Chris really broke new ground when he designed the sebenza. How many ti handled framelocks with a premium blade steel were available at that time? ATS-34 was bleeding edge for it's time. BG-42 was another steel that was a rarity. Chris was one of the first makers to start using s30v. The sebenza has stood atop the pinnacle of excellence for a long time, while the rest of the knife market tried to catch up. the thing is while the rest of the market has made great strides the sebenza has had small incremental changes.
How many ti handled framelocks are available now?? Heck spyderco offers four or five.(techno, leafstorm, ti military, sage2, fluted military, Tuff, maybe others.) Strider, Boker, Zero tolerance, Hinderer...I think Buck even made one. Also the S35V, while a decent all around stainless steel, is not exactly cutting edge. About the only thing that still sets sebenza apart is it's flawless fit and finish, but the other guys are closing that gap too.
OK with that in mind, if I was Chris, I'd take the company in a new direction. Still keep a couple base knives, regular large and small, umnumzaan, and mnandi. I'd limit options on these knives. Then I'd introduce a total custom shop. Expensive, sebenza-like, knives made to order. You could pretty easily set up a program that showed min/max blade dimensions. several available thicknesses. I'd probably offer four or five sizes of sebenza. umfaan, small, large, XL. Want a umfaan with a super thick blade, no problem. Want a super slicer? get an XL with a thin blade. multiple blade steel options. Multiple jimping options. Yes they would be expensive, and it would be a headache to keep up with the different heat treat requirements of the different steels, but with Chris's reputation for excellence, I think there are many people that would pay top dollar for a Chris Reeve custom.
Grizz
