What is the back order time frame?
Because of the high demand
for our product, we are almost always back ordered. There are
occasions when we do have the knife you are looking for ready to ship
immediately but this is the exception rather than the rule.
Estimating a delivery time can be difficult because there are a number
of variables involved. As a general rule, we are back ordered
2 - 6 weeks for fixed blades and 6-8 weeks for Sebenzas and Mnandis.
Decorated knives, damascus blades, inlays and customizing are all
likely to take longer, sometimes as much as several months longer. We can often refer you to a dealer who may have the knife you are
looking for, so please feel free to contact us.
What is the best
way to keep my Chris Reeve Knife sharp?
One important thing to remember
with any knife is to maintain the edge - it is better to keep it reasonably
sharp rather than let it get completely dull and then try to get the
edge back. To maintain an optimal cutting edge on a Chris Reeve
knife, we recommend the use of the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker or
a Lansky Sharpener. If you prefer to use a stone, the angle
at which to sharpen will be best achieved at 18 - 20 degrees.
We will
sharpen any knife we have made free of charge. We ask only that you
pay for the return shipping. Simply return the knife (in its
sheath if applicable), make sure that you include your address and
phone number and we will restore that famous, hair-popping sharp,
Chris Reeve Knives edge.
What is the best lubricant to use on
the folders?
The pivot of all folding knives needs to be kept lubricated
for optimum performance. We have experimented with a wide variety
of products and have found a Fluorinated Grease that is very slippery
but does not get sticky or attract lint very easily. CRK Fluorinated
Grease fits the tolerances of our folding knives well – other lubricants
tend to be either too viscose so it interferes with the tolerance
or too thin and it dissipates too quickly. CRK Fluorinated Grease
is packaged in a syringe that allows you to put just a drop exactly
where you need it. The rotating cap seals the tube and prevents
leakage. It isn’t necessary to use much because a little drop
goes a long way.
How should I clean my Sebenza?
Dirt, sand,
pocket lint, etc. can cause the action of the blade to become rough.
To allow you to correct this, each Sebenza and Mnandi is supplied
with an Allen wrench so that you can dismantle the knife, clean the
hinge area and apply lubrication. One of our customers, Ted
van der Voorde, took a lot of time in preparing a post on BladeForums.com,
explaining how to assemble a Sebenza. He did a great job and
has been gracious enough to allow us to reproduce his explanation
here.
If you run into a problem and just can't
get it back together, please feel free to put everything into
a baggie and send it back to us. We will be more than happy
to assemble the knife for you!
Please note that excessive flicking
of the blade will also produce a rough action. Continuous wrist
flicking will eventually damage the lock because the stop pin and
back of the blade are not designed for that sort of continual shock.
How are the folding knife blades finished?
The blades on the
regular models of the large and small Sebenzas are finished with what
has become known as our stonewash finish. We accomplish this finish
by tumbling the blades in an aggressive ceramic media. These
ceramic stones polish the blade in every direction possible, giving
the surface a non-reflective or glazed appearance. On the decorated
models and on Mnandis, the hollow grind is polished on a cork belt
giving a more traditional satin finish, an elegant contrast to the
stonewashed flat surface of the blade. Both finishes are equally
corrosion resistant and they all give better corrosion resistance
than bead blasting or acid etch.
Custom, Handmade or Production?
There
has been much discussion over the differences in these three categories
and we want to make it clear where our knives belong. Although
all the knives that we offer now were, in the very early days of Chris
Reeve Knives, considered custom knives, this is no longer true.
The demand for our products has enabled us to change the way we make
our knives and to make use of modern computer controlled equipment.
We have been able to increase the number of knives we make, keep the
quality high and the prices at a realistic level. What sets
our knives in their own category of excellence is that every blade
is free-hand ground, every folding knife is individually fitted, and
every knife sharpened by hand. Our knives are not true production
pieces; they are hand made individual pieces with limited room for
custom work.
We offer three different styles of folders with wood or mammoth inlaid into the handle: TheAnnual Limited Edition Sebenza, the Classic Wood Inlay Sebenza and the Mnandi. The shapes are different for all these knives but the premise is the same – a pocket is machined into the handle and the wood or mammoth is inlaid into that pocket. The inlay is held in position by VHB double sided tape and the very close tolerance to which the pieces are machined. This technique results in a superior product, one that lasts far longer than one where the wood section was simply overlaid onto the titanium. Please see more detail here About Inlays.
There
are pros and cons for both types of sheaths but we have chosen to
stay with leather as the standard sheath material for our fixed blade
knives. However, there are many companies that make good after-market
Kydex sheaths. Two that we have worked with and know how to
make good products are:
Bob Dozier
PO Box 1941
Springdale, AR
72765
Tel: (501) 756-0023 Fax: (501) 756-9139
Tim Wegner
Blade
Tech
3060 S. 96th Street
Tacoma, WA 98400
Tel: (253) 581-4347 Fax:
(253) 756-9139
Website: www.blade-tech.com E-mail: wegnert@blade-tech.com
What
is CPM S30V stainless steel?
S30V is a specialty stainless steel made
by Crucible Steel in Syracuse, New York. Crucible Steel is a
company that is as passionate about the steel they make as Chris Reeve
is about the knives produced by his company. During 2001, Chris
worked with Crucible Steel pursuing the challenge of creating a new
blade steel that is tough, corrosion resistant and readily workable. The product of their efforts is S30V, a stainless steel created with
the knife market in mind, alloyed to accommodate specific capabilities
and manufactured to ensure clean, uniform steel.
Unlike
traditionally cast and rolled steels, S30V is made using the powder
metallurgy process, a process that reduces molten alloy components
to minute balls – or powder – which results in every grain comprising
the exact composition of alloy elements. The powder is compressed
under significant force to a homogenous, solid state and the steel
is rolled to required stock size. Molecules are uniform, inclusions
of impurities are insignificant and the development of large chrome
carbides is a thing of the past. For the technically minded,
the major alloy components are:
Carbon (C) 1.45%
Chromium (Cr)
14.00%
Vanadium (V) 4.00%
Molybdenum (Mo) 2.00%.
In recent years, advances
in specialty steels have been incrementally small and every advance
is more of a “tweaking” nature than a “great leap” nature. The
blade steels that we have used in the past, ATS 34 and BG42, are excellent
steels; the use of S30V is a move forward, representing an alliance
of two dynamic companies. It is an advance that will again raise
the standard of folding knife performance – a standard already set
by Chris Reeve Knives.
What kind of care is needed for a damascus
blade?
We generally use damascus steel made by Devin Thomas Damascus
and offer two types – high carbon and stainless. The high carbon
damascus is made of 1095 and nickel and it is not stainless, so the
carbon layers may corrode. We supply high carbon damascus blade
Sebenzas with a small container of RIG (rust inhibiting grease).
As a general rule, a damascus blade should be cleaned each time the
knife has been handled. Apply a small amount to the blade and
immediately wipe clean using a soft cloth. Stainless damascus
does not require the same attention and is not supplied with RIG.
What
types of damascus are available?
Most of the damascus we use is made
by Devin Thomas Damascus. Please visit www.devinthomas.com for
additional information on how the damascus is made and what patterns
are available.
We also offer mosaic damascus from time to time.
Most frequently, we use a Zebra pattern made for us by Gary House
but also periodically use Bertie Rietveld’s Snakeskin mosaic. Availability of these blades is limited, so please call us if you
are interested.
There is an extra hole on the Sebenza handle.
What is it used for?
This is a tooling or locating hole and, in the
finished knife, has no real function. The process goes something
like this: we buy titanium in sheet form and cut it into rectangles
approximately the size of the handle. We drill all the holes
into this rectangle which is then placed onto a fixture, held secure
by locating pins through these holes. The profile of the handle
is then machined and the rectangle begins to look like the handle
of a folding knife. It is at this stage that we select left
or right-handed knives. One hole becomes part of the pivot assembly
while the other is left vacant. Sometimes, however, we
use the hole as part of the graphic on the decorated models and, on
occasion, enlarge the hole and inlay a cabochon or coin into it.
The Project I and II and the Green Beret Knife (both
7" and 5.5" versions) are always made with a section of serrations
on the cutting edge near the cross guard. Serrations offer an
aggressive cut for strapping, cord, rope, lanyards or similar.
If you desire, they can be added to most other knives for a nominal
fee. One consideration to keep in mind is whether or not your
knife usage warrants serrations. A well sharpened straight edge
is the most efficient cutting edge so if you don’t have practical
usage applications, we suggest not putting them on the blade.
By request, we can make either the Project I or II without serrations.
However, please note that because The Green Beret knife is a version
of a design specifically created for the U.S. Army Special Forces,
we are not willing to change that profile and the Green Beret Knife
is not available without serrations.
How is the coloring of the
decorated areas achieved?
The concept of our folding knives is very
versatile. No matter how much we dress up the knife, it is,
first and foremost, functional. The Computer Generated and Unique
Graphic models offer a way of making the knife distinctive because
we machine a graphic onto the handle. The front face of the
handle is polished and a graphic is machined into it. We use
a variety of techniques, but mostly the machining is done in a way
that can best be described as "painting with a milling machine".
The graphic is then colored using a process called electrolytic oxidation
or anodizing. We immerse the titanium handle in a solution and, as
electrical current is passed through the solution, oxygen is produced
on the surface of the titanium. The oxygen reacts with the titanium
to form a thin oxide layer. As the voltage is increased, the
oxide layer grows in thickness. The colors that are produced
are the direct result of how the light is refracted through the oxide
layer. For our purposes, we start out at 12 volts to produce a light
yellow color. The colors to follow are gold, gold brown, brown
maroon, maroon purple, purple blue, dark blue, and light blue at 35
volts.
How can I get a graphic of my own design on a Sebenza?
Using
CAD (computer aided design) we are able to reproduce many logos, simple
pictures and graphics that are supplied by our customers. Each
of these is priced on a case by case basis, depending on what is involved.
Please feel free to run your idea by us – we would love to try to
create your own unique Sebenza.
How can I keep the colors on
a decorated Sebenza looking brilliant?
Because the color that you see
is simply light reflected back at you, the slightest oily substance
will distort that reflection. Cleaning the surface of the handle
with a little window cleaner (Windex or the like), wiped carefully
with a clean chamois will restore the color to its original brilliance.
This is a question that is asked quite often and we never mind you sending back your knife if you can’t get the knot tied! For those of you who remove the cord for some reason or those who simply wish to use a different cord, we offer the following step-by-step instructions for retying the lanyard.
