How do traditionals compare to a Sebenza?

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okbohn

Joined
May 26, 2006
Messages
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I get that kind of question a lot, so I made a video. Hope you like it.

[video=youtube_share;_7_zVY8e8Mc]http://youtu.be/_7_zVY8e8Mc[/video]
 
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:D I like bicycles, but I think a better comparison might be your Ferrari against an old pickup truck.

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Poor comparison...$400 sebenza to ?$135? GEC? My case bose are equal to sebanza in quality, fit, finish,smoothness and premium steel.
 
Moving to General.
 
brownshoe said:
Poor comparison...$400 sebenza to ?$135? GEC? My case bose are equal to sebanza in quality, fit, finish,smoothness and premium steel.
Click to expand...

Technically the video is more of a contrast than a comparison but that aside, why do you feel it's a poor example? I do feel my Case knives are equal in quality, feel, F&F (although to say they have premium steel would be a stretch) but that's just me. The author clearly enjoys both knives and what he said about traditionals isn't really untrue.
 
And although I'm sure not many here will get this, the video is great in that it reminds me of the fictional "war" between DC comics and Marvel comics fanbois who insist one is better than the other. As a true fan I like both... I don't have to choose. ;)
 
Derrick, couldn't have said it better myself. The thing I noticed most is your hearts in knives just like mine. My Pop always said anything worth doing is worth overdoing. That's why I'm proud to be a knife Knut.
Respectfully, Chance.
 
Good video--I get it, and maybe bc I prefer the bicycle. I typically carry one modern and one traditional slippie, but that is only bc I can't carry a small fixed legally. Otherwise, I'd likely carry one of my many GEC's and a BK14 (or the Barkie City Knife purchased from KSF). As for Sebbies, I never could warm to them; I get the high end materials/ high precision manufacturing, but my aesthetics led me elsewhere. Between my GEC #42 trapper /cocobolo (which I also bought from KSF) and my 2009 GEC #25 Barlow prototype w/ horse cut jigged bone (won at auction), my folder desires are quite satisfied.
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I like small imperfections/irregularities with slipjoints as long as they don't impede function. I've seen videos of GEC and Queen making slipjoints. So many of the processes are done by hand, which makes the level of F&F most slipjoint companies are able to attain pretty impressive. Slipjoints to me have a lot of "character" that my modern folders lack. A nice slipjoint with a carbon steel blade and stag covers will age. A modern folder with a stainless blade and titanium frame lock won't age the same way.

I think it's worthwhile for all knife nuts to experience both slipjoints and modern folders.

I mean come on how can you resist a knife like this......

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I like the long slender blades of the trapper, as in Fangle's post. Not many modern knives are a similar shape.
 
Unlike a car and a bicycle, which aren't even the same type of vehicle, a Sebenza and traditional folder are both knives. To have a proper analogy, it has to be of the same caliber production fit and finish. In other words, you have to compare apples with apples like brownshoe said above. A Case-Bose is leaps above a GEC (or any vintage folder) in the fit and finish department, and more on par with CRK. At this point the difference is more about preference and also speed of deployment, rather than quality and durability.

A steel frame (traditional) vs a carbon frame (modern) roadbike might be a better comparison here. Like the traditional slipjoint, the steel frame bike has made a huge comeback. And while a high-end boutique steel frame may not match the high-end carbon fiber in every respect, it will exceed it in others. And this is where the skill and preference of the end-user come into play.

As Derrick alludes, one isn't necessarily better than the other in either respect. It's all about preference. For me personally, when it comes to knives, bikes, cars, hi-fi, and just about everything else...I follow the motto of the forum: I have one of each.
 
As someone that has been racing bicycles since I was 13 (almost 30 years), have been a professional bicycle mechanic for 25 of those years, and currently owns at least $20,000 worth of them, let's cut Derrick some slack here. Chances are, he didnt spend years researching the technological advances that have occured since Bernie first clipped into his Look pedals around '85. His point is still relevant. Hell, I even complained directly to his company about the lack of edge on the indian river jack. But, I read more, learned more, and slowly learned to sharpen knives.
Just like bikes, knives have a very nerdy, very sharp learning curve.
Thanks to Derrick, and some others, this curve is leveled a bit.
So thanks, from a knife newbie, but an old salt where it comes to bikes.
 
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