How does your Sebenza open?

CL01

CL01

Joined
Apr 19, 2007
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I've had my current Seb for awhile now (Small classic bacote wood inlay) & have not taken it apart. I briefly owned a small reg. CGG model (3 comets). That said, they open smoothly, but not like the 2 Bradley Alias's I've owned (I & II). The Alias's opened fully with a good flick of the thumb, nearly as quick as an A/O. It was the one thing I preferred on the Bradleys. That said, I still have my bacote Seb, but neither Bradley.

Here's the question: Have any of you taken apart your Seb & when you put it back together, it opens like I described the Bradleys opening? I talked to a friend of mine (Another Forum member) & he just got his first Seb (A large reg.). He said he wasn't intially that impressed with it (He had tried out my Bradley Alias I before sending it off on a trade). He took it apart & cleaned it up & now it opens like the Bradley does.

So, are Sebenzas possibly coming out of the factory so as not to cause a problem in other countries, such as Canada? Has anyone noticed the same thing, or is my Seb (& my friend's) different than most Sebenzas?

To clarify, my Seb opens/closes very smoothly, but you have to ride the thumb-stud all the way untill it's fully open. On the Bradleys, a good flick of the thumb & the blade opens fully with frame-lock "thunking" into place.

So, can anyone assist me on this?
 
My best guess is that your Sebbie is not yet fully broken in. Both of my user Sebbies started out pretty stiff -- there was no way either could be flicked open when new. After using them for a while -- I'd say about a year -- they became much easier to open -- they can actually be flicked, though I generally avoid doing it.

This aspect of Sebbies is controversial to some who feel the Sebbie should not requre breaking in.

Some have speeded up the process by polishing the washers with fine steel wool. I've never tried it, so wait to hear from those who have.
 
I would defiantly take it apart, clean, lube and reassemble. CRK has a really good grease that I recommend, but there are tons others available (Miltec 1 for example).

The Sebenza is gonna be a little tight by nature (tight tolerances and all). I have to ride that thumbstud all the way as well.

Right after I got it, I couldn't flick it open to save my life. After cleaning and re-lubing, a little flick of the wrist opened it like lightening.

If that doesn't work for you, send it in to CRK. They will smooth it out if there is a problem.

Lastly, CRK tend to frown upon flicking/inertia openings. :(
 
Thank you for the answers, so far. I should be more specific about "thumb flicking." I don't mean that I can or want to "flick" open the blade with wrist movement. I mean that a solid push with the thumb, on the thumb-stud, will open the blade to fully locked open.

That would make sense that my friend migh've polished the washers (Or by cleaning & relubing them), that he "accelerated' the break-in time.

I'm curious, but the VERY close tolerances used by CRK would make sense. While the Bradley Alias I was well used by the time I got it, the Alias II was not. It was mint &, if used, was just fondled & opened/closed a few times. However, looking at the Bradleys, they were/are clearly not quite at the level of F&F (& tolerances) as that of the Sebenzas (Though they are VERY nice knives for the money).
 
First off, I think the small Sebbie just doesn't have enough blade mass to flip open that easily. I have a large Sebbie that flips open much easier then either of my two small Sebbies. That said, Keith is probably right about a bit of break-in.

My suggestion is to make sure you lubricate the ceramic ball detent and the race it runs in. This, in my experience, can really help.
 
I do the clean reassemble even on new sebenzas. Also polish the PB washers with flitz, lightly. That will help too.
 
DaveH said:
I do the clean reassemble even on new sebenzas. Also polish the PB washers with flitz, lightly. That will help too.
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Same here, plus on the small Sebbies I adjust the clip tension a bit (too tight for my taste). DaveH, you know who gave me that tip, don't you ;)
Even with oiling and reassembly only, they get really smooth.
The large are smoother than the small, based on the ones I've had so far.
When it's clean and oiled, a Sebbie (with ZERO blade play) will do this: when you keep the knife edge up, close slightly and fully release the lock (no more contact between detent ball and blade), the blade will fall back on it's own.
You need to tighten the pivot screw with moderate force only, if you tighten too much it won't be as smooth and you risk to strip the screw too.
When cleaned, lubed and properly assembled, Sebbies are as smooth as it gets.
 
I have found that it is the lock bar pressing across on the tang that causes the most resistance. Try holding the lock bar out and seeing how smooth the pivot is.

My new Seb was a little stiff, but I wiped down the pivot parts down and lubed with Militec-1. It is now much smoother.
 
:jerkit:I have never understood why anyone feels the need for the knife to "flick" open so easily. Is a few tenths of a second that crucial to the task at hand? My only guess, is that the person who thinks the knife should be able to flip open so quick, really likes to make a spectacle of the whole proccess, and bring attention to himself. :thumbdn:
 
jk904jk said:
:jerkit:I have never understood why anyone feels the need for the knife to "flick" open so easily. Is a few tenths of a second that crucial to the task at hand? My only guess, is that the person who thinks the knife should be able to flip open so quick, really likes to make a spectacle of the whole proccess, and bring attention to himself. :thumbdn:
Click to expand...

I hope you slowly stab yourself with one of your slow opening knives... you pecker:D

Its more about the smooth operation that is wanted , v/s the ability to flick...
 
I also agree about the need to flick a knife open. Sebenzas weren't designed to be flicked open. At best I've been able to flick the large but it takes a lot of effort. If flicking is important, stick with the Bradley or an axis lock Benchmade as they seem to be readily flickable.;):p:cool:
 
True, but like i said ..... Its about the smooth operation that some want more or less... My sebenza is more smooth than the alias i played with and or equal to benchmades... I do not flick it .... but it would very easily and it is as smooth as a baby's bottom.. Not only was mine built just last month... but the smooth action came with it ... after just a disassembly and a wipe down.... Its a good one...
Matt
 
Yep, my well used, large classic Sebenza opens with relatively little effort and glides to full lock up. It's a pleasure to use.
 
I think some people are misunderstanding what I mean by flicking the knife open. I'm not talking about flicking it open with wrist action, & I agree with some talking about what a spectacle it would be to do so (Regardless of the fact that they aren't understanding what I wrote eventhough I clarified what I meant a second time...:jerkit:).

Ignorance &/or misunderstanding aside, as "trimcut123" said, it's about how smooth it is. From what I've read from the responses of this thread (The misunderstanding aside), a broke-in Sebenza will be just as smooth to open as the Bradley Alias's that I commented on. Since I'm trading that particular Sebenza (For a micarta inlay version of the same knife), I'm not going to take it apart, clean it up, etc.

I would like to thank the "helpful" responses, BTW. I think we all could've done without the :jerkit: comments after it was pretty much clarified what I (Or anyone else in a similar situation, which there are others from their PMs to me) could do to improve the "smoothness" of the Sebenza's action.
 
I've had an awful lot of practice with a lot of knives, and can flick (no wrist) my small sebbie just fine. However, I agree with some of the others that the sebenza really isn't a flicking kinda knife. There are so many creative mechanisms out there that it's hard to list the options... but just for shits and giggles you should see how you like flippers. Again, so many options, but a lot of people love em. I like the creative flipper concepts that are emerging
 
Rich357 said:
My BM 806 D2 AXIS is easy to flick open. Even without touching the lock.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt it is, as are some of my Benchmades. However, as you posted earlier, I was asking about the smoothness of my Sebenza that did not seem as smooth as the Alias's that I've had. After talking to another Forumite that had a similar issue with his new Sebenza, it seems that my problem, while maybe rare, has occurred with someone else.
 
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