them. Also it was the same style clip. Nowhere near as refined as the crk version.
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All I know is the Hawk clip was readily and exclusively available from CRK. & then it was not.

The Ti-lock was discontinued and the CRK clip became limited availability at the same time as when the clip appeared on the Boker Grip-lok which was originally released with a more traditional clip.

My Boker clip is not identical to the CRK version on my Ti-lock but is essentially the same design. CRK doesn’t list the Hawk clip anymore as a CRK product on their site.

Nick Shabazz hated it, that must be why CRK pulled it🙂

The CRK clip ran ~$70, the Boker knife cost about the same and you got a knife with the clip🙂
 
I see the appeal of the new clip. There's an argument from ergonomics. The lower profile is perhaps less likely to snag, bend or be ejected from the pocket. Over time, it may leave fewer scratches in your car door.

For me, I just can't get on board with the aesthetics. Not because it's unattractive, but because it's not within the established, classical Sebenza tradition. It's like when people change the thumb studs. Yeah, it may be better, but it ain't right.
 
I just got my MIM clip and I have to say I like it. It's a different aesthetic for sure, and I wasn't sure about the cutout on the clip, but it actually looks pretty cool when it's clipped to my pocket. Pleasantly surprised.

It was difficult to get seated properly the first time, but it came out easily enough. I removed it to adjust the tension slightly and it went back in better the second time around. I was being extra careful, just because the clip seems so thin, but it hasn't been an issue for me at all so far. Overall I think I'll stick with the MIM clip on my small Inkosi. It's less likely to snag, looks good and seems to take and hold a nice tension.
 
After almost losing my 31 the other day due to the factory clip being too loose and it slipping out of my pocket, I ordered one of these to give it a try. Hopefully this will work better. The Glassblasted CRK's seem to slip out of the pocket easier than the original blast.
 
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