How NOT to disassemble and maintain your Sebenza. Nick Shabazz total fail.

Just for reference, JDavis tried out making custom knives, made one knife, took a bunch of pre-orders, and disappeared with everyone's money. So to the people referencing him as if he's still a figure in the community, he has been gone for years now. Your advice is definitely going to fall on deaf ears.
 
I wouldn't follow JDavis' advice even if he was right :) To much past misinformation, lies and BS to make it wothwhile to try to find the truth in his stuff. He's edited out some of his real drama queen stuff so don't judge him on what's left.
 
brownshoe said:
I wouldn't follow JDavis' advice even if he was right :) To much past misinformation, lies and BS to make it wothwhile to try to find the truth in his stuff. He's edited out some of his real drama queen stuff so don't judge him on what's left.
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I'd still trust anything he says over Nick Shabazz lol

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Shabazz came in here into a thread where he was being criticized heavily and acted like a stand-up guy. He seems not only willing to listen to others, but has also said he will point people watching his videos to the information referenced in this thread. If you don't like him, don't watch him, but how he's handled this shows character.
 
Corey79 said:
I'd still trust anything he says over Nick Shabazz lol
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I think you're being quite disrespectful to a member here. He's just expressing his opinions, not presenting them as fact. It's cool to disagree, but don't be impolite about it.

He's been a gentleman in this thread.
 
Emre said:
I think you're being quite disrespectful to a member here. He's just expressing his opinions, not presenting them as fact. It's cool to disagree, but don't be impolite about it.

He's been a gentleman in this thread.
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In his videos he attacks and insults knife makers and their work, as well as their fan base. He has been anything but a stand up guy or a gentleman, he is condescending. My comment was meant to be a joke, but it is my opinion that he has no idea what hes talking about.

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We will have respect in how we address others..Nick is no exception

If you can't do this, then refrain from posting.
 
bhyde said:
We will have respect in how we address others..Nick is no exception

If you can't do this, then refrain from posting.
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Well said Bill. Nick responded to your comments like and gentlemen and you, as always, did the same to his.

It's wonderful to see the contributions and exchanges here.

Thanks!!!
 
FrequencyAndSulphur said:
Thanks for all the suggestions on technique, everybody, and I'm glad my "total fail" was at least entertaining to the CRK crowd! I just do it the way that works for me, but you all appear to have made a science (and rather an orthodoxy) of it!

I'll give some of the suggestions (less grease, no grease on the back side or Chicago screws) a try next time I need to take one down, although the "slide in the blade assembly to the assembled handle" method drives me nuts every time I've tried it, and I still deeply dislike the feel of the CRK grease. So, I'll still carefully stack and use a different lubricant. But again, I do appreciate the pointers from people who have thought about this a LOT.

Alas, not much to be done about the voice though. Appreciate the advice and the views, and hope you either enjoy the rest of my (non-CRK) videos, or, as seems the bigger desire here, successfully avoid them!
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Hello Nick, and thanks for addressing the comments. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Very best.

Andrew
 
Wrobelan said:
Well said Bill. Nick responded to your comments like and gentlemen and you, as always, did the same to his.

It's wonderful to see the contributions and exchanges here.

Thanks!!!
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Nick had nothing but good to say about Chris Reeve Knives in his videos..some of the instructions were different..but my thought was he enjoys what he is doing to help others with his instructional videos..I never got the feeling he was intentionally trying to hurt anyone or their knives.
 
FrequencyAndSulphur said:
Thanks for all the suggestions on technique, everybody, and I'm glad my "total fail" was at least entertaining to the CRK crowd! I just do it the way that works for me, but you all appear to have made a science (and rather an orthodoxy) of it!

I'll give some of the suggestions (less grease, no grease on the back side or Chicago screws) a try next time I need to take one down, although the "slide in the blade assembly to the assembled handle" method drives me nuts every time I've tried it, and I still deeply dislike the feel of the CRK grease. So, I'll still carefully stack and use a different lubricant. But again, I do appreciate the pointers from people who have thought about this a LOT.

Alas, not much to be done about the voice though. Appreciate the advice and the views, and hope you either enjoy the rest of my (non-CRK) videos, or, as seems the bigger desire here, successfully avoid them!
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All others have stated, thank you Nick for chiming in. I agree it shows character and, of course, an understanding on your part that if you are going dish out "the ugly", a little ugly is going to come back your way. I think we all agree that we are all here because we truly love knives and find these discussions entertaining. Part of the fun is getting worked up 'for' or 'against' stuff as well. Only knife nuts will understand, and that's why we are on Bladeforums. It's a place where we can spout off a bit to save our wives, husbands, partners, and dogs from having to listen to us go on all the time about knives. I hope you do take some of my critiques as constructive, and take a second look at the brilliance of Chris Reeve's Sebenza. I appreciate that your opinion piece on the Large Insingo was largely positive, and I am happy you are coming around to CRK after your initial disappointment with the small Insingo 21.

The CRK bunch is a welcoming but passionate crowd. Why that is, in my opinion, is that we are enthusiasts for a product that isn't always obvious in it's merits, so maybe needs a little defending or promoting. The good 'ol Sebenza 21 is arguably not much to look at. It is the details and subtle refinements that make it great, and earn the respect of a 21 owner and user over time. My negative reaction to your video was critical because I know your channel is popular (for good reason), and I feel your instructions are not good advice to CRK newbs, as they are missing some of the fundamentals about the 21. Whether that is the fact, or just my opinion, who knows, but I'm pretty sure I'm mostly right :D. Anyways.....keep up the good work, and take a second look at that 21. I may have spent too much time thinking about my 21s, but if you care to know a few of the details I get excited about......I wrote a little love-letter to the 21 back in the day you can read here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1251505-Lest-we-forget-Attention-to-detail-defined-in-the-Sebenza-21?highlight=lest

Thanks again Nick, and to everyone who contributed here. It's been a great discussion.
 
FrequencyAndSulphur said:
Thanks for all the suggestions on technique, everybody, and I'm glad my "total fail" was at least entertaining to the CRK crowd! I just do it the way that works for me, but you all appear to have made a science (and rather an orthodoxy) of it!

I'll give some of the suggestions (less grease, no grease on the back side or Chicago screws) a try next time I need to take one down, although the "slide in the blade assembly to the assembled handle" method drives me nuts every time I've tried it, and I still deeply dislike the feel of the CRK grease. So, I'll still carefully stack and use a different lubricant. But again, I do appreciate the pointers from people who have thought about this a LOT.

Alas, not much to be done about the voice though. Appreciate the advice and the views, and hope you either enjoy the rest of my (non-CRK) videos, or, as seems the bigger desire here, successfully avoid them!
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Hey Nick,

didn't appreciate the content of your vid because, as my collegues over here already stressed, presenting this as a kind of maintanance instruction with such an amount of wrong knowledge isn't really helpful to anybody. But I do appreciate your passion and the way you are handling the critique points. I understand that making such videos needs some self-confidence, which has to be noticed by the viewers. Otherwise people may not have the patience to watch a longer instructional video. On the other hand, a little humility/respect for the technical innovation people at CRK have been working on for years may not hurt.

Best regards,
Stefan
 
kidcongo said:
Well.........I really like Nick Shabazz. I like his philosophies, and have spent many hours entertained by his channel. However, I feel it is my duty to offer a counterpoint to his terrible, cringeworthy, and mis-informed vid about disassembling and maintaining a large Sebenza 21.

Good grief Nick!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxE9rrLQlRE

Major Issues with this "alternative facts" version of the Sebenza 21 maintenance procedure:

1 - He clearly has no concept how the pivot bushing works. There is no reason to grease the barrel screws ("Chicago screws"). They do not rotate, and nothing rotates against them. In the Sebenza 21, the pivot bushing is always stationary, and the blade rotates around it. The bushing should never rotate in any case, as it is pinched firmly between the slabs. Greasing the screws is just making a ridiculous mess! The beauty of the 21 is the pivot bushing system. I wish he had taken the time to understand how it works.

2 - He does not understand that the washers should not rotate (spent too much time with bearing flippers I guess). You should absolutely grease the face of the washer that touches the blade, but NEVER grease the back of the washer as Nick does! This may cause the washer to spin against the slab, which will quickly wear-down the washer as it grinds against the bead-blast, altering slightly the tolerances. More importantly, it will possibly add unnecessary grittiness as the washer scrapes along the slab, rather than the smooth side of the blade, and in general makes a giant mess of grease that is not needed. Of interest, on both the Sebenza 25, and the Inkosi, CRK incorporated new design elements to absolutely prevent rotation of the washers (the 25 has a washer tab, and the Inkosi has washer cut-outs that hit the stop pin).

3 - To each his own, but the beauty of the CRK grease (repackaged Christolube) is that it is very thin, and drys to a slippery film, and is food grade, and generally non-staining. Those giant blobs of petroleum grease nick dabs all over his knife, will run out into his pants when the knife warms up, and likely will become some sort of nano-gum in time if you don't eat half of it on your apple. I've tried a lot of options, but CRK grease, or similar greases, are the way to go for this design.

Minor Issues:

1 - The "build it like a sandwich" method of assembling a 21 is really not ideal. If you are going to offer "expert" advice to your large fanbase, give them the straight goods on the easy and successful way to do it!
If you want the right way to do it, check this vid from JDavis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbPkCAh6E5Q
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Haha the tone in this is very condescending.

Just remember it's easy to criticize but hard to create.

I don't see any of your YouTube videos for people to smash on ;)
 
Nick has interesting philosophies on knives. I enjoy most of his videos and will continue to watch them in the future. However, I agree that his method with the Sebenza disassembly is wrong. Very wrong. Maybe a little more research into it would have helped him. A little to late for that though.

The thing that drives me nuts with Youtube Reviewers is that they constantly compare knives to the one they're reviewing. It's boring in my opinion. I didn't click on your video to see your Spyderco Paramilitary for the hundredth time, I came here to see the knife I searched for. Please put your Grimsmo Norseman away, I don't own it and I don't care to see it again.

Nick is also too picky, every other knife he reviews he bashes on for 10 minutes and then says it's a gem. Nick, if you're reading this comment, please for the love of God stop dragging out that Grimsmo for comparison and stop being so negative. These are pocket knives, not fine wine.
 
W_cole said:
Nick has interesting philosophies on knives. I enjoy most of his videos and will continue to watch them in the future. However, I agree that his method with the Sebenza disassembly is wrong. Very wrong. Maybe a little more research into it would have helped him. A little to late for that though.

The thing that drives me nuts with Youtube Reviewers is that they constantly compare knives to the one they're reviewing. It's boring in my opinion. I didn't click on your video to see your Spyderco Paramilitary for the hundredth time, I came here to see the knife I searched for. Please put your Grimsmo Norseman away, I don't own it and I don't care to see it again.

Nick is also too picky, every other knife he reviews he bashes on for 10 minutes and then says it's a gem. Nick, if you're reading this comment, please for the love of God stop dragging out that Grimsmo for comparison and stop being so negative. These are pocket knives, not fine wine.
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Something doesn't have to be perfect to be a gem.

I watch him for the nit picks, because for one- no one else I've seen points them out like he does. You don't have to agree with his nitpicks, but in the cases where it was a nitpick for me- I was extremely grateful.

I watch Nick for the same reason I watch Totalbiscuit (PC gaming youtuber if anyone else is in that community)- I want an overly critical analysis and I can separate the parts I care about vs the parts I don't. The parts you don't agree with are also helpful too. For example, if you know you like heavy knives, and Nick Shabazz says a knife is too heavy, that means it might be up your alley.
 
I think, unless you've ground at least 50 blades, you don't have a true understanding of what it takes to make a knife.
..............but that's just me.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Haha the tone in this is very condescending.

Just remember it's easy to criticize but hard to create.

I don't see any of your YouTube videos for people to smash on ;)
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Remember the internet has no "tone". You must read things literally. As clearly stated in plain English, I like Nick Shabazz, and am a fan....full stop. I am not smashing on Nick, and stand behind every single thing I said, in both tone and content. I know it is hard to do what he does, but that does not put his work above criticism.

Secondly, I have several thousand YouTube videos and over 7 million followers, so what do you know?. ;)
 
I like Nick's reviews. I think they are entertaining and I appreciate hearing his opinion on the "good, bad and ugly" of a knife even if it's one that he likes. No knife is perfect. There are things I agree with and things I don't but at the end of the day I understand why HE likes a knife or doesn't and if his issues aren't ones that matter to me I can ignore them.

That said, I'm a bit disappointed in this particular video for the reasons many have stated. He already made a similar sebenza disassembly video a few months back where these issues were raised. But Nick was a stand up guy then and he's being a stand up guy now so I wish people would address this more respectfully.

I also wish there were instructions from CRK still available. As a newer user it's still a bit confusing on a few points after having read a number of threads, and watched several videos. Some say never flip the washers or the pivot bushing while others are silent on the subject, some put lube all over and others are very deliberate about where it goes, some flick the knife to set it, others say it doesn't matter, some put grease on the lockface and others don't, etc.
 
I don't like the way Nick did this disassembly. I don't think however, that it is "wrong". Just different and not the ideal method. But as long as no damage occurred to the washers, I don't get why it's such a big deal. It is cringe worthy to watch, his dissasembly videos sometimes though. Lol

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