How does your Sebenza open?

Virtually every Sebenza I've bought, new, required a pretty good push to get the blade out of the handle and into the fully open (locked) position.
The effort to get the ball our of the detent is quite high and you need to keep pushing with your thumb all the way around to fully open the blade.
 
I have two large regular Sebenzas. Both have been used a lot - the tanto had a few owners before me, I'm sure. When I got it, the pivot was so gunked up, I could hardly open it. Cleaning easily fixed that.

Both knives will go from closed to locked open with a quick shove of my thumb. If I hit the thumblug less than that, the blade will open most of the way but the still tight tolerances will damp out the motion, and it will take another tap or a flip of my wrist to lock it open. Once open, both blades will drop towards closed if I pull the lockbar back.

When I do clean a Sebenza, I rub down every surface, including the handle slabs, and especially the washers and the bushings, with a Tuff-Cloth. I put a couple of spots of fluorinated grease on both sides of both washers. When newly cleaned, these knives will snap open with a resounding click if I'm not careful.

The tolerances are designed with this in mind: when the knife is not being used, it should stay closed, and when it is needed, the blade should stay locked open. There is no premium on rapid deployment. :)
 
My large Sebenza was stiff opening so I toke it apart using the instructions on the CR website, cleaned it and oiled it. Now it is very smooth opening and locks up nicely. It still does not open as fast as my son's Alias, but it is not a problem for me. It is consistent and feels very solid.
 
muddog49 said:
My large Sebenza was stiff opening so I toke it apart using the instructions on the CR website, cleaned it and oiled it. Now it is very smooth opening and locks up nicely. It still does not open as fast as my son's Alias, but it is not a problem for me. It is consistent and feels very solid.
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Thank you. Your description clearly states what I was looking for. I'm not expecting the Seb. to easily fling open at the touch of the thumb-stud, but from all the past postings I've read & from talking to Seb. owners (Whether they currently own one or not, but what they experienced), my Seb. is clearly not as easy to open as most (Again, by easy, I mean a firm thumb-stud push opening the blade, but not a super-fast flicking open).

For those that have responded in a certain way, I assure you that my knives are tools (Have litterally saved my life in a couple occassions), & I'm not looking to impress anyone with my opening abilities. However, a high quality knife, such as the Sebenza (IMHO) should open smoother/better than mine has & that's what my question/thread was trying to find out.
 
I hate to tell you but the bottom line is a knife like a sebenza with a pivot bushing and tight pivot screw may open smoothly but it will never open as easily as knives like an alias or those without a pivot bushing.

It's really very simple, if flickability is important to you, don't buy a sebenza.

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.
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Hold it, you asking but too lazy to do anything about it? Then why the heck did you even ask us!

Not only does that merit a :jerkit: IMO, it merits inclusion on my ignore list.
 
I have two sebenza'a a small regular and a 2003 small box elder inlay love both of them. I have had the small regular since i think 2000, i honestly have not taken either apart at first i was nervous, then i suffered my stroke in 2004, now i only have the use of my right arm. So i am sending both of them back to crk for cleanup and the calvary graphic put on the regular.
 
CL01 said:
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.
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ok, if it's the smoothness you are concerned about, then I suggest you use a different knife. If you actually use the knife for hard and dirty jobs, you will find that the sebenza will morph into a butter like, smooth opening, and great looking every day user. Sitting on the couch watching tv all evening, with your virgin seb, opening and closing it a hundred times a day:jerkit:, really won't do much for breaking it in or smoothing the action. A knife with such tight tolerences needs to be dirt-ed up, torqued, sunmerged, ect... for it to properly break in. I just get tired of the cubicle rat types that have all their brand new off the assembly line toys, and expect them to behave exactly like everyone else that actually puts them to hard use, describes them to be. Just like in gun forums, the same questions get asked like " why does my target match grade Kimber 1911 jam after 50 rounds ( its is brand new 2,500 dollar target match grade tightness, not a 400 dollar sloppy glock with over 10,000 rounds through it). or "why does my 08' bowtech commander shoot at 12 decibles instead of 10 like everyone elses 04's.? " Some things take patience and actual use before seeing any breaking in results.

If you want the buttery smooth flickable action of a well used seb, like I have, either use it to cut concrete bags open, trim shingles, and other nasty stuff all day, or I suppose you can slather some rubbing compound throughout the action, and open and close it thousands of times. Maybe you can find a shortcut. Or defeat the #1 benefit of a seb, and remove the pivot bushing, and make the knife about as worthless as a Gerb&r.
 
I don't know about that.....
But like i told rob (CL01).... mine is only a month old and has seen only light use... From the factory the blade movement was tight....
All i did was take the knife apart and reassemble it and now it is as smooth as what people are referring to the alias and axis locks for.... Maybe some are just better than others.. But mine is just about the smoothest folder i have ever owned... But that being said ... I did have to take it apart....
Maybe i am just lucky and have a really smooth one.. who knows...
But the main reason he wants to know how to do this is so that when he trades his for a micarta version he can try and take it apart then... Im sure he simply wants to leave it alone and virgin for the next owner to do at his expense...
 
DaveH said:
I hate to tell you but the bottom line is a knife like a sebenza with a pivot bushing and tight pivot screw may open smoothly but it will never open as easily as knives like an alias or those without a pivot bushing.

It's really very simple, if flickability is important to you, don't buy a sebenza.



Hold it, you asking but too lazy to do anything about it? Then why the heck did you even ask us!

Not only does that merit a :jerkit: IMO, it merits inclusion on my ignore list.
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Apparently, I did not explain myself well enough for a couple people to understand what I was trying to say. Judging from my PMs & most of the other postings in this thread, I apparently did explain myself well enough for them to understand what I was trying to get across.

"DaveH", while it may seem that I was wasting everyone's time, as you wrote, it actually wasn't the case. I had not planned on trading the Sebenza when I initially started this thread. I then ran across a trade for another small Seb (A micarta inlay for my bocote wood model). So, the helpful answers I got were/are not in vain in that I am getting another Seb. Whether I'll need to take this one apart & clean it up remains to be seen. Since I decided to trade it, I didn't want to take it apart prior to sending it to its new owner (In fact, that person posted a joke asking that I not take it apart).

"jk904jk", I understand where you're coming from & agree with your statement, except where you seemed to be trying to attach it to me. Judging from others postings, it is apparent to me that you didn't understand what I was trying to say. The knives & guns that I do carry on a daily basis, do get used. I'd hardly call myself a "cubicle rat type", although I know & understand the type of people you're referring to. The Glocks reliability, I can attest to, but have never tried any of the other guns you listed & therefore, can't comment on them. I do have a 1911 type pistol (A LW commander sized Para Ordnance), but I won't carry it. I have too much training in guns w/o manual safeties that I'd have to undo & am just not willing to. As for the knife comparisons, apparently others understood what I was asking & came up with some suggestions.

As "trimcut123" stated (& we've discussed this several times), his Seb., which he uses, was not up to the standard that he expected & "fixed" it. I was merely asking, based on my experience & his, if others have had the same thing. I was not asking anyone to ignorantly judge my wanting to "flick" knives open (I did not ask that & clarified myself on a second post) or sitting on a couch & doing whatever it is that couch potatoes do with their knives (I watch very little TV, although I do read a great deal, but I don't play, flick, or otherwise, use a knife while reading). I merely was asking about how Seb. owners (Particularly recent Sebs) have found the action on the knives & what they did, if anything to rectify it.

As I wrote before, thank you to all who offered positive suggestions, ideas, & observations.
 
Alright, who :jerkit: more often?
Someone who flicks their blade open, or someone who doesn't?
The general consensus seems to be that if you flick your knife, you are a real :jerkit: but, could it be that the non flickers are just saving their flicking muscles for :jerkit:

Hmmmm..
 
I think you are correct...

jdowell said:
Alright, who :jerkit: more often?
Someone who flicks their blade open, or someone who doesn't?
The general consensus seems to be that if you flick your knife, you are a real :jerkit: but, could it be that the non flickers are just saving their flicking muscles for :jerkit:

Hmmmm..
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My large BG42 Classic is fresh back from CRK and she opens slicker than owl shi#! There ain't nothing like a refurb!
 
I've had 2 large sebenzas and 2 small sebenzas over the course of my life. I have found that the Large ones are super smooth on opening, probably the smoothest I have felt. The smalls, while smooth, aren't quite as smooth as the large versions.
 
The Sebenza is a one handed cutting tool - not a flicking toy!
90% of the opening resistance is from the detent ball under lock bar
pressure. polishing the washers is of limited value (10%).

On my Sebenzas, opening resistance is the same with or without
rebent (xtra press.) clip. lubing the ball and race is the key.

Your Sebenza is broken in when you can see a shiny ball race on the blade.
 
A Waved Sebenza.....would I buy one?

Sure.

I understand what the OP is saying. My benchmades, minus my 720 that was sent to the factory for new washers, can be opened with a nice push of the thumb. The Sebenza on the other hand, small, can't be opened with a nice push. I have to ride the lug until the blade is locked. I'm using Militec; cleaned, lubed, and heated. The Militec does make a difference with the heating afterwards.
 
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