Steve C -- Your point is well taken. I too am an avid fan of my Wegner. I alternate it with a knife I think may be better for self defense, but I clearly like the Wegner more. It is a damn good knife. It has a very good liner lock, better than many. If the lock should fail, the Wegner is designed with a long, flat ricasso, which is what would come in contact with your fingers, should the lock fail. Not missing digits.
I surprised myself a great deal in early June, when I bought a Sebenza at a knife show. One of my primary reasons was the great price on the knife. But, in addition to that, the action just plain feels different -- and better -- than any other folder I have. You have the feeling that one of the world's better bearings is taking care of things in there.
Many people would rate BG-42 as one of the best steels for folders out there. Chris Reeve uses a different steel on his one-piece survival knives, because of BG-42's tendency to not do well with impact. The blade is ground quite thin. It comes with an edge at least close to that of the Wegner. Most people would agree that the Sebenza has a real edge in knife steel, compared to the Wegner.
The intergral lock is extremely strong. It is kind of like a liner lock on gross levels of steroids. A quite large piece of titanium has to break or bend, before the lock can give. The normal grip actually tends to tighten the lock somewhat. Grit or lint could get inside the lock area, causing it to fail, at least theoretically. So, it isn't perfect. Except for that small item, it is perfect. Liner locks tend to lose it most when subjected to severe sideways torqueing pressures. The Axis and Rolling locks are very strong, but do have springs which could break. The Axis has a double/redundant spring, so has to be regarded as a step above the rolling lock, IMO. Only one lockback knife, of which I'm aware, is up there in the strength range of the Sebenza or Axis lock -- that is the Spyderco Chinook. The new Spyderco compression lock may outdo the Axis or other locks.
Sebenza parts are essentially cut with CNC machines, with tolerances to the 10 thousandth of an inch. They are mostly put together by hand, by experts. Those who grind the blades have only recently taken over from Chris Reeve himself, after years of training. The knife is made to be taken apart and be cleaned. It is very open compared to any knife, far more open than the Wegner. CRK provides the owner with a wrench to dismantle the knife. Most Spydercos would have the warranty violated, if the customer took them apart to work on them.
Both Spyderco and CRK have rightly vaunted customer service. I bought my knife used, yet they've come to my aid on simle problems twice now, no questions asked. Once, they sent me the wrench which should have been with mine, but was not. If you have a problem with a Spyderco, Sal almost always wants the knife sent in to his service and repair people to take a look at it. He is vitally concerned with the quality of his knives, and customer service. Either company, if they find a serious flaw in the original knife, simply send a replacement immediately, or in Spyderco's case, often a knife of equal value, if the model has been discontinued.
There is much more, even tho I've said too much. I really do tend to think that until one experiences the Sebenza, one simply canno understand them much. Buy a used one on the forums. If you don't care for it, you almost certainly can re-sell it with a minimum of loss.
