Questions for those familiar with the CRKT Sting Dagger...

PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Certainly, it's a case of "to each their own".

Me, personally, I want to trust that when the website I order from states that a knife is made in Taiwan, and the product's box states made in Taiwan... That it actually is made in Taiwan 😔

Ymmv, but in my eyes, this ain't good... Especially when the knife itself has no country of origin markings whatsoever 😠

I believe we, as paying customers/consumers, should be able to trust the specifications that the manufacturers say they are. Whether it's steel grade, hardness range, handle material, or country of origin... I should be able to feel comfortable trusting.
I currently own only a few CRKT products, including one of their USA knives that TOPS made under contract for them...
Well, I now know that this Sting dagger is my last CRKT purchase.
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Let's see what they respond to your email.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I had been looking into purchasing a CRKT Sting Dagger.
It was designed by A.G. Russell, with the CRKT version being a licensed copy of it.
AG Russell had them made years ago by the Wingen/Othello company in Solingen Germany, with these CRKT renditions being made in Asia.

That's where my questions comes into play... While searching online for one, I noticed most vendors had them listed as being a made in China product, while a couple vendors had them listed as being made in Taiwan.

I decided to order one, (which I received today), from a very reputable online vendor, one that had the knife listed as "made in Taiwan".

When I looked at the box label, it does read Taiwan.
But, nowhere on the knife itself do I see a marking telling it's country of origin.

So... Were these CRKT Sting Daggers being made in Taiwan all along, with the made in China listings simply being a common mistake?
Or, were these knives being made in China, and then switched to having them made in Taiwan, (or maybe vice versa)?
Also, if these have been made in both countries, is there any way of telling which is China made and Taiwan made, (other than the box label)?
In other words, would one find subtle differences between them?

I purposely sought out to buy it from a vendor that had it listed as "made in Taiwan", and at least as far as the box label states, I got what I wanted.View attachment 1828635View attachment 1828636

Here's a picture I found online of an original AG Russell Sting, (which were made in Solingen Germany), and it's is a beauty!
While the CRKT version is nowhere near as finely finished as the original, it does well at closely following the original knife's design 👍

View attachment 1828644
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You should probably get a commission from someone after single-handedly causing a run on CKRT knives. :) I had no idea that any of them were made in Taiwan. It's very puzzling that they wouldn't be more specific about that, especially a knife company based in the US, where they would know that distinction is a factor in sales. The only reason for not being more specific is that there is factory drift between the two countries that they don't want to get caught out by, with someone nailing them with a gotcha video on YouTube. There are some companies that seem to have a handle on how things get done no matter where their factory is (like Spyderco or Boker), but I'd definitely prefer a Taiwan made knife over one made in Mainland China, when it comes to brands that aren't indigenous to China.
 
The Grendels said:
You should probably get a commission from someone after single-handedly causing a run on CKRT knives. :) I had no idea that any of them were made in Taiwan. It's very puzzling that they wouldn't be more specific about that, especially a knife company based in the US, where they would know that distinction is a factor in sales. The only reason for not being more specific is that there is factory drift between the two countries that they don't want to get caught out by, with someone nailing them with a gotcha video on YouTube. There are some companies that seem to have a handle on how things get done no matter where their factory is (like Spyderco or Boker), but I'd definitely prefer a Taiwan made knife over one made in Mainland China, when it comes to brands that aren't indigenous to China.
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For people reading the entire thread, I think maybe there will likely be more folks shying away from them, than buying them.
Seems they are not being totally open, or even truthful, about where their knives are being made.

I hope that their not marking the knife at all with any country of origin, doesn't become the norm with other manufacturers.
 
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View attachment 1829837
The CRKT Sting was licensed from the original A.G. Russell Sting. The original Sting 1 was made in Germany. The special run of Sting 3’s (pictured) that they did last year were made in Taiwan. It’s a beautiful, well made knife. If you like the CRKT, the AGR raises the bar…if you can find one.

Search for “AG Russell Sting Knives” and there are great videos on YouTube from AGR about their history.
 
At one time A.G. Russell also had this Sting model made by Tak Fukuta in Seki Japan. Fukuta did all of AGR's Seki knives.
nnk5rx.jpg
 
KenHash said:
At one time A.G. Russell also had this Sting model made by Tak Fukuta in Seki Japan. Fukuta did all of AGR's Seki knives.
nnk5rx.jpg
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Yes, Tak Fakuta was known to make some nice knives, a lot of his work done for others under contract.
I have a few Parker Cut Co knives that may have been done by Tak. This Tanto may be one of them...

20190413-142910.jpg
 
As far as I have been able to determine, Parker contracted with 5 knife makers in Seki,
The folders were done by Seizo Imai and eventually Parker went into a joint venture factory
in Seki.
The fixed blades were made by Tak Fukuta, Ichiro Hattori, Hiro Masui ("Hiro"/IC Cut) and G.Sakai.
Looking at that Tanto I'd say it was made by Tak Fukuta or G.Sakai.
 
KenHash said:
As far as I have been able to determine, Parker contracted with 5 knife makers in Seki,
The folders were done by Seizo Imai and eventually Parker went into a joint venture factory
in Seki.
The fixed blades were made by Tak Fukuta, Ichiro Hattori, Hiro Masui ("Hiro"/IC Cut) and G.Sakai.
Looking at that Tanto I'd say it was made by Tak Fukuta or G.Sakai.
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Thanks for your input on the matter 👍
Since you seem to have a good handle on them, maybe you can give me your input on these three Parker Cut Co Bowie knives I have, my believing to be Tak Fakuta made...

20190101-084518.jpg20180917-082320.jpg20180422-150156-1.jpg
 
As for my email to CRKT concerning questions about their Sting origin, I was hoping to get a quick response, but that hasn't happened. With the Memorial Day Holiday and all, the soonest I will get a response now, would be next week.
If they don't respond, well, nothing I can do about it, but... I will share that too if it happens.
Of course that would maybe stir someone else to contact them and ask them too, which maybe would signal to them that the questions need a good answer to avoid a spreading of doubt about their business practices... avoiding a CRKT-GATE, if you will.
We shall see 🤞
 
KenHash said:
Those were definitely done by Tak Fukuta in the early 1980s.
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Thank you for that information 👍

My first purchase of those three Parker Cutlery Company Bowie knives, was the Mother of Pearl handled one. The seller had it in unused mint condition with it's original box and it's appearance really called out to me. It's not the most expensive knife I've purchased, but it's one of my favorites. The other two were purchased from the same person on two later occasions, and were also in unused/mint condition with their original boxes.

I wound up buying a duplicate of the larger Buffalo horn handled Bowie from another seller. That one was also in unused mint condition, but was also part of a special set sold by Parker Cut Co that included the knife, leather sheath, a wood & plexiglass display case, and original boxes and paperwork.

Parker was known to offer everything from "mickey mouse" quality items, to "very nice products". These Bowie knives and my Tanto are part of the "very nice products" category 👍

Thanks again for your input on these! 👍😊👍
 
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I own, an older version of the crkt Sting, actually have it in front of me randomly as I came across this thread.

Out of the box, it didn't cut, and the tip was barely sharp.

After much work, It now barely cuts, and has a decently sharp tip.

Shitty knife, Great knife shaped prybar with a pointy tip.
 
Probably needs reprofiling. The oldest (Sting 1 and 2) were made of 440C (per A.G. Russell). Good luck reprofiling that by hand. But on a small belt sander, like the Worksharp, it is definitely doable.
 
My CRKT Sting is years old. It does not list any Country name on the blade. The one side has the CRKT name and logo. The other side is labelled STING by A.G. Russell FORGED 1050, and the number 2020 at the base of the blade. Pretty sure I purchased it when CRKT first came out with them.
 
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