My opinion on the 21

S

sams

Joined
Apr 21, 2001
Messages
1,446
Good and BAD with this knife. I bought a inlay about a year ago. I love the blade, grip and workmanship. It is a royal PAIN to open and close with one hand. It is as stiff as the day I got it. I use two hands to open 90 % of the time. Closing is easier but I cut my self a few times doing it. I am 67 years old and don't give a darn what people say, I check them out for my self. It hurt spending that much money. My wife cant use it one hand at all. We fish weekly and use a knife allot, so I bought her a Spyderco Salt 1. She loves it. She could care less about the quality difference because the cheaper knife works so much better. It was sharper new and infinitely easier to open & close, making it safer for her.

So I am using this knife trying to destroy it, t& send it back to CRK. I had to shim the gate out back and used the knife for a wedge on the concrete. I placed it under the wood and KICKED it with my foot to plumb it. I pried up with it. I cut rope, wood, and boxes. I use it trimming bushes , tree limbs and digging in the dirt for the plants. Guess what, except for scratches on the blade, this knife is perfect !!! As hard as I try, I can't destroy it.

So I don't think I will be alive long enough to break this knife with hard use. I am going to pass it on to my son and tell him to give the 21 hell. Only time will tell if he will succeed tearing it up for me. It makes me so angry when I fail to do something.
Oh yea, one more thing, it is a great working knife ! It is indestructable so far. I wish I had put it on that you-tube thingy what I put this poor knife through. :D
 
Ebony wood inlay, very nice, didn't even scratch the wood, too tough. the battery is shot in my camera. My young wife has her smart phone at work. :-(
 
Maybe I missed something-If it is hard to open, why not get it corrected by sending it in? If you destroy it they aren't going to replace it. They don't have a do anything to the knife and if it breaks we will replace it type warranty.
 
So you don't like it because it is difficult to open with one hand and the Salt came sharper?? I am glad you appreciate how tough the Sebenza is now but logic tells me selling the knife instead of trying to destroy it would have been a better way to go...
If you mistreat it it won't be a warranty fix it will be a "you broke it you need to pay for the repair' fix.
Enjoy your knife:p
 
I like using the knife. I think hard use should be warrantied . The shop would look at it and tell me if it was abuse or normal hard work. I ran into that with Spyderco. They replaced one free n/c and said too bad on the other. Sorry for the comparison with a competitor but heck both are regarded highly on Bladeforums. I posted one with a VG10 blade half worn away in a few years. The Sebenza has NOT shown any blade issues. (better steel imo)

All joking aside, yes I was trying to be humorous, I love the Sebenza because it is a daily companion that I am USING hard. I appreciate it more since trying to beat it to death. It is the folder that feels like a fixed blade. Great knife ! I don't think there is another as rugged in the price range. A truly lifetime knife, plus generations to pass on. I wish I could open & close it a bit easier, that's all.
 
Most of what you mentioned is hard use or just use. The wedge isn't though, nor is prying-not a knife task-just saying. You still didn't answer -why you didn't send it in so it would open properly(presuming your technique isn't the problem). If you sent it in you would have a one hand opening knife as well as a hard working knife.
 
I know, you are right sending it in.:) But I don't want to. Too stubborn, I will work around the issue, some days I can do it with one hand. Forgive me for saying this, ....... a $425 knife should NOT have to be sent back for adjustment.:cool:
 
sams said:
I know, you are right sending it in.:) But I don't want to. Too stubborn, I will work around the issue, some days I can do it with one hand. Forgive me for saying this, ....... a $425 knife should NOT have to be sent back for adjustment.:cool:
Click to expand...

No one wants to send their knife in with problems, nor do they want your knife to have problems that they have to fix. I personally would choose sending it in and getting a $425 knife that works properly vs not and having a $425 doesn't work properly. I don't feel you are getting anywhere near full value from your knife. It is your knife and you can do as you wish.
 
:D It seems we "older" folks are not understood on this Forum.
We just don't care, sams :) good for you.
 
I believe chris reeve knives are for knife people, people who spend too much time thinking about knives are tolerances and whatever.
It takes some use and practice to figure out chris reeve knives, so I agree that most spyderco work much better for people who just need a knife.
 
sams said:
Good and BAD with this knife. I bought a inlay about a year ago. I love the blade, grip and workmanship. It is a royal PAIN to open and close with one hand. It is as stiff as the day I got it. I use two hands to open 90 % of the time. Closing is easier but I cut my self a few times doing it. I am 67 years old and don't give a darn what people say, I check them out for my self. It hurt spending that much money. My wife cant use it one hand at all. We fish weekly and use a knife allot, so I bought her a Spyderco Salt 1. She loves it. She could care less about the quality difference because the cheaper knife works so much better. It was sharper new and infinitely easier to open & close, making it safer for her.

So I am using this knife trying to destroy it, t& send it back to CRK. I had to shim the gate out back and used the knife for a wedge on the concrete. I placed it under the wood and KICKED it with my foot to plumb it. I pried up with it. I cut rope, wood, and boxes. I use it trimming bushes , tree limbs and digging in the dirt for the plants. Guess what, except for scratches on the blade, this knife is perfect !!! As hard as I try, I can't destroy it.

So I don't think I will be alive long enough to break this knife with hard use. I am going to pass it on to my son and tell him to give the 21 hell. Only time will tell if he will succeed tearing it up for me. It makes me so angry when I fail to do something.
Oh yea, one more thing, it is a great working knife ! It is indestructable so far. I wish I had put it on that you-tube thingy what I put this poor knife through. :D
Click to expand...

Well,yeah its not so easy to open like Spayderco say,but my 21 opens not so stiff and I like it.

And Peter Hartwig right,why not sending it for correction? Pretty easy.
 
I think it will loosen over time. I just don't want the hassle this late in my life. If they made it this way, I guess they think it is right. I don't use it on the boat fishing where a one hand knife is important.
 
You'd probably be better off with the large 21.
While I think 67 is not that old, there is a difference in opening a small and a large Sebenza 21.
Did you try some lube?
 
If you haven't yet broken it down for a clean and lube, that would be a place to start and it is a very easy process. I had presumed you had, but some are reluctant to attempt this at 1st, so I mention it.
 
I did break it down once, 6-7 months ago. I am going to re-lube and try gently rubbing the washers on my black hard arkansas stone. It's like glass smooth, the stone :)
It's a large wood inlay Sebenza, sitting clip in my cargo shorts now. I do like it !


I wanted to add, I passed the the blade across the black stone yesterday a dozen or so times. I flicked my thumb across the edge to check it out and cut it. I was gentle doing it, but it is hard to realize how sharp this steel can get. Amazing, I think it surpasses my thin blade Case pocket knife.
 
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I can't stop freakin' laughing. I like your spirit and grit . I can't get the picture out of my mind . Using it as a wedge against the concrete and kicking it till it was plumb...lmao!!!! This thing doesn't open right , oh yeah!! Take this pal!! I'd love to see some pics when you can . Keep giving it hell .. don't listen to these guys .. I like the way you roll .
 
As someone who just picked up their first CRK a few weeks ago I am encouraged to read that the 21 can take this amount of "work." I doubt I will even come close to using it as you have but I have been carrying my small 21 since I got it.

Have fun with your knife, at least the thing is building character and being used.

All the best,
 
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