The CRK Insingo Hangout!

I remember when they first introduced the Insingo and I thought it was just plain ugly compared to the more graceful drop point. Then I tried one and I was like “Ok, yeah, I get it” - now I have 3 (and counting...) While it will never be the looker that the dp is it certainly does adhere to the Sebenza’s philosophy of form following function and there is most definitely beauty in that:cool:

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Another thing - there are so many knives on the market now with similar blade shapes (most notably from Kershaw/ZT) that it really doesn’t seem so funky looking anymore. In fact, I find it’s becoming more and more of a classic look as time goes by.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Thanks for all the beautiful pictures! This tread gave me the bug for a small Sebenza 21 insigno to go along with my large Sebenza 21 drop point. Before it arrived I was worried I wouldn't like the way the insigno blade fills out the top of the knife when it is closed. Now that I have one in my hands I think the taller insigno blade actually looks better than the drop point when it is closed. Plus, this thing cuts like a dream.
 
canyon56 said:
Thanks for all the beautiful pictures! This tread gave me the bug for a small Sebenza 21 insigno to go along with my large Sebenza 21 drop point. Before it arrived I was worried I wouldn't like the way the insigno blade fills out the top of the knife when it is closed. Now that I have one in my hands I think the taller insigno blade actually looks better than the drop point when it is closed. Plus, this thing cuts like a dream.
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Congrats. It’s definitely a useful shape that will grow on you. I stripped a lot of wire today with mine and some rope. It’s an Inkosi tho. Worked like a charm D9195098-3F79-4CBB-B75D-7E7FEC6474B3.jpeg
 
The Insingo brought me back to CRK. When I bought my first CRK, there was a massive difference between CRKs and pretty much the rest of the entire industry. CRK has certainly maintained a stellar level of quality, but other makers have certainly increased their quality substantially since the turn of the millennium, and there are new makers also offering great mid techs. So I found myself wondering how I could justify another Sebenza with so many great knives available, some which were much lower priced.

Well, this blade, unquestionably, is how I justified it. It is, in my personal opinion, one of the ugliest looking blade shapes I have ever seen, which starkly contrasts with the drop point's very pleasing lines. It is also, in my personal opinion, quite possibly the most capable blade on a folding knife...the benefits of a wharncliffe, capable of extremely precise tip work and slicing, with a tiny bit of belly to boot for food prep and dicing. It slices well even when the edge is dulled, yet it lends itself to a design with excellent edge toughness and tip strength, and that swedge seriously reduces resistance when slicing through with the tip. When they offer the Insingo on the 31, I truly hope they consider adding a damascus option.

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(edit - I modified these pictures after uploading upon learning that one of the non-CRK knives pictured was actually a clone of someone else's legitimate design...that's not me :-/)
 
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Here's a picture of my 21's, drop point in large and insigno in small.

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For your moderate viewing pleasure, I present my two Insingos with two other knives of related blade profiles...

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I must lament both of these knives being discontinued, as they are both truly outstanding designs (and, interestingly, the first time I saw Kershaw use this blade profile was the first time I saw the Pheasant Tail Sebenza in person when Kershaw did a limited run of Random Leeks for a company that was a CRK dealer). Reeve's decision on the swedge on the Insingo and its deep hollow grind makes it a much more aggressive slicer and it makes a world of difference in reducing cutting resistance IMO (the 440 is a high flat saber grind and the Random Leek is either a super shallow hollow or high flat saber.) Fun fact - I learned the Benchmade features a user-adjustable variable-width stop pin designed to make tuning the lockup of its liner lock pretty easy, which is not a feature I've seen on many knives.
 
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