Has CRK ruined other knives for you?

Retriever

Retriever

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I was scrolling through the CRK Cheat Day thread and felt inspired to carry one of my non-CRK knives. I’d pick one of my other knives up, open and close it, then put it right back. I just couldn’t bring myself to carry anything else.

I am a big Spyderco fan. My favorites the original Paramilitary and the Embassy, but after they’ve either discontinued or “improved” some of my favorite models, I find myself hesitant to carry them.

My CRKs on the other hand I’m much less precious about. I have no problem with carrying, using, and even loaning them out to friends, because I know that no matter what happens I can always send it back to Idaho and it’ll be either repaired or replaced.

Does anyone else have a bunch of knives they no longer use but can’t bear to get rid of?
 
They've definitely made it harder to carry other knives longer than a short term stint, even ones with functionally more practical blades for what I'm doing. I've tried "combining" key things I like about both with knives like the Spyderoco Brouwer and Spydie Chef. It's fun to use something different but inevitably I come back to the CRK sooner or later. You mention Spyderco and that's actually one of my biggest gripes with them is the revolving door of models, variations, and sprint runs. When I find something that's perfect just for me, I either find it's been discontinued or won't necessarily be around long.
 
I still enjoy variety.
One of my CRKs might occupy my pocket for a few weeks, but then I‘ll rediscover the performance and simplicity of an Endura, or the splendid EDC quality of an Ultratech, or perhaps the silliness and machismo of a ZT.
 
Didn't for me. I like my Spartan Harsey more, even my ZT0640 (not the green one) is a tough challenger.

I have not owned a Zaan yet, and they may do it. I have handled one and it felt better than the 31 I had.

The action of the 31, after a few months of trying to love it, just wasn't my favorite. Stunk, because I loved the ergos and the blade shape is a solid user blade, but I can get that in other knives with a smoother/more desirable pivot feel. I also feel like the pivot got rougher from dirt quicker than my other pivots with washers, which is a big reason I prefer washers over bearings, given a choice between two similar knives.

I actually think some of the action trouble may have been the ball detent not rolling smoothly on the blade, but after 3 or 4 months of use, I went back to different knives.
 
I bit hard on CRK for a few months, and went through six or seven. I kept an inkosi and an impinda. They're neat, but an Impinda isn't as useful to me as an Vic Farmer, and the inkosi won't replace a griptilian, or ritter mk1.
 
I wouldn’t necessarily say they CRK had ruined other knives for me- I still carry and enjoy several others in my collection, especially Spydercos. CRK folders and CPK fixed blades have, however, made me slow way down on purchasing knives.
I try to only buy knives that I will carry and it’s become harder to picture other knives kicking a CRK out of my pocket. I love how solid they feel, how compactly they carry, and how easy to maintain they are.
 
No, not at all. They do set a certain standard of excellence, imho, which can be useful in judging other knives, but certainly there are other excellent offerings available to both users and collectors.

That said, I've picked up three in the past few months after a long period of dormancy. So there's that.
 
I'm going to agree with Blues Blues 100%. CRK hasn't ruined other brands for me but it has set the standard. Now I find myself looking at other more expensive things than I normally would just to see what's out there. That being said, I do still love a good benchmade or spyderco. Funny thing though, my favorite spydie costs as much as a CRK...
 
Bought my first CRK 2 weeks ago, simply because I had to have one. I like it, it’s very different from any of my other folders, made with very high quality and beautiful grind for sure. But it’s going to be a while until it’s as comfortable as some of my other folders, if ever.

And … it’s a large CRK, but not a large folder, comparatively. If you like large folders you might want to look somewhere else.

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Kettleman said:
I’ve left and come me back to CRK so many times it became obvious I was wasting my time and money. At this point I own 6 knives, all CRK.
So, to answer the question, Yes
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I’m blown away. 6 knives! Never assume right? Color me impressed. Nice to know what works for you and be content. 6 would be a nice total number but for me it would contain 3-4 fixed blades (not because I need them, just like them)
I’m rearranging to get close to that and not have the accumulation of 50+ years. 👍
 
Ive been mostly in the traditional world but do stray away occassionally. Titanium locking folders is not a difficult market and it caters to every budget. For years I had considered the bradley alias as I considered a BM 707. However, the mere fact that youtubers or gear guys or edc reviewers need to name something a sebenza killer made me interested. Dont get me wrong, I first sipped the cool aid in 2017, with a tanto 21 small and then a small insingo. For years after I let the small insingo go after some bills came up, ive been hankering for a sebenza since. So here we are, and I am back to where I was edc wise circa 2018, sebenza on my right, benchmade 707 on my left, and a traditional in a slip or back pocket. It hasnt ruined other knives per se, but it is the standard for a decent titanium folder. At least for me, ymmv, i know i havent touched my liong mah warrior v2 since I bought it.
 
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