A few questions about the sebenza 21

S

SuzukiGS750EZ

Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
4,563
So as some of you may know I just bought a carbon fiber large 21 from knifeart. I have a few questions. How easily is the cf scratched? I do a lot of fishing ad outdoors activities. How would the s35vn hold up to say whittling dirty sticks or if it came in contact with a hook cutting line. I know other knives this has produced a small chip or a flat spot. If the knife gets wet, does it need a full cleaning or just a rinse an dry? And does the pivot tend to loosen? Is the tip strong? When I got my military that was a concern o mine because of the thin tip
 
There's a part of me that hopes you'll put that CF Sebbie to the test and report back as to how it faired. Seems like it should do well, but real world testing is a better determinant.
Hope someone chimes in with some answers for you.
 
S35VN is supposed to be more chip and roll resistant than S30V. I personally like S30V the best as I have never had an issue with it, but have with other steels. Anytime you take a super fine "V" edge and make it contact another metal, you risk the chance of dinging it. A sharpening or two will usually remove it, but this is just the properties of a knife edge, Any knife edge.............I am more of a hunter than a fisherman. I personally like the regular sebenza style as it has more of a drop point blade imho better suited for hunting, bushcraft, and general outdoor activities............I have always felt the 21 to be too pointy, but being a dedicated fisherman, a pointy blade is needed as the profession calls for it. Its easier to gut, fillet, dig out a fish hook with a pointy blade. So if your wanting to know of a 21 is a good field edc for a fisherman, I would say yes definitely............I have never had a rust issue with S30V and I doubt you will with S35VN. Any steel if not cared for will rust or tarnish, regardless of its resistant properties. Just a simple rinse in the creek would do until you get home. You just cant get it all wet and slimy, throw it in a tackle box for 6 months and expect it to be perfect when you get it out....! Not saying you would, but I am sure some people think of stainless, but don't think of taking care of it............I have only ever had 1 sebenza that you could not tighten down fully because it got tight, but you could snug it up. I have never had it loosen up to where it would cause blade play or worse, fall out.........And lastly, I don't have as much experience with CF as others, but the one benchmade I had did not scuff at all after a month or so of edc. Its tough stuff. If its in constant contact with keys and such, I am sure it would scuff though.

Enjoy The Sebenza.....!!! Catch A BIG One...!
 
Well, if you are taking it fishing, be careful you don't drop it in the water, or else you might feel sad.
The S35VN is a great steel and you won't have any problems using it for normal use. But as with any knife or tool, if you use it, you should clean it. So if you think you might get the pivot dirty in use, I'd take it apart when done and clean it. It's your knife, your call. If it was me and I was going fishing, I'd just use my Catcherman. Thanks Lisa =)
 
How does Chris' s30v compare with spyderco? I know it's s35vn, just wondering. I take good care of my knives but seeing how I paid a pretty penny for it, I want to get my money's worth :-)
 
There is nothing wrong with S35VN, I just prefer and have used the S30V in the regular sebenza a lot more, so my extensive experience lies with it. I do have a Sikayo and a BRKT Bravo 1 with S35VN and they have performed great. The Sikayo gets alot of use in the kitchen by my wife and its still hair shaving sharp. I have used the Bravo 1 in the field a bunch lately and its still shaving sharp.

If crk still made the regular sebenza and had it with S35VN, I would gladly have several with it.
 
In my experience my Sebenza keeps an edge longer than my S30V Military. The screws, once tightened, don't seem to move at all on mine between the times that I take it apart to clean them. I do a lot of food prep with my CRK's, and water shouldn't be an issue. I've left lemon/lime juice on them and it didn't seem to have an effect. The tips appear to be stronger, but I don't do much other than light prying with tips.
 
You really shouldn't compare a Spyderco to a Chris Reeve, there is really nothing that is the same. I only mentioned the Catcherman cause I just got it.
Spyderco knives are cheaper and the one I just got came with a FRN handle. It's much cheaper so I wouldn't feel bad if lost or if it broke. The Catcherman has AUS-8 steel and not s30v.
I find that a lot of people consider Chris Reeve knives more of a collector's knife or gentlemen's knife.
 
Suzuki,

Carbon fiber is tough stuff..if Reeve would choose a material to compliment a "work" knife's other handle side of Titanium, you should not be concerned about any normal use, whatsoever.
Things used, get scratched..don't be afraid.

Concerning S35, and using as you have described, I use mine regularly for whittling etc and it does fine. I really don't see any noticable difference between it and the prior S30v Sebs I've had, in either edge retention, or ease of sharpening.

Concerning contact with hooks etc..steel hitting steel, or steel hitting bone will always have ramifications eventually; dings/flat spots are part of the game, especially depending on the amount of pressure used in cuts on surfaces like that, but if you have a wire edge..it will show up more quickly:-)

If the knife gets wet, does it need a full cleaning or just a rinse an dry? And does the pivot tend to loosen? Is the tip strong? When I got my military that was a concern o mine because of the thin tip
Click to expand...

I have gutted many fish and deer with a Seb and never took it completely apart afterwards..Just rinsed it, dried it and when I got home made sure that I got any extra debri I might have missed out of the way when I oiled it..same as any other knife...You might just keep an old toothbrush, or some quetips in your fishing kit to help in the field if it makes you feel better to get stuff out of the way before it dries..(after I have skinned deer, I've just used a twig to get the gunk out of way before I closed it) again, same as any other folder with this exception..consider how tight the tolerances are on your Seb, especially around the blade and pivot..you would have to have a lot of prolonged cutting on fish before I would begin to worry about debri being any place other than the exterior of where the blade rotates on the pivot,..your $ paid..did have benifits for these applications ;).
Keep in mind that folders have issues fixed blades don't in these applications; If you are skinning a lot of fish, for example, your blade will have gunk collect around any open areas/gaps between moving parts, or handles, that's why you should consider how you want to address that..much easier before it dries, imho.

The tip is thin, but that's a plus with dealing with fish, or any penetrating push cut..

I have yet to have had a pivot loosen unless after prolonged use over years of time..but again, easy fix with the supplied wrench from CRK, if it does.

Understanding your concern after dropping that kind of $ on a knife, and wanting to take care of it, just want to help put your mind at ease by saying Sebs are tanks. All mine have been through the gauntlet of normal uses, but glad to let you know there has been no blade play...no issues..no warranty claims..nothing resulting from those uses but thankfulness and highest recommendations for others to enjoy what they worked so hard to purchase.
In closing, so glad to tell you, that you have the tightest tolerances on a production knife in your possession....The Sebenza is a work knife...use it happily & don't baby it :thumbup:.
 
Last edited:
I have had a couple rolls on blades Sebenza's, Striders and others, but that is the prefered result of metal to metal vs a chip. I have found that a steel(that round metal thing that come with kitchen knife sets) straightens them out very well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top