Spa’d CRKs and how to know?

John Phillips

John Phillips

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Does anyone know how to tell if a Chris Reeves knife has been sent back for spa treatment just by looking at it?

The reason I ask is because I was at Blade show last year and showed one of the CRK staff members a Large 21 box elder that had a factory polished show side scale and he said he could easily remove any of the snail trails/marks on the polished side and make it look new again. Well, I was grateful and impressed to hear what they could do to make it look new again BUT I started wondering about buying CRKs moving forward and how I would know if an older knife was ever spa’d if the seller wasn’t the original owner and didn’t know the exact history.

I almost wish they would put some sort of a stamp on the inside of the knife somewhere to notify has been serviced, re-polished or re-blasted.

Anyone know how to tell just by looking at the knife?
 
I have sent many CRK's back for Spa treatment, and unless the blade surface shows signs of wear (scratches, hairlines, etc.), deep dings or scratches in the Ti scales, or a worn lanyard was left in place (but could have been user installed after the fact), there is no way to tell as far as I know.

I always ask for a reissued COA card so I can provide to a buyer for awareness if I end up selling it later. The reblast literally resotores the Ti surface to a like new condition. Curious to know if I am missing someting!
 
John Phillips said:
Does anyone know how to tell if a Chris Reeves knife has been sent back for spa treatment just by looking at it?

The reason I ask is because I was at Blade show last year and showed one of the CRK staff members a Large 21 box elder that had a factory polished show side scale and he said he could easily remove any of the snail trails/marks on the polished side and make it look new again. Well, I was grateful and impressed to hear what they could do to make it look new again BUT I started wondering about buying CRKs moving forward and how I would know if an older knife was ever spa’d if the seller wasn’t the original owner and didn’t know the exact history.

I almost wish they would put some sort of a stamp on the inside of the knife somewhere to notify has been serviced, re-polished or re-blasted.

Anyone know how to tell just by looking at the knife?
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Why does it matter if it's been through a spa treatment at the factory? I'm not criticising, just asking.
 
It certainly would be hard to tell in some circumstances and impossible with just photos.
The fact that it was, can be lost over time or consealed as one member I knew of(since banned for other problems-in his case I knew the history of the knife).
Even with slight indications, I would be reluctant to call someone out, unless I was sure. Though you always can just pass if concerned.
 
Steven65 said:
Why does it matter if it's been through a spa treatment at the factory? I'm not criticising, just asking.
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I know they are only pocket knives but collectors get pretty serious about something being all original. Think of a 68 Camaro or your favorite older car, wouldn’t you want to know if it was repainted at some point or if it had body work, it might look the same or very similar after all the work but it’s not all original from the factory.

Prices vary tremendously for all original collectible cars and it’s pretty much the same with any collectible item including knives.

If I’m spending $1,000-$6,000 on a collectible CRK knife, I’d like to know it’s all original and hasn’t been re-polished or re-anything.
 
Blues said:
If I'm spending 6K on a collectible CRK, John, I want you to come to my house and put me in shackles. 🤣
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🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Well, I’m kicking myself for passing on a Large REGULAR Night Sky two years ago at Bladeshow. He wanted right around $5,000. Kicking myself for not buying it. Who knows how long it’ll be before I even see another.
 
John Phillips said:
I know they are only pocket knives but collectors get pretty serious about something being all original. Think of a 68 Camaro or your favorite older car, wouldn’t you want to know if it was repainted at some point or if it had body work, it might look the same or very similar after all the work but it’s not all original from the factory.

Prices vary tremendously for all original collectible cars and it’s pretty much the same with any collectible item including knives.

If I’m spending $1,000-$6,000 on a collectible CRK knife, I’d like to know it’s all original and hasn’t been re-polished or re-anything.
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There's a difference of a classic car being restored elsewhere with later parts, amd the original factory running something g like titanium right back through the same process. I think an argument can be made when we're discussing factory edges vs being resharpened, even a factory resharpen makes a difference. But if the blade is in like new shape, and the handle has been spaed, that changes nothing for me as a buyer, personally.
 
Blues said:
Well, Steven, wouldn't that affect the value if it were going to be sold? I mean, I'd want to know if I was a buyer. Then you can make a decision based on all the facts. Am I wrong?
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Elliot I can understand why you would want to know that it has had a SPA treatment but I can't understand why a spa treatment would affect the value. The knife is being returned to its original new state by the factory who made it. Why should this affect the value?

John Phillips said:
I know they are only pocket knives but collectors get pretty serious about something being all original. Think of a 68 Camaro or your favorite older car, wouldn’t you want to know if it was repainted at some point or if it had body work, it might look the same or very similar after all the work but it’s not all original from the factory.

Prices vary tremendously for all original collectible cars and it’s pretty much the same with any collectible item including knives.

If I’m spending $1,000-$6,000 on a collectible CRK knife, I’d like to know it’s all original and hasn’t been re-polished or re-anything.
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With respect the car analogy does not apply.

A Sebenza that has been returned to CRK, the the original factory that made it, has not been repainted or had body work. The knife is already almost indestructible and CRK have just returned the knife back to its original condition on the same production line that made it.

I can understand why you would want to know if it has had a spa treatment but as I said to Elliot, why does that matter insofar as the value is concerned? The knife is restored to new.
 
Gotcha, Steven. Having not done it, your answer provides more info than I had previously. :cool:
 
Steven65 said:
Elliot I can understand why you would want to know that it has had a SPA treatment but I can't understand why a spa treatment would affect the value. The knife is being retired to its original new state by the factory who made it. Why should this affect the value?


With respect the car analogy does not apply.

A Sebenza that has been returned to CRK, the the original factory that made it, has not been repainted or had body work. The knife is already almost indestructible and CRK have just returned the knife back to its original condition on the same production line that made it.

I can understand why you would want to know if it has had a spa treatment but as I said to Elliot, why does that matter insofar as the value is concerned? The knife is restored to new.
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Agree to COMPETELY AND VEHEMENTLY disagree. If you think that a restored collectible item of any sort is worth the same as an original unaltered item, we simply do not have any more to discuss. Have you ever watched antique roadshow, quite literally 100% of all collectible items are worth less when restored and it doesn’t matter who did the restoration. It’s that simple.

Maybe I can put it on a different way that might help you understand. I’ll buy a used older Chris Reeve knife that is quite sought after but because it’s used I’ll pay $750 instead of $1500 that it would normally sell for in new old stock condition. I now send it back to CRK and have it made like new again for $125. Would you buy it for $1500 because that’s what it would’ve been worth in new old stock condition?

Lastly, anything restored is NOT new. It cannot claim to be new at all in any respect. Your argument is basically stating that if I buy a Corvette in 1963 and it gets in a fender bender or just needs a new paint job then I can send it back to the factory and have it restored and you would call that new???????? Restored is a category for collectible for a reason. They are not new if something or anything has been done to them, even by the original manufacturer.
 
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You'll have to work awfully long and hard to pull the wool over Steven's eyes. (That I can assure you.)

But as for retirement, yeah...it's pretty damn cool.
 
John Phillips said:
Agree to COMPETELY AND VEHEMENTLY disagree. If you think that a restored collectible item of any sort is worth the same as an original unaltered item, we simply do not have any more to discuss. Have you ever watched antique roadshow, quite literally 100% of all collectible items are worth less when restored and it doesn’t matter who did the restoration. It’s that simple.

Maybe I can put it on a different way that might help you understand. I’ll buy a used older Chris Reeve knife that is quite sought after but because it’s used I’ll pay $750 instead of $1500 that it would normally sell for in new old stock condition. I now send it back to CRK and have it made like new again for $125. Would you buy it for $1500 because that’s what it would’ve been worth in new old stock condition, it looks brand new right??? If so, you and I have a lot of business to conduct to get me to retirement earlier.
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Ok, understood.
 
I am not a big “collector” of original CRK knives or any other maker’s knives for that matter.

If I was buying a vintage CRK knife that was originally made and sharpened by Chris, I would certainly want to confirm that it was never “restored” or “Spa-treated” by someone else to determine an appropriate value. If the seller, knew of, and refused to disclose that important information, I would view that omission to be implied fraud. Exact and true provenance is the most important part of valuing any collectible market.

Phil
 
The condition itself can be part of the rarety of the knife. 26+or- years ago far less CRK knives were made. Those that made it through in prestine condition far far less. Those that were not totally beat up( being a rather expensive knife even new) and could be spaed back far more.
To certain collectors that can be worth a lot
 
There it is.. Everyone in this discussion has their own level of tolerance and attitude to condition and Spa treatments.... Draw your own line, but don't be surprised if someone else has a different view,,,,,,,
 
Without touching it, not really.

After decades of playing with them there are subtle differences in blue tinted anodized parts, the coarseness of the grit for an era, and so on. Can’t always tell in a photo if light or shadows are off until you open the box.

ETA: sometimes without also having known good exemplars in your collection for reference, it's even tougher. FWIW, I don't care if it's been Spa'ed, unless someone claims it hasn't been, but it is obviously so when I get it. If you want to get really ninja, check the washers against internet references. There should be some wear, even a little on an old knife. Most flippers buy them, spa them, and list them without ever really "playing" with them, so a 25 year old knife with newer era washers that are barely worn might be one way to tell. An older knife with wrong era lugs is another giveaway.
 
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XJ-linux said:
Without touching it, not really.

After decades of playing with them there are subtle differences in blue tinted anodized parts, the coarseness of the grit for an era, and so on. Can’t always tell in a photo if light or shadows are off until you open the box.
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Understood, that’s what I was thinking but wanted collectors with more experience than me to chime in. Appreciate the reply and help
 
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