Whats in a Box.. Chris Reeve Boxes through the years...

mikepapa1

mikepapa1

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Jun 8, 2013
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Ok Chris Reeve fans.. I could not think of anything more boring than listening to the State of the Union address... Except this post. :D I must admit that I have an ulterior motive to this post. But that is for a later time. As with all of my long and boring posts I am actually looking for information.. I'm sure this must have been discussed in the past but many of us here were not involved in "This thing of ours" way back then so hopefully by starting a new thread we will gain more knowledge.
As you may or may not know I recently posted a thread about the "New" packaging from our friends at CRK. My post was actually very favorable, the new packaging is modern and under normal circumstances probably does a good job for what it was designed for. However I have had two recent experiences that have made me doubt the design. In the first case I was the shipper and in the other I was the recipient. In both cases I was dissatisfied with the results. As a collector of many things, coins.. firearms.. watches and lately Chris Reeve knives I find the subject of "Boxes" very interesting. I know some knife makers ship their products in elaborate containers. A good example I suppose would be William Henry. Very nice, very expensive.. but hey they come in a nice box.. On the other end of the spectrum I suppose you have Strider.. very expensive for what you get (IMHO) and they are shipped in a zip lock plastic bag!! I guess you can see where I might be going with this.. But I would be amiss if I didn't mention another knife maker who although they don't go overboard.. You have Spyderco. You have to admit that regardless of what you think of the product (and I actually like it) the box they use although not nearly as elaborate as WH and much nicer than a Ziploc bag, is actually kind of nice. I mean how hard is it to open a drawer??
So, if you have read this far and have an opinion are even better more information on the shipping containers used by CRK through the years please share.
And as always, all the best!!
Dave
I should add that as most of you know a knife with the "original" box is more highly valued than one without. I myself have paid more than a couple hundred dollars for a rare cardboard firearms box.. and I think to a certain extent it also applies to "This thing of Ours" Chris Reeve Knives. Then again many folks buy the knife, hand gun, watch etc... and the first thing they do is toss the box and paper work!!:eek:

Here are some pictures of Chris Reeve shipping containers (Boxes)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/105937865@N07/sets/72157640272554394/
 
Very interesting post mike. It is safe to say that throughout the years many people have simply thrown away CRK boxes (and birthcards), to the dismay and horror to collectors like ourselves. I also agree that some makers make very nice elaborate boxes and others, as nice or poorly made as they may be, simply use a plastic bag. I think of one of my own favorite makers, Tom Mayo. To this day he continues to send his knives simply wrapped in a few layers of paper towel as he has done for years. It has become his trademark to say. In my opinion I love it how a knife that some could never put a value on could be wrapped with white paper towel and then packaged with bubble wrap inside a flat rate box and sent to it's new home. Others, such as Michael Raymond, Scott Cook, and William Henry as you mentioned take the other route and design beautiful boxes for their products to be shipped in. It is a choice that all makers must make and it obviously means more to some than others.
However, speaking of CRK knives the boxes are actually key in helping us date and identify certain knives from time periods up to two decades past. Now before I get a tongue lashing from potential readers, I know that Mr. Mayo's daughter has been kind enough to design literally hundreds of soft pouches ranging in art from everything from Marvel comic characters to some of the beautiful scenery of Hawaii to hold her father's amazing knives, but before then, and most of the time thereafter, Tom simply sends his knives wrapped up in a simple paper towel as it has been done for decades.
As the OP mentioned the boxes themselves can be worth hundreds of dollars in some cases as well and are the cherry on top when it comes to putting a "complete" knife or gun together. I think that some makers want to be remembered as having beautiful boxes for their amazing pieces of craftsmanship, but others could care less and want to be known for what matters, which in this case is the knife itself. I think it is great how CRK has evolved over the years and started with a simple design and then built on it and frankly I wish it would have never changed but to some extent their knives are never going to be put into the same caliber of rarity and value as the old knives and the ones that started it all, and I think that is what makes them special.
I loved seeing the OPs impressive lineup of CRK boxes spanning all of those years and knowing that each box contains a different gem that has evolved over the past 2 decades and it certainly brought back many great memories (especially the 17th year box, lol). Am I sad to see that end, of course. But CRK is not the "Chris and Anne show" that it once was. Yes, they are still there but so are dozens of others that work diligently to produce the knives that we all love to use and carry every day. Gone are the days of Chris hand grinding an H or P Sebenza. They have grown and so has the equipment that they use to produce the consistent level of excellence that we all expect from CRK. I guess what Im trying to say is that although they are only boxes, they mean so much more. They are timelines and help us take a quick look at how things used to be done and how proud CRK was to place their stickers, ever so perfectly on their boxes every time that a new year had come and gone and the changes to their knives that came with every passing year as well. CRK has grown and I love the fact that they continue to produce a top notch knife at a reasonable price, with unequaled customer service at the same time.
Final thoughts: CRK is an amazing company that's history is the American dream and I love looking at their old boxes and knowing what each one may hold. Other manufacturers may not feel the same way about a simple box but that is what makes CRK so special to collectors as they have stood the test of time. So next time you "almost" thrown one of their boxes, or any makers box, baggie, or papertowel, please take a moment to look at it and remember what it means to that particular maker and how it has evolved with them and their successes. Take care and God bless.
 
Guys, I love the design of CRK knives - but I wouldn't say the packaging has 'evolved over the years'. As far as I know, CRK's box has always been a regular shipping container. It's not fancy, and frankly it's not always the best way to package a knife that is at a very high price (astronomical) point for the vast majority of people - and I mean 99.9% of people. Knife collectors may view the Sebenza as a fair priced quality knife, but knife collectors really only make up a small percentage of the population.

There's nothing special about CRK's packaging. Many people have noted that over the years... including CRK himself. He says so in the documentary about his manufacturing plant. He has always had the philosophy that the knife is what's important. His boxes are meant to be thrown away, it was a design feature that CRK actually put some thought into. You can get one just like it from ULINE for 30 cents. I understand that if you have a full collection of CRK knives in their boxes dating back over the last decade that if you were to buy a CRK from 1992 you would want the box, but it's still a white box worth very little to the vast majority of people - most people would throw it away again without any context.


I would venture a guess that the new box isn't something of CRK's doing - people have questioned the CRK packaging for years, and he didn't change it. Now that the company has more employees, one of them has garnered enough juice to make product packaging input. Some people understand marketing, some people do not care. CRK does not care, and I find the contrast with how his fans feel about it very interesting. I can't help but wonder how many more Sebenzas he would have sold over the years if he would have put more into packaging and marketing as a whole. William Henry's whole appeal is built on marketing (they have ads showing up in this very post for me pitching William Henry as a luxury lifestyle brand) - even though their quality is comparable, I feel like CRK has a whole aura about it - he won the awards at the right time, and everything that has happened over the last 25 years has built up to position the Sebenza as the premiere starter knife. A lot of people that have moved past CRK to custom makers still recommend that new collectors buy a sebenza. Updated packaging will just open up a little extra market share on the front end, and will make the fringe buyers of high end everything possibly come back to the brand again. It has an appeal on a subconscious level that is hard to quantify or evaluate.

I'll leave you with this video of a knife reviewer speaking about knife packaging. He gets his opinion across quite clearly

[video=youtube;8lPmdBoWC6Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lPmdBoWC6Q[/video]
 
Thanks for taking the time to read and of course comment on my latest boring thread Ryan!! :thumbup: I realize that to most people regardless of the manufacturer, the package that their newest and greatest knife or firearm comes in is not that important. And that is understandable...After all even Chris Reeve has made the point that it's not about the "box".. It's whats inside!! But to some (and I am one) especially if you're interested in the history of the Knives and you want to have the "whole package" the box can make the difference.
As always, all the best!!
Dave
 
Thanks A Justice!! I really enjoyed reading your comments! And thanks for sharing Jim's YouTube video on the subject! I have seen it but I am sure many have not!! I do agree with him. But I actually like the old style boxes!! :)
All the best, Dave

A Justice said:
Guys, I love the design of CRK knives - but I wouldn't say the packaging has 'evolved over the years'. As far as I know, CRK's box has always been a regular shipping container. It's not fancy, and frankly it's not always the best way to package a knife that is at a very high price (astronomical) point for the vast majority of people - and I mean 99.9% of people. Knife collectors may view the Sebenza as a fair priced quality knife, but knife collectors really only make up a small percentage of the population.

There's nothing special about CRK's packaging. Many people have noted that over the years... including CRK himself. He says so in the documentary about his manufacturing plant. He has always had the philosophy that the knife is what's important. His boxes are meant to be thrown away, it was a design feature that CRK actually put some thought into. You can get one just like it from ULINE for 30 cents. I understand that if you have a full collection of CRK knives in their boxes dating back over the last decade that if you were to buy a CRK from 1992 you would want the box, but it's still a white box worth very little to the vast majority of people - most people would throw it away again without any context.


I would venture a guess that the new box isn't something of CRK's doing - people have questioned the CRK packaging for years, and he didn't change it. Now that the company has more employees, one of them has garnered enough juice to make product packaging input. Some people understand marketing, some people do not care. CRK does not care, and I find the contrast with how his fans feel about it very interesting. I can't help but wonder how many more Sebenzas he would have sold over the years if he would have put more into packaging and marketing as a whole. William Henry's whole appeal is built on marketing (they have ads showing up in this very post for me pitching William Henry as a luxury lifestyle brand) - even though their quality is comparable, I feel like CRK has a whole aura about it - he won the awards at the right time, and everything that has happened over the last 25 years has built up to position the Sebenza as the premiere starter knife. A lot of people that have moved past CRK to custom makers still recommend that new collectors buy a sebenza. Updated packaging will just open up a little extra market share on the front end, and will make the fringe buyers of high end everything possibly come back to the brand again. It has an appeal on a subconscious level that is hard to quantify or evaluate.

I'll leave you with this video of a knife reviewer speaking about knife packaging. He gets his opinion across quite clearly

[video=youtube;8lPmdBoWC6Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lPmdBoWC6Q[/video]
Click to expand...
 
I look at the wood on some old side by side and over and under shotguns or any older pieces of wood products and I think "where was that tree, what did it go through, how old was it when it was harvested? Now it is not the same as a CR box but the few I have had I sometimes think, did Chris or Anne pack that knife, who has owned it and where has it been? Strange.... yep, but I like the older boxes.
 
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