Would You Tell Me What is So Special About Chris Reeves Knives?

Bob Denman said:
But where else can you get away with "Sebbie, Inki, or Umi"; and folks know exactly what you're talking about?
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This is General Knife. I don't frequent the CRK forum - are inki and umi actually used there? I've seen umnum and 'zaan enough times that I make the connection; but I don't think I would do that with inki or umi if I came across them out here...at least not if those knives weren't already the topic. (I'd probably think typo, and move on without a second thought)

But that's me, and I'm a special sort of snowflake :rolleyes:
 
madcap_magician said:
What if I said... it was OK to not like every popular high-end knife?

I don't like Medfords at all.

We live in the best of all times for knife and gun people with choices galore. If a fellow doesn't like CRK, why, he can just spend his money elsewhere.
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I agree. I would probably pick up a CRK in Magnacut if they were readily available, but I'm not excited enough to work too hard at finding it.
Most of the semi-production high end folders like the Medford don't appeal to me. I do have a Thorburn which is closer to custom. If I was going to spend big money on a folder I'd get an over the top custom from someone like Don Hanson or a few others along those lines.
 
hhmoore said:
This is General Knife. I don't frequent the CRK forum - are inki and umi actually used there? I've seen umnum and 'zaan enough times that I make the connection; but I don't think I would do that with inki or umi if I came across them out here...at least not if those knives weren't already the topic. (I'd probably think typo, and move on without a second thought)

But that's me, and I'm a special sort of snowflake :rolleyes:
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Floating Your Goat.jpg
 
madcap_magician said:
I don't like Medfords at all.
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I would never buy a Medford (either) because I think they look butt-ugly/too fat/too heavy and also because (like the CRK) they only come w/thumb studs.

Put a flipper on a CRK and I'd consider buying one for the "right" price.

Just bought my 1st Shiro because it was "cheap" (below my current price limit of $550) and because it was a flipper. Bought my 3 Olamics and the only Hinderer that I still own for the same reason. All of them are in the CRK price range.
 
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sgt1372 said:
Would never buy a Medford (either) because I think they look butt-ugly/too fat/too heavy and also because (like the CRK) they only come w/thumb studs.

Put a flipper on a CRK and I'd consider buying one for the "right" price.
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Same here.

I'd even take a photo of a brand new CRK (with flipper) at a construction site, to fit in with the CRK crowd :)
 
DMG said:
It is a little tough on the thumb. Is the Sebenza better? I have a Magnacut Insingo Sebenza ordered. I bet the Inkosi breaks in about the time that shows up.
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I can flick it out if I wedge my thumbnail between the stud and the frame, but it's not ideal. It's as broken in as it'll likely get.
 
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If only they used a standard thumbstud; that could be easily replaced...
That's about my only complaint about them.
 
hhmoore said:
This is General Knife. I don't frequent the CRK forum - are inki and umi actually used there? I've seen umnum and 'zaan enough times that I make the connection; but I don't think I would do that with inki or umi if I came across them out here...at least not if those knives weren't already the topic. (I'd probably think typo, and move on without a second thought)

But that's me, and I'm a special sort of snowflake :rolleyes:
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Nobody says Inki or Umi 🤣
 
Slight correction
The video( The Exquisite Blade) pre- dates the 21 and was during the golden age of the Sebenza(IMO), when they were making the Classic MM and regular.
Great video
 
I had a Sebenza 31 for a little while. Did not impress me at all. The grease they use from the factory is frankly terrible and also breaks down quickly. The knife itself is good quality for sure but nothing amazing. I hated the action on it. I understand its not a fidget knife but it just felt totally meh. For the money I think their is much better options out there now, Hinderer,McNees etc
 
Peter Hartwig said:
Slight correction
The video( The Exquisite Blade) pre- dates the 21 and was during the golden age of the Sebenza(IMO), when they were making the Classic MM and regular.
Great video
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Oh yea, that's right. I used to have a classic but you don't see many anymore. I was thinking that the classic was actually called a "21 classic", but I guess the 21 name came after they changed from the classic didn't it? Another thing that dates it is that they're calling the Regular their "new knife"🤣. But boy oh boy it's amazing how much hand work went into each one! I really hope that they put a high level of care into each one now days like they used to, but something tells me that that's just not possible now days considering the demand and how many they make. I thought it was especially awesome how they used a brown Sharpmaker rod to fine tune and hand fit each lockbar to the blade tang.
 
sgt1372 said:
I would never buy a Medford (either) because I think they look butt-ugly/too fat/too heavy and also because (like the CRK) they only come w/thumb studs.
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Not the case at all, there are quite a few Medford knives that have flippers (M-48, Proxima, On Belay, Infraction to name a few); the others use either a fuller or hole in the blade to open (slim and full size Marauder, Praetorian, 187, etc).

Not trying to pick nits, just giving correct info - actually, I can't think of ANY Medford that uses thumb studs? On some models the stop pins can be used to open the knife, but thumb studs they are not.
 
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DMG said:
True. But I think above the CRK price point you are into diminishing returns. An Olamic or Medford won’t do knife stuff better than a CRK but they are art. Or a conversation piece.
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The problem is that the point of diminishing returns varies greatly from one individual to another. For some people, anything more than a box cutter is a waste of money. For others, nothing less than the latest and greatest of the finest materials and designs will do, no matter what the cost. Most people obviously fall somewhere in between, but the point they will not go beyond spending on a knife is greatly dependent on where they consider diminishing returns.

Personally, I’d love to have a Mnandi in my very modest collection, but I just can’t see spending that much on a knife for myself. But I do understand why some people will pay that and several times more, because to them, it’s worth it. Different value scales, different points of diminishing returns. Does it cut better than my $30 Kershaw? Who knows. How do you feel looking at it? How does it feel in your hand? How does it feel in use? How easily does it sharpen? How easy is it to maintain? How quickly does your wife go for the frying pan when you tell her how much it cost? All things that go into your determining its value proposition, and that’s different for everybody.
 
I can front flip my Large Inkosi. First batch production, born on my birthday, and the only run of LI's with the ball-groove lockup. This one has exceeded the performance of any of the many S35VN blades I've owned - after I removed the convex factory edge in favor of a dead nuts 20 degree per side V on a Wicked Edge WE-130. Maybe it is the fresh steel, but this one hangs with M390's in edge retention with a good bit more toughness.

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