anyone have both the bench made 761 and a sebenza, preferably the 25?

A

awd_xtc

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I am looking to get a new folder, I originally was going to buy something a bit on the fancier side but with the way I handle gear I think simple elegance would be better. I know there is a lot of talk about the 761 having a weak detent, but the one I handled did not suffer from that in my opinion. I have no way of handling a sebenza before I buy one. How would you describe the action of the sebenza? That is one of the things I really liked about the 761, it's just soooo smooth and quick to open. The 761 seems to have better steel (M390) VS the sebenza S35V. I don't mind the tip down carry of the 761, tip up would be preferable but it's not a deal breaker. I guess one of the things with the sebenza is that it IS a sebenza, it just has that stigma to it kind of like a rolex. For those of you that own both or have handled both what are your honest opinions?
 
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If you've got the money, get the SEBENZA. I haven't handled a 761, but I own a Sebenza. You would be hard pressed to beat the Smoothness of a Sebenza. The tolerances are amazing and it's truly a work of precision art. There's a reason it has the kind of following it does. People are flat out loyal to that knife for a good reason.
 
Every sebenza comes out perfect in form and function. The steel is not going to be a good as M390 but all around is durable stuff with a good heat treat. It will no doubt make you happy and is always an easy sell. The benchmade might be hit or miss and I cannot stand tip down. Otherwise it is a nice looking knife.
Matt
 
I have the sebenza 21 with micarta . An I also have the 761 . The benchmade is way way way much smother than my Sebenzas . That said there is nothing like a sebenza . I bought the 761 first and its a very nice knife with good materials and great looks but it left me with like there was something missing . The Sebanza is built so precise and quality all around .

If you want a big knife that's smooth, very light weight and nice for a great price go with the 761 . If you want to spend more and get a better quality knife the Sebenza . Me I'll go with the Sebenza . Just love the blade sweet looking blade .
 
If you don't mind minor fit and finish issues and a not so great a factory edge then Benchmades are fantastic knives. I personally buy Benchmades for their Axis lock, it is actually my favorite non auto mechanism. I over look these shortcomings for that reason alone.

If I was buying a frame lock, well it wouldn't be a Benchmade, and surely not my choice over a Sebenza.
 
Keep some factors in mind. The Sebenza will not be comfortable to everyone and the Benchmade 761 will not be comfortable to everyone, it depends on your hand shape and how you prefer to hold your knives during cutting. Both of them are set up for only one carry position so make sure you know what you want in that regard as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either but I would get the Sebenza.
 
Beside a detent that's not ZT like the 761 fit and finish is great no issue with it .

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Also keep in mind that a used Sebenza 25 can be found for the same money on the exchange. I've seen them as low as $300. At that point it's a no brainier in my book. You can never go wrong with a CRK.
 
fq55 said:
Also keep in mind that a used Sebenza 25 can be found for the same money on the exchange. I've seen them as low as $300. At that point it's a no brainier in my book. You can never go wrong with a CRK.
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The money is not really an issue, I do have a lot of Benchmades already. If only we could get the sebenza in m390. I have never had a knife with S35V, how doe sit compare to 154 cm which is what most of my knives are. I am so so on the 154cm, maybe it's because I have been using it so long that I just want a change?
 
I have both (Sebenza 25) and there's nothing quite like it, if you have the money I'd go with that and get the Benchmade at a later date. But both are worth having to be sure.
 
CSTLandscapes said:
If you've got the money, get the SEBENZA. I haven't handled a 761, but I own a Sebenza. You would be hard pressed to beat the Smoothness of a Sebenza. The tolerances are amazing and it's truly a work of precision art. There's a reason it has the kind of following it does. People are flat out loyal to that knife for a good reason.
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"I don't know what the other one is like but I know mine is better, because I said so" uh huh
 
Just because one doesn't own a 761 but does own a Sebenza doesn't mean one can't comment. There are some very valid criticisms of the 761 out there. If the OP is interested in what those are he can go look them up. I have no experience with the 761 so I won't comment on those aspects of the knife specifically.

What I will say is the Sebenza will be better in almost every way except steel and possibly smoothness. Even then, s35vn is a fantastic steel. Look at all the newly announced ZTs that are going to use it. Over the last couple years BM has had questionable quality control and fit/finish. Yes they will take care of any issues through great CS but you shouldn't need that on a $332 knife IMO. I will also agree with redmasta in that the reason I like BM is because of the axis lock. So to get a very expensive BM TI frame lock that could have QC or Fit/finish issues doesn't make sense to me, YMMV.

I recently picked up a used large 21 with micarta in very good condition off the exchange for only about 14% more than the 761 costs new. To own one of the finest and iconic knives in our hobby, the price increase was well worth it to me! Again, YMMV.

Oh, and let us not forget tip down only. Not a deal breaker for me. Love my Military. That said, tip down for $332? You must be very comfortable with tip down only at that price.
 
Buy the 760 for it's superior cutting performance if you're okay with a single thumb stud and tip down carry, you buy the CRK for it's fit/finish/status. The 761 seems to follow a lot of what was good/bad about the older BM 760.

I own a 25, and handled a couple of the 761's at Shot. The 761 fit and finish was very nice, feels pretty good in the hand, aside the clip and that they could have rounded the inside handle slab edges a bit more, they felt pretty sharp. Opening was smooth, but not in the same league as a CRK. The CRK is much more "hydraulic" than the 761 was and the lockup feels/sounds more solid. You really need to experience the CRKs to understand those descriptors I think. The 761 blade is not "overbuilt" and it should be a really good slicer.

The 761 wins hands down when it comes to blade steel, M390 at RC 60-62 is going to crush S35VN RC 58-59. S35VN isn't a "bad" steel but I suspect it's only popular because it's easy to grind and heat treat, i.e. cheap to use. I'd like to think with so many production knives using high end steels that mid-tech's would start upping their game but most haven't. I believe this reflects the trend that knives are becoming more of a fashion/status statement and less about cutting performance, like watches.

I had four complaints on the 761's I handled YMMV.

1) Tip down only. Having the clip on the pivot end of the knife makes for a uncomfortable grip when using the knife. If you're a tip down guy, then the CRK 25 is equally bad. The 761 isn't horrible here because of the tall handle and the fact the clip is pretty wide and the edges are rounded since it's machined.

2) The detent/blade retention was very weak. Old BM 760 had the same issue. The all CRK knives I've seen have very good blade retention and solid detents. If I have to carry a weak detent knife I want the blade spine against the pocket seam. With the 761 you'd have to carry it in your left pocket to do that, and with only one thumb stud, opening left handed is much like a monkey having relations with a football.

3) Thumb stud on only one side of the blade, just no excuse for this.

4) asymmetrical blade stop pin. The old BM 760 is the only other BM I've seen use this. CRK is no better the 25 has an asymmetrical stop pin as well. In both cases neither have proven a common issue, but I'd prefer a blade stop that if it rotates/moves doesn't create an unsafe or unusable knife.

Price is personal, I could make the case that there are other production knives with Ti handles, and high end blade steel that are significantly cheaper than the 761. However, if materials and blade steel are the criteria to value then the 25 is even more over priced offering only a 58-59 RC S35VN blade.

If it had dual thumb studs, offered tip up carry, and had better blade retention when closed I'd own a 761. Then again if the old 760 offered those things I'd still own it as well :)
 
View attachment 510475 You can kill two birds (Axis Lock and M-390 blade) with one knife. The Benchmade AFCK is second from the top in this photo. It is a limited edition, but worth looking for IMHO.
 
Ok, I am going to switch gears here. I might have found the answer to my problems. I just came across the ZT-0562cf, super smooth action, titanium frame lock, M390. What I want to know is how is the quality on these things? I know they are owned by kershaw ( kind of scares me) and how wide are they when closed? Is it something that will take up my entire pocket or can I still get my keys in there with it? Does anyone know what the blades are heat treated to? I also am looking at the zt-0392 but I have not clue what the CTS-204P steel is and how it matches up against...well anything.
 
CTS-204P is Carpenter's equivalent of Bohler's M-390 and Latrobe's 20 CV.
 
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