Chris Reeve Knives Boise, ID - A Quick Tour

[Mike S]

I posted this on another forum a few months back so if you've seen it sorry for the replay but if you are into Chris Reeve knives it's like a visit to the holy shrine.


I had the great pleasure to visit Chris Reeve Knifes in Boise, Idaho.

My guide Josiah is the shop manager and a really great guy. He brought me around the shop and showed me every detail of the manufacturing process. Here are some of the highlights.

This is the factory. A small number of CRK craftspeople fabricate all the parts that go into their knives here with the exception of screws and washers but they are individually inspected and finished on site to CRK specifications.




This Gentleman is making pivot pins in this small CNC machine.



Here are blanks cut from sheet titanium. The sheet titanium is not of uniform thickness so the blanks are measured and sorted.

The blanks are then placed inside the milling rings where an abrasive rotating disk grinds them to achieve the correct thickness. The cylindrical lead weights hold the blanks against the abrasive surface during the grinding process.


After the blanks are milled to the correct thickness they are drilled and mounted on CNC milling plates.

The plates are loaded into the CNC machine where a series of specialized dies cut each blank into the precise shape. In this run they are making Wilson Combat folders so the Starburst pattern is being cut.



When they come out they look like this.

Both sides



This CNC machine is machining the blanks to a hollow grind.



Here are before and after hollow grind. This design gives maximum strength to the blade while allowing for a razor sharp edge.

This unit is machining blades from blanks.




Here are some freshly machined blades awaiting inspection prior to going through the stone wash process.



This is the stone washing machine. These stones are circulated through the bin with the blades giving them a matt finish.

Some parts are finely polished in this machine. It uses both centrifugal force and tumbling at the same time.

It can be filled with a variety of media depending on the finish desired.



After stone washing or polishing the blades are hand finished and sharpened.



This gentleman is installing pivot pins. Each and every part is hand fit one at a time.

The fitting requires precise machining.

Here are some Mnandi and a Sebenza going through the hand fitting process.


Once the fitting is complete, they are sent to Lisa. She goes over everything with a fine tooth comb to make sure everything is perfect. She does final assembly and final finish on everything.



Lisa is also known for her picks. A new design is available in limited quantities every month. Lisa creates each one by hand on this milling machine.


There is no CNC machining involved. Each one is done by eye and therefore each one is slightly different. A true one of a kind work of art.
Here we can see some of the projects Lisa was working on that day.



Here’s the one she made for me. The process involved includes not only machining but also applying chemicals under variable electrical current to achieve the different colors shown. I love it.


Here’s a second shot at a slightly different exposure to show the color differences as light and position change.


I hope you’ve enjoyed your tour and if you have a CR Knife, Post a pic!




All the best,

Mike