I broke my Sebenza while opening an USPS box

Sharp & Fiery said:
You don’t want oil on the lockfaces, just in case I accidentally steered anyone wrong.
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For "real" sebenzas, i.e. Chris' ti-steel interface, not the ball, Chris in his cleaning instrustions indicated to put a small amount of lube on the Ti interface.
 
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prestige said:
This is my Small Sebenza 21 Insingo that is always with me for the past 8-9 years. I don't baby it but I have never abused it either - opening boxes/packages is what it was used for most of the time. For me it is the most comfortable folder to carry and also the most utilitarian. What strikes me the most is not that it broke, but the way it broke. I applied very little pressure, literally only using the tip of my fingers in order to cut open the USPS box and the blade split in two without even making a sound. A truly surreal experience.

Please, don't use this thread to thrash the manufacturer and their products. That is not the point. I still love CRK. I was looking for a reason to buy Sebenza 31 and this might be it. I will contact CRK to see how they will handle this.

Has anybody experienced anything remotely similar to this?

View attachment 1847981View attachment 1847982
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sexy cross-section view. really shows how well they do their grinds.
 
Sibyrnes said:
I put a drop of Blue Lube on the ceramic ball of my Inkosi and I think it opens a little easier. What could it hurt?
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I also put a very small mount of KPL lube on the ceramic detent ball. Never on my lockface though…and I wouldn’t either, cause that causes lockstick. :)
 
Sibyrnes said:
Why would lube on the lock face cause lock stick?
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You know, I can’t even answer why. I just know that my Sebenza’s, Protech Tr3 and my shamwari had lockstick but a cleaning of the oil off the lockfaces cleared that right up.
 
Today I was working in the yard and caught my Sebenza 21 on something that bent the clip out of shape. I removed it and straightened it out by hand. Amazing that when I put it back on it now lands on the frame half-on and half-off of the lockbar. I had to stop and check and make sure its wasn't my 31, because the 21 clip is now exactly like the 31 clip. Lucky outcome!!!
 
I see that you are pleased with the result, so just an FYI for future reference. Even the clips on a Sebenza are precision fit with tight tolerances. When you remove one, it's very easy to deform the screw tab with upward pressure. Lateral movement after reinatallation is the sign that this has happened. Ask me how I know. You also have to be careful how you bend it back. I find the best way is to clamp the screw tab to my work bench and press down on the whole clip. I hope this helps someone out there. If you get this wrong on a 31, the clip will not rest on the frame while the blade is deployed. It will snap down onto the lockbar under grip pressure.
 
Modernflame said:
I see that you are pleased with the result, so just an FYI for future reference. Even the clips on a Sebenza are precision fit with tight tolerances. When you remove one, it's very easy to deform the screw tab with upward pressure. Lateral movement after reinatallation is the sign that this has happened. Ask me how I know. You also have to be careful how you bend it back. I find the best way is to clamp the screw tab to my work bench and press down on the whole clip. I hope this helps someone out there. If you get this wrong on a 31, the clip will not rest on the frame while the blade is deployed. It will snap down onto the lockbar under grip pressure.
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I got a 31 from you that you advertised as having clip slip. I reinstalled the clip and had no issues. No amount of pressure I put on it would get the clip to slip off the frame. Strange stuff but im not mad about it haha
 
motojg said:
I got a 31 from you that you advertised as having clip slip. I reinstalled the clip and had no issues. No amount of pressure I put on it would get the clip to slip off the frame. Strange stuff but im not mad about it haha
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All's well that ends well!
 
tolerances too tight, you’re lucky they weren’t tighter and you got away with your life
 
Silvanus said:
In regards to the atrocious lock stick. I purchased a Sebenza 31 brand new from an authorized dealer a year or so ago and it came with the worst lock stick I’ve ever seen on a knife. The blade was not centered and the detent was extremely stiff. I sent it back for warranty, it was returned in about 10 days not fixed. I sold it at a huge loss. It doesn’t seem like a super common occurrence, but it seems like it does happen
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As much as it pains me to say it, I’ve received two CRK’s back from warranty with lock stick still. The second one, I contacted them back right away cause it was terrible, and they paid for my label back; Tim spoke to me on two separate occasions about my knife and how he plans to fix it and what will happen if he can’t. I received it back with no lock stick, and it’s never been better. The other one is a large 31 that might just need to be broken in but time will tell.

They have impeccable customer service, mistakes get made and they will remedy them when allowed the chance.
 
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So I recently purchased a brand new Damascus bladed Sebenza 31 from an authorized dealer. The action was pretty good out of the box, I’d say 90% of what was the Sebenza 21 standard. There was a very slight “pop” of lock stick and there continues to be. It’s not bad by any means, and I actually don’t mind it at all.

However l, after my first disassembly and cleaning the lock stick became so bad it was nearly impossible to unlock. All the parts were cleaned in warm soapy water and the knife was thoroughly dried and assembled correctly. The only fix was to apply a very tiny dab of CRK grease to the blade tang where the ceramic ball contacts it. Now it works flawlessly with no blade play or lock slip. There is still the same little “pop” of lock stick as there was when it was new.

It’s interesting to me that the lock interface needs to be greased for proper function. No other knife I’ve ever owned requires that regardless of the style of lock, nor did I have to do that with my Sebenza 25 or Umnumzaan made in roughly 2012-2013.
 
Silvanus said:
So I recently purchased a brand new Damascus bladed Sebenza 31 from an authorized dealer. The action was pretty good out of the box, I’d say 90% of what was the Sebenza 21 standard. There was a very slight “pop” of lock stick and there continues to be. It’s not bad by any means, and I actually don’t mind it at all.

However l, after my first disassembly and cleaning the lock stick became so bad it was nearly impossible to unlock. All the parts were cleaned in warm soapy water and the knife was thoroughly dried and assembled correctly. The only fix was to apply a very tiny dab of CRK grease to the blade tang where the ceramic ball contacts it. Now it works flawlessly with no blade play or lock slip. There is still the same little “pop” of lock stick as there was when it was new.

It’s interesting to me that the lock interface needs to be greased for proper function. No other knife I’ve ever owned requires that regardless of the style of lock, nor did I have to do that with my Sebenza 25 or Umnumzaan made in roughly 2012-2013.
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It’s funny you say that because my Sebenza 31 UG Damascus had the same exact thing happen. A pop of lock stick which it still has today, after disassembly it became terrible again and required unnecessary force to disengage but a tiny dab of CRK grease returned it to just a pop again. Tbh that little pop bothers me a little bit, but not bad enough to send it in again. I hope the lock stick just goes away when the knife breaks in better. My OCD might force me to send it in again but idk.
 
Someone asked a little while back why oil on the blade tang and titanium lockface would cause lockstick. I've wondered this for many years after I noticed it. My theory, and it's just a theory, is that having the lube on that blade to titanium interaction causes the lockbar to move a little bit faster and harder against the blade tang when opened. This little bit of extra movement makes it lockup a little further over than it would if it were dry causing some lockstick. Having a ceramic ball as the lockbar interface is different of course and I've never played with that. It's interesting that Chris Reeve would say to do that. I wonder why.
 
Well we cannot ask Chris 'cause Tim&Ann muzzled him...or Chris is locked away...:(
 
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