I first encountered CRK knives at the specialty cutlery shop I worked at in college. Our stock varied a bit, but we usually had both Sebenzas in stock, an Umnumzaan, and we even had a TiLock for awhile. We also usually had a fixie or two - my favorite was the Pacific Warrior.
Working at the store, I had the opportunity to get hands on experience with a lot of the best knives from Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw, Becker, Case, Emerson, ESEE, and more. I also had the opportunity to handle a lot of low-quality knives, but that’s another story. Point is, I always saw the Sebenza as my “grail knife,” like if I could ever manage to own one I’d be done buying knives. Back then, even with a generous employee discount, there was no way I could afford a CRK.
One day, I accidentally took a Sebenza home in my pocket and freaked out so much, worried I would scratch or damage it in some way. Luckily, it made it back to the knife case safe and sound.
After getting used to Spydercos, and especially the round hole, I pretty much swore off other folders. Still, the thought of the Sebenza has stuck with me all this time, and last week I finally managed to nab one (thanks, Rick!).
It’s a Sebenza 31, born in July of this past year. The blade is S45VN, and the inlays are natural canvas micarta. The finish is sandblasted titanium. Today was my first carry, and I am beyond stoked.
So:
- Which CRKs do you own, or have you tried? Which would you like to pick up in the future?
- What do you like, or not like about them?
- Have you done a spydie-hole mod? Would you?
- Do you find yourself carrying your CRKs more than your Spydercos, or vise-versa?