CPM S45VN thoughts after full year in the field...

PiterM

PiterM

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Mar 27, 2000
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I’ll re-post it here in next days to give you on-the-forum reading experience. But for now it’s all here:

https://www.itstactical.com/warcom/knives/inkosi-s45vn-chris-reeve-knives/

s45vn.jpg


Quick conclusions: awesome steel, sharp, aggresive, 61-62 HRC gives serious advantage in edge holding. New industrial standard for premium knives is born!

Should you consider this new steel? Honestly, if you’ve already got an Inkosi in S35VN, I can’t see a practical reason why you’d switch just after new steel is available. If you were planning on purchasing a CRK knife in S35VN now, I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. This new steel is more incremental in its benefits and not a substantial change over S35VN. It will be a welcome change and more of a natural evolution eventually I think than revolution.
 
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I literally logged on over my lunch hour to see if this review was posted yet. Thanks PiterM PiterM !

I, for one, would welcome a (even slightly) upgraded steel in the CRK lineup. A couple points higher hardness may be just what I'm hoping for.

I have run the gamut in folders, including some Shiro's in Vanax. I came full circle on CRK, at one point abandoning all of them almost exclusively because of their achilles heel - the S35VN steel. (Let's face it, that's maybe the one knock against them, and my personal experience only was that the edge retention/chipping/rolling with their implementation of the steel was a little disappointing.) After exploring the landscape of premium production folders, I have come back to CRK and they are now one of only two pocket knives I've consolidated my folder collection down to. The only other folder I have is a Spyderco Gayle Bradley II in M4. (Imagine if you will for a moment if CRK ever put a carbon steel in a folder. My firstborn for a Sebenza in M4...)

My collection reduction was purely based on a desire toward more minimalistic approach to possessions. But a CRK with a minimally improved steel would cause me to break a promise or two!
 
TRfromMT said:
I literally logged on over my lunch hour to see if this review was posted yet. Thanks PiterM PiterM !

I, for one, would welcome a (even slightly) upgraded steel in the CRK lineup. A couple points higher hardness may be just what I'm hoping for.

I have run the gamut in folders, including some Shiro's in Vanax. I came full circle on CRK, at one point abandoning all of them almost exclusively because of their achilles heel - the S35VN steel. (Let's face it, that's maybe the one knock against them, and my personal experience only was that the edge retention/chipping/rolling with their implementation of the steel was a little disappointing.) After exploring the landscape of premium production folders, I have come back to CRK and they are now one of only two pocket knives I've consolidated my folder collection down to. The only other folder I have is a Spyderco Gayle Bradley II in M4. (Imagine if you will for a moment if CRK ever put a carbon steel in a folder. My firstborn for a Sebenza in M4...)

My collection reduction was purely based on a desire toward more minimalistic approach to possessions. But a CRK with a minimally improved steel would cause me to break a promise or two!
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This was actually my thought as well. I don't like it when companies run their blades slightly softer 'for ease of sharpening.' Anyone who is buying knives at those prices can use diamond stones.
 
madcap_magician said:
Anyone who is buying knives at those prices can use diamond stones.
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anyone from this forum - probably yes

anyone outside hardcore knife fans like here or similar places - you’d be surprised ;)

(and especially people, for whom such a purchase is easier financially than Victorinox Farmer for me. I know such people, yeah.)

Another valid point: remember that CRK had ONE FULL YEAR to play with new heat treatment so it CAN be even better in the end? Possibly!
 
PiterM said:
anyone from this forum - probably yes

anyone outside hardcore knife fans like here or similar places - you’d be surprised ;)

(and especially people, for whom such a purchase is easier financially than Victorinox Farmer for me. I know such people, yeah.)

Another valid point: remember that CRK had ONE FULL YEAR to play with new heat treatment so it CAN be even better in the end? Possibly!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know, but outside of "Hardcore knife fans," how many people are dropping $450 on a CRK? When you can get a diamond stone at Cabela's or even a hardware store, or just send it back to CRK for spa treatment, choosing to run blades softer deliberately seems like catering to minority least likely to be buying your knives.
 
So wait, is the official plan from CRK to phase out S35VN for S45VN across their lineup? Awesome and interesting if so! Do we have confirmation from CRK somewhere on that? Sorry if I totally missed it or something.

Thanks for the awesome article! The Inkosi may well be my favorite CRK and having one in S45 will be very exciting when the time comes.
 
This is great news! I have been wondering when a steel upgrade was coming, I figured we were due. thank you for sharing!
 
This is EXACTLY what will switch me back to primarily buying CRK. I have over 10 various CRKs but the edge holding has always bothered me because I use my knives hard, and they don’t seem to last as long as others. Consistently.

This news has me excited for CRK for the first time in a long time.
 
I'm happy with all of the steels CRK has ever used, maybe I would be happier with some new steel, not really feeling rushed. I think for a very experienced CRK guy to give a review after a year is not pre-mature, but the opposite, well tested, and from a position to make educated judgement calls.Of course I'll get one when they come out,,,, have about everything else, but the 31 is not something I want to jump on, like from Seb 25 to Inkosi... I really can't tell a difference in real world use between the 2.
 
RTedder2 said:
It's not a consideration on S45V, its a done deal. They just have to use up the supply of S35V first.
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haha I think I meant to ask was S45vn the only steel considered?

I don’t think it was purpose-built specifically for CRK, but I’m sure that partnership between CRK/Crucible was a consideration.

Was CPM-20cv in the conversation? Looks like they were looking for better edge retention and corrosion resistance without sacrificing too much toughness; it doesn’t get more balanced than 20cv in that regard. It takes a great working edge even at lower angles that’s pretty easily stropped back to slicey. Downsides would be level of achievable finish for the fancy configs and I guess field reprofiling?

Out of curiosity, how many people bring a $400+ Sebenza as their sole field knife outside of OP’s testing?
 
Feel the same as madcap regarding running steels softer for “ease of field sharpening.” I’m excited for this change.
 
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