The Chris Reeve Think Twice Code Knife Review

Chris Reeve Knives began operations on January 1, 1984 in a one car garage in Durban, South Africa, when Chris changed his life from full time Tool and Die Maker/part time knife maker to full time knife maker. For a couple years, he was the only employee but gradually and steadily, the company has grown to reach its present position as a well-equipped manufacturing company and noted brand in the industry. The road between 1984 and January 2016 has not always been smooth. For many years, the endeavor was under-funded but with determination Chris and Anne put all they had into producing the best knives possible, within the resources available. In March 1989, they moved from their native South Africa and settled in Boise, Idaho. That move in itself was a major undertaking but vital for the future of the company.

Chris has always pushed the envelope. Whether on a motorcycle or behind a belt grinder, he dreamed of being a world champion. He did not win a motorcycle world championship but in many respects, the standing of CRK today represents one. His induction into the Cutlery hall of Fame in June 2015 could be considered his championship trophy. The single thought in Chris’ mind has always been to design every model with deliberation, taking into account how the knife works, its intended purpose and the most appropriate materials. On this foundation, CRK now enjoys a worldwide reputation for outstanding design, exceptional execution, and the closest tolerances in the industry—all back by excellent customer service.

CRK is a vibrant business, has a great staff of well-trained employees, and remains a company with a worldwide reputation for raising the standards bar—pushing the envelope—for the industry.

2015 saw the withdrawal of Chris from daily operations into semi-retirement; he continues to contribute to design and consulting. Of writing, the staff at Chris Reeve Knives is 40 people strong—a talented and motivated group who ensures their worldwide reputation for quality, functional knives continue. They look confidently to the future where Chris reeve Knives will show that exceptional design and quality craftsmanship are always desired.

Today, we are talking about the Think Twice Code, which is a Large Sebenza. 2012 was the 25^th year of the Sebenza.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of CPM S35VN stainless steel. In 2009, Crucible and Chris Reeve introduced an ever so slightly superior version of their excellent S30V steel and named in S35VN. CPM S30V has an excellent edge retention and resists rust effortlessly. It was designed in the US and is typically used for the high end premium pocket knives and expensive kitchen cutlery. The introduction of vanadium carbides brings extreme hardness into the steel alloy matrix. However, it was extremely hard to sharpen, so Crucible revamped it and thus is S35VN steel. They used a much finer grain structure and added small quantities of niobium (which is where the N comes from in the name) they were able to make the outstanding S30V easier to machine while also improving toughness and ability to sharpen. In the real world, many people will find the two near-indistinguishable. But, you are going to struggle to find an y steel with better edge retention, toughness, and stain resistance for the money. The S30V steel was considered one of the finest knife blade steels with the optimal balance of edge retention, hardness, and toughness, so just imagine how amazing the S35VN steel is going to be for you and your blade.

This blade has a stonewashed finish. This finish is achieved just like the name says—the parts are literally put in a huge vibrating bin with pieces of stone that are literally making thousands and thousands of tiny scratches on the surface of the part. It results in a nice, smooth finish with a somewhat mottled appearance. Some of the advantages of the stonewashed finish is that it is pretty durable and does not show wear very much. In addition, the process tends to make the surface of the blade smoother which helps shed moisture and help to minimize corrosion issues. The stonewash finish also hides fingerprints pretty well, so the blade will not need to be polished as often as others with different finishes.

The blade on the Chris Reeve Think Twice Code has been carved into a drop point blade shape. If you are looking for a great all-purpose knife that can essentially stand up to anything—this is going to be a great knife for you. A drop point blade shape is also one of the most popular blade shapes in use today. This blade shape is a great blade shape for hunting knives for a variety of reasons, although you are going to find this blade shape on many other types of knives as well. To form the blade shape, the back, or unsharpened, edge of the knife runs straight form the handle to the tip of the knife in a slow curved manner, which creates a lowered point. It is this lowered point that provides more control and adds strength to the tip. It is because of this tip strength and the ability to hold up to heavy use that makes drop point blades a popular option on tactical and survival knives. The reason that this blade style is so popular on hunting knives is because the point on a drop point blade is easily controllable. It is this lowered, controllable point that makes it easier to avoid accidentally nicking integral organs and ruing the meat. Drop point knives feature a large belly area that is perfect for slicing, which is why this is such a great EDC option. The large belly makes slicing a breeze, which also means that the majority of your everyday tasks a breeze. The only real disadvantage of the drop point blade is its relatively broad tip, which makes it less suitable for piercing than the clip point blade shape. However, it is this broad tip that provides point strength that is not found on clip point knives. Clip point knives are one of the other most popular blade shapes that you are going to come across. Both make for great EDC knives, because they both have lowered tips and wide bellies. However, a clip point is better designed for piercing, because the point is thinner, finer, and sharper. But, because of this, the tip is going to be more prone to breaking. The drop point blade is not suited for piercing, but it does have strength that you aren’t going to be able to find on a clip point blade shape.

The Think Twice Code large Sebenza 21 features a plain edge because it is more suited for a wider variety of tasks. The plain edge is better suited for push cuts, slicing, skinning, and peeling. This is the more traditional blade edge and it is going to be easier to get a finer edge on it. In general, plain edge is better than the serrated when the application involves push cuts. Also, the plain edge is superior when extreme control accuracy, and clean cuts are necessary, regardless of whether or not the job is push cuts or slices. The plain edge will work better for applications like shaving, skinning an apple, or skinning a deer. All of those applications involve either mostly push cuts, or the need for extreme control. Generally, the more push cuts are used, the more necessary it is for the plain edge to have e a “razor polished” edge. A knife edge will become more polished when you move to higher and higher grit stones.

 

 

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of 6A14V Titanium. Titanium is a lightweight metal alloy and it offers the best corrosion resistance of any metal. It’s a little heavier than aluminum but still consider a lightweight metal and much stronger. However, it is also going to be more expensive to machine. Titanium is one of those rare metals that has a warm feel to it, so it doesn’t make you suffer nearly as much in the winter time as something like aluminum. It’s very sturdy and yet springy. However, titanium does suffer from being prone to scratches, especially when compared to stainless steel. Titanium can be given a unique and attractive color through the anodization process which is particularly common on custom knives. However, you should beware of the Titanium marketing machine. You’ll often see titanium being given more credit than it deserves through effective marketing. It’s far from indestructible and not all alloys are as strong as stainless steel.

The special CGG (Computer Generated Graphic) “Think Twice Code” graphic is achieved with CAD/CAM software and then transferred to a CNC machine for milling and finally is PVD coated. There is a lanyard attached to the butt of the handle.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The titanium pocket clip is statically designed for tip up carry only on the traditional side of the handle. This clip is attached by a single screw on the back of the knife

 

The Mechanism:

This knife features an Integral Lock frame design. Chris Reeve originally designed the Integral Locking mechanism, but the common name for it is a frame lock. The frame lock is a beefed up version of the liner lock. They’re very similar to liner lock mechanisms, except instead of an internal spring bar moving into place, it’s part of the handle itself. Frame lock knives tend to be stronger than liner locks, as the piece of metal that slips into place is more substantial than that in a liner. Because of their similarity to liner locks, closing a frame lock knife is virtually the same—push down on the spring bar so it no longer blocks the butt of the blade, remove your thumb from the path, then fold the knife closed. This type of looking system puts a large portion of metal against the blade, ensuring a strong lockup for piercing, cutting, slicing, another heavy duty tasks. Frame locks are seen in lots of mid to upper range knives, typically rafted from titanium. Not only do they add a unique look to the knife, but they’re also easily operated with one hand.

The opening assist is a single thumb lug. This is arguably the most common one handed opening feature. A thumb stud essentially replaces the nail nick found on more traditional knives. The principle is pretty straightforward, you grasp the folded knife, place the tip of your flexed thumb on the stud and extend your thumb to swing the blade through its arc until the blade is fully open.

 

The Specs:

The blade length on the Think Twice Code is 3.625 inches long. The overall length of this knife is 8.335 inches long and the handle measure sin at 4.71 inches. The knife weighs in at 4.7 ounces. This knife was made in the United States of America.

 

Conclusion:

The Chris Reeve Sebenza has become synonymous world-wide with quality, rock solid performance and a “bank vault” feel. First developed in 1987, the Sebenza has gone through only some minor changes over the years and in 2008, the Sebenza 21 was released to celebrate 21 years of this flagship model. This model features an Integral Lock® frame lock design that was built to handle a lifetime of use and abuse and each premium stainless steel blade is deployed with the single thumb lug. The special CGG (Computer Generated Graphic) “Think Twice Code” graphic is achieved with CAD/CAM software and then transferred to a CNC machine for milling and finally is PVD coated. This larger model boasts a titanium handle, a drop point style blade in a tumbled stonewash finish and the titanium pocket clip is statically designed for tip up carry only on the traditional side of the handle. Pick up your Think twice Code Large Sebenza 21 folder knife today at BladeOps.