Chris Reeve Large Inkosi Knife

The name Chris Reeve is legendary in the knife world and he started out, like so many craftsmen, working from home, having previously been a tool and die maker. He began making one-piece knives in 1984, in the single garage attached to his house in Durban, South Africa. A year later, business was good and he was exporting knives to the United States; demand meant that he needed to move – to a house with a double garage! A trip to the New York Custom Knife Show in 1986 generated even more orders and by 1988 he was selling knives to the UK, France, Italy, Australia and Hong Kong.

It became clear that a move from South Africa to the US would be wise and Chris and his wife Anne (who is co-owner of the company) moved to Boise, Idaho in 1989. The revolutionary Sebenza folding knife was introduced in 1991, using the Reeve Integral Lock mechanism. Chris was inducted into the Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2105 and is now semiretired. The company now have numerous knives in the range and employ 40 staff.

The Chief

The knife I have here, sent by Frank Kay at Framar Custom Knives, is the Large Inkosi (Inkosi means ‘chief’ in the Zulu language) and it’s a real beauty! The folding mechanism incorporates a ceramic ball as the interface for the Integral Lock® bar to the blade tang and there are two large phosphor bronze washers that provide smooth opening, yet zero side play. It’s possible to lubricate the bearings via in-built holes; the knife even comes with some Fluorinated grease! Some Loctite and three Allen keys for the screws are also provided, so it’s quite a comprehensive ‘tool kit’. The 3.6-inch drop point blade is made from Crucible Industries’ S35VN martensitic stainless steel, with a hardness of 59-60 RC for improved toughness and resistance to chipping.

The tumble-finished, hollow ground blade is 3.2mm thick at its widest point and there are twin Reeve signature blue anodised thumb studs fitted for easy, one-handed opening. The blade swishes open effortlessly and locks solidly in position with a satisfying ‘click’, something I kept doing when the knife first arrived. No separate lock is fitted, such as a weaker ‘liner lock’, as a sprung portion of one the sandblasted 6A14V Titanium handles moves across to engage with the blade in it’s final, open position.

The lock up is second to none, with absolutely no play at all, and from what I’ve heard in the past about Reeve knives, it will stay like that forever! Once in the open position, jimping on the rear portion of the blade, combined with finger grooves on the opposite side of the handle, make for a secure grip. The Inkosi balances well, with the centre of balance at the front finger groove; the Titanium handles obviously make for a lightweight knife (4.9oz) but the perfect balance only adds to the effect. When you’ve finished using the knife, the lock mechanism is simply pushed across and the blade folded into the handle. A sprung pocket clip is fitted to the rear of the grip and looks to be titanium as well; all other fittings are 303 stainless by the way.

Conclusion

I would usually give a knife such as this a real workout but as this is quite an expensive knife (and I didn’t want Frank at Framar on my case!) I didn’t want to damage it in any way, so went gently with it. However, I don’t doubt though that the Inkosi would have cut and chopped anything I asked it to! This exquisitely designed and made knife is a real collector’s piece, as well as a hardworking tool and comes highly recommended.