My first Sebenza. Need help with my second.

P

polebridge

Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
35
Well. I just finally bought my first Sebenza. Got it from www.onlyfineknives.com. Nice guy to do business with by the way. It is a large 21 with Mammoth Ivory inlays. Very nice. First impressions:

- Very well made.
- Great customer service (it was a little tight. called CRK and they sent me a free tube of grease. I took the knife apart and cleaned/re-greased it. No problems now).
- Very easy to maintain.
- Great edge.
- Well worth the $$ in my opinion.

I bought this knife just as a collectable. Problem is it is a little too nice. I am not sure that I want to carry/use it on a daily basis. I was not anticipating getting a second (due to expense) but I really like the knife...so...I have a question.

I am considering another large 21 with either Micarta inlays or no inlays at all. Just a plain 21.

I am hoping that someone out there has one of each, a plain and one with inlays, and can give me their opinion of which they like better. Which one feels better in the hand?

Thanks for any and all input.

Mike
 
polebridge said:
Problem is it is a little too nice. I am not sure that I want to carry/use it on a daily basis. I was not anticipating getting a second (due to expense) but I really like the knife...so...I have a question.

I am considering another large 21 with either Micarta inlays or no inlays at all. Just a plain 21.

I am hoping that someone out there has one of each, a plain and one with inlays, and can give me their opinion of which they like better. Which one feels better in the hand?

Thanks for any and all input.

Mike
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Well, Mike, welcome to the club. Your problem is a frequent one reported w/Sebbies. I'd prefer to carry mine to any knife I own, but it's just so purty, I can't bring myself to do it. I also only intended to buy only one Sebbie, a small, due to the cost, but I now find I have the "CRK disease," as I call it, and so now have plans to buy, ahem, quite a few more. I'm eating beans and ramen noodle soup to save up.

As to your question, there's a CRK forum here, but hopefully the mods'll leave this up a little while for you on the main forum. Of course, for a "user," the micarta inlays will give better purchase than plain, but if you buy a plain, you also have the option of buying an aftermarket scale from one of the guys here on the forum to make your Sebbie look just like you want it to. Of course, then you won't want to carry it, either. :D

Thus, for an EDC, my vote is for the micarta.
 
The one I like best is the plain vanilla (kind of a funny way to describe any Sebenza) bead blasted Ti. I love the plain ones the best.
 
I have a plain large Sebbie I carry and use every day. Hands down the best folder I've ever owned and while it's a purty knife it's not so much so that I'm afraid to use it or get it dirty. It's steel and therefore washable! :-)
 
Why buy a knife and not carry it? Mount it on the wall or put it in your pocket and use it. A special version like ivory etc. you might want to save for dressier occasions, but that's about it in my book anyway. I can't understand buying tools to admire. You can print pictures of them and plaster your den with high end knives and save a lot of money. :)
 
Toyz said:
One word for you my friend.....

"UMNUMZAAN"
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Right on there's no excuse with an UMNI - they scream use me! :)

BTW, I bought a large 21 and they're very nice but all of that inlay stuff makes you not want to mess them up.
 
Toyz said:
One word for you my friend.....

"UMNUMZAAN"
Click to expand...

+1. :thumbup:

The Umnumzaan you would have no problem using. :)

I had a 21 with Micarta inlays. I liked it, especially if I was in light (e.g. athletic) shorts because the knife was noticeably lighter then without the inlays. When it came down to it I just liked the plain a bit better.
 
RevDevil said:
Agreed. I wish I had not sold mine... :mad:
I might have to buy a new one too... :D
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Everyone has to reach their own conclusion on that one...I had one, sold it, and have not missed it at all. I really prefer the Sebenza ergos, especially on the Classic and 21 versions. The 'zaan was a nice knife but it didn't do anything for me at all. YMMV.

For the OP, I like the little extra gripability (not a word, I know!) that the inlays provide, and micarta is just about indestructible. I'd go that way. (My only large is a plain, but I have smalls with and without inlays.)
 
Don't have a large plain one, only a small, but have the inlayed ones and I like them. you could also go for an annual limited edition, they are of the regular shape, I think yours is the 21 version. LE's are nice!
 
cziv said:
Why buy a knife and not carry it? Mount it on the wall or put it in your pocket and use it. A special version like ivory etc. you might want to save for dressier occasions, but that's about it in my book anyway. I can't understand buying tools to admire. You can print pictures of them and plaster your den with high end knives and save a lot of money. :)
Click to expand...

Well...That's a good question. I just always wanted a knife with Mammoth Ivory. Just one of those things I guess. Looked at several but they were either too expensive or just did not appeal to me. Then I saw this lovely Sebenza on OnlyFineKnives and really liked it. So, I bought it figuring on just having it as a collectible. Then it turns out I really like the darn thing (just as a great knife). I like it better than any of the other 18 or so folders I currently have from SOG, Benchmade, Spyderco, CRKT, Line Wolf, and Kershaw. The only folders I have that I think can compare are my SOG Arcitechs.

Since Mammoth Ivory tends to be a bit fragile I figure I better get an second Sebenze for carry and I WILL carry that one. I narrowed it down to a plain or one with Micarta since Micarta tends to be pretty tough I think.

I don't think pictures would do it for me. Nothing like the real thing. Same logic goes for Centerfolds so I don't hang them on my walls either! :)
 
Personally I prefer the plain Seb to Micarta. Slips in and out of the pocket soooo nice, and something about that perfectly smooth titanium is just pure sweetness.

Umnumzaani are right up there too if you like a slightly more tactical look. Can't go wrong either way.
 
I didn't mention that I sold my large 21 about a week after taking ownership. CRK had the birthday marked the previous month. It was a real work of precision in a folding knife.

I have one main beef with the Sebenza. The handle doesn't make it through my hand and the rear corner has that slightly upswept corner. It made an otherwise perfect knife, an uncomfortable proposition, creating a hot spot in my hand. Handling it for just a few minutes made me put it down again.

I should have bought the Umnumzaan because like my BM 710 & 940, Hinderer XM-18, and other folders that don't have long handles (Spyderco has their handles done right), they all have tapered, upper rear corners and the handle fits comfortably in hand.

I can't believe CRK hasn't picked up on this. I've read this same beef many times, here on BF before and it's always been a deal breaker. :confused:
 
cziv said:
I didn't mention that I sold my large 21 about a week after taking ownership. CRK had the birthday marked the previous month. It was a real work of precision in a folding knife.

I have one main beef with the Sebenza. The handle doesn't make it through my hand and the rear corner has that slightly upswept corner. It made an otherwise perfect knife, an uncomfortable proposition, creating a hot spot in my hand. Handling it for just a few minutes made me put it down again.

I should have bought the Umnumzaan because like my BM 710 & 940, Hinderer XM-18, and other folders that don't have long handles (Spyderco has their handles done right), they all have tapered, upper rear corners and the handle fits comfortably in hand.

I can't believe CRK hasn't picked up on this. I've read this same beef many times, here on BF before and it's always been a deal breaker. :confused:
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Thanks for the heads up. I see what you mean. It puts pressure on the heel of the palm and I can see how it might get uncomfortable after a while. Just grabbed my Lone Wolf Blackfoot and I can see the difference right away.

Hummmm?
 
polebridge said:
Thanks for the heads up. I see what you mean. It puts pressure on the heel of the palm and I can see how it might get uncomfortable after a while. Just grabbed my Lone Wolf Blackfoot and I can see the difference right away.

Hummmm?
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I notice this slightly with my Insigno. The blade shape is enough for me to not care though I prefer the Regular profile blade and handles.
 
cziv said:
Why buy a knife and not carry it? Mount it on the wall or put it in your pocket and use it. A special version like ivory etc. you might want to save for dressier occasions, but that's about it in my book anyway. I can't understand buying tools to admire. You can print pictures of them and plaster your den with high end knives and save a lot of money. :)
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That’s the point, though—I agree with you completely, and I’ll bet the OP agrees with you, too, in the calm, rational, intellectual, objective parts of our brains. CRK love, though (and that of expensive custom knives) occurs in the excitable, irrational, lusting, subjective parts of our minds.
:D
It’s like a friend of mine who has two 1911s, a Taurus which is rock solid reliable and accurate, but which he paid $500 for slightly used. He also has a $2,750 Kimber he ordered custom made from their custom shop. Every trip to the range he runs only 25-50 rounds through the Kimber, but kept the Taurus, rather than trading it in, so he could run 200-300 rounds through it every session. Your argument would really apply to his situation, too, but he can’t “emotionally” bring himself to run more rounds through his custom.
 
dobervol said:
That’s the point, though—I agree with you completely, and I’ll bet the OP agrees with you, too, in the calm, rational, intellectual, objective parts of our brains. CRK love, though (and that of expensive custom knives) occurs in the excitable, irrational, lusting, subjective parts of our minds.
:D
It’s like a friend of mine who has two 1911s, a Taurus which is rock solid reliable and accurate, but which he paid $500 for slightly used. He also has a $2,750 Kimber he ordered custom made from their custom shop. Every trip to the range he runs only 25-50 rounds through the Kimber, but kept the Taurus, rather than trading it in, so he could run 200-300 rounds through it every session. Your argument would really apply to his situation, too, but he can’t “emotionally” bring himself to run more rounds through his custom.
Click to expand...

Kimbers rock! I want one in 2011. I have one more custom folder coming in from Andrew Demko and I'm done with knives. I've owned every caliber (and still have most) of handgun but the .45 acp which I hven't fired since the USMC back in the 60's. My pal got a new Kimber .45 acp and you're right, it's a work of art.

I shoot my guns fairly often (live out in the sticks) except the stainless revolvers are such a bear to get the powder residue off the front of the chambers. I've been shooting my Kahr PM9 and Beretta 92FS mostly this year. We did blow some stuff up with the 12 ga which is a ritual here for worn out or defective cr*p that will come apart nicely.

Here's my old man's cordless phone that he bragged about for 10 yrs and chronically told me to get one like his. It quit on him, so I fixed it for him.

Before:

742557834_C78MA-L.jpg


After:

742557860_JCt3D-L.jpg


I just repaired my old cordless last week with 2 strokes of the katana, 1 for the base and the other for the handset.

941517700_qJQyL-L.jpg
 
I have only one CRK, a large regular Sebenza bought new in 2002. I've carried it off and on since then, and it's great. I prefer the plain old Ti handles, without the inlays or artwork on it. The bead-blasted finish on the handles get scuffed from use and just from being carried, but I'm fine with that. It carries nice and flat, and isn't as hard on the pockets. I've found the S30V blade isn't really hard to resharpen at all, either.

I'm planning to buy a small Insingo at some point, too.

Jim
 
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