should I or shouldn't I ????

4thpoint said:
You said you like Spyderco. Just think of all the Sprint run Spydies you can get not buying that CR.:)
But ... if you can afford the CR, get it.
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That's exactly what happens when I think about it, I can get 3 or 4 Spydies/Benchmades/Protechs, I have to get a CRK though, I haven't seen many people who dislike the CR
 
tonymp said:
That's exactly what happens when I think about it, I can get 3 or 4 Spydies/Benchmades/Protechs, I have to get a CRK though, I haven't seen many people who dislike the CR
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It’s been said so many times and it’s true: no one can make this decision for you. The only real solution is to buy one and try it for yourself. Buy here on the Exchange. There are plenty of decent deals and you likely won’t lose more than a few bucks if you decide to resell it. Even so, it will be a few dollars well spent for the experience.

I recommend carrying it some though. I was not initially impressed with a Sebenza but I came to appreciate it more once I actually carried and used one. Now CRKs are what I carry most.

In the end it’s still mostly a pride of ownership thing. Functionally my CRKs aren’t really doing anything that a Benchmade, ZT, Spyderco, etc. can’t do.
 
OP - I see you got the itch and there is no way to get it off other than buy a Sebenza. Same thing happened to me so I had to buy a large Sebenza. Turned out not for me, so I sold it (and it is the only one or two knives that I actually did not get much loss of $$).

Now so many people are saying good things about it, the itch is coming back to me :eek:
 
I own a few CR I obtained over the years. They are well built knives with an outstanding warranty and free servicing and 'spa' treatment when things wear down. All three of mine came with perfect blade-centering and high-quality craftsmanship. It takes someone who is really interested in the hobby to appreciate them. There was a time when they were as close to custom as you would find and the litmus test against which other manufacturers were judged. But I think a lot of manufacturers are catching up to the standard, but that's just my two cents. The only thing that has kept me from acquiring another model is lack of new design or blades. I have a standard sebenza w micarta inlays, an Umnumzaan, and a large Sebenza Insingo. I like the Insingo blade the best. But I don't generally collect copies of the same knife so never had an interest in getting another copy with different scales like a lot of CR collectors do..IMO the one biggest drawback of CR as a brand is lack of diversity and new design offerings. I have no further interest in CR at this point as there isnt anything new for me to get excited about. Other than that, you WILL obtain a near flawless knife in fit and function. If that's what you want, go for it. You won't be disappointed. There are better looking knives, more interesting knives etc..., but CR is still at the top in terms of production manufacturers when it comes to quality control and engineering.

As far as price, are you paying a premium for the name? Yes and no. Price is determined to a great extent by what the market will tolerate. CR knives are in demand and sought after by collectors and enthusiasts and therefore will command a high MSRP. If that changes and demand lags and people go elsewhere, the price will go down. That's just the way things work. But I don't see that happening any time soon unless QC started to slip or something.

Do some collectors go a bit too far when they hype the knives up? Yeah. Again IMO. Despite being a finely made product that screams quality, it's still just a knife that cuts things. It doesn't levitate or deflect 50 caliber shells or surround the user with a force field. With that being said some people that have never even held a CR or owned one will trash the knives as overpriced and overrated. Both are extremes of opinions.

As far as the argument that you can buy four good knives for the price of one CR, I wouldn't use that reasoning. If you thought about an expensive acquisition for a while and instead opted for the four knives you still won't have the knife you spent so much time pondering and will probably still be thinking about it and will eventually end up buying it anyways down the road. You should know by now how knife addiction works..lol

Finally, CR knives in good condition can score pretty close to full price on the secondary market. If you do get one and have second thoughts, just sell it.

Final thoughts--great knife. Superb craftsmanship. Kind of bland styling. Wish they would add new designs, add a flipper or balisong etc...

Sorry for the book. Always thought about composing my thoughts on CR and seemed like an opportune time to do so. Good luck with the decision.
 
I'm a lefty.
Even though I appreciate the fact that certain companies make knives for us. I decided that I'd rather skip over CRK & other high-end production companies. Save a bit more, and buy a custom lefty. I have zero regrets, and four (with 2 more on the way) fantastic knives that will get passed down someday.

Just food for thought.
 
NorthernSouthpaw said:
I'm a lefty.
Even though I appreciate the fact that certain companies make knives for us. I decided that I'd rather skip over CRK & other high-end production companies. Save a bit more, and buy a custom lefty. I have zero regrets, and four (with 2 more on the way) fantastic knives that will get passed down someday.

Just food for thought.
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what kind of custom knives have you bought?
 
BubbaGump said:
I own a few CR I obtained over the years. They are well built knives with an outstanding warranty and free servicing and 'spa' treatment when things wear down. All three of mine came with perfect blade-centering and high-quality craftsmanship. It takes someone who is really interested in the hobby to appreciate them. There was a time when they were as close to custom as you would find and the litmus test against which other manufacturers were judged. But I think a lot of manufacturers are catching up to the standard, but that's just my two cents. The only thing that has kept me from acquiring another model is lack of new design or blades. I have a standard sebenza w micarta inlays, an Umnumzaan, and a large Sebenza Insingo. I like the Insingo blade the best. But I don't generally collect copies of the same knife so never had an interest in getting another copy with different scales like a lot of CR collectors do..IMO the one biggest drawback of CR as a brand is lack of diversity and new design offerings. I have no further interest in CR at this point as there isnt anything new for me to get excited about. Other than that, you WILL obtain a near flawless knife in fit and function. If that's what you want, go for it. You won't be disappointed. There are better looking knives, more interesting knives etc..., but CR is still at the top in terms of production manufacturers when it comes to quality control and engineering.

As far as price, are you paying a premium for the name? Yes and no. Price is determined to a great extent by what the market will tolerate. CR knives are in demand and sought after by collectors and enthusiasts and therefore will command a high MSRP. If that changes and demand lags and people go elsewhere, the price will go down. That's just the way things work. But I don't see that happening any time soon unless QC started to slip or something.

Do some collectors go a bit too far when they hype the knives up? Yeah. Again IMO. Despite being a finely made product that screams quality, it's still just a knife that cuts things. It doesn't levitate or deflect 50 caliber shells or surround the user with a force field. With that being said some people that have never even held a CR or owned one will trash the knives as overpriced and overrated. Both are extremes of opinions.

As far as the argument that you can buy four good knives for the price of one CR, I wouldn't use that reasoning. If you thought about an expensive acquisition for a while and instead opted for the four knives you still won't have the knife you spent so much time pondering and will probably still be thinking about it and will eventually end up buying it anyways down the road. You should know by now how knife addiction works..lol

Finally, CR knives in good condition can score pretty close to full price on the secondary market. If you do get one and have second thoughts, just sell it.

Final thoughts--great knife. Superb craftsmanship. Kind of bland styling. Wish they would add new designs, add a flipper or balisong etc...

Sorry for the book. Always thought about composing my thoughts on CR and seemed like an opportune time to do so. Good luck with the decision.
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don't worry about writing a book, I enjoy reading comments,your comment is relevant and I can tell you know what your talking about, thanks
 
Assuming you are budgeted for it, yes. You won't know unless you try, and if you don't like it, you should be able to recoup a good amount of your investment by selling it on the secondary market.
 
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CRK knives are obviously well built and high quality. I have a Startac I got directly from Wilson. I am very pleased with the knife but it falls in the "Boringly Perfect" category for me. There's nothing exciting about them, just nice solid knives. Mine mostly sits in a box and I tend to reach for an XM-18. You should definitely give it a try, for many folks it's the one.
 
Lefty here, bought a mili first for an absolutely amazing price. Only bought it because it was a lefty and I really wanted to try a framelock that was made for my dominant hand.

Liked it so much that when a great deal for a sebenza came up (well used secondhand) "I figured....why not, I can always sell it again"

Well I'm not selling it. In fact I liked it so much that I went looking for a good deal on a small lefty.

As for the knives themselves....

There are knives that get a 10 in edge holding
There are knives that get a 10 in weight.
There are knives that get a 10 in Ergonomics
There are knives that get a 10 in price/performance
There are knives that get a 10 in comfort in the pocket
There are knives that get a 10 in construction
etc etc

The Sebenza pretty much gets an 8 in ALL those catagories. It's pretty much the best middle of the road knife I've ever seen. It won't outslice some spyderco's, it won't be stronger than some Cold Steel knives, It doesn't have the fance bearing systems of some ZT's.

But being consistent is a category all of its own that tends to win the race a lot of times.

Some of the best olympic medallists are the ones that can pump out consistent performances time after time after time. Even if they don't set a lot of world records in terms of speed etc.

I've found the Sebenza to be pretty much the best all-round folder I've encountered. And the fact that it comes in left hand version...just sealed the deal for me.
 
sharp_edge said:
OP - I see you got the itch and there is no way to get it off other than buy a Sebenza. Same thing happened to me so I had to buy a large Sebenza. Turned out not for me, so I sold it (and it is the only one or two knives that I actually did not get much loss of $$).

Now so many people are saying good things about it, the itch is coming back to me :eek:
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You need to explore the reason that you got rid of it in the first place because they may have different characteristics such as measurements or slab thickness but I believe the overall feeling is the same.
 
HOKIE_FAN said:
CRK knives are obviously well built and high quality. I have a Startac I got directly from Wilson. I am very pleased with the knife but it falls in the "Boringly Perfect" category for me. There's nothing exciting about them, just nice solid knives. Mine mostly sits in a box and I tend to reach for an XM-18. You should definitely give it a try, for many folks it's the one.
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A good way of putting it. The plain Sebenzas are definitely low key and bare bones in the styling dept. Just looking at them one would wonder what all the fuss is about as they look so minimalist and have kind of a box-cutter vibe to the handles. I think the Umnumzaan has the most character in terms of styling. Some of the knives with inlays do look very interesting though. I admit I hardly ever use my CR and they rarely get pocket time but I wouldn't part with them in my collection unless I needed the money. I still reach for my Benchmade, Spyderco or ZT the most.
 
HOKIE_FAN said:
CRK knives are obviously well built and high quality. I have a Startac I got directly from Wilson. I am very pleased with the knife but it falls in the "Boringly Perfect" category for me. There's nothing exciting about them, just nice solid knives. Mine mostly sits in a box and I tend to reach for an XM-18. You should definitely give it a try, for many folks it's the one.
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Boringly perfect , that sums it for me as well. There are other brands that appeal to me much more. CRK's are just so blah to me.

OP , did you order one yet? It's not like you're buying a house. It's just a knife. Live a little and pull the trigger already. You can sell it and recoup most of your money if you decide it's not for you.
 
Wolverine666 said:
Boringly perfect , that sums it for me as well. There are other brands that appeal to me much more. CRK's are just so blah to me.

OP , did you order one yet? It's not like you're buying a house. It's just a knife. Live a little and pull the trigger already. You can sell it and recoup most of your money if you decide it's not for you.
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Yes sir, I'm ordering one next week, I just got a left-handed Protech TR3 auto so I have to wait just a bit, I guess I have about 2 weeks of looking at pictures and watching videos,lol
 
Pull the trigger.
As a knife 'addict', I think you're required to work through the "should I get a CRK" issue at some point in your adventure.
I have several, small Seb 21 is permanently in my pocket, would recommend highly.
 
tonymp said:
Yes sir, I'm ordering one next week, I just got a left-handed Protech TR3 auto so I have to wait just a bit, I guess I have about 2 weeks of looking at pictures and watching videos,lol
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Nice. Deciding , researching and anticipation are all part of the fun.
 
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