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Difficult Opening StarBenza....Suggestions?

red1965

red1965

Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Messages
676
I purchased a StarBenza off another forum member a couple of weeks ago, And I have to say that this is the most difficult Sebenza to open that I own (I currently own 5). I have taken it apart, Cleaned and lubricated it about a half dozen times with no improvement. I thought it might be a break-in issue, but not so sure now. And no, I am not putting any pressure on the locking side, and no, I dont have a washer pinched. I also checked the pocket clip to make sure it is not putting pressure on the locking side. (its not) Its fairly smooth if you open it like a traditional pocket knife, but takes huge effort to open it one handed. All my other Sebenzas open very smooth and easy, so I dont see it being my opening method.
Any suggestions short of sending it in for a look over?
 
Here's the problem with this type of pivot assembly. when CRK builds each knife to their exacting high precision standards, then tighten the bolt, it should be able to move freely with no blade play as we would expect. But say, at CRK, when the pivot bolt is tightened, its not tightened as much as you have, for them it is within an acceptable range of tolerance. so if you want to tighten the bolt as tightly as I assume you are (as I do too) you could either wait for the break in to take a little meat off the washers/blade interface. or you could proactively "polish" the surface. Realize that this is not an acceptable solution to CRK or like to a large majority of people here. But this has worked beautifully on my tight fitting sebenzas. All of mine are insanely buttery smooth with a hydrolic feel and absolutely zero play in any direction.
 
Update:
I took the Starbenza down for the 10 th time, and cleaned everything again. I even took a small amount of polish to the area on the scales where the washers make contact, and to the blade. I oiled with Blue Lube and put it back together making sure not to pinch the washers. And my result? It still leaves a huge dent in my thumb whenI try to open it. Every other Seb I own opens smoothly using the same motion, so I dont know what is different about this one. It will nail flick open though. Makes no sense to me.
If this has ever happened to one of yours, Please contribute to this thread. I really would like to know how you fixed it. I may end up sending this one in to have a look over, but now is a horrible time with the show season in full swing.
And yes, I have used the CR grease with no better results for those who have wondered.
 
Is it hard to dislodge the blade out of the detent when beginning to open the seb or is the action throughout the whole movement of the blade hard to open?
 
snowreaper1 said:
Is it hard to dislodge the blade out of the detent when beginning to open the seb or is the action throughout the whole movement of the blade hard to open?
Click to expand...

thats what I was thinking too...the detent can be just in the right place on some of them where its a little more snug than what we may prefer. When you look closely at the detent in the blade on the broken in ones youll see small ramp where the ceramic ball has worn down the steel. this is going to happen over time but I suppose if you want to speed up the process you could push the lockbar into the blade and open and close through the dent a bunch to force the break in. It will improve over time!
 
The answer is yes to hard to dislodge the blade from the detent. Opens pretty smooth after that. I can open it fine if I open it like a traditional pocketknife, or if I use my thumb nail to flick it open. It is almost impossible to open by just using the thumb stud and a normal one hand opening grip. I have had others that were stiff, but never one like this. I lined all of them up last night (Large Classic, small Regular, small classic Micarta, small Insingo, and the thumb busting Starbenza) to see if I could"feel" what the difference is, and to check my openig technique to make sure it is not me. I can open the others 20 times compared to one time for the Starbenza. Maybe it will just take some breaking in, but Im not sure if the hide on my thumb will survive.
 
Please send your knife into the shop. Providing it is a warranty issue (which it sounds like based on your post) CRK would be happy to reimburse you your shipping charges. We will also expedite work on your knife so your time without it is minimal. I’m sorry for the inconvenience but would like you to give CRK a chance to make it right. If you have any questions about shipping your knife to us please email Heather at crkinfo@chrisreeve.com.
 
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