For the longest time I proclaimed that CRK was all just over priced and unnecessary for the cost. That the knives weren't close to worth the price and while built well, they simply were just the fan boys dream and made up hype.
Then I started to look for a knife that made me happy. I tried cheap ones, one that were on bearings, ones with titanium scales and S35vn blades that should have been similar enough, ones with flippers, ones with spiders on them and ones with butterflies. Ones from over seas but of original design and (embarrassingly) ones from overseas of copied designs. While I wont say much positive about those clone knives, the one thing they told me was that I liked the small Sebenza size. They also told me cheap is cheap for a reason.
So back to the hunt, this time looking for a smaller size, something in the 2.5"-3" blade length but with a thinner blade and thinner handle. Not too thin, but not some of the common beefy options either. Really like(d) the ZT 0450 but it was a bit large and always felt a little soulless. Something about the bearings just wasn't the feel I wanted. Great opening speed and always came open fully, but just not the feel. Then there were others, again from overseas brands that make their own designs but either they had a flipper, which I like, but was never the right detent weight or they weren't the size that appealed to me. Back to the spiders and butterflies. The Delica is the right blade length but a little goofy shape and not the lock of choice, certainly everything I'd need but not everything I wanted. The smaller options for BM like the Valet and Megumi were interesting, but the small axis had too many drawbacks (i.e. Too tight on the pivot to be enjoyable yet remove blade play) and the Nak-lok was ok but again didn't feel special.
Then I held one, a real one, not a clone, not a fake, not an SRM, an actual small 21. And after all that work to find the perfect knife, it was the knife I trashed from the beginning. The knife I thought was over priced and not worth the cost. The knife that didn't use the elite steel and couldn't be justified. Once I figured out I wanted a specific feel that couldn't be found in a well made budget knife like the Delica it was clear that everything else was a compromise. The small 21 is honestly the cheapest knife that ticks all the boxes of what I'm looking for.
The best news is that in May I'm getting married. My fiancé has asked me not to buy any knives until then (that's not the good news). Said I've spent a bit of money on too many I don't touch, which is fair and true considering I only consistently use 2-3 of the ones I've picked. The good news is that she's buying me a small 21 insigno as a wedding gift. She amazes me every day.
So long story short, I was wrong about what makes The Sebenza and other CRK knives great. I was wrong that a spec sheet mattered nearly as much as the knife in hand. If that were true, the Kizer Gemini I bought would have been the perfect knife. And while I still do like that knife, it like all the others had just enough not ideal to keep me on the hunt. The Sebenza, especially the small 21, is the one that I knew from the minute I tried it was everything I wanted in a small, office environment EDC knife. I'm chalking everything else I bought up as a learning experience to tell me what I wanted in hand rather than what I thought looked good on paper. I do apologize for any past negativity I had towards CRK and their fans, both online and in person.
Then I started to look for a knife that made me happy. I tried cheap ones, one that were on bearings, ones with titanium scales and S35vn blades that should have been similar enough, ones with flippers, ones with spiders on them and ones with butterflies. Ones from over seas but of original design and (embarrassingly) ones from overseas of copied designs. While I wont say much positive about those clone knives, the one thing they told me was that I liked the small Sebenza size. They also told me cheap is cheap for a reason.
So back to the hunt, this time looking for a smaller size, something in the 2.5"-3" blade length but with a thinner blade and thinner handle. Not too thin, but not some of the common beefy options either. Really like(d) the ZT 0450 but it was a bit large and always felt a little soulless. Something about the bearings just wasn't the feel I wanted. Great opening speed and always came open fully, but just not the feel. Then there were others, again from overseas brands that make their own designs but either they had a flipper, which I like, but was never the right detent weight or they weren't the size that appealed to me. Back to the spiders and butterflies. The Delica is the right blade length but a little goofy shape and not the lock of choice, certainly everything I'd need but not everything I wanted. The smaller options for BM like the Valet and Megumi were interesting, but the small axis had too many drawbacks (i.e. Too tight on the pivot to be enjoyable yet remove blade play) and the Nak-lok was ok but again didn't feel special.
Then I held one, a real one, not a clone, not a fake, not an SRM, an actual small 21. And after all that work to find the perfect knife, it was the knife I trashed from the beginning. The knife I thought was over priced and not worth the cost. The knife that didn't use the elite steel and couldn't be justified. Once I figured out I wanted a specific feel that couldn't be found in a well made budget knife like the Delica it was clear that everything else was a compromise. The small 21 is honestly the cheapest knife that ticks all the boxes of what I'm looking for.
The best news is that in May I'm getting married. My fiancé has asked me not to buy any knives until then (that's not the good news). Said I've spent a bit of money on too many I don't touch, which is fair and true considering I only consistently use 2-3 of the ones I've picked. The good news is that she's buying me a small 21 insigno as a wedding gift. She amazes me every day.
So long story short, I was wrong about what makes The Sebenza and other CRK knives great. I was wrong that a spec sheet mattered nearly as much as the knife in hand. If that were true, the Kizer Gemini I bought would have been the perfect knife. And while I still do like that knife, it like all the others had just enough not ideal to keep me on the hunt. The Sebenza, especially the small 21, is the one that I knew from the minute I tried it was everything I wanted in a small, office environment EDC knife. I'm chalking everything else I bought up as a learning experience to tell me what I wanted in hand rather than what I thought looked good on paper. I do apologize for any past negativity I had towards CRK and their fans, both online and in person.
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