Inlay Sebenza warping falling out!!

H

Honda137

Joined
Dec 3, 2013
Messages
91
I’m a Forman for my fathers construction company. I’m in the field everyday all day and right now it’s really hot and humid and I sweat a lot I mean a lot! So just 2 weeks ago I purchased a beech inlay Sebenza and after 3 day the inlay cracked and warped. I was able to pull out the rest of the wood by hand! It’s at Chris reeve being repaired under warranty. I also picked up about a week ago a bog oak inlay Damascus Sebenza. I have carried it for 3 days now and it is now warping not nearly as bad as the beech but I can see just a slight warping and I can physically push it down. So for me I don’t think the inlay Sebenza are that durable and moisture definitely affects the VHB tape. After everything I have read on the inlays I thought it would hold up
 
Could it be the wood reacting to moisture? I wonder if the same thing would happen with the Micarta inlays? I've gotten a lot of use out of mine but perhaps I haven't exposed it to as much moisture as you
 
Sorry to hear about the challenges you are have with the inlays, great to hear CRK is standing behind the product. I would personally not choose a inlay-ed CRK for work in a construction environment...rather a plain jane titanium handled version would be my choice for a hard use/hard environment CRK
 
I purchased from an authorized crk dealer.
I have a plain Sebenza on the way trading the beech inlay towards it. Funny thing is I carried a Bose/Case collaboration lockback whittler for a good year and no damage to the ebony scales and I also carried a Reese Bose wharncliff for 6-7 months and also no damage to the scales. I did see a little rust from the D-2 on the Reese. Seriously thought crk would hold up better. One thing to note on the crk when I removed the inlay is the vhb tape was clear, every video I see of 3m vhb the tape is white. I wonder if crk switched to a different product. I know ren wax is mention for protecting the wood inlay would it protect it in my situation?
 
Even though I only carried both the Damascus and s35vn for roughly 3-5 days each. I used both quite often and I have to say the Damascus is holding up better like a lot better. The s35vn had a roll on the edge after the first day and with the Damascus I’ve already had to punch through some metal flashing with absolutely no damage.
 
In the summer down here, I don't carry a wood inlay. I sweat and never wanted to find out if the wood inlays would hold up. Looks like I just did with your thread.:eek: This time of the year, it's either a plain or micarta inlay. I've never had any issues with micarta or carbon fiber. And yes, I'm in construction. The other thing I do with my CRK's that are work knives is to keep the factory edge angle. I've found they hold up better.
Keep in mind that the pins on slip joints help keep the covers from warping. I don't know if they're glued also.
 
I’ve been using a Lg micarta inlay Inkosi at work for about a year. I probably have it on me 1/4 of the time, rotating with other knives. I haven’t had any issues so far.
 
Since your knife is in with CRK, you might as well squeeze some knowledge out of them on the subject. Sounds like the wood rather then the tape is where the problem is originating. They may suggest treating the wood with something(like ren wax) to prevent warping or that you don't carry the wood inlay in those conditions. In my area I am dryer in the shower than outdoors-it is brutal. Please let us know if you find a remedy.
 
I love the looks of the wood inlays but I’ve always wondered if they would warp under horrendous conditions. I’ve only ever owned plain handles or Micarta and I’ve never had an issue.
 
batosai117 said:
I love the looks of the wood inlays but I’ve always wondered if they would warp under horrendous conditions. I’ve only ever owned plain handles or Micarta and I’ve never had an issue.
Click to expand...

I never thought about the warping or glue coming off, but i was always curious to see what the polished handles on the wood inlay version looked like after some real use. I do survey work on the Gulf Coast and it is hot and humid here. My micarta inlay has been in my pocket everyday and has no problems.
 
I have two wood inlays that get carried to work, hiking, and food prep. Soaked the sink, wet jeans in the rain, grease, soap, fruit juices, windex.....etc.

One is tamboti and one is box elder and both have been bulletproof over many months of daily carry.

I have never heard of any the wood inlays having an issue so this is interesting to me.
 
I have been EDCing a large Ebony inlay for a couple of years on the Gulf Coast,with no issues. I also show my knives no mercy.... Doesn't CRK use stabilized wood for inlays?
 
Unfortunate but interesting issue with the inlays and the VHB tape. I don't think there is any way to protect the wood inlays from moisture like that - Ren Wax would be useless to stop penetration from the bottom side and you'd have to lay it on thick to cover every pore in exposed surface of the wood.

VHB comes in many types and the most common one people see is the foam core tape. The foam makes it compliant to mis-matched surface features and is not needed for precision planar fits like on a CRK. Once applied the adhesive flows into the pores of the material and creates an incredible bond in a matter of hours. The substrate on the VHB tape CRK is using may provide some compliance/elasticity to accommodate physical changes from temperature and moisture, but in this case the long-duration moisture exposure must have caused the wood inlay to swell beyond the ability of VHB to hold the bond, or, the inlay itself broke down and fell apart, which is what the description sounds like.

Time for a unique or computer graphic if the plain Ti slabs are too bland for your tastes.
 
It cracked from swelling and lifted up away from the handle so I began to pull it up and it snapped as you can see
 
Honda137 said:
It cracked from swelling and lifted up away from the handle so I began to pull it up and it snapped as you can see
Click to expand...
Unless you are a paying member you can't post pics unless you use some BS thing like photo bucket which i refuse to do...

.... sounds like the knives set in water over night or something... something is very odd about this
 
I have a small lawn business on the side and after a full day in the sun I sweat through my clothing. The Micarta on my Sebenza is usually damp at the end of the day but wipes away clean. I’d imagine this would damage the wood inlays overtime like the RP reported.
 
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