Help please!! Sebenza blade play...

BladeChick777

BladeChick777

Joined
Jun 20, 2011
Messages
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So I decided to take my Large Sebenza apart to clean it up, well now when I put it back together(200 times) the scales will not sit flush at the pivot. There is a gap you can see when you look down and you can see the bushing, barley but it's there(I can't get a pic, my camera sucks).
This is causing some slight blade play and centering issues. I've tried everything I know. Putting it together open, closed, etc.
I just got it Tuesday and I'm seriously depressed about this. It will sit flush and then I'll hold it that way and screw it together, then it's no longer flush. It doesn't make sense. I know I'm not doing anything wrong. I have taken apart and put back together several knives(including several frame locks) and never encountered a problem.

This is my most expensive knife and my first mid-tech. I love it and now I'm frustrated and upset.
How do I fix this? Do I send it in for warranty? Any help is much appreciated!

Please help me fix my Sebenza. :(

Thank you for everything.

Thanks,
Jessie

P.S,
Tried one more time and the play is minimal now, it's a little more centered, but is now difficult to open. :mad: Please help. :(
 
Last edited:
I wrote Chris Reeve an Email:
Hello,

I am writing because I just bought my first Large Sebenza Tuesday and I love it dearly(thank you). Well I have been carrying and using it regularly and decided to clean it. So I took it apart to clean it(the way your site says to) and now when I put it back together the scales will not sit flush and you can look in there and see the bushing. I have put it back together several times and the same problem continues. I've done everything I know how to fix it. I've owned a few integral knives and several titanium frame locks. I've never had a problem. This issue is causing play in the blade and messing up the centering.

I would really love to get this fixed somehow so I can continue to enjoy my knife. Should I just send it in to you guys on Monday?

Please get back with me, even if you can give me any tips it would be appreciated.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thanks,
Jessica

P.S,
I just tried one more time and the knife has less play and is a little less uncentered but is now too stiff to open up with one hand comfortably.
 
Good Morning Jessica,

I see we share similar sleeping habits.

I have never taken any knife apart but know that CRK's are built to extreme tolerances and any deviation,even the slightest ,might create issues. I have no doubt that sending it in is in your best interest and will give you peace of mind knowing it was restored to it's original specs by CRK. My small classic Sebe(prior to it's loss) was purchased 2nd hand off flea bay years ago,used daily and never showed so much as a hint of play in any direction! Best damn folder made ,period.
All will be well
 
Check that the bronze washers are perfectly centered when installing the blade, that they remain like that till tightened down. Had similar problem once. Good Luck!
 
not too sure how youre assembling it, but the easiest way is as follows. put the two handles together and tighten the two screws. tighten them down and loosen it up very slightly. the ide is to not allow any room for the washers to come off. put the washers and bushing on the blade and push it into place while holding the lock open and put in the pivot pin
 
Follow the assembly directions on the CRK website and it will minimize your chances of pinching a washer, which I suspect is the problem.

If that doesn't help, maybe take a break and come back to it with a fresh mind.
The construction of a Sebenza isn't very complicated. You will figure it out. :cool:

Good luck. :)
 
Super frustrating. They say if you wrist flick it before you tighten the screws it's supposed to seat everything porperly, but that hasn't worked for me so far. If you start with it completely taken apart, and put every piece together before you put the second scale on you can get the washers to sit just right. I put to lock side down with the pins through, put the small washer on, smooth side up, put the bushing on and make sure it's centered in the washer. Put the blade on and then the second washer shiny side down should sit perfectly on top. Put the top scale on, screw together tightly, and smile :)
 
Good advice so far. Also, make sure everythng is clean when you put it back together... no lint, no pieces of junk anywhere, especially tiny, invisible pieces. Be sure all the standoffs and lanyard tube are placed correctly. Then try reassembling it as kaosu04 suggested, working very slowly and deliberately. If it was fine when it came apart, it'll go back together and still be fine once you get everything placed correctly. Nothing changed when it was apart.
 
Deep breathes and walking away for a bit helps a ton.

As long as everything is in order you should be good. Sometimes the washers will slip out of place or the busing will pop out a tad uneven.

I flick mine after all has been said and done and tightened down to reset the lock.

Good luck and let us know how you come out :thumbup:
 
Do you have the washers on the right sides? The big one goes on the non-locking side and the little one goes on the locking side.
Also, the pivot bushing is the medium sized piece, the lockstop is the smallest and the backspacer is the largest.

The best and only way to put it back together like the others have said is to put the handles together, tighten the screws down tight, not super tight, but snug, and do NOT loosen up the screws to slide the blade in, it should go in without loosening screws.

Put the pivot bushing in and the washers on, and then slide it in keeping pressure with your thumb and index finger on the pivot bushing and washers until it clears, it might be kinda snug, but it should go.

Then slide the pivot barrel in and snug up the screw, open the knife until it's almost open and give it one quick LIGHT flick. Open and close it a few times and it should be perfect.

If there is a space in there and bladeplay something isn't seating correctly. The above method is the only way to go imo.
 
BladeChick777, you and your new Sebbie will be just fine. Guaranteed. You are learning some new skills and techniques that is all. It is just some little thing and once you get it all together properly that Sebbie will be like new or even better. It is not You and it is not your Sebbie. Just something new to learn and master. You can do it.

The link to Chris Reeve Knives, as given by garciajr, is an excellent tutorial and Steel_Addiction's advice is dead on. Keep at it, take your time, and have fun learning all about how your new Sebbie works and how all the parts interact with each other. Know that you will get it right and it is just a little detail ending up out of alignment somewhere. When you do get it right you will laugh at how easy it really is.

The good folks at Chris Reeve Knives work Mondays thru Thursdays and sometimes come to work with a whole weekend of emails to answer so it could be sometime Monday afternoon before they get back to you.
I'm thinking that you will have everything mastered and working properly before then. You can do it. :thumbup: :)
 
It's fixed!!! Thanks for all of the help guys! I have the biggest grin on my face right now! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
 
Sweet. Makes you cringe when the blade scrapes the inside of the handle, doesn't it?
 
edit: Congrats on getting it fixed! It took me too long to type this up, but I'll leave it because I think it's good advice for future disassembling

It sounds like perhaps you're pinching a washer (?)

I'll give you my method for putting together a Seb because it makes it impossible to pinch a washer.

1. Disassemble completely.
2. Put female screw sides through the non-locking slab and lay it flat on a desk.
3. Put the spacers and bushing on the screws. Make sure they're all the way on (no space between them and the handle slab). At this point, do not pick it up from the desk until you're done! That way the washer can't get under the bushing and must stay in place (next step).
4. Put on the large washer.
5. Lube the blade and slide that onto the bushing. The angle of the blade doesn't matter except don't put it so that the lock will engage when you put the locking side on. I usually do half open.
6. Put the small washer on top. If you've done everything right, the top of this washer should be just about flush with the bushing.
7. Rest the locking side on top. Start the screw at the butt end; just a turn or do will do. The point is just to keep the slab in place on that end.
8. Press the other side down and get the pivot screw started.
9. At this point it doesn't matter the order, just get all the screws tightened. Then feel free to pick it up again :p and test it out.

Basically, by leaving the locking side for last, you're not fighting it the whole time and can keep the washers from shifting and getting pinched.
 
Just curious but what was the cause of your problem before you fixed it?
 
Pleased to hear that BC777 was able to get her knife right. I'm sure I'll need to refer to this thread when I dive into my first disassembly. Great information in this thread from other members, with very helpful links that would benefit the masses ssooner or later. This thread should be a "sticky".
 
I think this should be a sticky too.
It could help a lot of people out.
I have no idea what the issue was.
I just took the blade out, left the rest together. Put everything in it's place, slid the blade in until the pivot holes were even and the put the pivot pin in, and screwed it all together. Now it's perfect.
Thanks for all of the help guys I truly appreciate it. I was so upset and flustered. Now I can stop grinning and it's back in my pocket.

I can even change the title to "Disassembling Your Sebenza".
 
Umm, there is a sticky already with text (pics no longer hosted) that explains disassembling a sebenza to clean it.
 
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