Lockwear: The Ceramic Ball vs Titanium

BMCGear

BMCGear

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Messages
6,930
Which do you guys prefer and why? I've never had a knife that features the ceramic ball.
 
bluemetalchurch said:
Which do you guys prefer and why? I've never had a knife that features the ceramic ball.
Click to expand...

I only own a 25 with the ceramic ball, but have owned a few titanium lock knives from others. On my 25, you can barely see it, but there is a short trail where the ball first comes into contact with the tang, gets a little wider, then settles into a divot. Don't know if the divot will get deeper or stretch as time goes on. I guess people that have had theirs can chime in. But overall, out of knives I own, I am loving the feel of the ceramic ball. Just so damn smooth.

Here is a pic from this thread. (Not my knife)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ebenza-25-Lock-Stick-and-(maybe)-Late-Lock-up


rg0bSDq.jpg
 
Personally, I think the ceramic ball is the answer to a problem that never existed. CRK has never had a reputation for having issues with lock wear from what I've seen. Every lock will wear eventually, of course. The thing about the ceramic ball is that it makes things simpler for CRK when locks actually do need to be reset. Personally, I think a steel insert is a better solution, but it's not quite as nice looking to have a screw sticking out of the side of the lock-bar I suppose.

I'd say the jury is still out on how good the ceramic ball detent is overall. It's still relatively new in the knife industry.
 
I greatly prefer the ceramic ball over ti. The lock disengagement on my 25's and Umnum feels much smoother than either my large or small 21. The difference is very noticeable. Admittedly my sample size is small, and it seems there is some variation in knife to knife from the factory, so I'm sure others experience will differ.

None of my (2-3 years old) knives have the "divot" problem shown by the poster above.
 
I'd be indifferent, except that I prefer the bushing pivot on the pre-25 Sebenza, which uses the traditional RIL lockup.
 
I much prefer the 25 over the 21, the ceramic ball is smooth and stays that way even when dirt and grime are present...I have been carrying the 25 for 6 months every day, and have yet needed to take it apart. With the 21 I was taking it apart twice a month at least to clean it due to grime making the action rough..
 
Standard Ti on steel for me please, no more ceramic ball interface.

I've used and occasionally abused more than one Sebenza and I've carried CRK all but a few weeks total over close to a decade, the RIL has never worn out on any of my knives let alone "broke in" or worn in any way noticeable to my eye.
After close to 3 yrs carrying an Umnumzaan the lock has noticeably moved closer to the other side. I don't know if it's because the ball interferes with less material on the tang than the normal frame lock touches, because the ceramic cuts or polishes its way across, or if it's just this knife in particular but my vote would be for the removal of the ball from the CRK line up.
Please don't take this as a complaint, I still love and carry my Zaan, will carry that knife forever- but I would love it more without the ceramic lock ball.
Since I'm daydreaming ask Chris to make that knife for me with a pivot bushing , the old style pivot, and the old style block jimping with no lbs - tell him I'll take 3 :D
 
JNewell said:
I'd be indifferent, except that I prefer the bushing pivot on the pre-25 Sebenza, which uses the traditional RIL lockup.
Click to expand...

This...except I had an Umnumzaan way back when, and I did really like that setup...So I cannot claim complete indifference, I suppose. But the bushing system is something I strongly prefer (so much so that it more than overcomes the slight preference I have for the large ceramic ball.
 
unit said:
This...except I had an Umnumzaan way back when, and I did really like that setup...So I cannot claim complete indifference, I suppose. But the bushing system is something I strongly prefer (so much so that it more than overcomes the slight preference I have for the large ceramic ball.
Click to expand...

Hey, I've got two Umnumzaans; we're not talking about some crazy blind prejudice. ;) I like the Umnu a lot, but I'd like it better with with the Seb bushing. As far as lockup surfaces, I couldn't really care. When the Umnu first came out I wondered about the ceramic ball shattering if the lock got a sharp shock. My recollection is that someone did a torture test and was unable to shatter it - does that ring a bell with anyone? For whatever reason, I know I checked it mentally as a non-issue.
 
JNewell said:
Hey, I've got two Umnumzaans; we're not talking about some crazy blind prejudice. ;) I like the Umnu a lot, but I'd like it better with with the Seb bushing. As far as lockup surfaces, I couldn't really care. When the Umnu first came out I wondered about the ceramic ball shattering if the lock got a sharp shock. My recollection is that someone did a torture test and was unable to shatter it - does that ring a bell with anyone? For whatever reason, I know I checked it mentally as a non-issue.
Click to expand...

Yes, I recall that. I recall at least one horribly abused Umnumzaan that was made to fail but the ball never cracked or shattered (I believe it was shared in some foreign video..Russian IIRC)

I certainly did not mean to imply anything about your preference other than to say that you and I have a few things in common (it seems).

I do actually prefer the umnuumzaan lock up ever so slightly because there is no transition between the blade riding on the detent ball and lock up like on the Sebenzas. As sweet as the Sebenza is, there is that fraction of second where the detent dropps off the blade and the blade rides a short distance on the lock bar before the bar drops into lockup. It is minimal, but it dettracts ever so slightly from experience (I know, that is extremely picky, and its not a compliant....just an example of how the detent setup on the Umnumzaan/25 is just a little bit better IMO).
 
Been carrying my reg Seby BG42 large for almost 15 years.
No issue with the c'ball and smooth as can be.:thumbup:
LG
 
I'm very new to CRK and new to ceramic balls so I can only speak on how they "feel", not how they last.

I have both large 21s and a 25, had an Umnum. I honestly couldn't really tell much difference in the 21/25. They both "felt" the same to me so I have no preference between the two.
 
This topic prompted me to get a macro lens out and grab a few frames. This is a new, single-owner (me) Sebenza 25 that was purchased on 3-July 2014. The birth card states June 18, 2014. It's never been carried, never cut anything, and has probably been opened less than 100 times. And by opening I mean a slow deployment until lockup. No flicking or quick draws. The knife essentially sits in a chest along with a collection of others in their leather sleeves.

So I was surprised to see some polishing of the tang by the ceramic ball. At first it appears to be worn into the stainless, but it's hard to feel edges with a tweezer's tip. However, there is a bit of stickiness when unlocking, which tells me there must be a minor depression the ball wants to settle into. You can see the fluorinated grease on the margins and by the washers.

It would be interesting to see one that has seen significant use compared to this nearly factory-fresh example. Only time will tell- but then I'd have to use the knife and I don't plan to- it's just as much fun to look at on occasion.

16430735719_fc01f361ee_b.jpg
 
I think that's about normal. I have an Umnumzaan that I open the same way but it's been opened and closed a lot more; it looks about the same. On the other hand, I bought an Umnumzaan immediately after they started shipping and that one developed a very deep divot where the ceramic ball rested on the tang - much deeper than your picture shows. That knife didn't hang around very long so I don't know how it did over a longer period of time, but the initial wear-in was not promising - but maybe it never got any worse. The ceramic balls are a lot harder than the blade steel, obviously.
 
After much use the divot should smooth out where it exits while closing....I mean it would have to because of the hardness of the ceramic ball.

Plus, I cannot understand that people say that they do not have this mark. I mean I have seen quite a few pictures and posts where this is normal.
 
Maybe it's the macro shots of the blade tang on the knives with a ceramic ball interface. But the on the tang where the lock engages doesn't look as polished as the tang on my Large 21. If I remember correctly, polishing the tang is what helps to prevent lock stick. Could it be CRK is not polishing the tang on their ceramic lock interface knives?
 
Since the introduction of the ceramic ball there has been little to no news on one wearing out to my knowledge.

My preference is the ceramic ball, mainly just for the outstanding workmanship to pull it off.

Either way, normal, ceramic ball, carbidized, does not matter. If the lock face and lock bar interface is correct the knife will last you a life time.
 
Sebenza 25 is awesome! Really cool concept and I didn't notice any problem regarding lock.
 
bump... any additional experience over the last 7 years on the ball interface from folks would be much appreciated!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top