Who is the Chris Reeve of flippers?

Thank you all for your well thought out answers. This will give me a great start....
 
unwisefool said:
In what way are they not durable? I'm not picking on you, but when people make claims that go against the experience of thousands of others, I'm curious as to what happened. I've had an umnumzaan for almost 10 years that has been beat on and not treated well, and it's still as smooth and tight as the day I got it.
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In what way are they better than the average knife? They are surely no more refined on a cnc than a ZT or the many other brands in that range in fact ZT routinely does more artistic 3d designs to their slabs and their attention to detail is easily on par with crk.
As for longevity when I see a 30yr old buck 110 with a blade that has been resharpened to half its size I see a real user. When I see a 20yr old crk showing little use I see a letter opener.
People will alter their habits when using a 400.00 knife compared to a 40.00 and profusely tout the ability of the big ticket knife. Show me a well used beat and bruised crk and it will look like any well used knife, not coddled pocket candy.
Anyway I digress, believe me or not but I've had too many makers to count, the biggest names aren't always the best and the cheapest aren't always the worst. crk is only average.
 
jceckrosh said:
My issue with the Shiro to CRK comparison is a new Shiro Neon is what? $650? And you can get any of the CRK full size knives for $450?

Would seem to be different categories. Or it could just be that to get a flipper as goodl as CRK does a frame lock you have to pony up $200 more.
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The Shiros are overpriced by quite abit though because they are coming from Russia.

Really a baseline Shiro should only cost 450$-500$. They receive a large markup due to the cost of getting them in the US.
 
Lapedog said:
The Shiros are overpriced by quite abit though because they are coming from Russia.

Really a baseline Shiro should only cost 450$-500$. They receive a large markup due to the cost of getting them in the US.
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That's part of my issue with Shiros, the knives are nice but the prices are overinflated beyond all reason. I don't see why I'd keep a plainer (relatively speaking) shiro when for the same money I could have a fancy Olamic, or a full custom from a great maker. It's silly, maybe not as silly as the >$1000+ Hinderer inflation days, but still silly enough that I want no part of it. Like CRKs, though, at least they're easy to resell, so if you feel the need to overpay to have one you can always move it along easily enough when the magic wears off.
 
While you can make an argument for Shiros based on tolerances and machining, and a similarly convincing argument about the current generation of Hinderers, the only real answer to the OPs question is Koenig as others have said. Only with Koenig have I seen the same kind of obsessive attention to detail and meticulous concentrated precision that characterize CRK so famously.

The design language is certainly different as Koenig tends to produce designs from outside partners (though CRK is starting to do this too with the Impinda, who knows what's ahead?). But only with Koenig's have I ever seen ball bearing framelock flippers capture the precision and exactitude that CRK models. Highest recommendation goes to them for my money.
 
On a tolerance level Koeing absolutely. But that's it. Design wise not at all.

The fact of the mater is there really isn't many if any CRK equals in what they do in knives.

Yea there are some great knives in the marketplace. Yea some come to rival aspects of CRK. But non will be the Chris reeves of something else for the most part.

You have makers like Micheal Raymond and a very few others who make higher end customs that look very similar to crk knives but those are not flippers or on bearings. They superceed crk all together on all aspects except prices of course.

But I leave you with these videos that show crk is more than just Koenig or Shirogorov.

And no... Zt isn't even comparable to crk, I dunno why that guy even thinks that.



No one else in the market encompasses that.
 
So here's what ya do. Instead of drilling a Spydiehole in yer Sebenza punch it, then use the slug to weld on to the tang for a flipper. Viola! Two turds with one stone! A little machine work on the bearing surfaces for ceramic super ball bearings and ya got yerself a doozy.
 
I love my Reates, can't imagine how other makers can make smoother folders but I'd love to be proven wrong.

Reate have had issues in the past, including using red loctite and soft screws that would strip, they've eliminated the red loctite nowadays. Some say they still make some knives with soft screws, and Reate haven't put those fears to rest. My Crossroads, though perfect in every other way, had an uneven secondary bevel.
 
007Airman said:
Lets just hope that no one intends on censoring another's opinions. I am serious I have had several crk, they are like the Montblanc pens, sure they have some refinement and will write but not very durable and over rated.
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I don’t believe you can back up your statement that CRK are “not very durable”. This makes me doubt you’ve ever really had one. You kinda seem like a troll at this point.

In terms of a flipper like CRK, I’d have to go with Olamic, Freeman or Koenig. Part of the appeal with CRK is Stateside service and support and you don’t really get that with a Shiro or Reate.
 
I would have to go with Shirogorov and Koenig. Both companies have more machining involved in their models than Crk. I love my knives made by Crk but Shirogorov has taken fit and finish to a higher level for me.

The Olamic 24/7 that I own has not impressed me. The pivot screw on my 24/7 is tiny. When I loosen the screw up to obtain smooth action, I experience significant blade play. When I slightly tighten it, the action really suffers. There is not much real estate on the pivot screw for adjustment. When I received the knife new the action was really rough.
 
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IMO CEK is more about a vision of non nonsense design and design to be used that technology and material

In this regard I would say RHK is what is the closest to CRK

Not the best in town but the most dedicated to a specific vision of what their knives should be used and designed for

Shirogorov or Reate can be better but they don’t have the same dedication to a specific vision / purpose
 
Shirogorov. No doubt.

King of the modern knives.

I've owned/currently own dozens of Hobacks, Ziebas, CKFs, Ferrum Forges, Hinderers, Striders, and CRKs.

The three Shiros I've gotten in this month have better action than any other knife in my collection save for maybe a Reate and the Zieba S5. They're tied with those. Everything else on the knives was perfect too. Am probably selling off s lot of my collection for more Shiros.
 
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