- Joined
- Aug 5, 2011
- Messages
- 424
Hey all, been acquiring knives for around a year now and have quite a decent collection going, but I still had not purchased a Chris Reeve knife. I have no good answer as to why, it wasn't cost because I've spent equal to or much more than the cost of a CRK on other brands. It wasn't that I didn't like the design or that I was worried about the quality. Anyway, I finally made my first CRK purchase, a Small Sebenza Insingo with double thumb studs. My initial reaction when I opened the box was "Wow, I really like the presentation of this folder." It has the nicest packaging of any knife I've purchased, right up there with the Lionsteel SR-1. I like that the top paper was a little word to the wise on how sharp the enclosed knife would be (and as I'm sure you all know, it was SHARP!) and how to clean, store, sharpen and take down the knife. I love the "birth certificate" too. It is really cool to know the exact date my knife was completed (April 18, 2012). I'm also a fan that the only tool you need is a simple allen wrench. While I love many other knives and manufacturers, I really don't like having to keep a toolbox full of bits and special spanner tools etc. to just take apart the knives.
On to the knife, which was wrapped in the standard CRK cloth of course. I was quite surprised to see just how small the small sebenza is! I immediately grabbed up several of my other fav knives and they all dwarfed the sebenza I got. This isn't a bad thing though, so don't confused my surprise with concern
The only knife I could find that was similar in size, in fact it is almost identical, was the Kershaw Leek. This then will ride quite nicely in the pocket as it becomes my EDC for the foreseeable future. I'm glad I found a version with the double thumb studs as I like the symmetry it gives the knife and occasionally I will want to open the knife with my left hand so it obviously serves that purpose well. The Insingo blade shape is quite nice. I feel like the tip may not be as delicate as the regular blade shape. One thing I observed is that the swedge on the insingo is almost sharp, it won't cut me but it feels close. I don't know if that is typical or odd for a CRK, maybe one of you can chime in to confirm one way of the other. It is perfectly centered and the detent is fantastic, keeping the blade closed despite my attempts to shake the blade free. Anyway, I could go on and on, but you all know this stuff first hand and I'm just preaching to the choir at this point 
tl;dr - I love my new Sebenza!
On to the knife, which was wrapped in the standard CRK cloth of course. I was quite surprised to see just how small the small sebenza is! I immediately grabbed up several of my other fav knives and they all dwarfed the sebenza I got. This isn't a bad thing though, so don't confused my surprise with concern
The only knife I could find that was similar in size, in fact it is almost identical, was the Kershaw Leek. This then will ride quite nicely in the pocket as it becomes my EDC for the foreseeable future. I'm glad I found a version with the double thumb studs as I like the symmetry it gives the knife and occasionally I will want to open the knife with my left hand so it obviously serves that purpose well. The Insingo blade shape is quite nice. I feel like the tip may not be as delicate as the regular blade shape. One thing I observed is that the swedge on the insingo is almost sharp, it won't cut me but it feels close. I don't know if that is typical or odd for a CRK, maybe one of you can chime in to confirm one way of the other. It is perfectly centered and the detent is fantastic, keeping the blade closed despite my attempts to shake the blade free. Anyway, I could go on and on, but you all know this stuff first hand and I'm just preaching to the choir at this point tl;dr - I love my new Sebenza!
I could still use it and sell it for a minimal loss. Theres not much that holds it value like a CRK either