kamagong
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2001
- Messages
- 10,909
I’ve been using the large regular for several months now and the time I’ve spent with the Sebenza so far has given me a good feel for it. I work in an office all day, so I’m not especially hard on my knives, but then again a person can only judge a knife based on how it works for him.
This comes as no surprise to any of you, but the very first day I started carrying the Sebenza it started to show some scratches on the titanium scales. I was a little surprised at how fragile the finish was. I had read about it online, but it was another thing seeing it happen with my own eyes. It’s not really a problem as the scratches/scuffmarks are merely superficial and limited to the scales’ surface. The titanium itself remains undamaged.
That said I have to admit that I like the look the knife is taking on. The high points on the handle are becoming polished with carry and use. The scratches on the titanium seem to have a patina-like quality and my knife is starting to gain the weathered look that well-used tools all seem to have.
When I first got the Sebenza it I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a subtle convex edge. That makes sharpening a little more convenient for me because I prefer a convex edge on my knives. However, I had a little difficulty sharpening the edge of the Seb. I don’t know if it is due to the hollow grind of the blade or its lesser width, but I can’t get the blade as low as I want when I’m sharpening it with sandpaper. Hopefully I can find a better way to sharpen the Sebenza as I become more familiar with it.
The hollow ground blade of the Sebbie is fine for most tasks that I encounter, but there were a couple times when I wished I was one of those lucky few who own a flat ground model. The hollow grind does not perform very well in cutting materials in that bind. I broke a few boxes down with the Seb and this job takes a bit more effort to do with a Sebenza than it does with a flat ground blade like the Spyderco Military or any one of my slipjoints. But this knife does almost everything else well and with style.
I quickly discovered that I can not carry spare change in the same pocket that I carry my Sebenza. The open back design allows coins to hit and dull the blade when the Sebbie is closed. That exact thing happened the first day I decided to carry it. I know that the design allows the user to effectively blow out any accumulated pocket lint, but I still consider this a weak point. It’s not a deal breaker though as I do not normally carry loose coins anyway.
The Seb as I received it was probably the second smoothest pocket knife I’ve owned, second only to my Microtech LCC. But a couple of days after I got it I already had it apart for cleaning. I didn’t actually need to clean it, but I was a bit curious and excited as this was the first time I owned a knife that was so easy to take apart and maintain. It was dead simple to take it apart. Just a few turns with the CRK provided Allen wrench and I had fourteen pieces carefully laid out on a paper towel ready for cleaning and oiling. Assembling the knife was more of a challenge. The parts are so precisely made that they need to be perfectly fitted before they will go together. It took me a few minutes to put it back together. But when I opened it that first time after reassembly I was really impressed by its smoothness. Cleaning and oiling the Seb made a big difference. It is now the smoothest knife I own, smoother even than the Microtech despite the fact that I have had that LCC for the past seven years and it is already well broken in.
The first day I had the Sebenza I opened and closed it at least 500 times to facilitate the break-in process. By the end of the day my thumb was raw from the pointy thumbstuds. The Sebenza is an engineering marvel with the exception of that one detail. With all the improvements that CRK has introduced to the Sebenza over the years I am a little surprised that they have not yet found a satisfactory solution to this problem. CRK should really take a look at the LCC’s thumbstuds, which are the most comfortable and effective I’ve used.
My experiences with the Sebbie so far have led me to the opinion that it is the best EDC pocketknife I’ve ever owned. It is not a perfect knife as I have other knives that outperform it based on sheer cutting ability like the Military and a French Laguiole I picked up a few years back. And the Sebenza does not have the most comfortable or secure handle. But for the person who wants a good knife that goes unnoticed until he needs it, the Sebenza just might be the knife for him. It is strong and sharp. The Seb is made with superior materials and craftsmanship and it gets better with time as it breaks in and its parts mate to one another. And because it is flat and lightweight it disappears when clipped to a pocket. That last part is what makes the Sebbie ideal for me as an EDC. I like a bigger knife, which is why I chose the large regular. But the large Seb does not feel very large at all. It doesn’t weigh me down and it does not poke me at all when it is in my pocket. In other words, it is convenient.
That is my primary requirement for a pocketknife. I carry a knife daily because I recognize the need to have a sharp tool on hand, but it is not possible or even desirable to carry a fixed blade due to my personal circumstances. My situation requires me to be a bit discreet with the use of knives. I also don’t find the carrying of fixed blades all that comfortable. But I still want a knife, and I want a good one. That is where the Sebenza really shines. Its compact design gives me a lot of knife in a handy little package. With the Seb in my pocket I have available at my fingertips the ability to cut anything that needs to be cut.
This comes as no surprise to any of you, but the very first day I started carrying the Sebenza it started to show some scratches on the titanium scales. I was a little surprised at how fragile the finish was. I had read about it online, but it was another thing seeing it happen with my own eyes. It’s not really a problem as the scratches/scuffmarks are merely superficial and limited to the scales’ surface. The titanium itself remains undamaged.
That said I have to admit that I like the look the knife is taking on. The high points on the handle are becoming polished with carry and use. The scratches on the titanium seem to have a patina-like quality and my knife is starting to gain the weathered look that well-used tools all seem to have.
When I first got the Sebenza it I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has a subtle convex edge. That makes sharpening a little more convenient for me because I prefer a convex edge on my knives. However, I had a little difficulty sharpening the edge of the Seb. I don’t know if it is due to the hollow grind of the blade or its lesser width, but I can’t get the blade as low as I want when I’m sharpening it with sandpaper. Hopefully I can find a better way to sharpen the Sebenza as I become more familiar with it.
The hollow ground blade of the Sebbie is fine for most tasks that I encounter, but there were a couple times when I wished I was one of those lucky few who own a flat ground model. The hollow grind does not perform very well in cutting materials in that bind. I broke a few boxes down with the Seb and this job takes a bit more effort to do with a Sebenza than it does with a flat ground blade like the Spyderco Military or any one of my slipjoints. But this knife does almost everything else well and with style.
I quickly discovered that I can not carry spare change in the same pocket that I carry my Sebenza. The open back design allows coins to hit and dull the blade when the Sebbie is closed. That exact thing happened the first day I decided to carry it. I know that the design allows the user to effectively blow out any accumulated pocket lint, but I still consider this a weak point. It’s not a deal breaker though as I do not normally carry loose coins anyway.
The Seb as I received it was probably the second smoothest pocket knife I’ve owned, second only to my Microtech LCC. But a couple of days after I got it I already had it apart for cleaning. I didn’t actually need to clean it, but I was a bit curious and excited as this was the first time I owned a knife that was so easy to take apart and maintain. It was dead simple to take it apart. Just a few turns with the CRK provided Allen wrench and I had fourteen pieces carefully laid out on a paper towel ready for cleaning and oiling. Assembling the knife was more of a challenge. The parts are so precisely made that they need to be perfectly fitted before they will go together. It took me a few minutes to put it back together. But when I opened it that first time after reassembly I was really impressed by its smoothness. Cleaning and oiling the Seb made a big difference. It is now the smoothest knife I own, smoother even than the Microtech despite the fact that I have had that LCC for the past seven years and it is already well broken in.
The first day I had the Sebenza I opened and closed it at least 500 times to facilitate the break-in process. By the end of the day my thumb was raw from the pointy thumbstuds. The Sebenza is an engineering marvel with the exception of that one detail. With all the improvements that CRK has introduced to the Sebenza over the years I am a little surprised that they have not yet found a satisfactory solution to this problem. CRK should really take a look at the LCC’s thumbstuds, which are the most comfortable and effective I’ve used.
My experiences with the Sebbie so far have led me to the opinion that it is the best EDC pocketknife I’ve ever owned. It is not a perfect knife as I have other knives that outperform it based on sheer cutting ability like the Military and a French Laguiole I picked up a few years back. And the Sebenza does not have the most comfortable or secure handle. But for the person who wants a good knife that goes unnoticed until he needs it, the Sebenza just might be the knife for him. It is strong and sharp. The Seb is made with superior materials and craftsmanship and it gets better with time as it breaks in and its parts mate to one another. And because it is flat and lightweight it disappears when clipped to a pocket. That last part is what makes the Sebbie ideal for me as an EDC. I like a bigger knife, which is why I chose the large regular. But the large Seb does not feel very large at all. It doesn’t weigh me down and it does not poke me at all when it is in my pocket. In other words, it is convenient.
That is my primary requirement for a pocketknife. I carry a knife daily because I recognize the need to have a sharp tool on hand, but it is not possible or even desirable to carry a fixed blade due to my personal circumstances. My situation requires me to be a bit discreet with the use of knives. I also don’t find the carrying of fixed blades all that comfortable. But I still want a knife, and I want a good one. That is where the Sebenza really shines. Its compact design gives me a lot of knife in a handy little package. With the Seb in my pocket I have available at my fingertips the ability to cut anything that needs to be cut.
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