Acceptable tolerances, blade alignment, etc.

BennyHana

BennyHana

Joined
Aug 2, 2022
Messages
1
Hi all, this is my first post.

I just received 3 Sebenzas, two from one dealer, and a third from another.

With all 3, the blades are not centered. I think the best one is probably 10% off, the others more. I was really excited to get my first Chris Reeve, but am a bit baffled right now. I have several Benchmades with tighter tolerances.

I sent two back. One of the places is charging me a restocking fee because I didn't complain about alignment. I just said I didn't like it. I would have sent both back to that dealer, but I didn't want to be a crappy customer and not get offered more knives by returning two out of the gate. I did end up emailing them explaining that both were actually not up to snuff.

The one I kept I'm probably going to send in. Besides being misaligned, the spine appears to be ground down more than any I see online, or the other two I had briefly.

Am I expecting too much? Would love to hear feedback and experiences.
 
I think this is a pretty common issue. I noticed this about my sebenza I purchased at blade show this year. Once I noticed it I ask a CRK employee there and he told me because they hand fit the washers they arn't always dead on but it shouldn't be an issue. I've taken the knife apart and used it for about two months now and it's still exactly where it started. So it shouldn't matter but I understand for a $500 knife it should be dead on. Still love my benza though.

Heres mine. Not sure how well you can tell in the photo but the gap on the thumbstud side is a fair amount smaller.

20220803_045944.jpg
 
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I can't imagine that you have Benchmades with tighter tolerances. You might have a benchmade that you think is centered better, but the tolerances are not tighter. You got lucky with your benchmades.
 
BennyHana said:
Hi all, this is my first post.

I just received 3 Sebenzas, two from one dealer, and a third from another.

With all 3, the blades are not centered. I think the best one is probably 10% off, the others more. I was really excited to get my first Chris Reeve, but am a bit baffled right now. I have several Benchmades with tighter tolerances.

I sent two back. One of the places is charging me a restocking fee because I didn't complain about alignment. I just said I didn't like it. I would have sent both back to that dealer, but I didn't want to be a crappy customer and not get offered more knives by returning two out of the gate. I did end up emailing them explaining that both were actually not up to snuff.

The one I kept I'm probably going to send in. Besides being misaligned, the spine appears to be ground down more than any I see online, or the other two I had briefly.

Am I expecting too much? Would love to hear feedback and experiences.
Click to expand...
11 years ago I took a pause from knife collection. When I returned to BF late last year, I discovered three fads or trends:
1) flippers
2) owners demand that their blades fall closed (yeah, that'll cut fruit or stop an attacker) and
3) blades must be centered, even on traditionals made with pins, not screws that can be adjusted. What's next to agonize over?
 
Centering on my 31 small is as perfect as my eyes can detect. I measure this at the end, where the tip is. If centered, the gap between each slab is and should be different, because of the detent
 
I don't think it's possible to not center a Sebenza blade unless you pinched a washer. If you assemble the knife incorrectly the bushing rests on one of the bronze washers angling the blade. When that happens, tightening the pivot can damage that washer and then you need to mail everything back to CRK because they won't send out replacements.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
11 years ago I took a pause from knife collection. When I returned to BF late last year, I discovered three fads or trends:
1) flippers
2) owners demand that their blades fall closed (yeah, that'll cut fruit or stop an attacker) and
3) blades must be centered, even on traditionals made with pins, not screws that can be adjusted. What's next to agonize over?
Click to expand...
I am mostly in agreement, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a CRK to come with a centered blade. All of my Sebenzas have been perfect in this regard. On the other hand, I'm not at all fussed about the slow rolling CRK action. What am I, a ninja? I don't need a pocket knife that does gymnastics.
 
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