Help! Small Sebenza v Bradley Alias II

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Sebastian Ornstein

Joined
Dec 4, 2009
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39
Hey guys, I've been searching the webs for a Bradley Alias II and have found somebody willing to sell me a user in good condition for $125. There seems to be some slight scratch marks on the handle and a bit of rust (?) on the back side of the knife by the pivot. Would it be a better idea to save for a little while and buy a small sebenza instead? How do the two knives compare?
 
I say save for the Sebenza. If you buy the Alias you may have lingering regrets and end up buying the Sebenza anyways. This used to happen to me when I'd try to settle but in the end I'd eventually get what I originally wanted. Nowadays I have learned to buy what I want first because it saves me money in the long run.
 
Greetings: If you want a Sebeza, the Alias is close but will not satisfy your desire for a Sebenza. Trust me. I tried. Save your money and get the Sebenza. Learn from other's mistakes and experience. OldDude1
 
Get a small Sebenza, The only way to go..........................

I will be listing one soon here for sale with double thumb studs..............

:thumbup::D:D:D Rickster :D :D:D:thumbup:
 
are you calling the orange that you see in the pocket clip holes rust? that's the phosphor bronze washers, not rust.
 
Ok, thank you. I knew that the washers were phosphor bronze but i had no idea that they would do that to the pocket clip holes. Is that easy to remove?
 
Sorry, I was a bit confused :/. my ineptitude aside, would it still be a good idea to save for a small sebenza instead? how does the performance of the alias II match up to that of the small sebenza?
 
I've never handled an Alias, but I just noticed you found yourself a first production run one. I'm not sure if this is worth much, but it's numbered so it's possible.
 
DO NOT pass up that deal!

Production has been in a stand stil for half a year on new Aliases...

They have been on backorder for the last 6-8 months and only the serated version can be found for sale new.

It almost sounds to me like they might be discontinued...

I'd buy this one and then save up for the Sebenza.

Sebenzas are not going anywhere.
 
Judging by the pictures this Alias is in pretty good shape and $125 is a fair price for it. This is an excellent quality knife and lately they are rarely offered for sale.

On the other hand, if you're really looking for sebenza, you might as well save up and get one, because you still will be thinking about getting sebenza even if you end up buying another knife.
 
personally, I'd go with the bradley. from what i understand, they are pretty damn nice, even if the sebenzas are nicer. you could always get another knife to compliment it, maybe a fixed blade or something with the money you would have spent on the sebbie
 
That's a good price on the Bradley. It may be a good buy considering I've heard rumors that they are stopping or have stopped production on them.

As far as a comparison to the Sebenza, the old adage "You get what you pay for" pretty much sums it up. The Sebenza costs more for a reason: tighter tolerances, better finishing, etc.
 
Thanks for everybody's help! I'm going to go ahead and purchase the Bradley, however I am still planning on purchasing the sebenza, just at a later time :)
 
Sebastian Ornstein said:
There seems to be some slight scratch marks on the handle and a bit of rust (?) on the back side of the knife by the pivot.
Click to expand...

With either knife you will have scratch marks in the titanium as soon as you carry it. You may try to keep your keys out of your carry pocket, but eventually it will get scratched. It is unlikely that any part of either knife will show rust.

Sebastian Ornstein said:
Would it be a better idea to save for a little while and buy a small sebenza instead? How do the two knives compare?
Click to expand...

Do a search. You are asking one of the most commonly asked questions on the site. Short answer is that the Sebenza costs twice as much and isn't twice as good. The incremental difference is generally something that you might not pick up on until you've handled many, many knives.
 
A Sebenza is a Sebenza and is a unique and first-class product. If you want one bad enough, you'll eventually save up and get one. As to this deal however - the Alias II is a very nice knife and (from the pictures you've shown) this seems to be a good deal. I would imagine that your satisfaction level will be high, unless not having the SEB keeps you up at night. I would buy the Alias until such time as you can comfortably afford a Sebenza. Just make sure the person you are dealing with is reputable and you'll been fine.

I will predict that if you buy the Alias now and a Sebenza later, you'll probably end up carrying the Seb 90% of the time. That seems to be the pattern. (HELLO MIRROR!)

As far the the Alias being backordered, I have some info I can share. I had the same question about the seeming lack of availability, so I emailed Bradley Cutlery and got the following response:
"The Alias and Alias II are currently unavailable until an agreement with a new manufacturer is established. The Underboss is available at this time on our website. Please visit us regularly for updates. We appreciate your interest and apologize for any inconvenience."

So - I imagine that the Bradley/Benchmade agreement has expired and the Alias family is done for now. FYI.
 
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