My journey ends...and sending back a Sebenza....

O

orixa

Joined
Dec 22, 2012
Messages
197
Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting here. Let me start off by saying a big hello and Merry Christmas from a land far-far away, not really, I'm only in Hong Kong.

Anyway, after years of carrying a small 2" Beretta the faithful blade finally broke. Not knowing anything about knives I asked my friend to recommend something for me, he suggestes "XXXX" doesn't really matter since it was a $40.00 frame-lock which I thought would suit my needs and desires.

After I received "XXXX" I started visiting forums and reading stuff on pocket folders my interest grew and soon I discovered my $40.00 is not really up to what I expected in terms of material, construction and quality (blade play no matter how I adjust it, generally not smooth). the $40 budget soon went up to $60-100.... Knives came and was sold and when Christmas came along, I bit the bullet and ordered a small Sebenza thinking that it would be my end-all knife. Fast forward a few weeks and the Small Seb arrived. Everything about it us exactly as it is described; no doubt about it. But it's....not right for me! I have small hands and I can do a 4-finger grip on a Mini Gripitilian. The Sebenza felt "long" and blade-heavy, I could never manage to open it smoothly and the thumb stud is in the wrong place for me, I have to switch the knife's position everytime to deploy the blade. I tried to like it, carried it in my pocket for a few days but it never grew on me. Much to my disappointment I sent it back for a refund before the 7 days was up.

My journey ends, I think for now....

The knife I have and going to keep in the Benchmade Minigrip, it just fits in my hand perfectly! Not too aggressive-looking like the Striders and Hinderers; does everything I wanted it do to. I'm in no way dissing any of those knife brands I mentioned, I'm just saying no matter how much one read and research, you hand makes the final decision!
 
I'd suggest the Ritter Mini-Grip with some custom Cuscadi scales. The total will still be much less than the Sebenza.
 
Welcome to BF,

You are absolutely correct when you say "your hand makes the final decision". Your wallet also gets a vote too (at least for some LOL). I have one Sebenza and although a great deal of craftmanship went into making it, it is not my favorite knife in my collection. I have a mini-griptilian also and although it costs less than the sebenza, it is also a very good knife. We all have different tastes, I am happy to see you found one you did like. Benchmade makes the Griptilians in different steels like D2,154cm, s30v and CPM-m4. These other variations may be something you could try out in the future.

Unklfranco
 
orixa said:
The Sebenza felt "long" and blade-heavy,
Click to expand...

The small Sebbie disappears in my hand. I like the large, even though 1/4" or so sticks out the bottom of my palm. I suppose that the eternal "search" is a part of the fun. I'm still looking, although the large Sebbie, PM2 and Brad Southard are very high on my "good" list. And I seem to like carbon fiber and plain titanium slabs rather than G10. It's all a game.
Sonnydaze
 
Ha! I was just handling a Sebenza 21 today at a local shop; while it was technically beautiful I knew right away it was not the right knife for me. And yeah, playing with the many, many options, styles, and materials available to us is a big part of the fun. Welcome to the forums!
 
Thankyou all for the warm welcome!

Seeing the Minigrip is going to be a keeper, I looked at custom scales from Wilkins and Cuscadi already. The Wilkins grips are fantastic looking but there are not a lot of choices (to date) and when I asked about buying a set, the shipping policy is a little strange...If I wanted to use Paypal then the shipping has to be by DHL, that's a whopping 60 Euros on top of the price. Otherwise if I wanted to go with regular Germany mail then I can only use bank transfer..that would cost me 30Euros for the bank charge, plus shipping plus the scales....On the otherhand Cuscadi's prices is a bit more attractive, shipping is fixed and I can use Paypal. On top of that appearently I can choose my combination of colours and material? I haven't spoken to them yet but will look into it further after the holidays.

Thanks again for your comments and by the way...what is "VECP"?
 
Welcome to the forum orixa. I'd have to agree with you on this. The Sebenza is a beautifully built knife but not my style and I'd probably never use it either. The Griptilians are great folders too. I've got three Minis but my fave is my mini Ritter. I've got Cuscadi scales on mine and you are correct in that you can select from multiple scale options. I got the Jungle scales with smooth Glow In The Dark spacer on mine. The low rider clip is from STR here on the forums. Here are a few pics.

KnifeCollection-BenchmadeDougRitterMiniGriptilianwCuscadiScalesSpydercoChaparralCF2011-11-0903Web.jpg

KnifeCollection-BenchmadeDougRitterMiniGriptilianwCuscadiScalesSpydercoChaparralCF2011-11-0906Web.jpg

KnifeCollection-BenchmadeDougRitterMiniGriptilianwCuscadiScalesSpydercoChaparralCF2011-11-0901Web.jpg
 
Les George VECP:

photo25fy.jpg


A variation of his Rockeye custom, which has been modified so that it could be produced as a mid-tech design, at a lower price point than the Rockeye.

Also, talk to Keyman. I think he's pimped every Benchmade he has, and you may see something you like from him.
 
The vecp is really nice, the grip it gives you is real nice, it opens smooth as anything.i stole mine for 400 which is right there with a plain large sebenza,i got the smaller clip from les for 13.00 & that knife is worth every bit of 400.00 that i paid....................
 
VECP is WAY larger than the small Sebenza!!! The OP said the small Seb feels to big!
 
I'm a big fan of the Benchmade 707. It's the same size as the Mini Grip but it's slimmer and has coated aluminum handles with G-10 inserts and a blade made from 154CM. Yours is a fine knife, but I never liked the plastic feel of the Mini Grip.
 
Welcome to BF !
Glad you journey has ended with a Minigrip. I don't care for them with their standard scales, and love the Sebenza, but we are all different in what we like.
 
Welcome to the forum and you are 100% correct that the hand makes the final decision. The Sebenza is not for everyone just like the Mini-Grip is not for everyone; it would be a boring world if there was only a single choice for knives.

Congratulations of finding your perfect knife!
 
Let your wisdom be your guide as you have done in this case. No sense in owning something that someone else thinks is awesome if you don't think its awesome especially for that price.
 
orixa, you may be a new member, but you are a wise man. You were open-minded and tried new things, but you ultimately settled on what was right for you and, as others have said, let your hand make the decision, based on your own needs and comfort. If I had more room in my sig line, you would have a quote in there. :D :D :D
 
if you can find one i think the Tim Galyean small junk yard dog would be a good fit for you and can be had for around $350.
 
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