Got my Insingo

B

BubbaGump

Joined
Oct 30, 2015
Messages
322
I got my insingo knife in from Blade HQ.

After researching information available online and trying to sort the hype from reality, I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to get. I think a lot of what people offer about the brand is true, some of it is just personal choice in aesthetics. A little bit of it is hype. Aesthetically, the knife doesn't do much for me. It's not ugly. But just looking at it doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies like a lot of others knives. Visually, it has kind of a generic box cutter vibe to it and if you knew nothing about knives and someone showed it to you, you probably wouldn't give it a second look(the standard version). But in terms of feel, fit and finish, etc, I think what people have offered is very accurate. Spot on. It is very finely engineered. It is very smooth and it does feel very high quality. It 'feels' far better than it looks.

I liken it to holding an iphone vs the typical android--I own both. Rounded edges, smooth finish, polished interface, solid feel with metal vs plastic feel etc. It may look plain and generic but it feels like a refined, high quality piece. I already took it apart and reassembled. I was really impressed with how easily it all comes together again and without any blade play, centering issues, or adjustments needed.

Blade sharpening out of box was OK. Nothing to write home about. I re profiled the edge to my liking and put a mirror polish on it. It is a very nice slicer, Not as good as some of my other folders in terms of slicing performance but very good. Where I was really surprised is how well it slices up wood. I cut up a whole section of a 2x4. I have to say it rivals my Mora's in terms of wood carving. Slices and shaves like butter. I will definitely be carrying this with me in the woods and camping. In terms of EDC stuff, it is pretty much in line with my other blades. It slices cardboard ok, etc. One thing I am surprised by is how easy it is to stab with this knife. The images are a bit misleading. It may have a sheepsfoot profile but there is a wicked tip on this blade, and the top swedge near the tip is partially sharpened out of the box. The design gives you a lot of cutting edge with this profile and a decent tip. That's why I got it.

Is it worth $400? That's a hard one as its so subjective. To me, it is probably a bit overpriced when its all said and done. But that's irrelevant. If you want one that's what you pay I guess. But overall I have no regrets. I don't like my other blades any less now, though. Still prefer the axis lock and love the spyder holes over thumb studs. But its definitely hands-down the best hollow-grind folder in my collection at this point. I genuinely prefer flat. Would I buy another? Unless a really cool graphic came out I am good. I prefer this blade profile.

Nice knife to add to the collection.
 
Congratulations on your new Insingo. Admittedly, I was not attracted to the Insingo when I first started collecting CRKs. Eventually though, it grew on me and now I just absolutely love this blade shape and wished they also made Damascus blades with an Insingo profile..

Does not look like a box cutter to me though...

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ice_man said:
Congratulations on your new Insingo. Admittedly, I was not attracted to the Insingo when I first started collecting CRKs. Eventually though, it grew on me and now I just absolutely love this blade shape and wished they also made Damascus blades with an Insingo profile..

Does not look like a box cutter to me though...

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4t0NYtWh.jpg
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Beautiful knife :thumbup:
 
I can say what you wrote pretty much sums up my first Sebenza. For me, the more I carried my first CRK, the more I appreciated it, the more attractive it became and eventually moved most everything out.
 
Ajack60 said:
I can say what you wrote pretty much sums up my first Sebenza. For me, the more I carried my first CRK, the more I appreciated it, the more attractive it became and eventually moved most everything out.
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It will certainly replace my Griptilian Sheepsfoot in my EDC rotation and I will enjoy carrying and using it. But I tend to get bored carrying the same knife a lot and like to mix things up. What I choose to grab when I go out pretty much depends on what I think I will be using the knife for if needed. I have a good number of folders in my collection, same for fixed blades. I like diversity and that's what keeps the hobby interesting for me.

I think what will fail to keep my interest in new purchases is lack of diversity in the lineup, not quality or like-ability. I really don't have two knives of the same style in my collection. There are many graphic designs to choose from in the Sebenza lineup, but when it's all said and done it's really the same blade dressed up in new clothing. If a really neat graphic caught my eye I might consider it, but there really isn't a whole lot to choose from in terms of actual blade and knife designs outside of choosing between large or small sizes. I generally prefer flat grinds as well. IMO, they should design one. I know the Umnumazan(sp?) has a shallow hollow but if they came out with a flat grind design I would be interested.
 
The blade shape is pointy as most other drop points, I took a couple quick cell phone pics of my insingo compared to my zt392. And ya a new model fr CRK with FFG would be sweet!

 
Yeah, the Insingo's tip is deceptively pointy. The modified sheepsfoot/wharncliffe shape only gives the illusion that it's less acute than other knives. In fact, my Insingo's tip is noticeably sharper and finer than on my old drop point regular Sebenza, even though from side-on it might not appear so.

Jim
 
The tip is very strong as well. It doesn't pierce as well as a Knife like my Benchmade 710 but it pierces a heck of a lot better than a lot of my drop point blades.

I like the modified sheepsfoot/wharncliffe profile because it offers a lot of utility. It maximizes the cutting edge but gives you a strong and sharp tip. It slices like no tomorrow. You can just lay the tip of the knife down and make nice and even draw cuts. You can also easily make push cuts on a cutting board. It is great in the kitchen as well. I prepared a salad and sliced up chicken yesterday and it deposed my current kitchen blade--Byrd Cara Cara. It works really well with wood because there is no deflection due to a pronounced belly. The belly is subtle and gradual. it allows more accurate cuts all the way to the tip. As an all-arounder, the blade design it is simply outstanding. I think the reason most people don't prefer it is because of aesthetics and also the fact that they think it does not have a working tip for stabbing or piercing. Trust me, it does. Very much so.

I kind of get the sentiment about it growing on you as after just a day I am finding I like it a lot better than I did Thursday when I opened the package. Perhaps because I was a little underwhelmed when first seeing it. But I carried it around all day and it is slim enough that I don't even notice it in my pocket. It does feel nice in the hand, at least mine. And it is an outstanding general purpose blade. I definitely can see now that the opinion I read in my research that if you just look at it and make judgments from that alone, you will tend to see it as highly over-rated. I am no Chris Reeve fanboy and don't plan on being one, but this really is a fine knife in terms of use and function.
 
I used the knife pretty hard yesterday on a hike. It's pretty cold and snowy here and I was out for a few hours on a trail. Again, I am impressed with how well the knife slices wood. It makes really fine and deep cuts and shaves as good as my Mora.

At this point, I can only find a couple of negatives and have tried hard to find some. They probably fall into the nitpick category, however.

Due to the metal construction, this knife gets cold, really cold. I obviously use gloves when it's 10F outside, but like to take one off now and then if I need to do some quick fine work where I want a more precise grip I can't get in gloves. It's like holding an ice cube. When I got back, it took a couple hours for the knife to get back to room temp. Having the micarta inlays would probably help a little bit with this. I might have opted for them if I had a choice in hindsight.

The other minor negatives --for me--are really related to the lock and thumb stud. The disengagement of the frame lock using my thumb takes more pressure than I am used to with this mechanism. The action is a bit stiff and it creates a hot spot and callous. There seems to be a fine sweet spot in terms of finger placement where the lock opens up with least resistance. In terms of the thumb stud, it is aesthetically pleasing but the volcano-style tip is also a bit hard on the thumb. The blue coating on the stud also doesn't seem to be the most durable as it is already wearing off a little from the tip do to use--have been playing with it a lot.
 
Did you get a large or small? I agree about the pointy stud being harder than Spydie holes to open. However I do find my large opens easier than the small. It might just be a position or leverage thing; I have medium hands. You're right about the Insingo being a wicked slicer though. I processed some cardboard yesterday with my large and it went through like a utility razor! No sawing action needed, I just pushed the blade right through. Very impressive.
 
nbp said:
Did you get a large or small? I agree about the pointy stud being harder than Spydie holes to open. However I do find my large opens easier than the small. It might just be a position or leverage thing; I have medium hands. You're right about the Insingo being a wicked slicer though. I processed some cardboard yesterday with my large and it went through like a utility razor! No sawing action needed, I just pushed the blade right through. Very impressive.
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I got the large. For me, I think it is not just the thumb stud but also the lock itself. The action is very smooth but a bit tight. It doesn't open as freely as my other blades. It takes some time to get accustomed to the mechanics when you are used to lightly snapping open an Axis or Spyder hole. The sebenza takes a deliberate action to open the knife. Also, I can only thumb-flick the blade open by accident. Still haven't figured out how to do it but I think it is a diagonal push that does it.
 
Well, after four days of use with this blade, I think it definitely lives up to the hype as a 'working' blade. I have folders in my collection that are better in terms of specific tasks, but this is a design that is good at everything. It will open a can of tuna just as good as it slices up cardboard or wood. The only thing I can think of that it might not be good at is dressing a deer. It would do it but more belly would be nice to have in this scenario. So, that along with now regretting not getting the micarta scales, I liked the knife enough that today I ordered a large regular 21 with micarta inserts to go with this blade. I figured it would make a good outdoor and hunting folder. You can just slice up the deer real good, take the knife apart and clean it without having to deal with hassles.
 
I'm excited to hear that the insingo lives up. I just got my small insingo today. Didn't need the large since I work in an office and do more paper cutting then any "real" work, but I wanted to go with somewhat of a different blade shape then I was used to.
 
I have to disagree on the deer piece. This insingo is one of the best deer dressing knives around. It's extremely easy to ride the spine and avoid nicking the gut sack. The tip is sharp enough to cut out the anus, but not so sharp that cutting the diaphragm would put ones fingers at risk. I think this may be the perfect deer field knife.
 
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