Poll: Would you like to see a "budget" line of folding CRK knives? Please read notes.

Would you like to see a budget or officially licensed line of CRK folders?

  • Yes! I would be interested in a budget, or officially licensed line of CRK folder

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No! I would like CRK production or remain in-house at high levels of quality, regardless of price.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
There's plenty of brand out there for someone who wants a budget knife, leave CRK name alone. It's known for quality knives, and should stay that way.
 
No, I don't see that working out at all. CRK makes the Wilson knives, I've seen a few Reeve designed knives in Tactical Knives articles, can't remember the name of the company, that used Chris's designs or input. These were folders, possibly from an Italian maker. The Yarborough/Green Beret has been made by other companies, or by CRK for these companies, again, I don't have the name. The influence is obvious and Bill and Chris were credited with the design. Then you have the Harsey designed, I believe, Gerber fixed blade that looks just like the GB. Of course, I am not including the Schrade knockoffs that have become so prevalent recently. High quality materials were used in all "collaborations" except the Gerber, and I'm not sure if that was 154CM. If it was, then it may have been made here by Gerber, or contracted out. I like the looks of the Startac and Starbenza, or whatever they're called, but other then the Wilson version of the Umnumzaan, I don't see them ending up in my collection any time soon. Even the Gerber was not what I'd call an economy line piece.
 
I voted "NO" and will stick by it. Half the fun in buying a CRK is knowing that it has that exclusivity on top of the highest tolerances known to man that a folding knife can have. A budget line would ruin the image much like other companies who have done this and in my opinion would just bring down the value both on the primary and secondary market.

If any of ya'll have seen the near hour long video from nutnfancy he describes the "douchebag factor" of owning a Sebenza :cool: Basically it's like someone pulling out that $15 no-name knife and then there's the ALMIGHTY Sebenza which has that "wow" or as nutnfancy puts it the "douchebag" factor. It's a nice feeling when you pull out a CRK and someone recognizes it and/or appreciates the quality of it. Anyone familiar with the gun/knife world has at least heard of CRK and would be impressed with it.

If the budget line were to ever happen I think Mr. Reeve would have to use a pseudonym for a makers name to differentiate between the two lineups. Kind of how there's Kershaw and ZT. If someone says ZT you automatically think quality, tough, good blade steel, lockup, tank, etc...when I hear Kershaw I think of all the folders at Walmart and Academy for $40 or less that fill up the shelves.
 
Wait, are you asking whether they should cheapen the quality of their current knives? Or should they create a whole separate line of knives that would be lesser quality and made by someone else?

Also, it wasn't specified how much cheaper the knives would be. ~$200-250 knives I'd say yes. ~$50-100 I'd say no.
 
IIRC this has already happened, CRKT made a batch of budget Sebenzas and Reeve was so disgusted that he ordered them destroyed.

I think there are a few still out there.
 
While I don't own a Chris Reeve knife (and probably never will, just not what I want and need in a knife) lemme add my opinion:

I think it wouldn't work. The main reason those knives are so expensive aren't exotic materials, which you could exchange for lesser materials in a "budget" line.
Its the workmanship, the design, and the tight tolerances that define a Chris Reeve. The <200$ market is full of great knives, to compete with them you would have to compromise somewhere in that area, and that is something that could only hurt the Chris Reeve brand IMHO.

I would love to see a collaboration knife, for a little more affordable price. Maybe even with ZT, the Hinderer collabs turned out great.
 
No way!

The Sebenza is already a fairly plane knife, by todays "tactical" standards anyways, so I don't see what the appeal would be if it wasn't perfectly executed.
 
CJZ said:
IIRC this has already happened, CRKT made a batch of budget Sebenzas and Reeve was so disgusted that he ordered them destroyed.

I think there are a few still out there.
Click to expand...

So were the CRKT "Sebenzas" an officially endorsed product by CRK at the time? Was Chris Reeve involved in the release of those?
 
CJZ said:
IIRC this has already happened, CRKT made a batch of budget Sebenzas and Reeve was so disgusted that he ordered them destroyed.

I think there are a few still out there.
Click to expand...

Did you not see post #18 :p
 
Ken44 said:
Did you not see post #18 :p
Click to expand...

Yeah I did. I guess I interpreted it wrong. I was thinking they were doing this without permission, and CRK sued them or something. I didn't realize it was an attempt to mass produce cheapo Sebbies.
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but this is kind of a ridiculous poll.

I wish CRK would ramp up with more expensive add ons..ie, steels and new blade designs etc..
 
lemmuhj said:
Don't take this the wrong way, but this is kind of a ridiculous poll.

I wish CRK would ramp up with more expensive add ons..ie, steels and new blade designs etc..
Click to expand...

No offense taken. I am just curious about what the community thinks, I am not promoting any idea. So far I find the responses interesting to me personally. Hopefully others think so too, or skip if they don't.
 
One interesting thing is that this poll achieved the most votes in the shortest length of time (compared to the two others polls I put on the board), which shows how contentious this issue is. I expected 100% against the idea, but surprisingly there is support for the idea of a less expensive line.....so there you go.....I learned something about the people who browse this forum. 1 in 10 of them (of those that chose to vote) are not "quality at all costs" type of people and might want something more affordable from the great minds at CRK. Maybe Chris Reeve was not off-base in his thinking back when he allowed the CRKT "Sebenza" knock-off line, but chose the wrong folks or specs to deal with.

I also think there is a general human trait that when you are fortunate enough to afford a relatively expensive item, you want to keep that price high to maintain that item as a status symbol and "keep out the riff-raff" so to speak. Kinda like Rolex's etc. There may be more "exclusivity" at work with the CRK brand than I originally thought. Maybe Nutnfancy is right. I might be a douche! :eek::D
 
As has been mentioned before in this thread, I'd buy another knife if I was looking for lower price with cheaper materials, so my answer is no, I have a Sebenza because of my expectations for the knife and CRK as a company and that knife meets those expectations even at that price point.
 
I dont think a "budget" line would be a good idea, however they could do like lionstseel and use aluminum instead of titanium on some models. This way you would be getting the same quality at a slightly lower price.
 
Lone_Wolfe said:
There's plenty of brand out there for someone who wants a budget knife, leave CRK name alone. It's known for quality knives, and should stay that way.
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I voted a large "NO" and this is largly the reason why. There are many, many, many great knives out there for as little as a literal fraction of what a CRK costs. The same can be said for watches, cars, guns, or what ever, you name it. I do think one should buy the best they can afford but also what one can afford. I have and carry many nice knives, I have nice watches and lots of cool gear and toys, but I don't have that Brabus Mercedes I've been lusting after because I can't afford it. :p On that theme, the Brabus Smart is a fine example of why you just don't try to mess with a brand by making it "more accessible" as it generally fails in its intended endeavours. I'll never buy a Brabus Smart and I'll never buy a CRK mady by anyone other than CRK. :)

There is also the lingering issue of the absolute disaster that happened when this was tried before. The knife CRKT produced for CRK was pure sewage and the whole project was given a big old "stop and no" by Chris Reeve. The company/factory used to make those knives then turned round and just released them anyway behind CRK's back. I can buy one of those "CRKT Sebenzas" in a shop today in Taiwan (don't even bother asking me to get one, it's not happening) and there were a lot more than "just a couple that went out to dealers" as I keep hearing and that is for sure. I don't see CRK even thinking about anything like that again and neither they bloody well should.
 
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