What happened to CRK???

I've got 3 Sebenzas and all made 2013 and before, they're all perfectly ground and fit.

Keep this in mind too, machines wear, Chris was a machinist first so he understood the importance of keeping your tools in spec. His successors may not have the same commitment especially when you have to spend $100K on a part because the knife is outta spec in the pivot hole by .0001 of an inch. Close enough, only someone anal would even notice. Problem is, anal describes a Sebenza fan. ;)
 
Hopefully not underestimating Anne's abilities-she seems a good administrator
But I do feel they lost Chris's innovation both in knife and equipment design.
He was also able to do all the hands on jobs and could work with someone newer to a job to make them better at it quicker or just do it himself at times. I think they will do fine, but his loss certainly didn't make them better. They will have to work around it.

Didn't know of his health issue-that is too bad(hoping he was having and enjoying a well deserved retirement)-wish him the best
 
Pomsbz said:
What's with all the forum policing? This is the second thread in two days from you where I've seen you doing it. You're not a moderator are you?
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If folks wait until a moderator steps in points are issued so why not nip thing in the bud before there are infractions.
 
whats kinda funny is that on my small sebenza insingo...the grind termination lines are waay off...
 
Honed_Edge said:
Left handed large insingo here. I can't visually see any flaw with the knife anywhere, simply none.

It was stiff for a few weeks but now free falls shut and flicks if wanted. I give it the highest quality of any of my 30+ knives. Also, the build date has NOTHING AT ALL to do with the blades manufacture date. One of my handle slabs was made early '15 and the other mid '16. I don't know when the blade was ground. I just know the date on the card has little to do with blade grind. IF, and I say again IF, this is a problem it's going to be hard to pin down as the blades are not dated.

And I decided to see if my 21 was aerospace ground. Yes, the margin of error for me trying not to wiggle things around was more than any actual difference in metal removal. I am just one point of data, but count me in as an ARK knife owner who is very satisfied!
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What is "aerospace ground?" and what is ARK knife?
 
I have 3 CRKs, all of which were born 2014 and before. They are all flawless in every way. Haven't had a newer one yet, so don't have any real world experience with the loss of "quality". I do want to pick up a large Inkosi Insingo soon though!
 
What happened to CRK ? Life ! Life is what happens while we're busy making other plans.
Adapt , improvise & overcome. I'm sure CRK will be just fine, let's keep this family that we love in our prayers .
 
My only CRK is a 25 that was made in Jan 2016 before the Inkozi came out, so I have no older or newer ones to compare it to. It was my first over $400 knife & when it came, I had high expectations & the knife lived up to all of them. After over a year and a half of use, I'm still impressed at it's simplicity of design, ruggedness & how good it functions as an all around edc knife.

If the reports of a decline in qc are true, then it's a very sad day.
 
Issues from day one. Lets see, return it or go on youtube to complain?
Grind is a little different than your previous one, and it gets stiff when you tighten the pivot down. Yeah, lots of other knives get that too. I have as many high end knives over the years as the rest of you but never obsessively measured random parts of it or checked them under a microscope. It's just a tool that cuts things.

It didn't take long for this thread to devolve by the way. I already saw a CS BRO that lock strengthed. They should give them their own room. :rolleyes:
 
Leftytwogunz said:
Issues from day one. Lets see, return it or go on youtube to complain?
Grind is a little different than your previous one, and it gets stiff when you tighten the pivot down. Yeah, lots of other knives get that too. I have as many high end knives over the years as the rest of you but never obsessively measured random parts of it or checked them under a microscope. It's just a tool that cuts things.

It didn't take long for this thread to devolve by the way. I already saw a CS BRO that lock strengthed. They should give them their own room. :rolleyes:
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Actually, I specifically bought a 1000x microscope just for this reason, I was curious what the parts looked like under the scope that looked flawless to the naked eye....and it got me free shipping on my order.

I never got any CRKs because I don't like frame locks, but I do appreciate the tolerances advertised. I hope the company gets better. If CR really left, it has a ways to go though, because no matter how smart and capable the new leaders may be, they will never have the same passion, that passion that convinces them to remake a knife because it is .0001 inches off spec, or something like that.
 
Cutlover said:
I hope the company gets better. If CR really left, it has a ways to go though, because no matter how smart and capable the new leaders may be, they will never have the same passion, that passion that convinces them to remake a knife because it is .0001 inches off spec, or something like that.
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You may be right and you may not be. The new leaders being Ann (Anne?) Reeve (who's been there since the beginning) and their son, I would imagine that the company is in good hands. I hope it is. Now, Chris was certainly an extremely talented prodigy with obsessively demanding standards, and yes, the new leaders may not necessarily have that same natural talent. But I think it's jumping the gun to say that the new leaders will never have the same passion for carrying on that standard of excellence. It may simply be a matter of growing pains for the company as a whole.

Jim
 
Or it may be nothing at all. I don't put my knives under an electron microscope.
I recently picked up a large 25 and a 21. Both are simply amazing tools.
I'm happy. Don't really care who tells me I shouldn't be.
Joe
 
The perforated washers to retain the grease strike me as genius. I'm not very fond of frame lock folders, but CRK knives are beautiful objects that deserve my respect. I wish the new leaders there all the best.
 
Anne and son(believe it's Tim), may or may not have Chris's passion, but they do have the pride of what this company is. They also know and understand the CRK customer-she has been involved with customer service and for many years was on the forums responding to members posts(both here on the CRK forum and KF before that).
as well as the knife shows they attended.
I think they will be OK, but they do have some big boots to fill
 
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palonej said:
Or it may be nothing at all. I don't put my knives under an electron microscope.
I recently picked up a large 25 and a 21. Both are simply amazing tools.
I'm happy. Don't really care who tells me I shouldn't be.
Joe
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Agreed. I don't have a big collection of CRKs, but I do have 5. Not one has had any negative issues, other than the butter knife-dull Seb I got in 2002 that I reprofiled. Now, I'm sure that every now and then a lemon may get through even CRK. I would imagine it's still far fewer than the vast majority of knife companies. All 3 of my post-Chris CRKs have been flawless. Perhaps someone with a microscope with some work *might* detect some minuscule cosmetic imperfection undetectable to the naked eye, but seriously? NOTHING made by human hands and/or machine is absolutely perfect. I've been happy with my CRKs.

Note:
When I started ordering knives online several years ago, I've always made it a point to call beforehand and politely ask the dealer to check whatever knife I'm interested in ordering for certain things I want and don't want. If the dealer is not knowledgeable or not willing to do that, I shop elsewhere. After all, if I'm going to give them my dollars, the least the person can do is give the knife a quick check. I have a brief list of certain wants and don't wants. Yes, I ask them to quickly pre-check the individual unit, even if it's a CRK or an SAK, but not with a microscope. I've never gotten a flawed knife that way.

Jim
 
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