- Joined
- Jul 23, 2008
- Messages
- 1,047
:thumbup::thumbup:So I have to preface this post by stating, this is in NO WAY a Strider bashing. It has nothing to do with anything that might be said about Strider Knives as a company. Please dont take this as an opportunity to turn this into a nasty thread full of BS. This is my simple take on my honest opinions between the two knives after finally handling both.....
Enough with the disclaimer, lets get to business.
After spending some time on this forum, I read enough about the Seb to have a definate need to handle one in person. I live in a small town in So Oregon, where there is an absence of brick and mortars that sell nothing more expensive than Benchmades. On a trip to Bend, I researched ahead and found a dealer of CRK's, so I made a special point to go check one out in person.
Upon first handling the Seb (Moon Song CGG), I cant say that I was impressed off the bat. The action seemed a little stiff, and the graphic wasnt my favorite. I kept thinking to myself, "Man, I cant believe that so many people spend $400 on these!!!"
It wasn't until about a week after I left that shop before it truly sunk in how well put together that knife really was.
I had a collection of Benchmade knives at the time, and it wasn't until I got home and started examining all my knives that I started noticing all the faults in my collection. Nothing huge that would impede performance of the knife by any means, but small things like off-center blades, or discernable blade play in all directions. Even cosmetic issues started catching my eye, like scales that werent perfectly flush with the liners, or rough edges.
All I could think about was how every single surface on the Seb was perfectly smooth and "soft" to the touch. I actually liked the fact that the blade action wasn't conducive to "flicking," but when opened using the thumbstud, felt buttery smooth.
Fast forward 2 months later, Xmas time. My girlfriend gives me the best (and worst) present ever, my very first Seb! I was ruined from there on out..... I have been in the pursuit of fine knives ever since.
The Sebenza is as tough of a knife for 99% of any knife task I could ever need. If I need anything for that 1%, I have a Busse Active Duty with me daily, that is designed to handle the last 1% of cutting chores.........
The hollow ground blade is phenominal in slicing preformance, it floats through most mediums, and is extremely practical as far as belly and overall shape.
Not to get long winded about the Seb, but I just want to make the point that I have carried this thing for a little while now and am familiar with it.
So being exposed to all the debates out there between the Seb vs Strider framelocks, I naturally got curious. I had to see for my self whether the "tank of a folder, with ergos that actually fit your hand" was actually the Strider.... I found an SMF, bought it as new and started my examination.
So when I pulled it out of its baggie, the first thing I noticed was how wide this knife really was while closed. The SMF felt like the blade was almost too big for the handle. While open it was nice, but when closed, it is just huge.
I think one of my personal favorite things is how slim and discreet the Seb is in your pocket. It packs serious blade size in a frame barely larger than then blade. When opening and closeing the knife, the only thing I could feel were the rough edges on the opening hole, and the lockbar. After my first day with the SMF,
I liked the stout blade on the SMF, it definately looked like it could take some serious abuse. I was disappointed with the thickness of the Ti however. I somehow expected the SMF to be seriously overbuilt in compairison to the Seb, due to the reputation, but the Ti side is the same thickness of the Sebs. Im not saying that its too thin, but I dont see any strenght advantage between the handles, either way you look at it.
What finally sealed the deal for me though was the simple fact that the Seb locks up tighter than the SMF.
There, I said it, and I still feel ok!
The Sebenza feels like it was hand fit together, no movement in the blade, even when grasping the very tip and wiggling it. The SMF is no doubt a tough, tough, knife that in all likelyhood will never be broken. That isnt to say that there isnt a little play in the blade. Not up and down, but slightly side to side. I know you can adjust the pivot to tighten it up, but on a $500 folding knife it shouldnt have to be fiddled with.
I had the SMF in my stable for a week, and in that time, I gained an extreme appreciation for CRK and the Sebenza design. The SMF is for those who need a knife to function as a tool whose primary purpose is to be able to use it for ANY situaton, futher facilitating the need to use your knife to pry, chop and be a brazen symbol for toughness and heavy duty use. I kept having the urge to try to find things to beat on with the SMF, and not using it to cut like it should be for.
All I know is that for me, I tend to value the finish of the knife in addition to its practicality. Yes the SMF is a beast, yes its probably the only knife you
would actually need. Bud do you want to carry a big, clunky knife, that upsets Sheeple everytime it leaves your pocket? I like remaining somewhat discrete when it comes to my knives, I dont need a gaudy pocket monster in my hands everytime I need to open something or cut an apple.
Do yourself a favor. If you have the opportunity to try them both, do not hesitate. Im glad I got the curious monkey off my back as far as the "Epic battle" that these two knives seem to be eternally engaged in.
Turns out I prefer the Seb.... lol
Thanks to you guys for listening to my rant.
A special THANK YOU for Chris, Heather, and all the other hard workers there at CRK. Keep up the great work and providing us knuts with the fix we so desperately crave
Enough with the disclaimer, lets get to business.
After spending some time on this forum, I read enough about the Seb to have a definate need to handle one in person. I live in a small town in So Oregon, where there is an absence of brick and mortars that sell nothing more expensive than Benchmades. On a trip to Bend, I researched ahead and found a dealer of CRK's, so I made a special point to go check one out in person.
Upon first handling the Seb (Moon Song CGG), I cant say that I was impressed off the bat. The action seemed a little stiff, and the graphic wasnt my favorite. I kept thinking to myself, "Man, I cant believe that so many people spend $400 on these!!!"
It wasn't until about a week after I left that shop before it truly sunk in how well put together that knife really was.
I had a collection of Benchmade knives at the time, and it wasn't until I got home and started examining all my knives that I started noticing all the faults in my collection. Nothing huge that would impede performance of the knife by any means, but small things like off-center blades, or discernable blade play in all directions. Even cosmetic issues started catching my eye, like scales that werent perfectly flush with the liners, or rough edges.
All I could think about was how every single surface on the Seb was perfectly smooth and "soft" to the touch. I actually liked the fact that the blade action wasn't conducive to "flicking," but when opened using the thumbstud, felt buttery smooth.
Fast forward 2 months later, Xmas time. My girlfriend gives me the best (and worst) present ever, my very first Seb! I was ruined from there on out..... I have been in the pursuit of fine knives ever since.
The Sebenza is as tough of a knife for 99% of any knife task I could ever need. If I need anything for that 1%, I have a Busse Active Duty with me daily, that is designed to handle the last 1% of cutting chores.........
The hollow ground blade is phenominal in slicing preformance, it floats through most mediums, and is extremely practical as far as belly and overall shape.
Not to get long winded about the Seb, but I just want to make the point that I have carried this thing for a little while now and am familiar with it.
So being exposed to all the debates out there between the Seb vs Strider framelocks, I naturally got curious. I had to see for my self whether the "tank of a folder, with ergos that actually fit your hand" was actually the Strider.... I found an SMF, bought it as new and started my examination.
So when I pulled it out of its baggie, the first thing I noticed was how wide this knife really was while closed. The SMF felt like the blade was almost too big for the handle. While open it was nice, but when closed, it is just huge.
I think one of my personal favorite things is how slim and discreet the Seb is in your pocket. It packs serious blade size in a frame barely larger than then blade. When opening and closeing the knife, the only thing I could feel were the rough edges on the opening hole, and the lockbar. After my first day with the SMF,
I liked the stout blade on the SMF, it definately looked like it could take some serious abuse. I was disappointed with the thickness of the Ti however. I somehow expected the SMF to be seriously overbuilt in compairison to the Seb, due to the reputation, but the Ti side is the same thickness of the Sebs. Im not saying that its too thin, but I dont see any strenght advantage between the handles, either way you look at it.
What finally sealed the deal for me though was the simple fact that the Seb locks up tighter than the SMF.
There, I said it, and I still feel ok!
The Sebenza feels like it was hand fit together, no movement in the blade, even when grasping the very tip and wiggling it. The SMF is no doubt a tough, tough, knife that in all likelyhood will never be broken. That isnt to say that there isnt a little play in the blade. Not up and down, but slightly side to side. I know you can adjust the pivot to tighten it up, but on a $500 folding knife it shouldnt have to be fiddled with.
I had the SMF in my stable for a week, and in that time, I gained an extreme appreciation for CRK and the Sebenza design. The SMF is for those who need a knife to function as a tool whose primary purpose is to be able to use it for ANY situaton, futher facilitating the need to use your knife to pry, chop and be a brazen symbol for toughness and heavy duty use. I kept having the urge to try to find things to beat on with the SMF, and not using it to cut like it should be for.
All I know is that for me, I tend to value the finish of the knife in addition to its practicality. Yes the SMF is a beast, yes its probably the only knife you
would actually need. Bud do you want to carry a big, clunky knife, that upsets Sheeple everytime it leaves your pocket? I like remaining somewhat discrete when it comes to my knives, I dont need a gaudy pocket monster in my hands everytime I need to open something or cut an apple.
Do yourself a favor. If you have the opportunity to try them both, do not hesitate. Im glad I got the curious monkey off my back as far as the "Epic battle" that these two knives seem to be eternally engaged in.
Turns out I prefer the Seb.... lol
Thanks to you guys for listening to my rant.
A special THANK YOU for Chris, Heather, and all the other hard workers there at CRK. Keep up the great work and providing us knuts with the fix we so desperately crave
That Renaissance Revival place at the Wagner Mall seems to have more excuses than inventory.