Frame Lock wear.....how does it stand up?

Brasso

Brasso

Joined
Apr 1, 2001
Messages
72
I know that with a liner lock the blade will develope some wobble simply from opening and closing it enough times. I would imagine that it would be easy to fix by just having another liner fit. But on a frame lock, how would you adjust for any loosening that might occur over time? I'm asking because I am thinking of possibly saving for a Sebenza, but I'm leary of the blade getting loose with any hard use and that is just too much money for a knife if it won't live up to it's hard use name. I guess I'm spoiled by BMs axis locks, but they sure aren't as pretty as a Sebenza. I don't think they look like grey turds myself, but I would prefer them in a shiny'er shade of titanium.
 
The near-custom build of the Sebenza allows for some adjustment, as far as I know. I am not sure how this is, but I have heard there is some sort of an adjustment feature built in. Other frame locks, like the BM 750, do not have this feature.
 
I believe the Sebenza has an adjustable pivot (I've got one, and I'm not sure how it works:o, haven't needed to adjust it).
A larger stop pin might also solve a problem with excessive wear on the lock.
 
Aren't the handles on the Sebenza bead-blasted? If so, you could sand it to a smoother finish and it'd be more shiny. I did that to my Pinnacle.
 
Side to side blade play can be adjusted with the pivot. Up/down play by rotating the stop pin. An allen wrench is included with the Sebenza. And besides, if a problem does arise, just send it back to CRK. They stand behind their products.

Paul
 
The Sebenza's not adjustable for wear other than the fact that you can rotate the stop pin to expose a clean, unmarred surface for blade contact. There's no trick pivot pin, etc.

Still, I am amazed at the resilience of the locking mech. I've got a buddy who carries a small for EDC without thought of lock wear. I check it everytime I see him, and it has not moved right significantly at all despite his constant opening and closing. The Sebenza is the direct product of a lot of thought and effort toward folder perfection IMHO.

Professor.
 
The stop-pin of the sebbie is drilled slightly off center, so you can adjust for the frame lock to wear in.
But if you carry a sebbie, you'll have to open it 100 times a day for the rest of your natural life to get the lock to wear out.
The tip of the Ti is hardened by Chris Reeves (I did this on my pinnacle too), and by putting enough pressure on and wearing, it will workharden and become sooooooo resillient and wear-resistant that is is nearly impossible to wear out a Sebbie... How long have they been around now? 10 years? I haven't heard a single rapport of a sebbie worn trough. And if it would be, they'd simply replace it for ya.

greetz, bart.
 
Maybe that's something they're doing here lately, because the hole through the center of my small Seb's stop pin is perfectly centered.

Professor.
 
Originally posted by Bart student
The stop-pin of the sebbie is drilled slightly off center, so you can adjust for the frame lock to wear in.
Click to expand...

No it isn't. With use the stop pin will wear in the contact spot, and you can spin the pin in order to move a fresh, unworn spot into the contact point.
 
Keep in mind that the frame of the Sebenza is much thicker than the liner of even robust liner locks. We're not talking about a thin strip of metal that contacts part of the tang, but a bar of metal as thick as the tang. It would take just that much more wear before you even noticed it.

Brasso, have you handled a Sebenza yet? When I first held mine, my initial reaction was along the lines of "Oh, now I see!"
 
As far as I know, the stop pin can be rotated to expose a "fresh spot" when some degree of wear is noticed. I'm pretty sure it is not drilled in an eccentric pattern. Even this, IMHO, is overkill, as I have not seen a folding knife that is as "blast-proof" as the Sebenza.

Even if you somehow manage to put excessive wear to your Sebbie, CRK will stand behind it without question. If you have any doubts, go to the CRK Forum and read about some of the experiences owners have had.

Go for it!You will be glad you did. :)
 
Bart student :

I haven't heard a single rapport of a sebbie worn trough. And if it would be, they'd simply replace it for ya.
Click to expand...

There was a case of this on the forums, a couple of years of use I think. The cost of getting it fixed was ~$100 as one of the scales had ot be replaced. This did include some cosmetic work though ~$20-$25. I broke the liner in a Buck/Strider folder and Buck replaced it no charge.

-Cliff
 
Originally posted by Cliff Stamp
Bart student :



There was a case of this on the forums, a couple of years of use I think. The cost of getting it fixed was ~$100 as one of the scales had ot be replaced. This did include some cosmetic work though ~$20-$25. I broke the liner in a Buck/Strider folder and Buck replaced it no charge.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Cliff, the knife you are referring to is one "Lenny" had sent in. CRK determined that the excess wear was due to abuse, not normal use. Lenny was unhappy, even though CRK also replaced the blade at no charge, and stated that he had never flicked or abused the knife in any way. After much discussion on the forum, someone discovered an old thread on KnifeForums where the same “Lenny” described bending his lock bar out in order to make it easier to disengage the lock. His tampering had caused the problem, not normal wear and tear.

On the other-hand, I recently sent my daily carry large Sebenza back to be sharpened while I was on vacation. I had carried and used the knife at work every day for over two years, and just wanted that factory fresh edge back. The lock-bar was at about 80% travel, and I thought I had plenty of life left in the old gal. I was told that when Chris handled the knife it felt “funny” to him, so he replaced the handle slabs at no charge, including re-engraving my name onto it.

I am quite happy with the quality of products and service I have received from Chris Reeve Knives, and would recommend them as a company that delivers the best and stands behind their work 100%.
 
Hello folks...

Sooo..basically you people are saying that A sebbie stop pin can wear rather then the liner tip, soooo that you can rotate it to compensate?
That could very well be, but I'd rather drill it excentric and make it rockhard, so it won't wear, and compensate for liner wear.

Can someone enlighten me on this? Is the stoppin excentric or straight center drilled?

Reason I doubting this is simple: 1. you can turn the stoppin on any folder, so I doubt that Chris Reeves invented that novelty.
2. if the stoppin is not excentric, how are you gonna compensate for wear unless you create the wear in the first place by using a soft stoppin?

O.K. I'm confused.. I created an excentric stopping for a pinnacle saying to the guy that he could turn it to compensate for wear (I made a square hole in one scale so he could fix the stoppinin a position)... I told the guy this is a sebenza principle. He didn't turn it yet, altough the stoppin is simple 440B. I tested al four positions, and in the last two the liner didn't engage, the second caused it to engage 1/4 th, the first about 5/6.

Do I need to tell him this is no sebbie principle? And if it isn't , were did I got this idea?

greetz, Bart
 
That was indeed the case I was referring to, and Lenny did indeed modify the knife somewhat. However during the thread I asked Reeve for clarification on was this the expected behavior of the lock, and got no clear answer nor was there an explicit explanation of why it was an abuse clause, how the modifications performed caused excess wear.

Fact is that you are going to have to replace the slab if excessive wear sets in and the question becomes one of is this a charged service or not. Several custom makers noted at the time of this thread that they would replace the handle slab at no cost. Reeve does charge for many services that many companies do at no cost, especially those in his price range.

-Cliff
 
I've been carrying a benchmade pinnacle for exactly one year and using the hell out of it. It gets opened and closed alot, and does some very hard cutting. The lock moved to not quite halfway in about the first month and stayed there for a long time. Its gradually worked its way over to baout 80% now.But there is proabbyl another 1/32" of an inch left for it to wear. That wil take awhile. This is on a pinncale with a normal stop pin and unhardened liner.
The sebenza should wear more slowly and and has room for more adjustment.
Its not that much better though because I can always ream out the hole on my pinnacle and put in a new stop pin for cheap.And all you need to do to harden the liner is heat the tip with a torch.It hardens the Ti and forms a layer of titanium oxide or something like that on the end which is hard as hell.
 
Center-drilled, not "eccentric." Mr. Reeve and I discussed this very matter at one point. Modifying the stop pin engagement can adversely alter the engagement of liner to blade tang. Even a hair higher than it should be and the engagement will be loopy.

The proof is in the proverbial pudding with the Sebenza. They hold up, or we'd be hearing a lot more complaints. Personally, I like the anti-wear characteristics of the Axis mechanism over every locking mech on the market, but it's really really hard not to want to put that small Sebenza in my pocket for EDC!

Professor.
 
BartStudent, the Spyderco Military has an asymetrical stop pin. The CRK Sebenza does not. Please see http://www.knifeforums.com/ubb/Forum25/HTML/000011.html for reference.

Cliff, I am unaware of any knife makers who would replace or repair a knife that was tampered with or abused to the point of failure free of charge. The makers use their best judgment to determine if that occurred. You either trust them or you don’t, and use that as a criteria for purchase along with all the other things you look for in a knife.
 
Thanks for the replies. I haven't handled a Sebenza yet, but it appears that I should not be worried about blade play, and if it does ever wear out due to normal use, it will be repaired. I'll have to start looking out for one at a gun/knife show, if we ever have one around here.
 
Thanks folks.. I must have mixed them up.. I could have sworn that the wear mechanism on the sebenza was the eccentric stoppin, and on the military the eccentric pivot pin (I know for sure the starmate has this pivot pin).

greetz, bart.
 
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