A handmade guitar is made up of manufactured items (the wood, tuners, bridge, nut, electronics), but that doesn't change the fact that it is handmade, if IT, the guitar, not the components, was put together and "made" by hand.
On the same level with a knife, the components are not made by the maker, simply put together, shaped, and made by hands into a knife, rather than a pile of steel, micarta, screws and titanium.
As to when too much technology is involved? Well, I'd imagine the Japanese blacksmiths of old would not look at knives by Ken Onion or whomever as being handmade as they buy blanks of steel and whatnot, whereas they would have to make such things themselves. It's simply a changing of the times and technology - there's always those who oppose it. It doesn't fit the definition most people have of handmade when someone perhaps has their blades cut out by a water jet, but most likely the blank steel was made in some similar manner, and it just makes sense to use the same to form the blade shape; it saves time and money.
Kevin Wilkins,
for example, has his blades cut out en masse, but I don't think many would try to argue that his are any less quality, or any less perfect or capable of perfection because of it.
made by hand, rather than by machine is the definition of handmade, but I think that these days that is rather outdated. When you use a grinder your hands are still involved, when you program a water jet cutter, your hands are still involved, when you use a power sander and so on (if they even use those - I'm not sure what all is on the borderlines of handmade or not for knives). I think it's more an indefinable measure of intent and attention from the maker.
A more interesting question I think is, what is custom, semi-custom, or otherwise?
I've always found it odd that what to me is a handmade knife is sold as a custom. I consider a custom something made specifically for the CUSTOMer purchasing it, and the dictionary seems to feel the same. Yet makers will sell and advertise their 'custom' knives that they made with no one in mind, but just to sell.
I don't see custom and handmade is being intrinsic to one another - an item made specifically for one customer can still be made by a machine, and an item made by hand could be just like 100 others a knifemaker has made.
Ultimately, I don't see the knives Kevin Wilkins makes as being custom, unless he makes one specifically for you that is different; I feel the same about any maker of knives, doesn't matter who.
As to handmade or not - in my opinion as everything else has been - while I'm not entirely certain the manufacturing processes at CRK, I wouldn't just immediately assume their knife aren't handmade. It may be made by more than 1 pair of hands, but that doesn't mean the attention or intention, as I said earlier, is any less.
