Knives Illustrated Sebenza...

BlackEnd

BlackEnd

Life without knives would be, well…dull
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Anyone see the latest addition of Knives Illustrated? There is a pretty cool artical about the top 5 tactical folders. Guess who's #1? Yulp.....
Top5.jpg
 
Those are actually fairly good picks for the top 5. Suprising for a knife magazine. I'm not too sure about the CRKT, but I guess they do sell a ton of those. I think Benchmade deserves a spot on that list. But for which model?
 
moonwilson said:
Those are actually fairly good picks for the top 5. Suprising for a knife magazine. I'm not too sure about the CRKT, but I guess they do sell a ton of those. I think Benchmade deserves a spot on that list. But for which model?
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In a way Benchmade is there, the CQC 7 was made by Benchmade for a while. I have both the Benchmade version and the Emerson version.

Kind regards,

Jos
 
Hrabak said:
Please can you scan other page? Thx :-)
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To be fair to Knives Illustrated I puposely left out the remainder of the artical. If some else want to embellish, I can't stop them.

There is another picture though, testing the Sebenza. They are using it to pry open a door lock. Guess it worked. I wouldn't attempt it!
 
If only Strider could produce a tactical knife that could rate with a CRKT, then we'd be golden.
 
Tactical? Of all the words I would use to describe a Sebenza - tactical is not even a consideration. Interesting.
 
Nukemkb said:
Tactical? Of all the words I would use to describe a Sebenza - tactical is not even a consideration. Interesting.
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Well yeah, but it doesn't mean anything. Of course all the precision and nuance leaked out of our language decades ago. Now we live from sound bite to sound bite.

What is a "tactical" knife anyway? A black one? One that's chisel-ground on the wrong side? One that's made by a convict?

"Interesting" is not quite the word I would use. :)
 
I think that the definition of "tactical" that the article gives is a good one and one that I haven't considered. "A tactical knife is used by people who need a dependable piece of solidly built equipment. A folder that gives you in all cases confidence." It specifically excludes the commonly held belief by people (like me) that a tactical knife is one used to dispatch people. Good article. Their definition of tactical sounds like the perfect definition of a Sebenza. Of course I would have to say that the perfect tactical would be the Micarta Inlay classic Seb.;) Thanks Blackend!:cool::thumbup:
 
Whoa, wait wait. The Sebenza out-classes all of those knives. Fit, finish, quality, etc. this comes at a price but that is fine with me. I'm a believer of "you get what you pay for". They need to level the playing field and test the Sebenza with its competition. Or at least something at that price point.
 
Scott Dog said:
I think that the definition of "tactical" that the article gives is a good one and one that I haven't considered. "A tactical knife is used by people who need a dependable piece of solidly built equipment. A folder that gives you in all cases confidence." It specifically excludes the commonly held belief by people (like me) that a tactical knife is one used to dispatch people. Good article. Their definition of tactical sounds like the perfect definition of a Sebenza. Of course I would have to say that the perfect tactical would be the Micarta Inlay classic Seb.;) Thanks Blackend!:cool::thumbup:
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Back to the ol' language thing again, "tactics" refers to procedures employed to achieve a particular goal. So, one might be said to make a tactical error in golf or chess. I do think in most people's minds, though, that tactical has combative connotations, and military connotations in particular.

Obviously the intent behind using *any* tool is to achieve something, so a non-combative use of "tactical" applied to a knife seems a little inane.

I should probably just shut up, given that A.) I haven't read the article and B.) "tactical" has come to be held so dear in the world of knives.
 
Xcel said:
They need to level the playing field and test the Sebenza with its competition. Or at least something at that price point.
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Again, I've not read the article, but seems as though one of the criteria for determining the subject knives would be cost. At the very least, including some more expensive knives would stop naysayers from arguing that the 'Benza won purely on the merits of its greater cost.

The SnG and XM-18 would be logical choices. That would bring a number of interesting technical issues into focus; most obvious being brute sturdiness vs. cutting ability. My personal opinion here is that the 'Benz wins. It has better slicing geometry, but less strength. A worthy trade for a folder, IMO. If you need a piton, prybar or hammer, reach for a fixed-blade (assuming of course, you don't have the piton, prybar or hammer available).

On a slightly more subtle level, one then gets into the structural elements themselves, like the thumbstuds-as-stops, Hinderer brace, thickness at lock bar recess, etc.

Seems like a pretty interesting discussion, although a whole new vBulletin site might be needed to sterilize the politics, lol.
 
Guess my take on a "tactical" folder is one that can used hard in applications where normal daily carry pocket knives fail or can't acheive. One's that stand the tests of folders that others fail. Looks have nothing to do with them in my mind. OOOOOOOOOO, that's a mean looking folder, it must be tactical... Give me a break!:rolleyes:

PS: Thanks ScottDog
 
I don't know why they didn't include Strider, or perhaps some of Darrel Ralph's production folders, but Rick Hinderer's are customs, which is a logical cutoff point.

Tactical means nothing anymore. Maybe "hard use" but that's a pretty general term itself. It's not an art knife, it's not a gentleman's knife, it's not a kitchen knife, it's not a slipjoint -- it must be t*a*c*t*i*c*a*l.
 
Benchmade should definitely be one of the top five. Benchmade should replace CRKT it should be about quality and not quantity. I also think Severtech should have a place in the top five.


moonwilson said:
Those are actually fairly good picks for the top 5. Suprising for a knife magazine. I'm not too sure about the CRKT, but I guess they do sell a ton of those. I think Benchmade deserves a spot on that list. But for which model?
Click to expand...
 
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I've got a Severtech. Green handle, black blade. That knife would clear a room just snapping open. But it's hard to find. You won't be equipping a squad with them any time soon. :D

Reading the article, I see they had a few guys sitting around talking about what worked best for them, tossing out anything that didn't get much pocket time among them, I gather. That leaves out some of our favorites that this particular group never got interested enough in. It happens. it is not their all-time list of best tactical knives in the world ever. It is their list of their personal most-reliable. Of course there were good knives they hadn't used much.
 
Of the list of knives in the article, I'm not surprised the Seb comes out on top. But, at the same time, I'm pleased to see the CRKT on the same list as it is a much more likely knife to be found in the pockets of many "average joe" users. To me, I look at this and think there are plenty of reasonably priced users out there without hefty price tags and that's a good thing. I have a friend whom owns a CRKT M16 and uses it for everything(works in construction) and after about 3.5 years of everyday use, it's amazingly tight and solid. He brings it to me for semi-regular sharpenings and each time I give it back to him , I shake my head. I know he's used it as a screwdriver because I've witnessed it, and it shows no damage. I think some of the best tests are those performed by those non-knife people whom own just one knife and use it without concern.
I look forward to reading the article.
 
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