I just ordered my first CKF---what am I in for?

[falar]

I've pretty much been a ZT whore for the last few years. My other folders have been getting dumped as I really focus on titanium flippers. I've decided to branch out a bit and after giving Reate a try now I've pulled the trigger on a CKF.

I guess I didn't research this purchase as much as I usually do and one thing that I worry about with foreign makers is service in the US if necessary. Not that I warranty a ton of knives but it is nice to know when you drop a few hundred on something it can be taken care of down the line if necessary.

I don't see much talk of CKF on here compared to the current go-to high end Chinese makers (WE and Reate) and wonder if they are they in a production lull or is their presence here just not as strong as WE and Reate currently are?

From what little I could glean from the search engine it seems overall most people are nothing but impressed.

 

[Hackenslash]

I have a CKF Morrf 1, a Gratch and a Sukhoi 2. I'd say that the fit and finish is on par with Reate for each knife. My only real complaint is I wish CKF would make some smaller blades. Everything is in the 3.5" and larger range and that's just too big for weekday EDC.

Can't find any other fault with them other than size though.

 

[falar]

I have a CKF Morrf 1, a Gratch and a Sukhoi 2. I'd say that the fit and finish is on par with Reate for each knife. My only real complaint is I wish CKF would make some smaller blades. Everything is in the 3.5" and larger range and that's just too big for weekday EDC.

Can't find any other fault with them other than size though.

LOL that's what made me check them out, I am sick of all these tiny 3.5" and under knives out there. I like a knife in the 4-4.25" range for EDC. Although the one I ordered is only 3.75"....I hope it doesn't turn out to be too small.

I guess I'm just conflicted. I see so many glowing CKF reviews but then I find a few thigns about cheap chinese hardware and the like too and I wonder what the real quality level is.

 

[Mo2]

I don't like many of the styles but I have a Sukhoi 2 and want a Sukhoi 3. Only style I really like from ckf.

They are good knives overall.

Designed by Russians and made by a factory that makes clones exclusively. Ie kevin john.

Materials are usually provided by the designers from USA or where ever, depending on the part.

Action is usually really good and quality is high. Ckf have good support too.

Overall I like only one design and despise the factory they use. Oh well. I like them better than zt. I have alot of issues with the brand and knives of ZT. Not ever buying another one again.

 

[CPP]

I had a Peace Duke which was an awesome knife with perfect fit and finish. The only problem I had with it was that I was unable to get replacement hardware as that production run had ended. It came with some additional hardware but not all. From what I have seen their knives now come with a complete set of replacement hardware. CKF has a sub-forum on another forum.

 

[falar]

I don't like many of the styles but I have a Sukhoi 2 and want a Sukhoi 3. Only style I really like from ckf.

They are good knives overall.

Designed by Russians and made by a factory that makes clones exclusively. Ie kevin john.

Materials are usually provided by the designers from USA or where ever, depending on the part.

Action is usually really good and quality is high. Ckf have good support too.

Overall I like only one design and despise the factory they use. Oh well. I like them better than zt. I have alot of issues with the brand and knives of ZT. Not ever buying another one again.

I had a Peace Duke which was an awesome knife with perfect fit and finish. The only problem I had with it was that I was unable to get replacement hardware as that production run had ended. It came with some additional hardware but not all. From what I have seen their knives now come with a complete set of replacement hardware. CKF has a sub-forum on another forum.

I've seen it, not much discussion there. Mostly advertising.

I've been looking at their stuff for a while. The world of 4" or more titanium frame lock flippers isn't all that big and that is solely where my interest lies these days. With the uncertainty from my end about their quality level though spending 400-600 on one just never happened though. This is the first I've heard they have a cloner building their stuff I can't say that I enjoy reading that.

However, I ordered a little something outside of that. For a while I looked at Kwaibacks but the 3.75" held me back. I recently decided I wanted one anyway just to give it a try but unfortunately all that is available these days are the ones with the CF scale on the show side or the CTS-XHP blade steel which I see as a downgrade from 20CV.

The CKF/Kwaiback collaboration looks promising so I ordered one. I don't mind CF inlays (I don't like when you have a solid CF scale) and the blade is M390 and with everything else being more or less identical but with the addition of the 2-row ceramic bearings (like a Reate) I'm hoping it is like getting a "real" Kwaiback with a better action.

I thought they basically sold two types of knives:

Full Customs from Russian/Eastern European makers

"Mid-techs" designed by makers from all over the world. But by the classic definition this would then be untrue if they are not actually assembling anything themselves.

 

[nwmetalbug]

Ordered a Loro a couple weeks ago should be here any time now. bought a couple others from them impressed with everything so far

 

[b00n]

I got a Morrf-5, Kwaiback and Spectra from CKF, well made, really like them.

 

[falar]

I got a Morrf-5, Kwaiback and Spectra from CKF, well made, really like them.

Knifecenter running a sale on that CKF Kwaiback at 495 is what got me to pull the trigger. Looking at the bearings it rides on I'm expecting a Reate-like action.

 

[b00n]

Knifecenter running a sale on that CKF Kwaiback at 495 is what got me to pull the trigger. Looking at the bearings it rides on I'm expecting a Reate-like action.

My thoughts:
- Fit and Finish is perfect
- Action is excellent BUT it took a while to break in
- Ergos with my large hands are really good
- Nitpick 1 (not for me personally but worth mentioning) would be the Flipper Tab is quite pointy, so it's more of a "hook your finger onto it and light switch" than push button deployment
- Nitpick 2 would be that the clip is far from deep carry
- Negative Point (to me) would be the body screws directly in the titanium through the backspacer, I would have preferred threaded inserts and two screws on each side.

All in all I am happy with my purchase and even got new inserts for it. The regular CF looks totally fine and was finished perfectly, but I liked the Kwaiback so much that I wanted to fancy it up a bit more.

 

[jfk1110]

Recently acquired a morff 5 and am totally impressed. Fit, finish, and complete second set of hardware. What's not to like! Enjoy your new toy!!

 

[b00n]

Recently acquired a morff 5 and am totally impressed. Fit, finish, and complete second set of hardware. What's not to like! Enjoy your new toy!!

I agree, forgot about that part. While it is a bit of a cop out in terms of "1 Year Warranty here are your spare parts" , I still appreciate the fact that they include it. Although I wish they had a longer warranty, will I need it? Probably not. Would I like it? Definitely.

 

[falar]

I agree, forgot about that part. While it is a bit of a cop out in terms of "1 Year Warranty here are your spare parts" , I still appreciate the fact that they include it. Although I wish they had a longer warranty, will I need it? Probably not. Would I like it? Definitely.

I'm sure I'll be impressed with the action and fit and finish since everyone is. The only thing that gives me pause is that the poster above said that they get everything made by a cloner. First, I hate supporting a cloner. I had no idea, I had seen many posts here about the quality and designs coming out of CKF but thought most of their stuff was made in Russia, I had really only seen a few posts speculating about the origin of some of the hardware.

Also, while I can visually inspect for machining prowess and action/lock function my main concern with a company that has no issues with cloning is what other less than ethical things will they do? How do any of us really know the titanium is Grade 5/6AL4V? Are we going to use the pocket jewelry hard enough to test the heat treat (not so much the initial, but the possible effects of overly aggressive grinding) of the blade?

 

[b00n]

I'm sure I'll be impressed with the action and fit and finish since everyone is. The only thing that gives me pause is that the poster above said that they get everything made by a cloner. First, I hate supporting a cloner. I had no idea, I had seen many posts here about the quality and designs coming out of CKF but thought most of their stuff was made in Russia, I had really only seen a few posts speculating about the origin of some of the hardware.

Also, while I can visually inspect for machining prowess and action/lock function my main concern with a company that has no issues with cloning is what other less than ethical things will they do? How do any of us really know the titanium is Grade 5/6AL4V? Are we going to use the pocket jewelry hard enough to test the heat treat (not so much the initial, but the possible effects of overly aggressive grinding) of the blade?

Yes, apparently they get their stuff made in China by said cloning company (Although I have no idea how people would find that out), and they finish/assemble in Russia. As for the quality/materials, It would be on CKF to test and they would take the heat if somebody were to proof they are lying, and I want to believe that CKF wouldn't want to ruin themselves like that after having built a decent track record.

 

[falar]

Yes, apparently they get their stuff made in China by said cloning company (Although I have no idea how people would find that out), and they finish/assemble in Russia. As for the quality/materials, It would be on CKF to test and they would take the heat if somebody were to proof they are lying, and I want to believe that CKF wouldn't want to ruin themselves like that after having built a decent track record.

It came in today, I'm disappointed though. There is an odd blade centering issue.

The packaging is incredible, you literally get a spare EVERYTHING. The knife's action is great. I've seen descriptions that it doesn't have the HRD, but it does. The sides of the blade aren't polished where they contact the roller like a real Hoback though and there is also no ramp detent.

I wonder if these scales were sourced from the same place in the USA that Jake gets them from because strangely, mine were marked CTS-XHP inside like a Hoback made from that would be even though the card and blade say M390.

When the knife is closed the blade looks centered but if you look up by the pivot you can see that it isn't. I tried tightening and loosening the pivot to no avail---this is what it is. I guess I'm going to test Knifecenter's return policy. I took it apart, meticulously lined everything up again and put it back together to no avail.

Here is the inside of the scale marked CTS-XHP:

Blade looks centered right?

Well, not on this side:

So, I am 0 for 1 with CKF. For this kind of money, I won't tolerate a flaw like this.

 

[rogatsby]

Dang, that thing looks overbuilt and the blade is thick as heck.

 

[BD_01]

I don’t blame you for being unhappy with the knife. Some people might be ok...but ultimately it’s a personal thing. It’s happened to me a few times and it sucks!

Most recently it was with a CRK...but when I disassembled it I knew anything I couldn’t fix would have to be settled directly with the manufacturer. (They took care of me. ).

I hope you’re planning on telling Knifecenter you disassembled the knife. I’m legitimately curious what their response will be and weather or not you can sort it out with them or with CKF.

 

[CPP]

I wonder if these scales were sourced from the same place in the USA that Jake gets them from because strangely, mine were marked CTS-XHP inside like a Hoback made from that would be even though the card and blade say M390.

Perhaps they sent one of Jake's originals to their manufacturer to use as a template and they transferred everything to the CKF version.

 

[falar]

Dang, that thing looks overbuilt and the blade is thick as heck.

I love the Kwaiback's profile. The spine is thick but there is a lot of taper down to quite edge resulting in a much "slicier" knife than you'd think looking at the spine.

I don’t blame you for being unhappy with the knife. Some people might be ok...but ultimately it’s a personal thing. It’s happened to me a few times and it sucks!

Most recently it was with a CRK...but when I disassembled it I knew anything I couldn’t fix would have to be settled directly with the manufacturer. (They took care of me. ).

I hope you’re planning on telling Knifecenter you disassembled the knife. I’m legitimately curious what their response will be and weather or not you can sort it out with them or with CLF.

I called already, about 15m before they closed at 5PM eastern. The lady I talked to was pretty nice and they were informal about the return process. I explained that I just opened this box and upon initial inspection noticed the offset. Not wanting to make an issue of nothing I first tightened the pivot (it turned with zero resistance initially, but within like 1/16th of a turn was maxed out) and it changed nothing and then took it apart to make sure everything was installed right also with no change. The Hoback design makes this super simple and fast, 3 T8 screws and you're done. I wasn't asked to provide any photos via email, didn't get an RMA, or anything. She just asked for my order number, did I want a refund or exchange (I just want an exchange---this knife is badass), and said send it in to the address on my invoice and leave my invoice in the box. She said they will hand pick me a perfect replacement.

I guess I'm out the shipping back to them though which is only 13 bucks (USPS Flat Rate Medium, it won't fit in a Small in a way that satisfies me) but it could be worse.

I doubt I'd have any recourse with CKF direct. This knife is not made anymore and a few people still just have leftovers which is why I assume KFC has them on sale at 495 down from 620 or 640 or whatever they were last year.

Perhaps they sent one of Jake's originals to their manufacturer to use as a template and they transferred everything to the CKF version.

Yeah that is a definite possibility too. The year stuck me as funny too because that is I believe the year that the Kwaiback mid-techs hit the streets isn't it? They were in 20CV though initially as I thought CTS XHP just started showing up on the more recent production. I would expect one marked 2015 to also be marked 20CV and one marked 2017 or 2018 to be marked CTS XHP. I know on his customs and special runs the steel has varied as well though and there's no telling what they used to get started.

All in all I'm pretty bummed. This was otherwise an absolutely amazing knife. I love M390 blade steel too and the grinds were fantastic, including the factory edge. Not often I spend this much on a knife and think "wow this was worth every penny" but I guess I ended up saying that followed by "but........". All the extras are really cool too.

I guess I will just have to di my best to try to be patient and wait for my replacement.

 

[JubilantBear]

CKF generally makes really good stuff.

I think some of their older stuff had amazing value for the price. I'm not sure if their newer stuff has the same value for the price, but they still seem to be making good stuff.

I have one of the CKF hobacks as well, the centering is a better, I hope this doesn't completely turn you off the. https://i.imgur.com/o6a2foV.jpg