Just slightly disappointed....noted some recent quality issues.. :-(

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Mystro- No the sebenza is not as smooth as that Mosier you and I were very familiar with....nothing is smoother than that:) Your experience with your new sebenza is pretty normal for a brand new one though. I picked up a damascus 21 about 6 months ago, and it was also gritty and the detent was really strong. I took it apart, greased it up, and opened and closed it about 200 times every day for a good while. It's perfect now...broken in. Also, i share the same opinion as you about the thumbstuds in cold wet weather. But, in normal conditions they work very well if you dig your thumb under the stud like your trying to pull it out of the blade. Give them another chance and some more time:)

strong
mystro said:
Its a small world. I am also very disapointed in my CRK.
I just received a large new CF Sebenza yesterday and the action was ridiculously stiff and almost gritty like. The detent was also way too strong. Lets put it this way, out off all my Striders and customs like Lambert,Mosier,Doucette The CRK was easily the worst action. I know what a smooth knife feels like and should expect. I adjusted the pivot and its action was average to poor for a production knife. It was sent back today. I am jaded because I own a little bit of every brand but the CRK was unacceptable and I want to own at least one of every brand. Over all the fit and finish was excellent and the weight and size of blade was great....BUT the action and horrific thumb studs are a deal breaker for me. The thumb studs would be a disaster in the cold wet snow to open.

I took a couple of picks before I boxed it back up. Does this lock-up look a bit advanced for a new knife????
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Every new Sebenza I get the first thing I do is take it apart and re lube it. Sometimes the grease will dry out especially if its been sitting in a box for a little while. The action will seem
dry and you wont feel that hydraulic action when opening the knife. As far as the thumb studs go it takes a little getting used to and a slightly different technique to open. But once you get used to it
its simple as pie.
 
I wasn't knocking you guys earlier for being F&F guru's, I understand completely. And if CRK isn't meeting y'alls standards, hold their feet to the fire. Fine with me. What I'm saying is that I use the knives I buy, to like - cut stuff.

I get that they win awards, and I understand that some are valuable. For me, I use it for what it was made for. I buy high-end pretty much everything I can afford, because it holds up when it's supposed to. Besides, if it stops working, CRK handels it. Bottom line.

When I get a new knife in the mail, I open the box, take out the knife, walk to the back yard, fold open the knife and cut through a old garden hose a few times just to get it over with. (We all know the first task is somewhat disturbing.)Then I fold it up and put it in my pocket. If it passes that test, I'm happier than Obama at a gay pride rally.
 
mystro said:
Its a small world. I am also very disapointed in my CRK.
I just received a large new CF Sebenza yesterday and the action was ridiculously stiff and almost gritty like. The detent was also way too strong. Lets put it this way, out off all my Striders and customs like Lambert,Mosier,Doucette The CRK was easily the worst action. I know what a smooth knife feels like and should expect. I adjusted the pivot and its action was average to poor for a production knife. It was sent back today. I am jaded because I own a little bit of every brand but the CRK was unacceptable and I want to own at least one of every brand. Over all the fit and finish was excellent and the weight and size of blade was great....BUT the action and horrific thumb studs are a deal breaker for me. The thumb studs would be a disaster in the cold wet snow to open.

I took a couple of picks before I boxed it back up. Does this lock-up look a bit advanced for a new knife????
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I think you gave up on the knife way too soon. :) I have 10 Sebenzas (all purchased NIB) and they all required a short break-in period. They were not buttery smooth right out of the box.

Plus, those Carbon Fiber Sebs from KnifeArt have been in stock for months. By the time you got yours, the lube that CRK applied from the factory was probably completely dried up. Anytime I receive a Sebenza, the first thing I do is take it apart, clean it, and then reapply the CRK fluorinated grease. After about a week or so of continuously opening and closing the knife, the action will be buttery smooth.
 
Pitch of the screws IIRC is 5-40...but it's been a long time since I checked them..like anything else, they may have changed.

I guess this aging machinist was too busy to analyze much beyond the function of the new Insingo that I purchased a few months ago. Meh..it still does that I want.
If anyone wants an interesting, yet highly unrewarding experience...try finding and hiring people that have experience as well as attention to detail in;

Programming CNC's (I'm sure that there are probably only one or two programmers at CRK)
Running CNC mills, lathes etc.
Using the various ancillary equipment to support these machines such as measuring equipment of all flavors.
Maintaining that equipment.
Reading blueprints and interpret the data therein.

Especially in this economy...in the US.

I am not defending anything..I am only saying that I understand that the growth that CRK has experienced has been...somewhat painful in alot of these respects.
Also, I have no knowledge of the inner workings at CRK..But I am guessing when you grow such as they have, they are going to experience the same problems being felt across the country in this field.

For sure, I am glad that I am in a somewhat small shop of 4-5 people....Try working around 20 or so prima donnas..(most machinists fit this category)..holy sh!t..that is a recipe for disaster..LOLOL...DO NOT WANT.
 
I too want to express that I have full faith in the construction of the newer sebenzas and that this screw issue is purely cosmetic.

But to those that think they are only screws and who cares, it is a minor detail that really brings the whole concept of the sebenza together. Simplicity yet perfection. Bad screws tarnish this concept.

This is in no way a deal breaker I will still buy and carry all my CRKs because even with a minor flaw they are still way ahead of anything I've ever carried or used before.

And I can understand how it might be hard to find a manufacture that can follow the tight specs that a Chris Reeve knife demands.
 
I can think of one! Rick Hinderer makes some of the prettiest screws around right in his shop. They really light up the spine of the knife.

Chris should probably give him a shout. That's if he really is looking for a new screw vendor like someone posted. But that may be BS - you never know if somebody's blowing smoke up your backside.
 
well, would an off center screw be more likely to strip? (as the drilled part won't rotate perfectly as you turn it?)
 
It's hard enough just trying to find parts for hinderer knives, i doubt something like this would ever come about. though that would be nice

cziv said:
I can think of one! Rick Hinderer makes some of the prettiest screws around right in his shop. They really light up the spine of the knife.

Chris should probably give him a shout. That's if he really is looking for a new screw vendor like someone posted. But that may be BS - you never know if somebody's blowing smoke up your backside.
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김원진;10854920 said:
It's hard enough just trying to find parts for hinderer knives, i doubt something like this would ever come about. though that would be nice
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Huh? You can order them easily directly from Hinderer, or off of another well known web site.....
 
Let me know when you find 3" stand offs of any color, smooth carbon fiber scales, and an armorer tool that's not flamed, not to mention some of the clips or tabs.

Screws probably another story, i'm sure those are easy to call in and order. The other stuff(in particular :p ), not so much.
CrimsonTideShooter said:
Huh? You can order them easily directly from Hinderer, or off of another well known web site.....
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I have four Sebenzas. The two classics from 2005 are flawless but even those took about a year of use to really smooth out. The two new 21s both have screws that are a little soft and rounded in the machining but F&F is very good. Both are a little stiff still. Using CLP lube does help over the Reeve grease to make them a little quicker to open.
 
김원진;10854988 said:
Let me know when you find 3" stand offs of any color, smooth carbon fiber scales, and an armorer tool that's not flamed, not to mention some of the clips or tabs.

Screws probably another story, i'm sure those are easy to call in and order. The other stuff(in particular :p ), not so much.
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Their is a web site that is the Monkey of the Edge world, they get those things in pretty much all the time. May not have it now, but give it a week or so.
 
I guess I am not familiar with Hinderer's fasteners.. Are the scales attached similarly to CRK? That is, there is a male side and a female side?
The reason why I ask is this..I know the tolerance on the female (slides into the spacer bushings) is ridiculous....On the order of +.00, -.0002 for CRK.
Unfortunately, this doesn't help when it comes to price, or competent companies to make them...They are not standard at all, in pitch or tolerance..I cannot speak for Rick's tolerances on his fasteners, but I suspect the route taken was probably more of a standard, off-the-shelf type for some of the fasteners ( I know the pivot is different..I have tried to source those things myself for projects I have of my own..cannot find them and they are not standard chain ring bolts from what I can tell)

Anyway..back to your regularly scheduled topic :)
 
On one of my only two CRKs I noticed that the male screws on the Insingo is a little "rough" compared to those on the Small 21. That was the first thing I noticed when I gave the knife a good once over. Take a guess which is the "rough" one?

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The spacer screw on my 09 Umnumzaans are off center too so the screw thing has been about for a while. Those are the old style flat back screws, the ones on my Sebenzas seem to be centered just fine though. I mentioned in an earlier thread that in the last year or two I have seen an obvious decline in quality of the hard wear that I buy as well as a higher percentage of duds per pack to top it off.

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As far as break-in & smooth action goes, the culprit appears to be the bronze bushings. It seems that a smoother, polished surface from the factory would solve this problem right out of the box and eliminate the laborious break-in process for customers.
 
Usagee said:
As far as break-in & smooth action goes, the culprit appears to be the bronze bushings. It seems that a smoother, polished surface from the factory would solve this problem right out of the box and eliminate the laborious break-in process for customers.
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Yes, you're correct, and I deliberately left that out of my original post. Thought the mention of screws and inlay issues were enough at that moment. The washers in mine were so roughly cut I could grate cheese with them. I pulled them out, polished them and reinserted them using BM Blue Lube. The action is now smooth as if the blade was pivoting on oiled glass.

As far as my original post......

If it wasn't for the fact that I was asked to pay $1 per screw, my post would've never had existed. EVERY manufacture that I've asked for "spare" screws hasn't charged me. And I was asking others for "spare" screws, not replacements to poorly manufactured screws on a $400 folder. It really set me off!!!

To those who poo poo my post about it just being screws......

I don't expect anyone that can't part with $25 for a membership to appreciate why I'm disappointed. Just like I can understand why you DON'T care about the screws on your $65 folder. CORRECTION: this comment was directed at one person and not a blanket statement about "registered users". I didn't want to point out the specific person but I have inadvertently offended several (sorry). That one person (they know who they are) drops an inflammatory comment, has no invested interest, "cherry picks" threads and offers little to no valuable contribution.

And lastly...

If the details of a screws fit and finish weren't important. Why can't I find ONE YouTube video review of a knife that doesn't mention screws ;-)
 
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