Tell me some of your CRK warranty service stories...

OhioApexing

OhioApexing

Sharpener
Joined
Apr 17, 2018
Messages
235
I’m still learning about CRKs and I’m curious to hear about some of your warranty experiences. I only have experience with Benchmade and Spyderco in this regard, with the former being much better than the latter (through I’ve been happy with both).

I had a Spyderco whose clip screws were too long and bent the washer when I switched from tip-up to tip-down. I also stripped one of the pivot screws when trying to disassemble and fix it (if I never encounter locktite again it will be too soon) I sent it in to them and two weeks later I got it back completely fixed. It cost me $7 for shipping.

With Benchmade, I purchased a version of the Valet which was a collaboration with Shinola Detroit. I hated that the clip was branded “SHINOLA DETROIT,” so I called to purchase a plain clip that comes with the regular Valets. They sent me two for free. Apparently they’re great when it comes to warranty stuff. They’ll fix just about anything, even if it was your fault. While their QC leaving the factory sucks these days (amongst many other downfalls), I like the idea that they stand by their product and want you to own it for life.

So, tell me about your CRK experiences. Are “spa treatments” for cosmetic damage free? How do they feel about their customers sharpening their own knives? Or even reprofiling? What has your turn-around time generally been like? Your personal interactions with customer service? I know a lot of you have CRKs that are 10-20 years old. How are they about servicing/repairing/replacing knives they no longer make?

Lemme hear it all! The good, the bad, and the ugly!
 
I have had little done other than spa treatment-re-blast handles , sharpen and clean. While one was in there they determined the lockbar needed to be re-heat treated and they did that.
Sharpening can be a little random since they do it by hand on a belt sander. It was good enough for me, but some have complained at times.
Believe turn around is 6-8 weeks
They may not be able to do some services on discontinued knives such as the Regular-like adding double thumb studs, since they could possibly crack a blade doing it
Overall they have great customer service and try their best to get you taken care of.
 
Their service is top notch. They will answer the phone or call you back if you leave a message. They do wonders on making a knife look like it's brand new. I've sent in a couple of CCG's and they came back virtually perfect. I've ordered a couple directly from them and have gotten exactly what I ordered.
I've read that you can send them the knife torn apart and they will make it right. Knives that have been altered will be on a case by case basis and some they won't touch. Just read that they will not reblast the slabs if someone has smoothed the slabs, like the scotch brite treatment.
 
Ajack60 said:
Just read that they will not reblast the slabs if someone has smoothed the slabs, like the scotch brite treatment.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it is case by case or all cases, but they certainly turned down the last one I sent in that had been scotch brite treated. Which made that the last I would by like that, since I don't like the slickness.
No blame or CRK, but something to be aware of
 
Peter Hartwig said:
I don't know if it is case by case or all cases, but they certainly turned down the last one I sent in that had been scotch brite treated. Which made that the last I would by like that, since I don't like the slickness.
No blame or CRK, but something to be aware of
Click to expand...

2 reasons why I think they will no longer reblast scotch-brited scales. 1) It's someone else's work that's easier to turn down than to pay for that "work" later if a mistake is made 2) Scotch-brite tends to round over the crisp machining lines and if they cannot get it to look like it did when they left the factory, then they don't want to put their name on it by blasting it. Reputation thing
I have somewhat confirmed both with Tim..The second reason for sure..the first has bitten them in the past.
Even they concede that some of the modifications done look very nice and well done, but at that point it turns from being their knife to someone else's work.
 
I got a small sebenza as a birthday gift. It became my favorite knife almost instantly. About a year later i noticed a hair line crack by the thumb stud. A call to them and they were helpful and insisted i send it home .
New blade was installed and washers. Also was given the spa cleanup. Free , except for my shipping cost .
The only negative it was gone about six weeks. The only other thing i caught the clip and bent it . A simple order had one in my mail box in less than a week .

Jake
 
I sent my Large Sebenza 21 (Regular with Double Thumb Studs) in for a spa treatment and to have two extra sets of washers fitted. I shipped it in the beginning of November 2017. I mailed it priority and they received it in two days.

Fast forward eight weeks and still no word from CRK about my knife. I called and they apologized for the lengthy wait time and said they will get it out as soon as possible. About a week later I received my knife. Upon unboxing I noticed that the knife I received only had a single thumb stud..... I called and they provided me with a shipping label to send it back to have another thumb stud installed. They also covered the return shipping.

So after about three months of messing around I finally received my knife back in good order. I was pleased with the spa treatment. The knife looked like new. However, the edge the put on the knife was about as dull as a butter knife. I was greatly disappointed with the edge on the knife. I fixed it rather quickly with my Wicked Edge.
 
I’ve only used the spa once. I am exceedingly pleased.. As much as I liked CRK bfore, the experience left me completely ga-ga for the brand.

Turn around was about 8-ish weeks, but it was over Blade Show, so they may have been a bit preoccupied. When they called to arrange return shipping ($30) I ordered a few odds & ends from the store which they threw into the same box without additional shipping charge.

Insured shipping both ways isn’t exactly cheep. Sending multiple knives at once helps diffuse the cost.
 
After about 2 years my Sebenza 25 developed a hairline crack where the thumb stud was pressed in. I returned it & they had it back to me, with a new blade in about two weeks. All under warranty. It was over the Christmas Holidays, so I'd say that was pretty good turn around time. They e-mailed me & asked if I wanted a spa treatment since it was already there, which I refused. I worked hard for all those snail trails.
 
I bought a small reg with a swedge second hand. The previous owner had scotch brighted the presentation slab.
The company performed a spa treatment on the knife and now it looks brand new. This has been roughly 4 years ago.
I sent in several knives for silver thumb studs and always had good customer service
 
I used the spa service and it was only one time. It took 8 weeks which is what they quoted. Excellent communication. I have to say they answered emails quickly and kept me informed each step of the way. The knife came back razor sharp and I'm very happy with their service. I agree with 4mer_FMF
4mer_FMF said:
I’ve only used the spa once. I am exceedingly pleased.. As much as I liked CRK bfore, the experience left me completely ga-ga for the brand.
Click to expand...
I would say their service made me more likely to buy another knife from them.
 
My clip screw fell out, disappeared and they sent a new one.
 
I only sent one knife in for spa and another for warranty. The one for spa took about 8 weeks and came back looking like new. The warranty issue they sent it back to me about a week after sending it in and didn't charge me. Unfortunately, they didn't fix the issue so they sent me a label and I sent it back. Ultimately they replaced the blade, covered the shipping and polished out some scratches I had on the scales (it was a CGG) for free. The only complaint I would have is they have been saying that spa should only take 4 weeks now yet everyone tells me it still takes 8.
 
Been a while, but I think the total turn around on my Mnandi was 5 or 6 weeks. It had heinous lock stick, and the lock face had to be re-carbidized. I paid to send it in, might have paid the return shipping but I don't remember that I did.

I've never had a bad warranty service from any company. CRK is solid.
 
During my first disassembly/re-assembly, I clumsily pinched one of the washers. :(
Repair turn around time was 4 weeks, charge was $20 for return shipping and 4 washers- 2 installed in knife, and 2 spare I asked for.

Great service, no labor charge for a problem I clearly created.
Oh, the knife is a CF inkosi insingo... Love the knife and the service!
Alycia was very very nice..
 
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The wood inlay in my Mnandi came loose and I had recently received a small Starbenza with some boogered screws and scratched up scales in a trade. They replaced inlays on both sides to ensure that they matched on my Mnandi, installed new screws on the Starbenza and they gave both knives the spa treatment. Both knives came back looking brand new. Because my Mnandi went in for warrantied repair everything was free, including return shipping. I'm extremely satisfied with their CS.
 
Back in 2004, I sent in my small regular for a reblasting. Well, turns out the lock wasn’t up to Chris Reeve’s standards. He called and informed me that he was making a new lock side for my sebenza. No charge. He kept me informed the whole time. I thought that was great! Above and beyond most companies. Even though I don’t carry my Sebenza anymore, I still think it’s a great company.
 
I bought a Mnandi direct from CRK and it came with an off-center blade and uneven grind. I sent it back and the turnaround time was pretty quick (about 2 weeks), and the employees were nice and responsive. The only odd thing was that they didn't consider the issues a warranty claim, so I had to pay return shipping. Figured those things would be a quality control issue covered under warranty.
 
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