Is this normal (sebenza) ??

love4steel

love4steel

Joined
Jul 29, 2003
Messages
666
I took my large sebenza apart for the first time - not that it was dirty, I just wanted to familiarize myself w/ my knife. So .. I used the beautiful set of pictured instructions which I obtained here - pretty sure I did everything right - however my knife now is MUCH stiffer to open and close - does this mean that I did something wrong? Its actually almost difficult to open. Im using 3 and 1 lube by the way. Is this normal?
 
It sounds as if one of the washers is pinched. If it goes together correctly it will be smooth and easy to open. I would check those washers. I would stay away from any type of oil to lube the knife. I suggest a tube a CRK's flourinated grease.
 
I agree it sounds like you pinched a washer. Just go through the steps again and be very careful to line everything up. As for lube, I use the fluorinated grease and my Sebbies are smooth as silk because of the stuff. I would strongly encourage you to get some and forget about the 3 in 1.
 
yea - I gotta get some better lube. BUT I did get her working right!
My bushing (upon very close inspection) has one side thats smoother than the other - and I noticed that on one of my handles theres a slight rub mark from the bushing (barely visible)and on the other handle there's no rub mark - so what I did was return the bushing to the original way (so that the less smooth side faces the rum mark) and thats all it took! The knife is once again smooth as butter. Wierd huh? If I flip the bushing back around - it'll be back to being a little stiff. Not a problem for me - but I thought that I'd share this in case someone else experiences the same thing.

ps. getting a nice lanyard knot took a little practice too! *note to first timers... put aside some time.
 
love4steel,
I'm glad the procedures eventually worked out for you.
Odd that you have a bushing that's not symetrical. I never heard about it. You might wanna call CRK and ask them about it.

Cheers,
Ted
 
let me just clarify - the only way you can tell the difference between the two sides of the bushing is by touch - one side just feels a little gritty compaired to the other. You cannot tell the difference by simply looking at the bushing. I might call CRK and see if they can send me a new bushing - but Im in no hurry as my knife works fine.
 
love4steel,

I've found that subtle tinkering with the tension of the screws can make a great difference in smoothness.

maximus otter
 
Originally posted by maximus otter
love4steel,

I've found that subtle tinkering with the tension of the screws can make a great difference in smoothness.

maximus otter
Click to expand...

Tightening or loosening of the screws has no bearing on the stiffness or smoothness of opening a Sebenza. I spoke with Anne about this at the Blade Show because I had some questions myself about it. The screws (and posts) are meant to be as tight as you can possibly get them by hand. Loosening the screws takes away from the tolerances that Chris set for the knife therefore making the knife "lesser" than what it should be. Proper assembly and lubrication should be the only things that you need to worry about to make your knife as smooth as possible and to function properly.
 
About once a year I break down my EDC Seb, apply a very thin layer of polishing compound on the bushings, reassemble and spend a couple minutes rotating the blade back and forth. Then clean and relube with Fomblin grease (high quality PFPE). Smoove :)
 
Hadron,

apply a very thin layer of polishing compound on the bushings
Click to expand...

Just FYI, a quote from CRK:

There is no need to put lube between the washers and the handle, nor is it necessary to do any super special polishing of the washers. Just make sure they are clean (rub them flat on a piece of paper towel to remove existing lube and any dirt that may be sticking to them) – you don’t want to get into a situation where you have altered the thickness of the washer because you are going to get problems with side play.
Click to expand...



Ted

BF thread: how to (dis)assemble a Sebenza
 
Ted, when I got my large regular Sebbie I won on Ebay, it had a rough action. I followed your great photo tutorial and assembled it without putting grease between the handles and the washers. I was not satisfied as it was only half as bad as it was when I started. I wound up disasembling it and greasing the both sides of the washers to achieve the smoothness I was looking for.
 
FivePointOhh,
That's interesting...
I just had a very close look at my Sebenza, and noticed that my small washer also rotates while opening/closing. My large washer seems to be staying in the same position. So from that perspective it makes sense to put grease on both sides.
It's a shame that Anne/Chris are pretty hard to reach these days. It would be interesting to hear their comments.

Cheers,
 
Ted,

By inspection, I've found that over time contaminants get into the pivit area and form grooves and ridges on the bushing that have a minor, yet noticable, impact on the operation of opening the blade. My solution to the problem may go against the recommended maintainence procedures, but it works well for me.

The CRK warnings about "alter[ing] the thickness of the washer" are very important for what should be obvious reasons. I am carefull to insure that only the high (friction) spots are removed. This means removal of material from a very small proportion of the total surface area of the bushing, anything beyond that and Bad Things will happen.
 
I have found that K.V. Collucci's remarks earlier were correct & I was wrong.

After reading that, I stripped and thoroughly cleaned my Sebenza. I used a Buck/White Lightning kit I recently purchased. I degreased all points, then used the ultra-fine "Metal Brite" polish to clean the washers.

After that, I lubed both sides of both washers with the wax lube from the kit, then reassembled using Ted Voorde's excellent photo series as my guide.

I tightened all screws firmly on reassembly.

Result? My Sebbie is now the smoothest it's ever been. For me, this is the way to go in future. I can heartily recommend all of White Lightning's products, especially the wax lube. As an aside, I use the bike version of the wax on the chain of my bicycle. It has done a superb job.

maximus otter
 
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