Got my first CRK Sebenza yesterday. The Emperor's new knife.

[cuchulain77]

Just bought a Sebenza 25, I'm not a rich man, but for what you get $400.00 doesn't seem outrageous at all. My cell phone bill is nearly $200 for one month, for $400.00 I'll have a top notch knife for 20 years and can sell it for near what I paid if I get sick of it.

 

[bhyde]

Actually I have, but dont have the education. Instead of engineering I'm going for a psychology degree. Still considered looking into other ways to machine stuff, such as micarta grips using a router or etc. If they can do art with it, it should be able to outline scales fairly easily enough - at least that's the thought lol. Haven't researched it just yet cuz I'm getting setup to try and do professional sharpening along with learning to Anodize and making sheathes.

Glad to hear it... I would love nothing more than manufacturing and engineering come back to the US in a big way,..Unfortunately, people seem to have what I like to refer to as living in a Walmart World. Be careful of the things you wish for to be cheap,..you may well be the one saying "Welcome to Walmart"

Machining is a good trade to get into...Do consider it..You do not need to be an engineer to be a machinist..Just a good grasp on mechanics, some math and be analytical.

 

[k_ozdragon]

Yeah same here. People flip about higher prices here, but honestly the China stuff is crap. They also dont realize how the economy in China works. The more we rely on them, the worse it will get for us. We need to bring industry back to America. We use to be a super power, and now we're barely pulling our own weight. That's a whole other topic, but its true. Def happy that CRK has kept everything made in the USA.

 

[cchu518]

Ok don't get off topic. Hk benchmade and Spyderco, Kershaw, Kizer are proof positive stuff out of China can be very good. Your blanket statement makes no sense to most knife nuts or economists for that matter.

 

[radiopej]

I think I have the analogy. When Die Hard came out, it redefined so many parameters of what an action movie was. A smart villain, a normal guy as the hero, etc. Now when my little cousins watch Die Hard for the first time, they are underwhelmed because so many movies have been influenced by Die Hard that it feels like a normal movie.

I think the Sebenza may have a similar issue - the locks and all of these awesome things that he pioneered have now been used in so many other high-end knives that to go to a Sebenza might feel underwhelming unless you are after the history and that extra oomph of an insanely precise fit and finish. So you can't really just compare the Sebenza without appreciating the impact it had on other pocket knives.

 

[Lockup1109]

Here is my take on Chris Reeve knives, the folders based on my own experiences over the years.

1. If someone thinks they are going to be blown away when they 1st open the box they will be disappointed unless it's one of the more ornate ones.
2. They are very well designed, very understated without a lot of what I call over designed things like pocket shredding handles and blade geometry that doesn't cut worth a damn.
3. A person really needs to have one for awhile and use it to be able to start to really appreciate what all goes into making the knife.
4. They are ment to be used, yes a $400+ knife that is really ment to be used, doesn't need to be babied and is generally a hard working tool.
5. With the highest tolerances in the industry, in the .0001 range they aren't going to be inexpensive to produce.

I agree 100% about everything you said about the Sebenza.
When i first got mine i thought to myself, "i just spent $410 on this??? It looks like a folding steak knife!".
After owning many many other knives, i started to appreciate the Sebenza after the first time i took it down to clean it, it was the FIRST TIME EVER a knife went back together perfectly centered, zero blade play and i was able to crank down hard on fhe pivot to lock it down while still having a smooth easy action. That to me is perfection. I use my plain jane 21 every single day at work, i dont carry any other knives anymore, other than my Umnumzaan after work and on weekends. I sold off about 15 spydercos, benchmades and ZT's because quite frankly i dont NEED 20 KNIVES.

I now have 5 knives left, 2 large 21 sebenzas (one plain one carbon fiber), 1 Umnumzaan and 2 spydercos ( caly 3 CF and Delica 4 ffg (first knife of real quality given to me by my fiance)).

I only carry the caly for dressy occasions or in places with 3" blade laws, kept the delica out of sentimental reasons. And i am more than happy with my 3 CRKs and 2 spydercos. I dont even NEED that many knives.
Thanks for reading my rant.

 

[Ankerson]

I agree 100% about everything you said about the Sebenza.
When i first got mine i thought to myself, "i just spent $410 on this??? It looks like a folding steak knife!".
After owning many many other knives, i started to appreciate the Sebenza after the first time i took it down to clean it, it was the FIRST TIME EVER a knife went back together perfectly centered, zero blade play and i was able to crank down hard on fhe pivot to lock it down while still having a smooth easy action. That to me is perfection. I use my plain jane 21 every single day at work, i dont carry any other knives anymore, other than my Umnumzaan after work and on weekends. I sold off about 15 spydercos, benchmades and ZT's because quite frankly i dont NEED 20 KNIVES.

I now have 5 knives left, 2 large 21 sebenzas (one plain one carbon fiber), 1 Umnumzaan and 2 spydercos ( caly 3 CF and Delica 4 ffg (first knife of real quality given to me by my fiance)).

I only carry the caly for dressy occasions or in places with 3" blade laws, kept the delica out of sentimental reasons. And i am more than happy with my 3 CRKs and 2 spydercos. I dont even NEED that many knives.
Thanks for reading my rant.

These days I carry one of 2 knives, my 25 or Military and that's it, and it's mostly the 25 like 99% of the time.

Experienced the same thing awhile back when I had my ZAAN and I had a lot more knives back then, the ZAAN would be the 1st knife I reached for.

 

[fmendez]

I own lots of knives, Zt's BM's Spyderco's, Lionsteel, traditionals and fixed blades for camping, outdoor etc. and then i bought a left handed sebenza... all the others are very nice blades but they don't share my pocket anymore, a sebenza took over the space.

 

[dloines]

just remember, what a lot the cost that you are paying is the Research and Development (R&D) costs that CRK paid prior to profits of the product to make what you get and expect from a CRK today. its like and automobile, a bentley parts dont cost $250K, but the R&D to create the bentley and perfection of fit and finish cost millions of dollars.....

 

[SmedleyButler]

As a follow up, I sold my brand new sebenza a few weeks ago and don't miss it at all. Maybe I'll pick up a more ornate model one day.

 

[ev13wt]

the thing that will always hold me back from buying a sebenza, is that if I buy a $400+ plus knife, I will baby it and never be able to bring myself to use it, and they deserve to be used.. Even if I knew it was indestructible, I just don't have it in me when that kind of money is involved. It's a sickness.

So what phone do you have, how expensive was is, when will you buy a new one and lasty.. do you use it?




Sebenza is not for everyone. It's not cool, or new, or flashy. It's not tactical, or hard use. It isn't the latest design coming out to a line of 50 knives. It doesn't have the latest and greatest "cool" scale or inlay material. It has screws that aren't set into the Ti or newfangled countersunk torx. In fact, it looks a bit dated in design due to that. A bit, well, plain.

But if you love precision engineering and a tool that works - then it is for you.


My PM2 is a great knive. I love it. Great geometry and ergos. Even got some Bocote scales for it. But you see, I needed to fiddle with it from day one to get it perfectly centered, I need to adjust the lock tightness and get the screws just right. The pivot is too small for the blade hole. This means the blade will move ever so slightly forward and back. When I look at the washers, they have run in grooves in them.

If it wouldn't have those flaws I'd pay 400 bucks for it too. But hey, for what it costs it is awesome. And it works. It cuts great, it opens and locks, it closes. Its fun to flip. And made in the USA. The land where good enough is good enough.

Does anyone need the anal perfection tolerances of the Sebenza? Some do, some don't.



I liked the watch example. A Digital casio is much, orders of magnitude more accurate than a Rolex. Dimension in the digital watch are crap. In the Rolex, to get it to even keep time within -4 +6 seconds a day, its mechanical tolerances, pivots, bushings and oil need to be 99.996% accurate from design theory to machining.

CRK the mechanical watch of the knife world.

 

[ev13wt]

I can just imagine some dude starting at Chris's shop for a summer job. His job on the first days is to watch, be silent and sweep the floor at the end of the day.

CR: "Did you sweep the floor?"
Worker: "Yes sir."
CR looks at the floor.
CR: "Hier at CRK, we sweep with a greater precision, ok? See, you missed some dust and the corners ok? Please do it again."
Dude sweeps again. Really good this time.
CR pulls out a white hankerchief...

 

[rustysocket]

If CRK quit producing the Sebenza today, I have no doubt they would go up in value rather than down.

 

[bhyde]

I can just imagine some dude starting at Chris's shop for a summer job. His job on the first days is to watch, be silent and sweep the floor at the end of the day.

CR: "Did you sweep the floor?"
Worker: "Yes sir."
CR looks at the floor.
CR: "Hier at CRK, we sweep with a greater precision, ok? See, you missed some dust and the corners ok? Please do it again."
Dude sweeps again. Really good this time.
CR pulls out a white hankerchief...

I liked you post previous to this..Very well stated.

This post? um..well..it wouldn't go exactly like that.

 

[ev13wt]

I liked you post previous to this..Very well stated.

This post? um..well..it wouldn't go exactly like that.

But close. And I'd respect CR for it if it went exactly like that.

And btw, we quit carrying Chris Reeve because or store isn't located in the rich area of town where people have money to just piss away. In order to sell them, we put them just barely above wholesale, which is bad business.

I think you stopped carrying them because you can't buy them for 200 and sell them for 400. Or even 350 and sell at 400. You know, like other knife brands?

 

[GronK]

Yeah same here. People flip about higher prices here, but honestly the China stuff is crap. They also dont realize how the economy in China works. The more we rely on them, the worse it will get for us. We need to bring industry back to America. We use to be a super power, and now we're barely pulling our own weight. That's a whole other topic, but its true. Def happy that CRK has kept everything made in the USA.

Sorry but this just sounds like cake-and-eat-it-too. Folks want made in USA but aren't ready to pay a fair price for it.

 

[timberweasel]

As a follow up, I sold my brand new sebenza a few weeks ago and don't miss it at all. Maybe I'll pick up a more ornate model one day.

Just curious, but why would you want an ornate CRK if the plain models do nothing for you? Doesn't make much sense to me because the essence of the knife will be the same even though you'd be paying more...

Personally, I'd be more loathe to use a unique graphic or fancy wood/mammoth/ivory/etc. inlay. I think the true beauty and value of CRKs is in their plain jane (or maybe micarta inlay) variants because you can use your knife without worry and get the factory spa treatment later on to have your knife completely refurbished good-as-new. Easier to replace as well... :thumbup:

-Brett

 

[brownshoe]

Just curious, but why would you want an ornate CRK if the plain models do nothing for you? Doesn't make much sense to me because the essence of the knife will be the same even though you'd be paying more...

Personally, I'd be more loathe to use a unique graphic or fancy wood/mammoth/ivory/etc. inlay. I think the true beauty and value of CRKs is in their plain jane (or maybe micarta inlay) variants because you can use your knife without worry and get the factory spa treatment later on to have your knife completely refurbished good-as-new. Easier to replace as well... :thumbup:

-Brett

Well i hate the large grey turd. I don't like its ergonomics or looks. I found the small and loved the ergos, but still hated the looks, the grey handle, dull blade and "snail trails". Then I found the graphic models, not ugly, not a grey turd, multiple colors on the same handle and a shiny blade...I bought and still have it

 

[SmedleyButler]

Well i hate the large grey turd. I don't like its ergonomics or looks. I found the small and loved the ergos, but still hated the looks, the grey handle, dull blade and "snail trails". Then I found the graphic models, not ugly, not a grey turd, multiple colors on the same handle and a shiny blade...I bought and still have it

Yeah, I kinda agree with this. It's boring to look at and has bad ergonomics. It doesn't do anything better than most of my other knives except apparently get taken apart and put back together more easily.

A more ornate CRK might add something to my collection but it is low on my list after owning the Large 21.

 

[GronK]

Well i hate the large grey turd. I don't like its ergonomics or looks. I found the small and loved the ergos, but still hated the looks, the grey handle, dull blade and "snail trails". Then I found the graphic models, not ugly, not a grey turd, multiple colors on the same handle and a shiny blade...I bought and still have it

I find a lot of comfort in carrying a large grey turd in my pocket. It's even better now that I have Sebenzas!!