If you look very closely you will see a serrated blue cone on the blade of each Sebenza. This little thigy is the latest in knife technology. See... you use your THUMB to open the knife! I know it SEEMS difficult at first... Give it a try! Soon you'll see how useful that wierd opposing digit can be!
I think this issue is pretty open and shut. Look... WE ALL play with out knives! That's why were knife dorks! "Flipping" your knife is just one man's playing method. IT DOES NOT work better than the thumb lug. Most folks use the lug, then flip it the rest of the way out. You don't "have" to do it. It is totally unnecessary. It is simpli something you "like" to do! Personally, I like to carve Marlyn Manson lyrics into my chest with my Sebanzas! I'm GOOD TO GO (as far as warranty issues take me). There are two ways to look at a sebenza, be a shopper, an owner, or the interested. These two ways are:
1- with the knowledge of these and other internet forums.
2- with the knowledge the guarantee card enclosed with each CRK.
1. These forums and the people in them posess a great power. We are the ones who count and we have been given the power to express our opinions, intelligent or not, informed or not, to THOUSANDS! If I had a problem with a Sebenza, I'd send it back to CRK with the FULL expectation that it would be made right FREE. If they acused me of abuse, I would deny it and demand proof. I would DEFINATELY discuss it here on the forums. Chris Reeve Knives would notice this discussion on their forum. I DO NOT abuse my knives, and would NOT be happy. There would be snorting and fuming and exclamation points used so I could say "sh!t" and all that stuff! It would be "bad press" for the small company. THere would be a thousand views and 50+ posts... People would raise an eyebrow. They WOULD knowingly lose a few customers, and then, if not before... They would make it sway to the best interest of all parties.
2. "This knife is Guaranteed for life. It is designed for a specific purpose. Should this knife fail after purchase by original user, due to faulty workmanship or materials, such defects will be made good free of cost. The right is reserved to make good such defects either by repair of replacement. This guarantee does not cover natural materials, incorrect applications, neglect or abuse. Any modifications that are made to the knife after it has left our workshop will void this guarantee. This knife will be your most trustworthy companion, helper, defender. Look after it and it will look after you."
This warranty is EXTREMELY vague...then it gets all mushy on you! The warranty is designed more to cover their a$$ than help sell the knife.
The opposite is Strider... to me the warranty is their ONLY appealing aspect! "You break it, We fix it!" OUTSTANDING!!! Going by the posts on this forum, the Strider SnG would be the biggest flop in history if NOT for that warranty! It seems to be heavily relied upon... and made good (after only a six month wait!). I certainly cant think of many people who have found their CRK folder to be in the least bit defective. People don't find much wrong with their sebenzas... mechanically.
Personally I believe that if there were a problem with the Sebenza I use hard, open and close waaaay tooo often and have carried everywhere for years, developed a problem, Chris and his shop would make it good... whether it takes some convincing or not!
One thing that is really freaking me out is Cliff Stamps posts. Cliff, you're a bonafide knife dude and your talking about a piece of paper! Legal issues! As long as were gonna play "Tea Party" I request Chai with cream and one lump. There is A LOT MORE WORK involved in the making of a Sebenza than meets the eye, and certainly more than most knives in any price range. (Let us not forget just HOW expensive a seb can get!) There is a HUGE difference in replacing a Sebenza for free and a CRKT cast and stamped out in Taiwan! Is it not understandable to you that it takes a little more a$$ coverage? Think of it as insurance. The higher the cost of replacement, the higher the insurance! These words, these documents... they are there to cover themselves. Custom makers can boast whatever they want... NOBODY REALLY USES THEM!!!
I feel that these forums really hold the evidence that The Sebenza is tried and true... That CRK service is outstanding, that mechanical problems are almost non-existant... and in every case all parties end up happy.
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, I think that maybe the fact that Chris doesn't want you to play in his sandbox and the fact that he doesn't bend over backwards to kiss your bottom may be affecting your objectivity. No I don't have a lot of letters after my name but I use CRK products at work to help save peoples lives in really nasty situations everyday and the performance of CRK products has yet to let me down. I don't give a rats bottom about a warranty, I need a knife I have faith in and CRK fits that role for my purposes The crappy supplies that the hospital makes available for my use should be against the law. 
