Chris Reeve Knives

[Brock O Lee]

I found a Green Beret 7” in Magnacut on vacation over the weekend for $200, brand new in box! These have a five year lead time from CRK right now.

Yowzer!

We need photographic proof...

[abbazaba]

[Brock O Lee]

@abbazaba that glass blasted Umnumzaan looks fantastic!

[abbazaba]

Finally got a Insingo Micarta 31... but that new Micarta? Yay or nay?

Its def way smoother than the old and less interesting IMHO. All the new ones use this canvas pattern as far as I can tell. What say you?

[JSumm]

Which one is the new one? Because I do have thoughts about the micarta inlays.

[abbazaba]

The one on the right is the new one

[JSumm]

Ok, that is what I thought. They have at least been using it since the change to S45VN. I don't have the birthdate handy, but the below Sebenza is in S45VN and though I love the feel in hand, I often choose not to carry it with thicker pants. It's actually hard to draw. I even loosened the tension of the clip. This is the best picture I could find right now, but it looks just like the one on the right in your pic.


So today and most days with thicker pants, I go Inkosi. I like the ergos better and it is the most solid feeling knife I own. I do prefer the easier lock access of the Sebenza and even though not by much the Sebenza feels much lighter than the Inkosi.


The Sebenza wins in lighter weight shorts though and the slippery Micarta comes in handy with the draw.

[abbazaba]

The inlay inkosi is noticeably lighter as well. Though I would personally recommend the Knife Art CF if weight is a concern.

[Brock O Lee]

I also have a few with the new micarta. No experience with the old. The inlays give the handles a bit more thickness and grip (additional scales edges), even though the micrata's surface is quite smooth.

I like all of them, but on most days I prefer the simplicity of the plain sandblasted versions.

[Ramonade]

I went a bit nuts over the past year. I got too many now.
The LG 21 Insingo is just perfect. Have to resharpen it more often and I don't like high grit edges on their S35VN but it's such a pleasure to use, especially when you compare 21 and 31.
I've manage to secure my dream 31 Insingo though, and I have to say : almost zero lock rock on this one. Even if it's normal with 31s, I have some on which it is not a good feeling.



I've bought some inlays from RC Bladeworks, since G-Carta is hella expensive to import, I might as well make a good man work instead of making them myself ! I was in a hurry to sharpen the brand new blade on this LG 31 and scratched it badly. At least I won't have to think twice about using it for real.



Some are gonna move soon, The Inkosi on the top is gonna have custom inlays. I intended for them to be Muonionalusta meteorite but I can't seem to find any with the right dimensions. The inlays have to go either way because they feel a lot more like plastic than their usual micarta, they have no texture and it's not fun in hand...

[abbazaba]

Nice collection! You can now order a Magnacut blade for the 21. I have one coming in for my L21 Insingo Micarta.

Of course, by the time they fulfill my order Magna Wear will be all the rage lol.

At this point I'm pretty used to the numbness that is S35vn, but Magnacut has been everything I wished for as a replacement outside of M4/K390 dreams.

PS, where's the Zaan?

Good luck selling some, but I've regretted selling basically every CRK I've let go, sometimes just to buy it again lol. This one I sold last month is already eating me

[abbazaba]

This one calls to me this time of year for some reason.

[JSumm]

I went a bit nuts over the past year. I got too many now.
The LG 21 Insingo is just perfect. Have to resharpen it more often and I don't like high grit edges on their S35VN but it's such a pleasure to use, especially when you compare 21 and 31.
I've manage to secure my dream 31 Insingo though, and I have to say : almost zero lock rock on this one. Even if it's normal with 31s, I have some on which it is not a good feeling.



I've bought some inlays from RC Bladeworks, since G-Carta is hella expensive to import, I might as well make a good man work instead of making them myself ! I was in a hurry to sharpen the brand new blade on this LG 31 and scratched it badly. At least I won't have to think twice about using it for real.



Some are gonna move soon, The Inkosi on the top is gonna have custom inlays. I intended for them to be Muonionalusta meteorite but I can't seem to find any with the right dimensions. The inlays have to go either way because they feel a lot more like plastic than their usual micarta, they have no texture and it's not fun in hand...

Alright my French Friend, there is a lot to unpack here, so just hold on and enjoy the ride.

1st - Those are some amazing inlays you have. They look fantastic!

2nd - the lock rock you are talking about I am assuming is up and down play? My Sebenza has a bit of left to right play. I can crank down the pivot and it dissappears completely, but then it is too hard to open. The left to right is very minimal and barely detectable. Up and down tends to drive me nuts, so sorry you are experiencing that. I am fortunate with my only two that they do not have that. The Inkosi feels like a dang fixed blade. It is the most solid feeling folder I have. Unlike the Sebenza, it does not have the pivot bushing, so I wonder if that is partly to blame. I tend to think it plays a roll.

3rd - completely agree on the new micarta. Way too slippery. It was very disappointing. I loosened up the tension on the clip and that does help. I do not think I will get another inlay version though.

4th - As far as steels go, I like to get into the details about steels. Just feels fun and interesting to learn about. But honestly, I prefer simple to sharpen tough steels. I really liked how easily their S45VN was to get crazy sharp. I am just not super concerned about edges and sharpening. At least how they look I should say. I just want to be able to easily get it sharp and reasonably maintain it. I really cannot complain about their S35VN either.

5th - It looks like you did go wild this year! Also looks like you had fun doing it. If I just didn't spend a crazy amount making Christmas "magical" I would try and help take one off your hands.

[TkoK83Spy]

What year did they start using different micarta? I've seen this mentioned a few times and can't tell what I've got haha. My Large Inkoski born date is 2018 so I'm assuming old, but my Small 31 in Magnacut I got around 2 years ago I think?

[Ramonade]

PS, where's the Zaan?

Good luck selling some, but I've regretted selling basically every CRK I've let go, sometimes just to buy it again lol. This one I sold last month is already eating me

I almost bought a Zaan a couple of times but I really can't accept the plunge grind. I'm weird but that's in my top 3 of the reasons why I started buying CRKs instead of only Spydercos The Zaan as a crazy appealing blade but the rest is a bit too big for me. I need to manipulate one and then I'm sure I'll be sold anyways
I am keeping an eye out for the Mnandi though, sweet little thing... I should like this one !

I am with you on this... My first one was a Small 21 which I sold when I got the Macassar ebony 31 and... I prefer the 21, especially with the small Sebs ! The locking interface of the Small 31 is not my favorite, maybe it varies a lot between 31s but both of them have a blade you can easily push down when locked.

Alright my French Friend, there is a lot to unpack here, so just hold on and enjoy the ride.

1st - Those are some amazing inlays you have. They look fantastic!

2nd - the lock rock you are talking about I am assuming is up and down play? My Sebenza has a bit of left to right play. I can crank down the pivot and it dissappears completely, but then it is too hard to open. The left to right is very minimal and barely detectable. Up and down tends to drive me nuts, so sorry you are experiencing that. I am fortunate with my only two that they do not have that. The Inkosi feels like a dang fixed blade. It is the most solid feeling folder I have. Unlike the Sebenza, it does not have the pivot bushing, so I wonder if that is partly to blame. I tend to think it plays a roll.

3rd - completely agree on the new micarta. Way too slippery. It was very disappointing. I loosened up the tension on the clip and that does help. I do not think I will get another inlay version though.

4th - As far as steels go, I like to get into the details about steels. Just feels fun and interesting to learn about. But honestly, I prefer simple to sharpen tough steels. I really liked how easily their S45VN was to get crazy sharp. I am just not super concerned about edges and sharpening. At least how they look I should say. I just want to be able to easily get it sharp and reasonably maintain it. I really cannot complain about their S35VN either.

5th - It looks like you did go wild this year! Also looks like you had fun doing it. If I just didn't spend a crazy amount making Christmas "magical" I would try and help take one off your hands.

Thanks Jeff, can't wait to make more myself, but I have to say that RC Bladeworks' inlays are very well made and that mexican blanket g-carta is to die for. So fluffy and nice to look at !

About 2 : Yeah vertical. It's inherent to the ceramic ball interface according to CRK but I greatly prefer how they implement it on the Inkosi. My 3 Inkosis are rock solid too, close to a fixed blade indeed ! Lock release is still easy as it can be not like with some Large 31. The Black one is the best, awesome action, smooth unlock, everything, I'm selling it cause I bought the MC one, but it's definitely superior even in lock engagement lol. The newest one with the "meh" inlays (don't care, bought it planning to make my own, certainly ivory substitute or bronze since i can't find meteorite) came with the latest lock engagement I had until then. CRK told me the lock won't travel but all of my ceramic interface CRKs traveled quite a bit before settling up. At first I was worried that it'd end up touching the Ti on the show side. Even if it does CRK will take care of it, I just don't wanna learn the cost to send and retrieve a knife !

About 4 : I have to say that I'm with you on this, their S45VN is fine by my standards. 400 to 800 grit edges are always a blast to put on and to use. You can definitely notice the difference with S35VN. Their MagnaCut was a bit disappointing on the Small 31 Macassar, but perfectly fine on the others Now that it had a reprofiling and 3 or 4 sharpenings it is better. But I, surprisingly, had quite the amount of rolling at first.

[Ramonade]

This one calls to me this time of year for some reason.

Looks... festive !

[Brock O Lee]

I went a bit nuts over the past year. I got too many now.

Impressive bunch you have there! Congrats!

I've read about the lock movement on the ceramic ball interface. I must have been lucky, because none of mine (9) has any movement that I can detect.

PS, where's the Zaan?

I almost bought a Zaan a couple of times...

When I was still window-shopping for an Umnumzaan, I read so many diverse opinions about it. For some it was the best knife in the world, others could not accept the ergos. When I eventually got one, I figured the clip caused a big enough hot spot in certain grips I tend to use often, that it had to go. Deleting the clip enhanced the ergos more than simply removing the hot spot, and it feels great now. Happiness!

I now carry it in a non-CRK square-bottomed leather slip. The square bottom helps to keep it upright in the pocket, another thing I've discovered. I am not big on slips, but it is useful on days when I don't want to advertise a clip.