Bad experiences with the Sebenzas....

I did not know that **** was a bad word. In my mind, it is preferable to doo-doo, poo-poo, or stincoln logs. I guess that on SaTURDay, I will go to the scatalogical vocabulary course.

It just seems absurd,
That I can't say ****.

Maybe teard, tuuurd, or a really long tuuuuuuuuuuuurd would work.:rolleyes:
 
Well here it is again...

I bought my first Sebenza (large, plain) about a month ago, and I did a little research prior to making my purchase. After a month, my Sebbie is still my EDC, and has performed supremely in every role I have placed it in. As stated, fiberglass tape will dull any blade (it has glass people -- glass is HARD). My Sebenza has been put to the test on stacks of paper, cardboard, tape, 1" hemp rope, 1' nylon, burlap, cotton fabric, sandwiches, callouses (yep, callouses), and the list goes on... To this day, it is still factory sharp. BG-42 outperforms ALL of my other factory knives (though I don't have any Talonite, yet).

As for the opening in the pocket: First of all, anyone who goes running, playing football, jumping jacks, playing in the yard with the kids or any other high-impact activity with ANY liner lock or frame lock loose in a big pocket (clipped or bouncing around free -- same thing in a cargo pocket) is asking for a laceration. For crying out loud, if you're looking for a knife that will perform under those circumstances, get a damn neck knife. The Sebenza was not designed to be carried in a way that it is constantly bouncing around. What knife maker would design a folder for that purpose. Besides, as CR will tell you, it is a working knife. I don't think it was ever meant to be flopping around while playing. I feel sorry for those that have had their own misjudgment ruin their impression of the knife.

With that said, I will admit that the knife opening upon drawing due to the lug getting caught, or while in the pocket loose due to an accumulation of lint/schmootz on the stop pin sounds reasonable. However, the first can be addressed by changing your grip when drawing. I always carry mine loose in the right front of jeans, and will either place my thumb on the lug or my finger tips on the blade spine while drawing. The lint build-up has happened to me (not enough to cause improper closing), and can be avoided by occasionally blowing it out. You just have to watch for it (like any knife I might add).

I love this knife, and think it is as close to perfect for its designed role as any factory knife on the market today.

Well done, CRK!

-Al-
 
I carry a large Classic Sebenza on a daily basis and I've had nothing but positive experiences with it. My favorite whitetail dressing knife is a Reeve Ubejane, the sharpest knife and the best one at keeping its edge I've ever owned.

Don
 
I've seen and handled only one Sebenza and it was perfect. After that happend my BM750 don't looks so attractive as in past:(
 
Unfortunately i have never ever had the privallage to handle a sebenza and unfortunately never will. An Emerson Commander here costs already about $400-$500. I am guessing a sebenza here would cost rouphly about $700 and i dont think many shops will be selling many of these $700 knives. If anyone comes and visits Perth in Western Australia anytime with their sebenza please e-mail me and i'll be right there knocking on your hotel room door:D

But some things about it by just looking at it:
1) It seems like you cant tighten or loosen the pivot screw to adjust it to your personal preferance.

2) It doesnt look like the knife is put together using any sort of screw or allen key there for it cannot be disassembled for cleaning or any other reason
 
Wow, Chris, it might pay for you to fly over here shopping for knives ... selling off the extras when you get home could finance your trip!

Seriously, the Sebenza and Umfaan each come with their own little allen key so you can, in mere seconds, disassemble the knife for cleaning. No, the pivot cannot be adjusted, it remains at constant tension, which also maintains the blade exactly centered.
 
i have a question on the knife opening in the pocket. specifically, it seems people have had the sebenzas opening in their jeans pocket while cliped to the pocket. my question is this: with a tip up knife, such as the sebenza or my BM705, the non-cutting edge of the blade, when closed, basically rests against the right most (outside) part of the pocket. in this position, there would basically be no more than a few mm for the blade to swing opn without being stopped by the edge of the pocket. how do you have yurs clipped so that a) it can open to any significant degree; and b) hos is it that you can cut yourself on the edge when it is open in such a position? the only way i can see this happening is for a right handed knife in a left handed pocket for instance. please enligthen me as it seems that from what i envision as happening, both a and b are nearly impossible, regardless of thumb opening device or detent device.

thanks!!
 
hi black: but, that does not seem to answer the querries i posed. is the knife clipped in such a way so that the blade is nestled into the right most part of the pocket?? if you look at your pocket, that edge of the pocket would physically prevent to blade from openinig unless the knife rotates so that it is not vertical. please give us some more details on how this works, as from my understanding, a knife clipped the way i describe in my erlier post could not physically open...

thanks
 
I'm pretty sure Chris Reeve must have heard of this problem over and over again seeing how many threads of this subject there have been. What everyone should be asking is why doesnt he start making them tip down. I'm not saying that there is a fault with his knife... but just that some people have had this problem and that a slight modification like moving the clip could fix everything. Making them tip down would not mean that he would be agreeing that there is a fault in the design of his knife but just that some people had difference preferances and that he just wants to make his customers happy:D
 
CRK is certainly a customer oriented business.

That said, if you were operating that business and had a waiting list for your TOTAL production, would you seriously consider changing your successful design to accomodate those few who cannot tell you WHY there is a problem? :confused:

One reason Mr. Reeves is a successful businessman is that he makes a quality product that MORE than meets his customers' requirements. Look at the number of Sebenza owners who cannot stop at "just one" when they know doggone good & well they will never be able to wear out one of his knives. 'Nuff said . . . ;)
 
The only bad experience I've had with my Sebenza was paying for it after the price was converted into Canadian dollars :(. They are fine knives. I have no doubt that if I ever were to have a problem, Chris Reeves & co. would be right there to back up their product.
Now if they could only do something about the exchange rate... :)
 
Originally posted by ralphtt
CRK is certainly a customer oriented business.

That said, if you were operating that business and had a waiting list for your TOTAL production, would you seriously consider changing your successful design to accomodate those few who cannot tell you WHY there is a problem? :confused:
Click to expand...

And here's a clue your you, Ralph - do a search on my user name and the word "Sebenza" in this forum and KnifeForums and you'll find all you need to know about why my Sebenza opens in my pocket.

As for Chris Reeve changing his successful design for us "few" who have safety problems with his knives, well that is certainly his choice. But I can't help but notice that over the last few years he's made several modifications to his design to accomodate just a "few" people. The original design was successful, but he redesigned the whole handle. A few people liked the old desigh better, so he brought back the "Classic" design. Some folks wanted dual thumb studs, so he found a way to accomodate them. Some folks want to remove their pocket clips but don't like the milled recess that remains, so he finally agreed to start making an insert that would fill that slot. A couple of folks wanted partial serrations, so he does them upon request. There can't be a massive market for lefty Sebenzas, but yet he makes them. Some folks didn't like the way the pocket clip wore out their pants pockets, so Chris redesigned the whole clip. I would even be willing to pay to have a second clip recess on the pivot end, along with an insert to fill whichever recess I don't use. Certainly my fingers are worth more than a little pants pocket wear, don't you think?
 
Hey Senator,

You make some good points, and it seems (correct me if I'm wrong) that what you are recommending is an option of tip down carry on the Sebenza. I know that Chris Reeve feels that tip up makes for a better work knife (the clip stays out of the way of the grip), and as such he has never done a tip down version.

As far as the knife design being a safety issue, IMHO the knife can not be blamed, rather the way the knife is being carried seems to be at issue. I can't remember your comments on how you were carrying (nor did I do the search), but if you look at how BlackRazor carries the Sebenza in a large cargo pocket on shorts where the knife can fully open into the locked position while running... well, I love the Sebenza, but I'd expect any tip-up knife to stab me if I carried it that way. Just because other knives don't doesn't mean there's something wrong with the Sebenza. I do have to give kudos to BlackRazor for fixing the problem himself. It's a good knife, and if tip down is prefered, go for it.

-Al-
 
The really bad part about owning a seby is:
when you go to sell it you only have about 10 guys emailing you to buy it!!!!!!!! :p:p:p
 
Yes, I would like the option of tip-down carry, and would pay for that choice.

As for the carry method, I always carried mine clipped to my right-hand pants pocket, all the way to the rear of the pocket. The blade spine was snug up against the rear seam. The thumb stud would snag on the lining of my pocket as I drew the knife for use, resulting in the knife opening as it was drawn. In another thread I provided quotes from several other forumites that experienced similar problems, including one person who had to have stiches after his Sebenza cut him. He was also wearing the knife up against his pocket seam.
 
Thanks, Senator.

One of the things I've noticed and was pointed out in a previous thread is the "pointiness" of the stud. I can see how, especially if being drawn by grasping only the exposed portion of the knife, the blade could be opened by the stud catching on the pants. Of course, some makers solve this problem by using a hole instead of a stud. I guess in it's present configuration, the Sebenza will always have this issue.:(

Still, I've never had this problem, and I think the Sebenza is about the best production folder of its kind out there.

-Al-

P.S: Tom -- trade ya my large Sebbie for a large TnT Stellite hawkbill or recurve? :D
 
Originally posted by alelser
...and I think the Sebenza is about the best production folder of its kind out there.
Click to expand...

Gimme tip-down carry and I'd agree with you. ;)
 
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