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[JNewell]

Fit and finish are very good. However consider again Terzuola and Emerson who were in the 90s making knives one at a time, by hand with stock removal, achieving amazing fit and finish at a similar price (direct from maker). I will say this. The F&F on my Sebenza is just as good as my custom knives from those makers, which were both made in the 90s. Since I don't own any of their current customs, I can't say whether the Sebenza is still on par with those. They may or may not be.

In all, pretty good knife. For this D/A Sebenza, I paid about as much as I would for one with inlays/damascus. I'd be happy to pay the same price for a D/A Sebenza direct from CRK. In my opinion this design really suits a D/A action more than many others do and it's a missed opportunity not to offer these in that configuration and asking people making the conversions to cease and desist. I think for a plain manual one, I would rather use those funds towards a custom knife. There are a lot of great makers offering amazing stuff for just around the price of a Large Sebenza; Greg Lightfoot for example comes to mind.

I was definitely expecting more. I am not entirely sure the rhetoric surrounding the Sebenza is justified.

Given the nature of the modifications on your knife, I think it's probably a stretch to reach a conclusion about the standard Sebenza. On the other hand, you're not hurting anyone's feelings - life is too short to keep a knife around that doesn't work for you. It should be very easy to resell. Move it on!

 

[uofaengr]

I agree with others' sentiments and will save myself the typing. This isn't apples to apples.

 

[asdf12345]

2̴̵̡̛͎̝̩͉͍͎̞̫̹̬ͥ͑ͮͤ͊̿̚͟ͅ8̡̛̭͈̙̭͎͚̹̖͚̗̩͔̺̤̹ͧ͆̒̈̾̑̒̈́͑ͮͯ̀̅͢͟ͅư̘̲̫̼̙̞͕̣̺̍̐̑̃͊͆͗͋̇ͥ̆̿̎͗̍͠͠ĭ̶̡̖̰̜̹̟̗́̏̽̾̌̎̓̓́͢͟w͐̒̈́͌̄̊̔ͣ͑̿ͨ̅̓ͧ͊ͬ̐ͤ̂͏̸̭̠̥͉̝̺͙̱̺̦̜̤̞̹͈̼̱͞͞n̴̨̺̭̟̞̩̠̦̹̞̙͇̙͓̲̣̼̞͉̱̿͐̆̏͌̓ͤͭͯͣ̃ͦf̡͗͋̂̏̿͑͗̑͋̓ͦ҉̺̫̳̱̻͓͔ͅͅ

 

[blade man]

How are you not getting this? Because it'd be a non-modified Sebenza. What we're trying (unsuccessfully, apparently) to do is get you to realize that a modified knife may not be the best representation of the quality of the brand.

Any modified knife may be worse, better, or the same as a stock version, but if it's different, you can't really judge all specimens off your one example. This isn't that difficult of a concept. If you don't like the knife, or it didn't meet your expectations, that's fine and dandy, but don't make blanket statements about all of the knives based on your one example that's been heavily modified.

 

[asdf12345]

9̵̧̺̪̜͕̼̣̟͊̄̌͌̽͢͞ͅ8̸̵̜̣͍̙͎̝̼͕̜̰͋͊ͣ͊͐ͥ͐̽̒ͦ̔̓̓̃̓̌̈̚͜͝h̖̹͙͓͈̟͔̯̭̣̝̾̽̄ͫͪ̑́ͨ̐͞7̵̸̧̣͚̙͉͇̱͙̙̠͉ͤ͐ͬ̀ͨͤ̃̄̌͂̈́̎ͪ̎͊̉̔̓ͯ͝͡ͅn̵̏ͧ̀̈́̾̆̆͋̓͛ͥͨ͝҉҉̙̭̼͖͓̥̝̟̭̗̱̯̳͉͎͉v̶̧̧̩̠͙̭͍̓͛ͦ̈́͂ͪ̎͑ͯ̑ͨ̀̍̇͗ͥ́ṷ̧̞̜̹̤̣̝̪̯̲̫̜͕͚͍͖̼͙̏̑͐̓ͭ̈̽ͬ̈̂͌͢͜ͅg̃́̈́̉͌͌̌͛̓̀̆̄́̈́҉̷̭̮̣̪́4̸̸̡̦̠̯̈́ͯ̓ͩ͂̒͆ͫͧ͆ͩ̆͝ě̶̛͙̪̰̞̤̤̥̤̦̱̹͇̖̤͎͒͐̉̋̒͆ͥ̃ͬ̀͠7̧̲͙͓̝̩̩͈̬̥̠̔̊ͪ̂͘͘2̈́ͭ͊̄ͮ̓ͧͬ̊̑̈́ͫ́̐̈ͩ͆̅̐҉̴̰̱͓͟͝ͅh̸̥̜͇͙̳̯͇͖̱̜ͨ̄ͩ͂ͦͯͭ͟n̜̙̥̤̥̲̣̙͖̺̱͈̘͖̲͕̘̉͆̑̐ͣ̋͂̄̍ͤ͑ͩ̋͡f̢̊͊͗̎̿̎ͭͨ́̿ͩ͘҉͕̩̞̣̫͚̰͈̦̼̙̠̘̻̮u̷̱̮͈̹͍̘̰̖̪̺̭͍̫͚̤̔̈́ͥ̋̄̓̌̈́̒ͦ͛̿̽͆̉͗ͅͅv̡̬̮̩̤̤͉̲͔̟̣̩̘̎̆̃ͯͮ̅ͦ͊ͪͪͤ͐ͩ̔͟͝͠͝n̡̡͛ͮͯ͘͟҉͖̪͕͔̗̟̘̬̼̠̗̲̖̦7̸̴͓̹̘͕̻̠͓̗̥̘͐ͩ͐̅͑ͫ̏ͥ̋͜h̛̘̰͇̭͈͔̥̣̦͎̺̺͙͍̻̔ͣ̾ͭ͂ͨ̎̓͋͆̆̿ͣ̒͢͟ͅn̆ͪͫ͗͑ͣ̂҉̢̛͕͍̪̪2̴̶̠̙̯̩̤̳̜̥̦̟̪̱͈͔̰ͪ͑ͥ̊ͣ͟ư̶͕̭͕͔̝̬̝̫̖̼ͮ̔́̇1̷ͪ̏̓̉ͧͪ̃͆͊ͯͤ҉̱̥̻̲̕͜3̴̡̰̬̯̳̹̤͚̪̤̻͇̱͎̤͂̔̏ͪ̈ͦ͊̆̈́͋͌ͬ͂̅͂̀́͜h̸̡̞̘͖̯̗̻̮͒ͤ̽̎͐̓ͬͬ̄̏͐ͫ̾ͤͪ̕͜f̶̵̨̡̠͚̝͓͕̗̬̻͌̐͂̈́̄̒ͬ̍ͮͣ̓̏ͤ͑̋̂ͫ̄͢ǘ̷̢ͮ͒̽̾̒̆ͨͮ̃̇̇͝͏̱̫͔̮̝̹̩̭hͤͯ̑͌̾͑ͥ̋̒͗͋ͩ͒̑͐̅̕͠͏̨̻̮̲͕͘n̵̹̠͖̩͇̭͖̘̱̦̟̝̖̗͚̺̱̹͐ͨ̓̇̔́͊̓ͭ͌́̆͌̓́
ͩ̈̃̔ͨ̈́̿̓̂̿̽͏̷̧͔̻͔͍̱͙͙̥͟

 

[blade man]

Ah, it's a knife. If it didn't live up to your expectations, sell it. It's an extremely well made knife, but I'm not going to debate if it's better made than others. There is a very high level of fit, manufacturing quality, and consistency present among Sebenzas. Many people like this, as well as the design and customer service. But as mentioned, there's nothjng magical about it. It's just a very nicely made knife, made to a standard that other knives can certainly achieve.

 

[bhyde]

I will go ahead and address some of your issues for you that you seem to have a problem with.
First, the Sebenza may or may not be affected by the Volloton modifications...but let's say those modifications don't exist for the sake of argument.
The Sebenza you have has likely not been used enough for a proper break-in. The washers are just another form of bearing, but acts more like a thrust bearing than one with friction reducing balls rolling around in a cage. Think of it this way- Engines in cars have similar bearings on cam shafts and crank shafts..Do you expect those to be smooth when you first run them, and run them hard, or do you put miles on them like the manufacturer suggests? Of course, it's the latter and not the former. These types of bearings have to wear to each other..This has been and will always be a foregone conclusion to CRK's pivots..If you search for it..you will see that many have had issues with how tight the pivot is and is not buttery smooth as has been raved about. Most have changed their minds after actually cycling the action many times..they do wear together.

Try it or not..it's your choice; As I previously stated,..if the Sebenza doesn't do it for you..Then get something that does and forget about it. Believe me,..Nobody is going to think badly of you..It just doesn't speak to you like it has others. That is alright

 

[Haze]

Your Sebenza is not "stock" and things were indeed done, you even say so yourself in these rather amusingly contradictive statements. That may or may not change the feel of the knife but you simply must be able to see the point being put to you here.

How much more were you really expecting ? All my CRKs open and close with a solid feeling of quality. They are actually in most cases superior to handmade folding knives that I own never mind other factory made knives.
They remind me of the bezel and clasp action on my Rolex Sub. over my Marathon GSAR, to give an example. The bezel and clasp action on a +$100,000 A.P. watch is going to be no better than my Rolex that was a fraction of that cost....how much more should one really be expecting after you have already got to that "higher than most" quality level ?

My Sebenza is completely stock other than the pushbutton and sear. Nothing was done to the parts except milling a hole for the button and sear in the presentation side scale. Why would that have anything to do with the quality of manufacture? Please notice that I said the fit and finish was excellent and the knife was very smooth; it just didn't blow me away as much as the rhetoric about this knife made me expect. I don't see how the modification invalidates my observations about fit, finish and smoothness. When I look for fit and finish, I look for flawless mating of parts and integrity of surfaces. I look for the consistency of the textures and finishes and the evenness of chamfers, grinds, bevels, etc. None of those aspects have anything to do with the modifications done to this knife.

I even said:



But considering what has been said about the Sebenza in terms of fit and finish, and the complex and expensive processes used to achieve it, I expected more.

 

[kidcongo]

Can we see some pictures of this modded knife so we know what we are talking about (hopefully disassembled)? I cannot picture it in my mind

My questions: When you close the knife are you not also charging a spring, that may or may not rub, or bend, or cause vibrations that may or may not affect perceived "smoothness". Same goes opening the knife / releasing the spring. I would assume the tension was lessened on the lock bar to allow for the auto button feature....just guessing.

Anyways....I agree with others that there is a break-in period on some Sebenzas, but mine are all like glass after that. Maybe you just need to break it in.

 

[stjames]

Ten years later you buy a second or third or tenth hand example of something Chris never intended the knife to be and go on the Internet and spill out five thousand words to express your terrible disappointment. Maybe this is why he does not like people modifying his knives.

 

[asdf12345]

u͈̝̠̳ͩ̍ͨ̆̃̎̌̓̀̕͢f̨̧̲͕̻̗̮͓͔͇̟̰̮̗̲̜̖͍̜̎ͭ̓͂͑̊͑̉ͪͨ̾ͯ̍̄ͤ̒̚͟8̜͕̱̱̣̰̫̭̖͎̞̺̞͋ͦ͊̋͢͜͟͟ǐ̧̡̬̞͉̞̙̦̌̍͑̏̃̒́̅͡n̷̝̳̤͍̞̖͖̥̘̗͒̈̿͑͒͝ͅ1̠̦̯͍̾̐ͧ̐́ȕ̵͖̙͎̗̮̼̤̭̠̥ͦ̍͂̽͋ͤ͗ͭͬ͐̂̍́͝͝2̴̵̡̛͎̝̩͉͍͎̞̫̹̬ͥ͑ͮͤ͊̿̚͟ͅ8̡̛̭͈̙̭͎͚̹̖͚̗̩͔̺̤̹ͧ͆̒̈̾̑̒̈́͑ͮͯ̀̅͢͟ͅư̘̲̫̼̙̞͕̣̺̍̐̑̃͊͆͗͋̇ͥ̆̿̎͗̍͠͠ĭ̶̡̖̰̜̹̟̗́̏̽̾̌̎̓̓́͢͟

 

[nyefmaker]

Threads like this should be in "Wine & Cheese". Not gonna get a rise from anyone here complaining that a modified sebenza does not have that classic sebenza feel. There is no possible way the two can even be compared at this point..................This is like putting a Cadillac body on a 4x4 frame and complaining it rides ruff when Caddys are supposed to ride smooth.......!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[unit]

Can we see some pictures of this modded knife so we know what we are talking about (hopefully disassembled)? I cannot picture it in my mind

My questions: When you close the knife are you not also charging a spring, that may or may not rub, or bend, or cause vibrations that may or may not affect perceived "smoothness". Same goes opening the knife / releasing the spring. I would assume the tension was lessened on the lock bar to allow for the auto button feature....just guessing.

Anyways....I agree with others that there is a break-in period on some Sebenzas, but mine are all like glass after that. Maybe you just need to break it in.

Well, there used to be some photos of a perceived problem he noted BEFORE he bought it here.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1253189-Washer-issue?p=14350350#post14350350

But it seems that the seller convinced him that there was not problem.

I am just a little confused by all these events, personally.

Never-the-less, I see no reason to continue to re-iterate what is seemingly obvious to so many.

Have a shiny happy day, everyone

 

[blade man]

So you fear there was a issue, apparently there wasn't, and now aren't overly impressed by the knife?

I wish CRK manufactured their own D/A Sebenza. I'd definitely purchase it. In my case, the plain Sebenza isn't my cup of tea.

I think you summed it up right there.

 

[asdf12345]

R̡̨̹̳͎̪̹̹͉͕̰̪̳̟͛̉͋̊ͤ̎ͧ̏̈́ͨ͡ͅ&̪̮̺͚̰̦̣̝͎̈͗̀̀̉ͥ̓͂ͩ͗̑ͨ̆̅̍̂̀͟@͐ͭ͋̓̍ͤ̓ͯ̈́̑͏̢̜̰͚͈͈̭̜̳̯̗̫̤̺͇̙͎̮̪͝^̏̔̊ͯ͂̈́͋͗̄̏ͥ̐̿͢͝҉̶͇̦̲̻̥͔̩̰̼̫̭̝͍ͅͅ&̉̾̂ͥͫ̿̍͟҉̘̱͔̞̮͙̯̗ͅ

 

[Peter Hartwig]

Ten years later you buy a second or third or tenth hand example of something Chris never intended the knife to be and go on the Internet and spill out five thousand words to express your terrible disappointment. Maybe this is why he does not like people modifying his knives.

I think this is the problem all makers have with them, not just Chris. People modify them then send them in for warranty repair or complain they don't work to their expectation. Once they are screwed with they are no longer a Sebenza. They are the Pimpers knife, using Sebenza parts. Only the pimper knows(and CRK could determine) exactly what has been done to the knife. I have no problem with pimped knives, but once done the manufacturer should be left out of it.
At least that is how I feel-only the very 1st part relates to stjames's comment, the rest is me rambling

 

[asdf12345]

2ͣͭ͆́͆̋ͬ̒̒ͤ̈́ͭͩ̈́̓͋͗̚͘͏̛҉̶͓̰͎͍͉̜͉̖̰̖͓̯̭̪̰̫̠̘̯u̷͖͙͕̤̺͖͈̲̫̱̤͈͔̬͉͖ͦ̎̎ͫ̒̇ͦ̏͢͡ͅ1̸͎̮̝̣͙͍̼͔̰͉̠̬̖̰͂ͨͥ̈̈ͧ̀̅ͯ̊̐̅́̈́͑ͪͫ́͝͡ͅ3̶̷̲͍̰͍̮̥̼̮̙̖̟̝̖̳̱̃ͩ̃ͧͣ̋̎͗̿͂̊h͊ͧ̔̉ͮ͑ͬͧ̊ͤ͒̌̓͆̚͏̴̪̼̺̝̮̫͕͙̺͓̣͓̤̬͈͠f̷̸̳̻̱̼̞̞̘̈́̇ͨ̃̔͛͑̎ͣͧ͠ú̴̩̥̠̼̔ͣ̔ͨ͒̈́̃͛̃͊̊̌̎ͤ̓̈͌́͘͠͡ͅȟ̶̵͎͇̼͔̘͚̩̝̞̰̠̉ͥ̀͊n̄͌ͬ͗ͨ̇̚҉̵̵̰̪̯͖̝̙̩̞̤̲̗̱̥̜̳̖̕͡
̢̼̱̜̻ͨͩͯ̑ͣ̒͒ͬ̎̉͢
̢̛̳̻̪̯͔̳̲͔͕̙̟̳ͨ̋ͤ͐ͯ͒ͧͤ͑̉̍́́ͥ͝*̵͉͚̘ͮ͛̿̆ͦͭ͗̈́̈̉͑̌̄̍́ͅ

 

[Peter Hartwig]

So if Tom Mayo pimped a Sebenza would someone reviewing the evenness of the blade's bevels no longer have valid observations? Would that person be wrong if he took issue with the way the lockface was finished, because it's a pimped knife? If the finish on a standoff is not completely even all the way around or if the chamfering is not exactly even all the way around the frame, is that Tom's fault because he drilled on a completely unrelated part of the frame? Is it now Tom Mayo's knife "using Sebenza parts", and no longer representative of Sebenza quality in aspects that had nothing to do with the modification?

Well I guess your pimper picked a terrible example of a Sebenza to modify. If Tom had done it those problems would no longer be there.

 

[asdf12345]

n̶̸̢͊ͩͫ͛ͥͨ̾̊̍ͧ͂ͣͯ͂͋̀̚͏͚͙͕̞͇̝̙̟̟͈̣̞̦̖i̷̢̱͎͇̘̮̲̳̬̱̘̠͙̺ͯ̂͛͂̐ͩ̆̆ͤͬ͆̿͋̈̚̚̕͝1̶̶̻̹͕̘̱ͩ͋ͮ̀̿̔͗̑̊̀͘n̢̹̺͔̘̺͙̞̳̬͈̯̥̖̝̻̻͖̋̌̈ͤ̒̀̾̉ͣ̎̎ͯ̒̅̚8̽͛͌̉̏̓ͬ́̊͗̾͑ͫ̐̾́̚͏͎͖͉͚̩̳̜͍̪̱̘̼͚̹̻͓͡2̢̫̦͉͈̅̍͊̎̔ͧͪ̋ͯ̎̉̅̋̾͟ư̴̸̄͐͆ͦ̇̌̂̉̎̃̒ͯ̋ͪͮ̐̃́͡͏̜̦̼̱̺̭͉͎͔̫͈̜̞͚͎͔̘f̿̔ͮͩͩ͛̂͠͡͏̲̪̥̖̤̟̙̭̗̙́8̵̶̢̜͖͙̜͚̗̳̝̼͈̃ͥ͗̄̀͘i̢̢̟͓͖̘̘̤̹͈̞̳̼̲̗͍̘̙̗̣ͥ̆̇ͯͨ̈ͬ̊̉ͣ͑ͅn̴̷̥̳͖̎́͒ͦ̾̇1̶̾̋̏̐ͯ͂ͯ̾͛̈ͭ̌́ͩͯ҉̹̤͈̤̜̫̹̠̞̞̟ͅų̸̴̧͈̦̬̩̄͂͐̎̕2̷̧̱̫͚͚̞̫̉ͭ͑ͨ͋͆ͥ8̵̸̛̛͓͈̹̭̥̜͕͆ͤ̊̂ͨ̾̽̑ͨ̿̑͊̚͠u̸̢͙͉̯̟̞̘̥ͮ͂͆̒̈́̄̿ͩ̒̆͘͡i̷̩̣̥͎̤̭̦͕̊̑̍̌̾̎̔̉̾ͨ̚̕ẅ̶̸̞͎̼̻̩̙̭̺̪͖̤̤̘̦̩̦̯͙́ͦ̒ͭͧ̑͗ͩ̅̇̽ͣ̓ͦͧ͘͢͠ͅnͥ͂͐ͬ͝͏̣̝̬̥̩̞̦͓͇̪̫͓f̶̞͇̼̦̦͙͉̤̤̥̘̥̘̱̖͉̾͗̍ͭ̅ͧ͛̊͐̈́̏̎ͦͭͮ̄͗̚͟͜͠ḩ̛̠̬͉̰͓̪̣̼͙̥̥ͤ̓̇ͮ̿̐̋ͯ̂ͣ̾̂͑̎̑ͭ͗̎8̒̐ͪ̔͏̞̠̟̥̬̻̮̺̥̹͔̯͕͇̩̙̘1̶̷̠̱̹̫͇͕͆̅͒̔͊̅̓́ͦ̉̅͗̇̑͘̕͞ͅ
̷̧̱̙̣̪͚̳̦̦̻̺̳̼̲͓̑ͪ̑͐͐̍̍ͫ͐͂͐̍̇͌̍͂̑͢
̵̧̱̺̹̗̭̗̄̆̒͗͒͗̅͢ͅc̮̪̭̦ͤ͋̑͢͝

 

[Peter Hartwig]

This knife was sent in to Vallotton to be modified, it wasn't sold direct from him. I suppose given the same knife, Tom would have fixed the chamfering, reground the blade, refinished the lockface, and replaced the standoff all by hand? Terrible example of a Sebenza? Isn't part of paying a premium price for a CRK to get incredible fit and finish and consistent quality made possible by advanced processes?

If the knife hadn't been modified all you would have had to do is let CRK know and they would have taken care of the problems. No maker is perfect, but they do have great customer service when a problem crops up. If it were me I would be talking to who ever sold you the knife and didn't divulge the problems. It can't be that after 10 years of ownership you are the 1st to see them.

Fit and finish on a Sebenza is typically excellent