I need help from Sebenza owners!!

Barry H

Barry H

Joined
Nov 3, 1999
Messages
1,718
I bought a Sebenza this weekend! I scrimped and saved for about a year. My favorite aspect about this knife is how extrodinarliy polished the edge is. I have several new in box production knives from EDI, Benchmade and Kershaw which have excellent edges. But the Sebenza is in a class all by itself.
My problem know is that I'm afraid I'll never be able to maintain that superior edge with my Sharpmaker. So consequently, the Sebenza is worn in the front pocket and the AFCK is in the rear. And when I need a knife at work, out comes the AFCK!! How do I get past the point of not wanting to spoil the Sebenza?!
Barry H.
 
LOL
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An age old problem, for which there is no cure. This seems to happen with all really good knives. Ya simply have to bite the bullet, close your eyes, and shove it through a piece of cardboard. If you are lucky, it will put a small scratch or something on the blade. After the first scratch is on it, you should get over your fear of using it. Good luck
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You are just going to have to find your own time and use for the knife. One day you will break down and never look back. Enjoy
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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
I got me Sebenza last summer, so I know how you feel. At first it was a $325 cigar cutter, but it slowly evolved into a working knife. Also remember, you can send it back to Chris Reeves for resharpening and refinishing. So there's no reason it can't be restored to new.
 
A wise man (forget who) once posted on here words to this effect :

"If you want to use the knife, take it out back and cut trees, 2x4's, bark, whatever. Break it in and you won't look back."

I've got a pair of decorated damascus Sebenzas I want to carry and use reeeeaaaalll bad, and I need to follow my own advice
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Nick
 
You could do what I did and drop your Sebenza onto the hard concrete floor.
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After that horrific incident, now I use my sebenza with no worries.
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Johnny
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I was at a church cookout and only had my Sebenza on me. (Only ONE knife! Don't ask.) My sister-in-law wanted me to whittle some sticks to cook hot dogs on. She's the kind of person I would do anything for, so I whipped out the Sebenza and soon had 4 nice weinie sticks for her. I looked at the knife later that evening and there wasn't a mark on the blade. I've used the knife a lot since then and there still isn't a mark on the blade.

We have those giant theft deterrent tags at work and we (loss prevention) were trying to see if we could defeat a few one day. I whipped out the Sebenza and torqued as hard as I could under the "button" with the spine edge of the knife. There were several gasps as I turned red and more sweaty than normal. There were murmurs that the knife would snap, but it held. (I couldn't defeat the tag either.)

Use the knife. You'll be happy.

As far as sharpening, get a fine whetstone and just follow the original edge bevel by eyeballing. Touch it up as needed.
 
Barry,
I felt the same way once....a long time ago and now I never feel that way. To me a knife that is not used is a boring knife. A Sebenza screams to be used and you will be missing a lot if you just use that AFCK. The best thing that ever happened to me was droping mine on the rocks and scratching the titanium handle. The first blemish was there and I never looked back. Ed Fowler taughte me what a working knife is for....he said it was for working and the Sebenza is the best working folding knife I have ever seen so feel free. Cut with it, play with it and if you really want to set yourself free, grab a thumb tack and scratch your initials on the scales. Yeah....it will hurt for a bit but the freedom! Just think of the freedom!
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Enjoy your new knife.

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~Greg Mete~
Kodiak Alaska

 
Start opening boxes. Cut through that nasty plastic tape like it's calling your momma names. Soon, you'll have this sticky gunk on the blade's edge. No real harm, just really annoying. Then clean it. You might actually change the look just a bit cleaning it. Oil it. Then open more boxes. It's a vicious cycle. But before you know it, you'll be cutting a piece of fruit with it. And from there my friend, it's all downhill.
 
Barry, I get the same (polished) edge (and better) with the Edge Pro sharpener using the 2000/4000 grit tape provided by Edge Pro to "strop" after sharpening. It gives an amazing edge on the Sebenza and I have done my large and small Seb's this way. One must just remember to tape the blade before starting the sharpening process or you could get the blade scratched/marked.
 
I think someone mentioned in another thread that Chris Reeve whips out a Sharpmaker to sharpen customers' blades at shows.

Chi
 
Everyone keeps talking about dropping the knife on a hard surface to scratch it up so you won't feel so bad using it. Personnaly I wouldn't go through such drastic measures. I spent about $400 on my small decorated Sebenza and use it every day. My fiancee used it to gut her deer this season and the knife is still razor sharp and blade unscratched. There are a few marks on the handle from normal use. But nothing I would call bad looking; and none of the anodizing has yet to come off even when coated in deer blood and washed with soap and water with a scrub brush. My suggestion would be to put down the AFCK for a while and go for it. These knives are built to be used and used hard. RW
 
On top of all the other HEAVY duty uses I have mentioned over time here at the forums....this week I am installing a major exhibit. Mr Rogers !! This is basically construction except we are putting up exhibits. You should see my benza right now. its got glue stuck all over it from tape and shrink wraped stuff. I used the blade to pop out all the painted over screw covers in the modular walls, helped cut and rip up glued down carpet. It has also quartered oranges, apples,pizza and what have you as well as act as a decent coffee stirrer. For all its trouble it gets a wipe on my pants leg. Well if you do a search you will find all sorts of other stuff I have done to this great knife over the last two years. I usually wait until after a crazy period like this and then I disassemble the knife give it a really good cleaning, dry all the parts sharpen and oil and get it ready for the next assault. It begs to be used !

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ALex

http://home.att.net./~a.boriqua
 
Hi guys!
I got a plain large Sebenza for Christmas. I had thought before I got it (Yup, I kind of knew I was getting the knife
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) that it will be a user. But when I saw the knife I changed my mind and thought that I will never use this.
But it was easy to get over... I started to plan for my next Sebenza, which will not be a user. (maybe a small Fly... maybe even with some damascus
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) And since then I've been debating about which Sebenzas to get and using this large one I now have.

Hugo.
 
Once you get past that 1st scuff/scratch (GASP!) it will turn into the knife you reach for and the daily carry.

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"Hi, I'm Fish, and I'm a Sebenzaholic..."
copfish@aol.com

 
Barry,

Funny thing, everyone who owns at least one goes through this. As for me I touch up with a 204 and finish off with a razor stroph. Seems like I can get a razor edge (but I can't grow hair on my legs, arms, or belly any more!) You'll get over not using it and then wonder why it took you so long.
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I was reluctant to start using my Sebenza after I got it, even though I bought it previously-owned (read "used"
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). One day, for lack of anything else to cut a badly-stuck radiator hose off of a corroded fitting on a car, I slipped, and it rattled through the engine compartment and landed down on the ground, probably similar to what happened to JoHnYKwSt.

Since then, I've used it for a whole slew of things at work (I work in a plastics testing lab) and at home. Most recently was a home construction project, hand-planing 2X6 studs (it's a long story). Then, of course, there was scoring drywall for the same project. Scoring drywall?! Sure, why not? A few swipes on the Sharpmaker, and you never would've known. Just another day in the life of a Sebenza.

Be not afraid, use it and enjoy it.

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Don LeHue

The pen is mightier than the sword...outside of arm's reach. Modify radius accordingly for rifle.



[This message has been edited by DonL (edited 01-18-2000).]
 
Good advice DEON
I finally started using my sebenza when my Edge Pro Apex came. Tried to get the blade dull so I could resharpen it. Took quite a while!! The bg42 blade sharpens up in just a few minutes. Now it is my favorite carry and use knife. No worries about the blade now
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.
Jim

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What? Another knife? Don't you have enough of those things already?
How many does one person need?
And just what are you going to do with this one that you can't do with the others?
What is the purpose of all these knives anyhow??

 
I had the AFCK and thought it was a great knife, (and it is, don't get me wrong) but I kept coming back to how well the Sebenza cut! and thought `I'm just foolin' myself, so I sold the AFCK and stuck to using the Sebenza. Just don't think about it and just use the rascal!

I'm currently carrying a Talonite Rekat by Rob Simonich and have a funny feeling that that knife might change my mind and become my daily carry, it has passed the few tests that I throw at a knife with flying colours so far, more later on that aspect. (nice Desert Ironwood scales too!)

G2

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"There are no dangerous weapons;
there are only dangerous men."
.......... Robert A. Heinlein, 1959


G2 Leatherworks
 
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