Can't tighten pivot screw or sebenza is too hard to open

All 3 generations of my Sebenzas were quite stiff initially, but broke in nicely over time. My new 31 isn’t quite there, but has loosened up substantially.

From here, I can’t tell if you’re experiencing the typical CRK initial stiffness, or if something is off.

On the 31, my perception (could be wrong) is the ceramic ball needs to wear a bit of a groove into the blade steel before you get the looser/ideal action. That takes a fair bit of opening and closing.

My suggestion would be to break the knife down, clean and grease, then do the break in thing they describe on the website. Tear down, clean, and regrease again. If it’s still too tight, call CRK.

IMHO, the only downside to calling before you do the break in is I suspect they’ll ask you to send the knife back for adjustment/repair and it’ll take a bit if time. I have little doubt though that they will take care of any issues as quickly as they possibly can. Customer service is part of what you’re bought.
 
nbp said:
I never have put it on though it might be helpful. Only once I think I felt the screw start to click as it had backed itself out a bit and was jiggling around. So I snugged it up and it was okay. It hasn’t been a big enough issue to send it in just for that but I do have to dial it in more than I would expect with all the pivot bushing lore. Haha. That said, it is still my favorite knife ever. Like I said I ought to send it in for a bit of love anyways so maybe they can tune it better.
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Meh. Once in all these years? I wouldn't bother to send it back. What's one dab of blue thread locker among friends?
 
When I need to shine up PB washers, I grab an Extra Fine Triangular Prism from my Spyderco Sharpmaker and put a mirror finish on the blade side of the washers. Even if only 50% of the surface shows mirror, all the high spots are gone, and the friction is less than full mirror.
 
I got my 1st CRK last week , Sebenza 31 and it was basically what the ops describing out of the box and I really made an effort to break in the knife but gave up
and returned it to Knives ship free for a refund. I'm losing $ 70 bucks with restocking and shipping but I decided CRK isn't for me and for $550 bucks I shouldn't need to
"Tune" a knife to the point I'm questioning whether it needs to go back to the manufacturer.
 
I’ve owned several new 21 and 31’s over the years and have found that they can be kinda hit or miss out of the box on having a perfectly tuned pivot. While I totally agree that one should not have tune a new $500 knife yourself, it’s actually quite simple to do If your the type that likes to, or don’t mind to tinker with things. After I bought my first new Inkosi I was much happier with how easily it was to adjust as compared to a new, overly tight Seb. All you do is Locktight the pivot screw threads, adjust to the pivot tension you desire, let the Locktight dry overnight and wall-a, a perfectly tuned pivot with just a simple turn of an Allen wrench.
 
I've also seen some variation in CRK's pivot tuning. All of them have broken in nicely, though. It's hard to know if we have the same definition of proper tuning or even if we've experienced the same phenomenon, but my red micarta small 31 was the worst. It came with a very tight, gritty action even after several attempts to clean and lube. It's in great shape now and I love it. Not quite as smooth as my old 21 but that one is a smooth criminal.
 
tiguy7 said:
When I need to shine up PB washers, I grab an Extra Fine Triangular Prism from my Spyderco Sharpmaker and put a mirror finish on the blade side of the washers. Even if only 50% of the surface shows mirror, all the high spots are gone, and the friction is less than full mirror.
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Another vote for Spyderco superfine stone on PB washers. Every washer knife I buy, whether CRK or otherwise, gets the same treatment—a few LIGHT pressure circles on the superfine bench stone knocks the tarnish and any rough spots off them without compromising thickness.

Obviously a different pivot from the 31, but my Zaan was so bad when I got it that it was hard to open two-handed without loosening it up to the point where it was no longer centered. Awful. But: takedown, clean the parts with alcohol, lightly rub the washers on the Spyderco superfine, relube and it opened right up. Now—a few thousand actuations later, I admit—opens and shuts like greased lightning.
 
Kataphraktos said:
Another vote for Spyderco superfine stone on PB washers. Every washer knife I buy, whether CRK or otherwise, gets the same treatment—a few LIGHT pressure circles on the superfine bench stone knocks the tarnish and any rough spots off them without compromising thickness.

Obviously a different pivot from the 31, but my Zaan was so bad when I got it that it was hard to open two-handed without loosening it up to the point where it was no longer centered. Awful. But: takedown, clean the parts with alcohol, lightly rub the washers on the Spyderco superfine, relube and it opened right up. Now—a few thousand actuations later, I admit—opens and shuts like greased lightning.
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My question is why don't manufacturers do this before shipping their knives? Is it lazy or do the folks that buy these knives enjoy having to spend time figuring out how to get the knife to perform well? I don't buy a new vehicle and spend hours in the garage to get it to run properly. I get that people are passionate about CRK and once it's tuned it's unlike anything else but damn.
 
Modernflame said:
T Tzoid Sorry for your disappointment, bro. It's possible your knife was flawed. Hope you find the knife you're looking for.

Cheers
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Thank you... The Koenig Arius and multiple Hinderer knives I own work well and I actually feel as if I failed and gave up on the Sebenza and that's unlike me so losing
$$$ on a brand new knife does suck.
 
I personally find the tinkering process endearing... My small 31 was actually tuned pretty well when I got it from the factory, but I took it apart anyway, I lapped the washers with lapping film on a piece of float glass, also tweaked the lock bar a bit. With that and several months of daily carry it's pretty nice now. I look at it like breaking in a new pair of boots. Don't expect a brand new 350 dollar pair of work shoes to have the feel of a pair I've been wearing and conditioning for a couple of years.
 
Modernflame said:
Meh. Once in all these years? I wouldn't bother to send it back. What's one dab of blue thread locker among friends?
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Agree. I just got done cleaning and tweaking two Sebbies and an Inkosi while watching a movie and enjoying an adult beverage. Got em all dialed in just right. I did put a dab of threadlock from the Inkosi kit on the one Sebbie to help keep that pivot screw where it belongs.

Freshly lubed CRKs are a thing of beauty. 😌 I have been so happy with the three I own, I haven’t been hanging out in this forum for quite a while but every time I come back to visit everyone is so cool and the knife talk so good I get the itch again. Back in 2016 I bought 8 CRKs, sold five of them, and kept the three I loved so I dunno what would be next anyways... but that is all beyond the scope of this thread. 😊
 
First 21 I had I needed to lap the washers a bit to get it just right. The next one was opposite...had to lap the bushing to get it just right.
 
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