Chris Reeve Knives

[abbazaba]

While I’ve never seen the Backpacker or Inyoni for sale in the wild, they do have the shortest direct order wait time (1.5-2 yrs) of all the CRKs.

Wow, thanks for the heads-up…

FWIW I ordered a Backpacker right after they opened orders about a year ago and no word yet from CRK.

[Brock O Lee]

Nice to see a well-loved knife... This one is probably 10-12 years old, if I have to take a guess? Have you sharpened it into the thinnest section of the hollow grind yet?

[zenith2]

Nice to see a well-loved knife... This one is probably 10-12 years old, if I have to take a guess? Have you sharpened it into the thinnest section of the hollow grind yet?

13 years. It got too thick for my liking and I reground it. Its not pretty at all currently. I have a love hate relationship with that specific knife.

Still have an Insingo Inkosi and a 31, and there is a huge difference between the plain janes and hand ground blades in terms of performance. Hope the image below is clear enough. Took some measurements in mm to indicate thickness behind the edge and where the 2mm mark is.

[Brock O Lee]

Nice to see a well-loved knife... This one is probably 10-12 years old, if I have to take a guess? Have you sharpened it into the thinnest section of the hollow grind yet?

13 years. It got too thick for my liking and I reground it. Its not pretty at all currently. I have a love hate relationship with that specific knife.

Still have an Insingo Inkosi and a 31, and there is a huge difference between the plain janes and hand ground blades in terms of performance. Hope the image below is clear enough. Took some measurements in mm to indicate thickness behind the edge and where the 2mm mark is.

Why the love/hate relationship, if I may ask?

Those measurements between large Sebenza and Inkosi blade thicknesses are interesting, thanks! If I read that correctly, it looks like the Inkosi is 2mm thick about 50% up the blade, but the Sebenza is 2mm thick about 75% up the blade. A lot thinner.

I was playing with the idea to try out a large Inkosi at some time in future, perhaps when they are available in Magnacut one day, but you probably saved me $500 plus shipping with that photo...

[zenith2]

Nice to see a well-loved knife... This one is probably 10-12 years old, if I have to take a guess? Have you sharpened it into the thinnest section of the hollow grind yet?

13 years. It got too thick for my liking and I reground it. Its not pretty at all currently. I have a love hate relationship with that specific knife.

Still have an Insingo Inkosi and a 31, and there is a huge difference between the plain janes and hand ground blades in terms of performance. Hope the image below is clear enough. Took some measurements in mm to indicate thickness behind the edge and where the 2mm mark is.

Why the love/hate relationship, if I may ask?

Those measurements between large Sebenza and Inkosi blade thicknesses are interesting, thanks! If I read that correctly, it looks like the Inkosi is 2mm thick about 50% up the blade, but the Sebenza is 2mm thick about 75% up the blade. A lot thinner.

I was playing with the idea to try out a large Inkosi at some time in future, perhaps when they are available in Magnacut one day, but you probably saved me $500 plus shipping with that photo...

I should have clarified I think. The 31 Sebenza is a Bog Oak version with the hand ground satin blade from CRK. I like it a lot more than the standard blades. Cuts much better in my opinion.

So I would recommend another Sebenza, hand ground one. The day they bring out a hand ground Insingo, I will be running to try it.



The love hate relationship comes from me dropping it from the roof, the lock was never the same after that and at one stage slipped. I got it sorted after a while and no way that sucker is slipping again.

Then I realised the detent ball was chipped, probably from the fall. So drilled that out and replaced it.

Then I got the to play with a 21 Bog Oak and was frustrated why my Insingo did not cut as well…so regrind….

[Brock O Lee]

I should have clarified I think. The 31 Sebenza is a Bog Oak version with the hand ground satin blade from CRK. I like it a lot more than the standard blades. Cuts much better in my opinion.

So I would recommend another Sebenza, hand ground one. The day they bring out a hand ground Insingo, I will be running to try it.



The love hate relationship comes from me dropping it from the roof, the lock was never the same after that and at one stage slipped. I got it sorted after a while and no way that sucker is slipping again.

Then I realised the detent ball was chipped, probably from the fall. So drilled that out and replaced it.

Then I got the to play with a 21 Bog Oak and was frustrated why my Insingo did not cut as well…so regrind….

Interesting, I knew the more expensive Sebenza blades were polished vs stone washed, but I did not know they were hand-ground and noticeably thinner... Are you sure it is not just a drop point vs insingo difference? I find that my plain Jane 31 drop point slices very well. I have a few thin blades in my Spydie arsenal, and this Sebenza also feels very thin (after I reprofiled).

Sorry to hear about your misfortune while testing the bounciness of the 21. Ever considered a spa treatment and reblade at the time? I guess the mothership would not have liked the fact that you fixed it yourself.

That Bog Oak 31 is a looker. I can see it is being put to use for noble purposes, like slicing biltong!

[TkoK83Spy]

Hmmm, I have a Small 31 that's polished and also one that's not and is an Insingo blade. Now I'm interested in checking this out when I get home if it's possible to tell with the naked eye.

[JSumm]

The Insingo blade he is showing is on an Inkosi. The Inkosi Hollow Grind is not as deep as the Sebenza. It is a 20" HG. Larger wheel used on the Inkosi. I am not sure what the Sebenza is, but I have read that they use a 10" HG on the Sebenza and the Umnumzaan, so those 2 should remain thinner for longer up the blade than the Inkosi.

[zenith2]

I should have clarified I think. The 31 Sebenza is a Bog Oak version with the hand ground satin blade from CRK. I like it a lot more than the standard blades. Cuts much better in my opinion.

So I would recommend another Sebenza, hand ground one. The day they bring out a hand ground Insingo, I will be running to try it.



The love hate relationship comes from me dropping it from the roof, the lock was never the same after that and at one stage slipped. I got it sorted after a while and no way that sucker is slipping again.

Then I realised the detent ball was chipped, probably from the fall. So drilled that out and replaced it.

Then I got the to play with a 21 Bog Oak and was frustrated why my Insingo did not cut as well…so regrind….

Interesting, I knew the more expensive Sebenza blades were polished vs stone washed, but I did not know they were hand-ground and noticeably thinner... Are you sure it is not just a drop point vs insingo difference? I find that my plain Jane 31 drop point slices very well. I have a few thin blades in my Spydie arsenal, and this Sebenza also feels very thin (after I reprofiled).

Sorry to hear about your misfortune while testing the bounciness of the 21. Ever considered a spa treatment and reblade at the time? I guess the mothership would not have liked the fact that you fixed it yourself.

That Bog Oak 31 is a looker. I can see it is being put to use for noble purposes, like slicing biltong!

The Insingo blade he is showing is on an Inkosi. The Inkosi Hollow Grind is not as deep as the Sebenza. It is a 20" HG. Larger wheel used on the Inkosi. I am not sure what the Sebenza is, but I have read that they use a 10" HG on the Sebenza and the Umnumzaan, so those 2 should remain thinner for longer up the blade than the Inkosi.

JSumm has a very valid point that I completely forgot about and Hans you as well regarding the blade shapes.

I will have to get a regular blade Sebenza to have a look see and measure again now I guess. :winking

Maybe my presumption is the issue, I expected the Insingo to be a better slicer? I cant remember how the old 21 bog oak compared but I do remember visually I was surprised at how thin it was compared to my Insingo.

I found an old photo of a few I had to compare.



Hans. At the time I did not have the luxury to send it back. When I did meet Anne Reeve in 2017 we talked about it and they are more than willing to assist. Just have not bothered to do it…

Hmmm, I have a Small 31 that's polished and also one that's not and is an Insingo blade. Now I'm interested in checking this out when I get home if it's possible to tell with the naked eye.

Look forward to hear what you find.

[Brock O Lee]

FWIW I ordered a Backpacker right after they opened orders about a year ago and no word yet from CRK.

I followed your good example and placed an order too. It is fun writing no obligation cheques that my future self will most likely have to cash!

[James Y]

What I discovered about CRK knives is that the edge bevels tend to be ground rather obtusely, with a convex grind. So even though the high hollow grind of the 21 and the Umnumzaan is actually thinner near the middle of the blade than it is at the edge, the bevels' fairly steep, convex grinds don't cut as well out of the box as my FFG Spydercos.

If CRK's factory edge bevels were flat V-ground at about 15 DPS, they would have much better cutting performance out of the box, that would better suit such high, thin hollow grinds (like on my 21 and Zaan). But IIRC, CRK does the fairly thick convex bevels to make the edge "stronger." I would prefer thinner V bevels. It would make it unnecessary to reprofile OOB, and make resharpenings quicker and easier.

My very first CRK, a large "regular" Sebenza bought new in 2002, came with edge bevels whose cross-section looked like a cross between a V and a U, and was so thick and dull that I literally couldn't even cut the pad of my thumb if I ran it along the edge. Not that I wanted to cut my thumb, but it couldn't have cut me if I tried. I learned how to reprofile with that knife.

Jim

[Manixguy@1994]

All great information but must say Hans is making me hungry ! Dan

[JRinFL]

KnifeJoy has a bunch of CHRIS REEVE KNIVES LARGE SEBENZA 31 INSINGO MAGNACUT in stock right now. (all caps courtesy of cut & paste )

[Brock O Lee]

This is my first taste of a small Sebenza Insingo. I prefer the size of the large Sebenza, but thought I'd give this one a go since many people rave about it. It was an easy purchase when I stumbled on a plain Magnacut version in stock.

Over the last few weeks I was trying to form an opinion. I was not overly impressed to be honest. Things did not really "click", until I removed the clip. What a revelation... This knife just works without the clip. Was it not for this discovery it may have been out the door, but I ordered a clip insert and look forward to give it a decent workout. It has a surprising amount of cutting edge, about the same as a Manix...

[Paul Ardbeg]

The large Seb 21 I intend to keep. You hardly see the CGG hex gold version around. I would love the small Seb CGG hex in blue! The small Seb 31 is for sale.

[abbazaba]

For me, it took owning a large Seb before I appreciated the small. When I carried a small Seb to the office I carried it loose in pocket.

[zenith2]

This is my first taste of a small Sebenza Insingo. I prefer the size of the large Sebenza, but thought I'd give this one a go since many people rave about it. It was an easy purchase when I stumbled on a plain Magnacut version in stock.

Over the last few weeks I was trying to form an opinion. I was not overly impressed to be honest. Things did not really "click", until I removed the clip. What a revelation... This knife just works without the clip. Was it not for this discovery it may have been out the door, but I ordered a clip insert and look forward to give it a decent workout. It has a surprising amount of cutting edge, about the same as a Manix...

Congratulations Hans. May it serve you well.

I agree on the clip aspect.

[Brock O Lee]

Congratulations Hans. May it serve you well.

I agree on the clip aspect.

Thank you Marthinus!

I spent a peaceful and pleasant Saturday morning in the garage, and reprofiled the bottom two and sharpened the large PJ. This is my first experience to sharpen CPM-Magnacut (on small and micarta). I found it to be similar but maybe marginally easier to cut than the CPM-S45VN using diamonds. Burr removal was very easy with a Spyderco Fine ceramic. I left a coarse DMT Fine (600 grit) finish on all of them.



A noticeable difference is how Magnacut finishes. It gets extremely sharp without much effort. It felt noticeably sharper than S45VN given the exact same treatment, angle and grit finish. Almost like a typical carbon steel such as 52100 or Aogami Superblue.

They are all hair popping sharp, but Magnacut grabs and cuts the skin when popping arm hair if you are not careful, and will shave effortlessly with and against the hair growth. S45VN less so.

I'm impressed. Let's see how these edges hold up over time...

[TkoK83Spy]

As always, nice work Hans.

[Brock O Lee]

As always, nice work Hans.

Thank you Rick!