1 CRK Knife For 1 Year!

I've noticed the biggest difference when cutting cardboard. There is a HUGE difference between S35V and S110V, which is why I use the Spyderco Millitary exclusively for that task. Ankerson did a cut test with the same knife in S110V and cut over 6,000 feet of cardboard before HE gave up. The knife still had plenty of use left. This was not just "working sharp", but phone book paper cutting sharp. With S35V you would be lucky to get a fraction of that before it stopped cutting paper cleanly.

CRK's blade steel is on the weak end of the spectrum for knives, but that's not why people buy a CRK. You are paying for the quality, heritage, designs and tolerances that would rival what most tool and die maker's put out.
 
Sadly, I had to bow out of this challenge, as well. As some may know, I am a tractor trailer driver for big brown. I had to fix a bad electrical connection between the tractor and trailer because only some of it’s lights worked. A quick fix that sometimes works is to cut one of our plastic seals and put that into the the connection along with the light cord to tighten it up. Our seals are about twice as thick and 3-4 times as wide as a normal zip tie. The first cut went ok, but the second one I had to pull like crazy to get it to cut.
I’ve done this with some of my other knives multiple times and they still haven’t needed to go on my sharpener yet. Not a knock on CRK, I just prefer to have one of my other knives with a harder steel with me at work for when this situation happens again. I still have and love the knife and use it when I’m not at work. Just wanted to update this and let interested people know.
 
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Glock Guy said:
What year is your Seb? They changed the heat treat back in mid-2013, but I feel CRK's are still on the soft side if you actually use the knife for cutting anything harder than an envelope.
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Mine is 5/18. I’ve mostly been cutting cardboard and that has led to it quickly losing its edge. But I knew going in that I wasn’t getting this knife for it’s edge retention. However, it does slice like a dream. 90E56A79-EEFE-4CE6-B63D-60FDFAE40AFC.jpeg
 
firefighterguy said:
Mine is 5/18. I’ve mostly been cutting cardboard and that has led to it quickly losing its edge. But I knew going in that I wasn’t getting this knife for it’s edge retention. However, it does slice like a dream.
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Copy that, and I agree 100%. Cardboard seems to be an almost instant edge killer. It will go from screaming sharp to working sharp very quickly. That's why I use the S110V Military exclusively for cardboard. It goes through it like a light saber!

I think the Sebenza is a great all around knife. I love the look and ergos, but they are a bit behind when it comes to edge retention/blade steel. Again if all you are cutting is paper or tape, really any steel will do, and CRK's are excellent at those tasks. It's when you start getting into the harder materials like cardboard and zip-ties that the difference really comes through.
 
DRLyman, your electrical repair work scenario sounds like a “specific exception” to me, like the kitchen knife or fish fillet exceptions. You need a specific tool to efficiently complete a specific, important task. Glock Guy would have to weigh in, but it sounds to me like you’re still in the game.

-Sean-
 
Bandaids or stitches said:
DRLyman, your electrical repair work scenario sounds like a “specific exception” to me, like the kitchen knife or fish fillet exceptions. You need a specific tool to efficiently complete a specific, important task. Glock Guy would have to weigh in, but it sounds to me like you’re still in the game.

-Sean-
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Good catch Sean.

This does sound like something that would require more than a normal knife since you are cutting something “Twice as thick and 3-4 times as wide as a normal zip tie.” That sounds like something work specific to the company you work for, so I think that would fit under the “Specific Exception” rule listed in the OP.

Again not trying to cheat here, but there are certain things that come up where one knife simply won’t do the job. Cutting some kind of super strength zip tie specific to your line of work would definitely be one of those exceptions, so you’re still in DRLyman DRLyman !
 
Bandaids or stitches said:
DRLyman, your electrical repair work scenario sounds like a “specific exception” to me, like the kitchen knife or fish fillet exceptions. You need a specific tool to efficiently complete a specific, important task. Glock Guy would have to weigh in, but it sounds to me like you’re still in the game.

-Sean-
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Glock Guy said:
Good catch Sean.

This does sound like something that would require more than a normal knife since you are cutting something “Twice as thick and 3-4 times as wide as a normal zip tie.” That sounds like something work specific to the company you work for, so I think that would fit under the “Specific Exception” rule listed in the OP.

Again not trying to cheat here, but there are certain things that come up where one knife simply won’t do the job. Cutting some kind of super strength zip tie specific to your line of work would definitely be one of those exceptions, so you’re still in DRLyman DRLyman !
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Thanks to both of you for the idea and the exception for using something different for this particular situation. Looks like I’m still in, which is great news to hear :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Those seals can be pretty rough on a knife. Going through one of my knife drawers today, I came upon my Leatherman Charge that I haven’t used in a long time. I think it would work perfectly for that task.
 
ty_higg said:
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I'm gonna give this a try I got my first CRK today. I had been looking for a umnumzaan with a specific day and month for a while now. One finally poped up and I had the funds so I grabbed it and I'm so happy I did absolutely love the knife and the CRK feel.
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Is that a potato or Burger in the foil?
 
... And I'm out!!! :(

I can't believe it. I failed in my own thread!

Truth be told, I think trying to go an entire year was a bit of a stretch for me. I should probably have started with carrying the same knife for a month, then 2 months, and so on, and so on. Jumping straight to the year mark goal is a tough one for sure.

In the end there wasn't really anything that was wrong with EITHER knife I chose. It was just my wanting to carry something else (mainly the new Laconico Keen), or at least giving myself the option of carrying something else.

Oh well, it was a learning experience, and probably not for just me!

I'm going to leave this thread open to see if SOMEONE can do it. Please be sure to post some pics along the way, too.

Best of luck to those that are still going strong!
 
Five months in as my daily carry... my small Inkosi. When I first got it I told myself it was not an amazing slicer because of thicker blade stock, but after a number of rounds of hand sharpening with a 6K stone and stropping over the months it is really becoming nice and sharp. Do I fiddle with lots of other knives at my desk? Absolutely. But the size and sturdiness of this knife has been perfect for me... in my pocket all the time. It really feels at home in my hand as I'm breaking things down with it on a daily basis.

 
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I failed as well damnit lol. Actually like a month ago, I just forgot to update on here.

I can do a month at most with any knife that I REALLY like (mainly my small sebenza or 940) but I can never seem to go longer than a month.

Maybe one year I'll actually do it. Good luck to anyone still going strong
 
Nottynuffknives said:
I failed as well damnit lol. Actually like a month ago, I just forgot to update on here.

I can do a month at most with any knife that I REALLY like (mainly my small sebenza or 940) but I can never seem to go longer than a month.

Maybe one year I'll actually do it. Good luck to anyone still going strong
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I will try again with my new Starbenza if I get a double Mulligan :). I learned my lesson .

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I just picked this up off the exchange and decided to jump in. Stripped, cleaned and a new edge at 19.5. It's a few years old and by the looks of it, had a pretty easy life so far. That's gonna change. My other CRKs and all of my other EDC blades are going back in their boxes for a year. My hunting, camping and fishing knives will be carried in addition to this one. Game on.

Day 1

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