Kind of disappointed...

Starfish

Starfish

Joined
Jun 14, 2001
Messages
1,256
Not sure if I should be but....anyway:

I called today to find out how much it costs to refurbish a Sebenza (I'm thinking about trading my small Classic for a large Plain, and would probably want to refurbish the large). Much to my surprise, it costs $21.00 to sandblast the handles, $21.00 to stonewash finish the blade, plus shipping of course. I had thought all along that it was $21.00 for the whole deal (excluding shipping).

Not sure why this disappoints me, but I guess it's the fact that $42 seems kind of high for a refurbish. I can kind of understand why it costs $21 to redo the blade, given that the thumblug is destroyed in the process, but I find it hard to believe that sandblasting the handles costs that much.

Oh well. Thanks for giving me a chance to express the only thing I have been disappointed about regarding my Sebenza....
 
My opinion is that $42 is an amazing bargain for a refinish job, and that CRK can't be making anything on this. I believe this service derives more out of their commitment to outstanding customer service rather than out of any kind of profit motive. Consider the cost of highly skilled labor and shop overhead, and fitting refinishing activities into a timeslot that does not interfere with production efficiency. Add the quality assurance activity, the correspondence time, packing, invoicing, and shipping, and the $42 gets burned up rather quickly.
I think CRK should be praised for even offering a service that others do not. Perhaps there is a reason that it is so rare to find a company that will do this? (Hint: $$$)
 
I have to agree that $42 total is a bargain. I expect that if I ever have to use the service it will only be once or twice over the life of the knife (my life). I've still got another 50-60 years (hopefully, knock-on-wood), so to me $42 is cheap.

Just my opinion.

-Al-
 
Now... I agree $21 for the whole knife would be one hell of a deal. Then again $200 for a new off the shelf Sebenza would be one hell of a deal too. However, the fact is this is a $300 knife and after beating it up, it only costs $42 to get it looking like new. That doesn't sound so bad to me and was part of the reason I bought one (BTW...mine was pre-owned and substantially lower than $300 making the $42 seem even better).

Now... mayber Reeve could say--if you get both the blade and handles refurbed we will knock 5 or so bucks off the cost, but I don't fault them for this price. While it isn't the steal of the century, it does sound fair.

JT
 
Wah. I spend more than $42 a week on gas.
When you find someone else who will refinish and resharpen the blade, replace the thumbstud, and bead blast those handles for less, please let us know:p
 
Owning a Sebenza is similiar to owning a Mercedes vehicle, the smooth action and extremely lightweight material make up a huge portion of the enjoyment of using such a tool. And while the aesthetic appeal of the finish is important it certainly doesn't effect the knife's ablity to perform.

If you're considering Trading the knife I would advise you to sell it the way it is and let the next Owner decide whether he/she wants to have it completely refurbished.

If however you are deadset on having it completely redone I would recommend letting Bandyto Anodize the handle slabs. I have only seen pics of his work but it does look very good and he has the ability to obtain several colors during the Anodizing process. You may end up deciding to keep it, you never know.
 
Hey OwenM -

Don't be too hard on me....I only spend (currently) about $7 a week on gas. I drive a Honda Civic about 150 miles a week :D

OK OK I guess $42 isn't such a bad deal. I know some of you guys spend that much on knives per day, but I'm still in the beginning stages of knife addiction :D

I'm going to retreat to the shadows now...
 
Originally posted by Starfish
Hey OwenM -

Don't be too hard on me....I only spend (currently) about $7 a week on gas. I drive a Honda Civic about 150 miles a week :D
Click to expand...

:eek:$7..SEVEN dollars? Well, they should charge you double, then, haha.:p
 
Two points.

1. $42 is very cheap to get your knife like new! Does this happen with Damascus Woods though?

2. Anodizing may effect the tolerences of this knife, I heard Mr Reeve was most displeased over a Boron Carbide coating put on a Sebi, I know Anodizing is far less 'thick' but is this possible?

Cheers!
 
I own and deal in Rolex watches. Rolex will bring one of their fine timepieces back to "new" condition for between $300.00 and $500.00. So, a $4000.00 SS Rolex after 5 years will cost you roughly 10% of it's original cost to "refurbish" it. $42.00 on a $345.00 knife isn't that much more (percentage wise). It's about 12.5%. That isn't out of line at all. IMO.
 
I own and deal in Rolex watches. Rolex will bring one of their fine timepieces back to "new" condition for between $300.00 and $500.00. So, a $4000.00 SS Rolex after 5 years will cost you roughly 10% of it's original cost to "refurbish" it. $42.00 on a $345.00 knife isn't that much more (percentage wise). It's about 12.5%. That isn't out of line at all. IMO.
 
Be it a Sebenza,Rolex,or a collectable Schwinn bicycle,You can refurbish over and over but it's only original once.Some people say don't refinish that Rolex face or it loses value,the same on the Schwinns paint & decals.It's Your knife so do as You please,but as noted in another reply,if You're planning on selling it let the next Guy decide to refinish or not.tom.
 
Correct,
In fact, Rolex WILL NOT refinish a dial. They will only replace it with an original dial. ALL dial refinishes are aftermarket. Period.

John

P.S. I'm not trying to turn this into a Rolex forum.
 
Just to give you a comparison. Serveral months ago I sent a MT LCC back to MT to have the bolsters reblasted. $25.00. So 21.00 for two handles slabs is not bad at all.
 
I guess I'm going to have to risk getting jumped all over on this one. I've used a knifemaker friends beadblaster to refurb another friends sebenza handles. It litterally takes 15 minutes to take apart the knife, rebead-blast it, clean the parts, lube and reassemble. I really can't understand why it costs so darn much, especially if the guy is paying to have the blade redone, which in itself already requires taking the knife apart - reblasting the handles probably only takes another few minutes.

Note: I carry a large lefty Seb in a G2 sheath daily - and had it refurbed when I bought it used from another forumite.

~Mitch
 
UW Mitch,

If you can reblast the knife for free and are pleased with the results, great. I still think $42 to make the knife look new is a bargain. Not everyone has access to the proper equipment (or even friends who do), and I for one like the idea of having the original maker refurb the knife rather than someone whose work I know nothing about. If I have to pay a little extra for that piece of mind, fine. I doubt Joe Blow down the street would buy me a new Sebenza if he flocked it up, but I know CRK would (not that they would screw up a knife sent back to them, but I'm sure if something happened they'd do everything they could to make it right). $42 pays for a lot more than a reblasting/sharpening, etc.

By the way, I hope the "UW" doesn't stand for anything other than the University of Wyoming! ;)

-Al-
 
The re-blast job may indeed take only 15 minutes, but you have to multiply this time by the shop rate, which includes the direct labor plus overhead. For example, my attorney charges $220/hour. Auto mechanic? $135-160 hour. A doctor visit costs $60 for a 5-minute consultation. At $21 for a handle refinish at an assumed 15 minutes, this equates to a shop rate of only $84/hour. Seems to me to be a reasonable rate by comparison.
 
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