Storing a CRK

Corytr

Corytr

Joined
Sep 10, 2013
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I have recently been lucky enough to find a couple of CRK's with very special birthday's. I do not plan on using these knives, ever. My plan is to pass them on to my kids when the time is right.

To store them, I know that CRK suggests removing all fingerprints and to put a light coat of WD40 or gun oil on them. My question for those of you who have a CRK that you never plan on using is how do you store it? Do you disassemble and oil everything with Eezox or the like? Do you leave the CRK grease in the pivot? How do you protect the inlays? Do you just throw them in the safe and call it good?

This one has the birthday of my 2 week old son.

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I would not really sweat it much. The materials used are pretty stain resistant.

Assuming you bought them new in box, there should be no need to take them down, just wipe the surfaces you may have touched with an oily cloth (or WD-40 if you like) and store them.

It would probably be a diligent idea to annally inspect them (wear some gloved if you are really anal) and re-apply some oil or WD. I would do this on or around the birthday;)
 
I asked Chris Reeve that exact question and here's an abridged version of what I got in response:

You may just wrap the knife in a cloth towel or newspaper or tape the edge . . . if any moisture is in the sheath it could cause some corrosion on the knife . . . There really isn’t any other maintenance necessary. If you want to clean the blade WD-40 works well. Just wipe some on to loosen the grime and wipe off. To clean the micarta handle, you can use a little dish soap and an old tooth brush. Just rinse off the soap when you are done and use an airline or blow dryer to make sure the water evaporates. That’s about it.
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So that's what they told me.
 
I bought some stuff called universal gun grease... It is thick like Vaseline. Probably an overkill but I've got so much $$$s wrapped up in steel toys I feel comfortable doing it. Congratulations on your boy!
 
Thanks Willard. Thanks guys. I think I will just find a good oil, lightly coat the stainless, and throw them in the safe. I'll check on them every year or so as well.

Much appreciated!
 
If it were me and I knew I was not going to use the knife for 20 or 30 years, I would research some type of air tight food saver storage container. I would completely disassemble, clean, lube, and store the parts that way.
 
I have two very special crk knives: one for my daughter's bday and one for my wedding day. The oldest of those knives has been around almost 10 years now and still looks great! I originally left them in the boxes stored away, but then decided that I would carry them for special occasions. So they sit in my knife drawer and get carried sometimes and cleaned on the same schedule with my other knives. The best part of having them out and visible is the fact that both my wife and daughter know which knives are "theirs". When I do carry them, I make sure and point it out to them. My daughter asked me a few weeks ago if she could carry her knife in her purse to church. She is 9, and I have told her that the knife will become hers (if she wants the responsibility of taking good care of it) when she goes to college.
That is a great choice for your son's birthday! I was very lucky with the special knives in my collection: a small snake wood annual for my daughter and a unique graphic for my wedding:)
Congrats on the new baby!!!
 
Ernie1980 said:
That is a great choice for your son's birthday! I was very lucky with the special knives in my collection: a small snake wood annual for my daughter and a unique graphic for my wedding:)
Congrats on the new baby!!!
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Thanks Ernie!

My other one is a Small Snakewood (21) as well. It shares my Mother's 70th birthday. That one will be going to my 2 1/2 year old. Being born on a Saturday, his doesn't exist.
 
I have many of mine in the maxpedition dodecapods. I wipe all hand prints off with crk blue cloth. Keeps them nice.
 
Hi, I'd say remove all fingerprints, have the blade oiled and a light coat of rennaisance wax on the scales.
Check it periodically, besides that keep it in a dark area, when possible at the same temperature.
I had a light rust film on a Sebenza once from a fingerprint. Flitz did an excellent job.
The natural handle material otoh likes a little humidity. Mammoth is known to shrink when keept too dry.
Please don't get me wrong, as i do not want to scare you; it's just my experience with these materials after years.
hope this helps.
red mag
PS: Congratulations to the birht of your son.
All the best to the "new" mother.
Health and Happiness.
 
gastonian said:
If it were me and I knew I was not going to use the knife for 20 or 30 years, I would research some type of air tight food saver storage container. I would completely disassemble, clean, lube, and store the parts that way.
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That's what I would do. Vacuum pack it and forget about it for 20 years. You'd never have to worry about it.
 
The old-timers(older than me!) recommend using baby oil on Ivory, unless CRK uses stabilized Ivory. As far as the steel goes light oil, WD 40 haS NO RESIDUAL PROPERTIES, OR VERY LITTLE.
 
i put a few "dry-packs" - silica gel moisture absorbing packets where ever i store them, the transparent ones which have a few that change colour when they are done absorbing... just a suggestion for peace of mind...
 
Amsoil "Metal Protector" on blade....Google 'Amsoil MP spray'. That stuff is great for storing any kind of metal, and is clean, clear, and thin like WD40, but does not totally dissipate.
 
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