Benchmade 761 Ti Monolock vs Sebenza?

J

JDX

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Mar 2, 2014
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Of course I'd love to own a sebenza one day, but I'm still a college student paying tuition out of pocket and paying bills so I will have to wait a while on that. But for the mean time, would the 761 compare with the sebenza at all? I know "you get what you pay for" so I don't expect it to be on par with the sebenza. I guess I'm just trying to understand if the 761 could be a poor mans sebenza in a way. Not looking to start trouble, just looking for advice and comments about both knives if you own both or one of them. Thank you
 
I've lusted after the 761 many times but never pulled the trigger. There are a couple of problems with it for me. The most glaring is the tip-down only carry. What was BM thinking? Also the 761 is a larger blade than I typically carry. Of course, they've now come out with the down-sized 765 with a tip up option so I guess nothing's stopping me...:cool:

Seriously though, for the price of a 761 you're in the range of a used large 21 in darn good shape. I think if you've got three+ bills to throw down on a knife, you owe it to yourself to get a used, plain TI Sebbie and find out once and for all what all the hype is about. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who own their first CRK and realize they need more and those who own their first CRK and don't understand why everyone else seems to love them. Go find out which group you're in.

I've had nothing but great experiences buying knives off the Exchange here. BF really has a good community to do business with.
 
I have a Seb25 and my friend has 761.

To be honest the built quality are in a different ballpark. Seb are far better at almost everything... fit and finish, the smoothness, the lock up. 761 has fancier blade steel tho.
 
The sebenza is a lifetime investment. I have a few issues with the 761, many of which have been documented and voiced by others here and elsewhere. If you get a 761 over a sebenza just because of price and maybe blade steel, you are doing yourself a disservice.
 
Ya look up the issues with the Monolock, should make your choice clear. Though honestly, if I were still in school I'd probably be looking at a Sanrenmu 7010.
 
I agree with those who have already said that the price difference is negligible: it seems that a NIB Benchmade 761 is going for $331.50 on most online websites with an MSRP of $390. You can buy a NIB CRK Small Seb 21 for $350, a Large 21 for around $410 or a 25 for about $445. Not a huge price gap, imo. Get the one you like best.

For what it's worth, there have been several knives touted as a 'poorman's Sebenza' over the years. All decent knives to be sure, but there is no substitute for the real deal.

That said, if you're just looking for a decent but affordable ti framelock in a similar size to the 761 or Large Seb, you can get a Maxpedition Large Excelsa in D2 for around $130.

-Brett
 
timberweasel said:
I agree with those who have already said that the price difference is negligible: it seems that a NIB Benchmade 761 is going for $331.50 on most online websites with an MSRP of $390. You can buy a NIB CRK Small Seb 21 for $350, a Large 21 for around $410 or a 25 for about $445. Not a huge price gap, imo. Get the one you like best.

For what it's worth, there have been several knives touted as a 'poorman's Sebenza' over the years. All decent knives to be sure, but there is no substitute for the real deal.

That said, if you're just looking for a decent but affordable ti framelock in a similar size to the 761 or Large Seb, you can get a Maxpedition Large Excelsa in D2 for around $130.

-Brett
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in finding the 761 for about $150. And I see what everyone is saying. I don't know much about the monolock. And I'm not big on buying knives used. So I'd rather buy new
 
JDX said:
in finding the 761 for about $150. And I see what everyone is saying. I don't know much about the monolock. And I'm not big on buying knives used. So I'd rather buy new
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If you found a brand-spankin' new 761 for $150, I'd say... caveat emptor--seems too good to be true. But if you're comfortable it's legit, fill your boots.

Good luck, OP! :)

-Brett
 
No way you're finding a brand new 761 for $150......no way! If you do, do not buy it.
I have a 761, never had a Sebbie, and I have nothing to complain about. Excellent steel, very comfortable in hand. It flicks open like a pistol and locks up silly tight with no play at all. Extremely thin behind the edge and slices like a pissed off demon.
This knife is smoother than anything I've felt.
Joe
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Had mine anodized by Curtis at Midnight Sun here on the forum......cool dude that does great work!!
Joe
 
I love Benchmade but they cannot make a good frame lock. Some of the older stuff maybe. The Sebenza is hands down far superior in every way.
 
JDX said:
in finding the 761 for about $150. And I see what everyone is saying. I don't know much about the monolock. And I'm not big on buying knives used. So I'd rather buy new
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If that is true it certainly isn't an authorized dealer. I'd be very skeptical. But hey, it's your money. You did ask our opinion though. I bought my large 21 with Micarta inlays on the exchange used for $385. The 761 goes for $331.50. Seems like a no-brainer to me but again, it's your money.
 
I have a 761, and like it better than any Sebenza that I've ever played with. I carried a Sebenza for a day while I anodized it for a friend. The ONLY thing I like better about the Sebenza is the rounded spine. The 761 is smoother, looks better (to me), and is better steel. The ONLY thing I don't like about my 761 is that it has put two crazy marks on my iPhone screen. The titanium anodization scratched these large streaks on/in my phone screen that will NOT come off. It's crazy. I've never seen anything like it. It's this big silver streak, almost like the anodization rubbed off onto the glass. Very odd. I've learned not to keep them in the same pocket.

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I got my lightly used small Sebenza 21's for $250 and $315 respectively. $250 was a plain Jane Insingo that I traded into the and the other was a tanto micarta. Both are fantastic specimens. Going for a used and less expensive Sebenza for your first is a great route to go.

I agree with everyone else that that price is not to be trusted. Too good to be true and all.

If you're looking and Ti frame locks in the $150ish range, I'd scope out the Spyderco Sage 2. It's at least a good starting point to branch out from.

Edit: If you can look passed buying used knives, the Protech TR-3 Integrity pops up occasionally between $150-200.
 
You can find 761's lightly used around $200 pretty frequently, but I'd be very weary of a new one for $150.

The potential downsides to the 761 are the single sided thumbstud (that can easily be replaced with a double sided) and the tip down only carry option (can have this modified too).

Fit and finish is very good on my 761, but it's not as smooth as a Sebenza.

RC 60-62 M390 blade steel is going to out cut RC 58-59 S35vn (what's listed on my Sebenza 25 card) any day of the week. Ankerson's testing shows a couple M390 blades (Military/BM contego) holding an edge about 25% longer than a S35vn Sebenza does. In my use I'd have estimated that to be longer, but I have not profiled them to be identical. So blade/edge geometry aspects might play into that experience.

Overall fit and finish easily goes to the Sebenza, edge holding performance easily goes to the 761.

I'm a function over form guy, there are so many great knives using M390, S110, S90 etc. steels under $300, that while I love the fit, finish, and smooth hydraulic opening of the Sebenza, I'd never buy one again unless they offer better edge holding steel. For that kind of $ I want cutting performance, and S35VN simply doesn't have it, unless you harden it to RC 61+.
 
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