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- Dec 13, 2005
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Ive carried a pocket knife pretty much every day since my parents deemed me responsible enough to do so. At first it was either a slipjoint or some sort of SAK. Then I gravitated towards smallish lockbacks along the lines of the Gerber Silver Knight variety. In the late 80s / early 90s I had really started accumulating knives and could be found with a one-hander from the likes of Gerber, Cold Steel, Spyderco, etc. clipped to my pocket. Then one day (Feb. 19, 1996 to be exact 
) I was casually perusing the knife section of my regular gun shop when the guy behind the counter asked if I had Ever checked out one of these? Oh, boy
Of course I was aware of CRK from reading the various knife rags but had never handled one and, besides, there was just no way in heck I was ever going to consider spending $300 bucks on a knife - are you crazy?!
Anyway, I stood there admiring it for a minute - the simplicity, the precision, the smoothness, plus there was just something about that combination of dull grey titanium & polished ATS-34, the sleek pocket clip, and, oh my, that blue thumbstud and spacer. There was no doubt - I bought it on the spot.
Even though I would have brief flings with different CRKs and other factory, mid-tech and custom knives, that Small Sebenza remained my go-to EDC for the next twelve or so years until I finally decided to retire it due to its sentimental value. In that time it never let me down (that hollow ground blade would just bite into whatever was being cut - including some things that I probably shouldnt have used it on
) and I never had any fear of the lock failing (just between us, Ill even admit to doing some light prying with it on occasion.)
As I alluded to earlier, that first Sebenza started me down that slippery slope to customs and other mid-techs over the years (not to mention the numerous other CRKs: "P"s, Regulars, Umfaans, Classics, Mnandis and 21s which have come and gone - some more than once ) Currently Im down to just two Sebenzas: a Large 21 and my Small. Hindsight being 20/20, there are a couple that I really do regret foolishly giving up but Im soooo glad that I never had even the slightest thought of parting with that first one.
The past couple of years, Ive completely gone full circle* and reverted back to mostly just carrying a small slipjoint on a daily basis but, no matter what folding knife is on me, I still consider the Sebenza to be the Gold Standard and will always have at least one in the collection.
Sorry for the long rambling trip down memory lane. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
*Speaking of which, Ive noticed that lately Ive been starting to feel the itch again and have even caught myself browsing through Mnandis in the Exchange
P.S. Apologies for the glare in the pics - I finally just gave up trying to get better ones @ 6:00 am under a ceiling fan light...
) I was casually perusing the knife section of my regular gun shop when the guy behind the counter asked if I had Ever checked out one of these? Oh, boy
Of course I was aware of CRK from reading the various knife rags but had never handled one and, besides, there was just no way in heck I was ever going to consider spending $300 bucks on a knife - are you crazy?!
Anyway, I stood there admiring it for a minute - the simplicity, the precision, the smoothness, plus there was just something about that combination of dull grey titanium & polished ATS-34, the sleek pocket clip, and, oh my, that blue thumbstud and spacer. There was no doubt - I bought it on the spot.
Even though I would have brief flings with different CRKs and other factory, mid-tech and custom knives, that Small Sebenza remained my go-to EDC for the next twelve or so years until I finally decided to retire it due to its sentimental value. In that time it never let me down (that hollow ground blade would just bite into whatever was being cut - including some things that I probably shouldnt have used it on
) and I never had any fear of the lock failing (just between us, Ill even admit to doing some light prying with it on occasion.)As I alluded to earlier, that first Sebenza started me down that slippery slope to customs and other mid-techs over the years (not to mention the numerous other CRKs: "P"s, Regulars, Umfaans, Classics, Mnandis and 21s which have come and gone - some more than once ) Currently Im down to just two Sebenzas: a Large 21 and my Small. Hindsight being 20/20, there are a couple that I really do regret foolishly giving up but Im soooo glad that I never had even the slightest thought of parting with that first one.
The past couple of years, Ive completely gone full circle* and reverted back to mostly just carrying a small slipjoint on a daily basis but, no matter what folding knife is on me, I still consider the Sebenza to be the Gold Standard and will always have at least one in the collection.
Sorry for the long rambling trip down memory lane. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
*Speaking of which, Ive noticed that lately Ive been starting to feel the itch again and have even caught myself browsing through Mnandis in the Exchange
P.S. Apologies for the glare in the pics - I finally just gave up trying to get better ones @ 6:00 am under a ceiling fan light...
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