1 CRK Knife For 1 Year!

Glock Guy

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1 KNIFE FOR 1 YEAR!

I’ve always been of fan of “Progress” threads both in this forum, as well as a business forum that I’m a member of. I love watching a story unwind over time, and being able to look back at the pictures along the way makes it even more enjoyable.

Over the last few years it seems like I’ve bought and sold a ton of knives, but never really connected with any of them. Unlike the first Chris Reeve knife I owned (a small Sebenza Insingo that I carried for well over a year), all the recent knives just seemed to come and go, and they came and went in droves.

But not anymore...

Today I'm starting my 1 Knife For 1 Year Challenge!

Starting today I’m going to carry, use and bond with just ONE knife for an entire year. This knife will be the ONLY knife I carry and use on a daily basis.

That being said, I will allow exceptions for specific cutting chores like food prep, where I would grab a kitchen knife, or cleaning a fish/dressing a deer, where one would grab the appropriate fixed blade. Also due to the fact that our household gets a TON of boxes, and those boxes need to be broken down, that job will continue to go to my Spyderco Endura in ZDP-189 which has been, and will continue to be, the designated box breaker-downer, and is kept in the garage for that very purpose.

The real purpose of this challenge is not to see if one knife will do it all. It's for me to avoid having any type of rotation, like I did in the past.

And what knife am I going to spend the next 365 days with?

<<Insert Drumroll>>

The knife I chose is the large 21 drop point (DOB: May 10, 2018) that I just picked up off the BST Facebook page! This knife was literally brand new, and was probably only opened for the picture to sell it as the blue anodizing on the thumb-stud was still pristine. And while I felt I got a pretty good deal on it, I was even more surprised when it arrived and saw that it was actually a double-lug model, which the previous owner never mentioned.


So I invite you all to follow me on this challenging journey into knife monogamy. I'll be sure to snap a few pictures each month to show how the knife wears throughout the year, and I’ll try to get some that capture the different seasons as well.

Here's a quick pic of the knife I got yesterday before it was cleaned, sharpened and re-lubed.

pWKoXUX.jpg



*** 1 (CRK) Knife For One Year Challenge Rules: ***

- Knife MUST be a CRK!

- You must actually carry the knife! You may OWN as many as you like, and fondle all the ones you care to, but you must actually carry one knife to join in on this thread.

- Specific purpose knives do NOT count. As I said earlier, I have a knife that is the designated box cutter in our home. Maybe you have one for specific work duties, skinning animals or cleaning fish, and of course all kitchen duty knives. Those do NOT count. Again this is just for carrying a knife for a year to see if you can.

- I will also add that you are allowed to carry other knives. I know several people that carry, say, a large CRK along with a smaller, multi-purpose or more people friendly knife (SAK/Old-timey/etc.) That IS allowed as long as you also carry the same CRK for ONE YEAR!

- Each participant gets 3 chances (strikes, if you will) before they are out.

- In the event your knife is lost or stolen, you will automatically be awarded a do-over WITHOUT incurring another strike, however the time will start over. In other words, let's say you were on your 2nd try and your knife was lost or stolen. You would get to pick out another CRK to carry for the challenge and STILL be on your 2nd try, but you would start over at day 1 again.

- Please carry/use/try out the knife you want to use as your 1YC (1 Year Challenge) EDC for 2 full weeks BEFORE you post a picture of it and declare your entry into the challenge. This should save a few false starts, as well as some people finding out that a Small Sebenza/Inkosi is *too* small, or the Umnumzaan hurts their thumb too much, but they had no way of knowing until they had the knife in their hands.

- When you enter, you must declare entry into the challenge: I am starting the 1YC with this knife: ____________ starting now, ___ (the date)___, this is my ___ (1st, 2nd, 3rd try)___.

- After each strike you must wait AT LEAST 2 weeks to re-enter.

- Last but not least, once you are out of chances you are done. Period. You can NOT post any more "this is my EDC now" posts in this challenge thread. Start a thread of your own if you want, or feel free to chime in with advice or encourage those who are still in the challenge, but respect the fact that this thread is for challenge participants ONLY.


...And with that, let the games begin!
 
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This should be an interesting thread. A year is a long time, though. I don’t know if I could go that long. I recently bought a large PJ 21 insingo and it’s kicked my other knives out of my pocket since. You picked a great knife to do this with.
 
Great idea. I look forward to the pics.

So, what if you get the itch to carry something else? Does that mean you will have to carry both in order to keep your plan going? Curious to know your thoughts because I have been thinking about doing the same.
 
I will join you. Starting tomorrow I will post a picture of the Large 21 that is arriving in the evening.

It will be my primary folder. So it shouldn't be too hard. My wife said that I won't make it past Christmas without carrying something else or buying something new and selling it.

I'd like to do it just to prove her wrong lol.
 
Awesome idea; big fan of these types of threads.. I am not sure if I could do it but would like to give it a try one day.

Will be keeping an eye out for updates.

Good luck! ;)
 
So, what if you get the itch to carry something else? Does that mean you will have to carry both in order to keep your plan going? Curious to know your thoughts because I have been thinking about doing the same.

Nope, that's the challenging part - the large 21 has to be the ONLY knife I actually carry.

Now grant it that doesn't mean I won't pick up a knife or two along the way as there are some I'd love to check out. It's just that those knives will have to be kept at home, and won't end up in my pocket. At least not for 1 year. Call it an exercise in stoicism, or minimalism, but I want to see if I have the discipline and self control to just limit myself to one knife, because that's really all I need.

Doing this is kind of like Mark Zuckerberg wearing the same outfit every day. For me this is a step back to the simpler days when I only had one knife, and I just put that one knife in my pocket every day.
 
...You picked a great knife to do this with.

...I must say you picked a good knife for your challenge! :thumbsup:

I agree, and for me it wasn't even a hard choice. I have always thought the Large 21 Drop Point was the classiest looking knife around, and one that is completely functional as well. This was the perfect knife to just sharpen and clean from time to time, and then just enjoy using.


I will join you. My wife said that I won't make it past Christmas without carrying something else or buying something new and selling it. I'd like to do it just to prove her wrong lol.

LOL, I hear you. My wife would roll her eyes at me every time I bought a new knife. Then she would say, "Are you selling that already?!" as she saw my boxing up something. Like you, I'm looking to prove her wrong this time, too!!!
 
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The Large Sebenza is a very well rounded knife and should serve you well. I like the one knife theory, and have done it in the past, but those days are over for me. I have too much sentimental attachment to some of my knives at this point.
Best of luck
 
Look forward to this! Should be easy, the Sebenza is king. It’s all I’ve carried for about a month straight, but I own to many Knives...impossible!!!
 
Good luck, have fun, and looking forward to seeing how your challenge unfolds!

I can’t even go one whole day!
 
I couldn't do it as the "only" knife I carried for a year ... there are far to many uses I need a fixed blade or a bigger or smaller knife for various uses ...

but I have carried one knife for over a year every day ... in fact there have been a few knives that have been part of my daily carry for a year or more at times in my life ... but not "the only one" ...

just a few examples for me ... for fishing needed a fillet knife ... hunting I needed a fixed and for butchering needed various knives ... for cutting drywall or shingles ... for food prep ... I don't know if I own any "one" knife that would handle every task without lots of swearing involved ...

so I know I couldn't make the challenge as you have it posted ... it will be interesting to see how you progress with it.
 
Sounds interesting and look forward to hearing the result... but large Sabenzas have been around for decades with lots of reviews and I think you will have a positive experience. I would have greater interest in someone embarking on this experiment with a newer knife, like small Inkosi insingo.
 
I couldn't do it as the "only" knife I carried for a year ... there are far to many uses I need a fixed blade or a bigger or smaller knife for various uses ... just a few examples for me ... for fishing needed a fillet knife ... hunting I needed a fixed and for butchering needed various knives ... for cutting drywall or shingles ... for food prep ... I don't know if I own any "one" knife that would handle every task without lots of swearing involved.

Agreed, and I have updated my OP to reflect the fact that there are certain situations where a specific non-carried fixed blade knife (kitchen, fillet, etc.) works best, as I just thought that was a given. I listed the Endura exception as that was another folder (and one that is not carried) due to the fact that the thinner full flat ground blade makes quick work of breaking down cardboard, and the ZDP-189 steel holds an edge MUCH longer than S35VN.

Again though, it wasn't my intention to use the Seb for everything. I just wanted to get out of the habit of feeling like I needed a knife "rotation", so I came up with this challenge of carrying and using just ONE knife for all the daily tasks that didn't require a specific kind of knife.


And this my friend..... is your outcome. Pretty ain't she
View attachment 988092

Yes. Yes she is. I'm looking forward to getting some nice character on my knife like the ones I posted in this thread: Pics of Well Worn/Weathered CRK's ONLY!
 
Great plan...you are gonna love the sebbie for a year.
Ive always thought about doing the 1 knife for 1 year, but if i lived for 100yrs i still couldnt carry them all!! ;) i may have to do a 1 knife for 3 months. Lol.
Looking forward to updates as your year of CRK wonder progresses. Good luck!
 
Love my 43 for bicycling due to weight, but favor a 19 or 30 depending for EDC. I carried a large LEFTY REGULAR , WEAK SIDE FOR 2-3 YEARS before I realized you could own more than 1!!! Then it all went to hell! All those lonely CRKs sitting in a drawer for a year.... we'll follow your exploits!
 
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