I was lucky to pick up my first Sebenza from a fellow BF member (Thanks Hilton). It is a small classic Sebenza made in June '00 and is uncarried.
I had been looking for a daily carry knife for a while and the Sebenza fit my idea of a high quality, no nonsense tool. I went to a local sporting goods store and got to handle both large and small classics and plains.
The decission about size was fairly easy. I live in an urban environment and the knife will be used around people to cut open mail, slice fruit and the like. The small one is a perfect fit for this intention. Anything larger would not go over well with people I work with. Also, a large one did not fit well in my pocket and I don't want to display a knife on my belt. However, The large size fit my hand nicely and I can completely understand its attraction for more rural users.
The choice between the classic and plain styles was a bit tougher but the more I looked at the knives, the more I started to appreciate the clean lines of the classic. It has a certain retro look to it but it suits my sense of asthetics (I still think that the 1960's IWC Ingenieur watches are about the most beautiful watch designs ever). Surprisingly the classic style fit my hands better as well. Not that the Sebenza is a marvel of ergonomics but the classic does feel comfortable to me. And, as someone else pointed out recently, the more you make the knife fit to a particular way of gripping, the less comfortable it will be if it is used in a differnt grip.
The classic I picked up has the new clip but I removed it fairly quickly as it gets in the way of the clean lines and does make holding the knife a bit less comfortable. I did not care for exposing the top of the knife in my pocket either. I do wish though that more pants would come with watch pockets as this to me is about the perfect way to carry a small folder. My particular one also has the polished blade and I prefer this style as it gives the knife an understated elegance. The light duty use I am putting the knife through is unlikely to cause any major scratches so I do not need the camouflaging effect of the tumbled blade.
So, while I consider this to be the perfect Sebenza for me (excluding the woodies, of course), there are a few things I would like to see differently. Before any flames start, claiming that I should not mess with something I don't understand, let me emphasize that I appreciate the difference between a precission production folder and a custom knife. Anyway, here are some minor quibbles:
1) I would like to see a no clip option, since I dont much care for the hole left behind after clip removal. I am aware of the the clip insert but find it pricey and less elegant than no hole.
2) On the subjects of holes: Since I like things very plain, I would prefer no lanyard hole and could do without the second hole in the front at the end of the handle. If this is the locator hole to hold the piece in place during machining I would prefer if the screw holes could serve that purpose. Don't know if this would be possible.
3) I would prefer the thumb stud and the back spacer to be uncolored instead of blue. Actually, I would like to see no thumbstud and have a thumb hole instead since the stud makes it harder to wipe down the blade after cutting something juicy. Don't know if the knife would open as well and don't know if this would be patent infringment.
4) I don't know much about blade metals and I am sure that BG 42 is a fine choice, but talonite has this appeal to me due to complete corosion resistance. Again, I understand that the blades are held by magnets eliminating talonite as a candidate, but if progress in the production process would ever allow the use of talonite, I sure would go for that option.
Finally let me say that all of these points are minor, that I am very happy with the knife, glad to be a newly initiated Sebezanista, and have the highest respect for Chris Reeve to produce such an excellent line of knives.
protodoc
I had been looking for a daily carry knife for a while and the Sebenza fit my idea of a high quality, no nonsense tool. I went to a local sporting goods store and got to handle both large and small classics and plains.
The decission about size was fairly easy. I live in an urban environment and the knife will be used around people to cut open mail, slice fruit and the like. The small one is a perfect fit for this intention. Anything larger would not go over well with people I work with. Also, a large one did not fit well in my pocket and I don't want to display a knife on my belt. However, The large size fit my hand nicely and I can completely understand its attraction for more rural users.
The choice between the classic and plain styles was a bit tougher but the more I looked at the knives, the more I started to appreciate the clean lines of the classic. It has a certain retro look to it but it suits my sense of asthetics (I still think that the 1960's IWC Ingenieur watches are about the most beautiful watch designs ever). Surprisingly the classic style fit my hands better as well. Not that the Sebenza is a marvel of ergonomics but the classic does feel comfortable to me. And, as someone else pointed out recently, the more you make the knife fit to a particular way of gripping, the less comfortable it will be if it is used in a differnt grip.
The classic I picked up has the new clip but I removed it fairly quickly as it gets in the way of the clean lines and does make holding the knife a bit less comfortable. I did not care for exposing the top of the knife in my pocket either. I do wish though that more pants would come with watch pockets as this to me is about the perfect way to carry a small folder. My particular one also has the polished blade and I prefer this style as it gives the knife an understated elegance. The light duty use I am putting the knife through is unlikely to cause any major scratches so I do not need the camouflaging effect of the tumbled blade.
So, while I consider this to be the perfect Sebenza for me (excluding the woodies, of course), there are a few things I would like to see differently. Before any flames start, claiming that I should not mess with something I don't understand, let me emphasize that I appreciate the difference between a precission production folder and a custom knife. Anyway, here are some minor quibbles:
1) I would like to see a no clip option, since I dont much care for the hole left behind after clip removal. I am aware of the the clip insert but find it pricey and less elegant than no hole.
2) On the subjects of holes: Since I like things very plain, I would prefer no lanyard hole and could do without the second hole in the front at the end of the handle. If this is the locator hole to hold the piece in place during machining I would prefer if the screw holes could serve that purpose. Don't know if this would be possible.
3) I would prefer the thumb stud and the back spacer to be uncolored instead of blue. Actually, I would like to see no thumbstud and have a thumb hole instead since the stud makes it harder to wipe down the blade after cutting something juicy. Don't know if the knife would open as well and don't know if this would be patent infringment.
4) I don't know much about blade metals and I am sure that BG 42 is a fine choice, but talonite has this appeal to me due to complete corosion resistance. Again, I understand that the blades are held by magnets eliminating talonite as a candidate, but if progress in the production process would ever allow the use of talonite, I sure would go for that option.
Finally let me say that all of these points are minor, that I am very happy with the knife, glad to be a newly initiated Sebezanista, and have the highest respect for Chris Reeve to produce such an excellent line of knives.
protodoc