Need help with my Sebenza 21! Driving me insane!

W_cole

W_cole

Joined
Feb 1, 2016
Messages
451
So I picked this Knifeart.com exclusive Sebenza 21 large up used. It has the Carbon fiber scale with a ladder Damascus blade. Since day one it has been driving me nuts. The blade is not centered at all, and not just the tip. The whole blade is off center as you can see in the pictures below.

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Now, I understand that not all Sebenzas have a centered blade. However, in most cases I've seen its just the tip of the blade off center and not the actual body of the blade. As you can see in my knife the whole blade is favoring the CF scale.

Now I've read that pinched washers can cause all sorts of problems. I however am new to CRKs and have no idea what a pinched washer looks like. So I took photos of both sides of my washers to see if anybody here could tell if they were pinched or not.

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Here is a picture of wear marks on the Titanium lock side. To me it looks like the smaller washer is wearing unevenly. Then again I'm not 100% sure.

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Now, on the blade stop sleeve one side has a raised lip while the other side does not. I believe this is only on the Carbon fiber models. Not sure though. My question is does the raised lip go towards the CF side? Or towards the Titanium side?

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The last thing I'm having trouble with is the Pivot/tightness/smoothness. When I tighten the pivot screw down it makes opening the knife almost impossible. So I have to back off the pivot screw ever so slightly to be able to open the knife. I should state that I am NOT wrenching down on the pivot at all. Just enough to feel tension then I stop.

I also should mention that I am using CRK grease. Please help guys it's enough to drive a guy mad. Should I send it in? Would CRK do anything about it? Is there a home remedie I could do? Thanks in advance for the help!
 
I have a Small 21 CF with EXACTLY the same problem as you mentioned. It's my 4th CRK and I'm 100% sure I have not pinched the washers, so I emailed CRK and they are willing to fix it under warranty but I live overseas; paying $50+ return shipping on a $350 knife (on top of the shipping I already paid) in not something I want to do, I'l going to live with it for now.

to answer your question:

The flanged stop sleeve faces the CF side.

And try this: try and nudge the blade to its center position, on mine I can feel a noticeable "step" as the detent ball falls back into the hole on the blade when it's in the "centered" position. To me it seems the detent ball is not aligned properly in the closed position. I wonder if there is a flaw in the batch of lock side for these CF 21s? Mine says B-15.
 
@orixa mine does the same thing. When the knife is closed I push the blade to the "Centered" position and I feel a "Pop" at least I think that's what you're talking about. My handle says A-16. I've owned other Sebenzas and didn't have this problem. I think it's the Carbon fiber scale having a lot to do with it.
 
It appears from the pics that the stop pin flange was facing the Ti side. Noticed the ring around the stop pin hole. If that's the case, have to turned it around to see if that is the culprit ?
On all the CRK's I've taken apart, I always tighten the stop pin screw first. I read it somewhere and it's stuck with me. It may not make a difference, but it makes me feel better.
If the stop pin flange was on the Ti side, that may explain why the wear on the Ti side is like it is. It's like the slab is pinched and causing wear in one place.

Let us know if you've put the stop pin flange on the CF side and did that make a difference.
 
@W_cole....

how's the lockup on yours? Is it noticeably earlier than your other Sebenzas??
 
@Ajack60 I had the stop pin facing the right way. I did move it to the "Wrong" position thinking maybe that would fix it. It didn't, so I put it back the "Right" way and haven't messed with it since. It was always in the back of my mind however that it might play a role in the whole deal. So, I guess I'm saying, yeah. I did try switching back and forth. Didn't help. Made it worse actually.

@orixa yeah my lockup is around 40 to 50 percent I would say. Not as deep as others I have seen. It also suffers from lock stick.
 
@Ajack60 actually, by putting the stop pin in the Wrong position it made it a lot easier to open the knife. But, made the centering of the blade worse.
 
The only other thing I can think of that would cause the whole blade to be off center is if the small washer is thicker than the other.
 
The more I think about it, the more I think I'll have to just send it in to CRK. Hopefully they will fix it. Never dealt with them personally.
 
W_cole said:
The more I think about it, the more I think I'll have to just send it in to CRK. Hopefully they will fix it. Never dealt with them personally.
Click to expand...

They'll take care of it for sure. It's unfortunate that you're overseas and the shipping will be pricey, but it'll be worth it. This would drive me crazy, too.
 
If you send it in they definitely will take care of centering the blade. I think this problem is more common with the CF scale crks, for whatever reason. I've had a few and several of them had the same problem.
 
I just purchased a small 21 insingo CF with the same problem. Blade is not centered and when the pivot is tightened I can barely open the blade. I just loosened the pivot slightly and am living with the off center blade for now. I don't want to send back to CRK and part with it for a couple months.

Let us know if you get your problem resolved.
 
a slightly off centered blade is very common with the cf scale Sebenza, due to the material mix of ti and cf. It isn't a "must", but there is a high chance that this happens. Although cf is quite a tough material, it is not metal and there is no supporting liner below the cf scale. Tip of the blade will most likely move a bit towards the cf scale, "pushed" by the ti side of the knife. I have a large KnifeArt exclusive 21 w. damascus blade and it shows the same phenomenon. Having said this, it does just explain the off centered blade and not the other problems you've been facing with your knife. I would also recommend to send it in to CRK. They will be able to fix the issues and they will center the blade. Most likely they will confirm to you that the blade will sooner or later start "moving" again, due to the above explained szenario.

Stefan
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys! I've owned a Large CF sebenza 21 in the past, but with the stonewashed S35vn blade. That knife from day one was centered and one of the smoothest CRKs I've owned. Tell I sold it.

I guess it's just hit and miss with these CF scales. I honestly am so over having it that I'm thinking about trying to trade it.
 
I had this issue with my large plain 21 insingo. I sent it in to have them center it, it came back centered, then over time went off center a little bit again. I got fed up and sent it in and had a new clip point blade installed and it came back absolutely 100% centered where it's remained for months now. Unfortunately after the blade swap it has a bit of lock rock so I'll have to send it back again. Mine's never been absolutely perfect from day 1....if they fix the lock rock it will be 100% perfect.

I'd send it in!
 
*Disclaimer!
I am not a 21 expert and I am making no suggestions on what you should do to fix this "issue"

OK.

I will try to keep this short:

I really think the pivot system on the 21's is the best thing in the world and I have played around with them a lot.

What is ideal is the following:

The pivot bushing thickness + both washer thicknesses should add up to the blade thickness.

Anything thicker = more difficulty opening a 21.

If one side is thicker (usually because of a washer) the blade will not be dead center.

There are easy ways to fix this....
 
Was there not a recent thread about CF Sebbys and centering, I believe CRK said it is an unavoidable possibility with the CF knives and may not actually be a warranty matter. I think this was only in the last couple of months here.
 
From the other thread I was thinking of...

This is directly from CRK:

The relevance is a carbon fiber sebenza; which NIB has an off center blade.

"the issue is not with a particular blade - it is caused by a couple of factors.
The first being that the Titanium handle is stronger than the Carbon Fiber handle and this means the titanium "pushes" towards the Carbon Fiber and the Carbon Fiber "pushes" back against the titanium but because the titanium is "stronger" the Carbon Fiber doesn't push as hard and the blade slowly shifts towards the Carbon Fiber side.
This is most evident with the lock arm which has "tension" set on the arm and it is continually pushing the handle and blade towards the Carbon Fiber scale.
Another factor is use - as you use the knife the pivot loosens over time and allows more "push" towards the Carbon Fiber scale."

Therefore the CF Sebenzas MAY have a centered blade, but there is no guarantee of one, and if it is off center, there is not much you can do about it.
 
Same issue with my Small CF Insingo.
Got frustrated, ordered a plain Titanium scale and issue solved.
The carbon fiber is a bust for me, a beautiful bust:).
 
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