A brief thought on the small Sebenza

powernoodle

powernoodle

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Jul 21, 2004
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As a relative newby, I'm somewhat reluctant to offer a contrary opinion on the widely-praised small Sebenza. But here it is anyway. :)

After going through a number of entry level and nicer folders (Spydies and BMs in the <$130 range), including everthing from delicas and enduras to a mini-grip, military and a 80mm Manix, I thought it was time to go upscale with a small Sebenza.

Well, I got one today - and the knife is, for me, just dang difficult to open. Not from being tight (though it is tight), but its something to do with the placement of the thumb stud and the arc thru which it must be swept. It doesn't work for me. The mini-manix, for example, opens like butter. So buttery that I sit there and play with. You know how it is. And it too is built like a tank. But the small Sebbie is a struggle.

I wanted to like this knife, as it is generally regarded as the Les Baer (or Ed Brown or Wilson) of the small folder world. But we just didn't connect. Its not something my thumb or my brain is going to adapt to, so - at $330 - its heading back to the nice folks at New Graham.

This is not to diss the small Sebbie. Its a rock-solid, simply-made small folder. Its just not for everyone. :)

best regards
 
You DO get used to it, and it gets better. Just sit in front of the t.v. and open it. And it is more of a downward pressure that opens it.
 
You guys are trying to talk me into keeping it. You might succeed. :thumbup:
 
For the first ten minutes how to open my Sebenza quickly and easily baffled me.

Once I worked out that you need a smooth and gentle motion, with your thumb close/flat to the scale, it immediately became simple.

I&#8217;ve often wondered if Chris designed the cut out and stud to make everything streamlined, and if that is the reason for the unique opening arc.
 
Ihave a large sebenza with double studs,im left handed & it opens as easy as any other knife i have. you have to get under the thumb stud to open it,not pushing on the center of it.try it that way,too......
 
DO keep it!!! One you have a Sebbie, and then get rid of it, you WILL regret it! Trust me!! Keep practicing with it, it WILL get easier!! I promise!!
 
I also found when I first got my Sebbie that I was pushing on the lockbar with my fingers while I was trying to open the knife. This made the knife *very* hard to open. Once I changed the way I gripped the knife to open it, it was *much* easier. It also took mine about 4 months to break in to be nicely smooth.

I had the exact same thoughts when I first got mine. Now that I have had it a year, I haven't really EDC'd anything else.
 
I also believe the ergonomics on the small sebenza to be less than optimum. I too have trouble opening it smoothly. I thought the stud was rough, misplaced and hard to acess. I went to a knife show thinking of buying one and didn't after handling them. I almost bought one except for the opening problem and to me the knife was kind of ugly and not really a good buy compared to customs available at the show. I like shiny blades for small utility knives. For the money I want more than dull titanium for handles. I bought a custom with a mirror polished blade, titanium liners (anodized), file worked liners, rosewood handles and stainless steel bolsters for less money and have never looked back.
 
I just went through this with a large seb I bought used.

If it's new, I'll bet that the pocket clip is putting additional pressure on the lock bar. You can test this by holding the lock bar back and seeing if the blade swings easily. Also check finger placement as mentioned previously.

Also for whatever reason even new sebs can benefit from a careful cleaning and relube. I recently cleaned and relubed with militec only. Between that and bending out the pocket clip, wow, it was like a totally different knife. Swings out easily.
 
I recently took apart, cleaned, lubed and reassembled my small Sebbie since it hit the one-year-old mark. I used Miltec instead of the CRK-recommended grease. My experience mirrors Dave's -- with the less viscous Miltec it's like a completely different knife -- perfectly smooth and much easier to get open (it was smooth before but pretty stiff).

Go to the CRK forum here for complete, well-illustrated instructions. You might want to call New Graham, however, to see if Mike would let you try this but still be able to send it back if you're not satisfied with the result.
 
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