New Large 21 Real Hard To Open?

Razor

Razor

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I bought a new large CG 21 sebenza 3-4 days ago. The only way I can open it, is open it like a slip joint. I have to use my left hand and pinch the opening stud and pull up. It seems to open smooth after that. It seems the lock bar is pushing real hard against the blade compared to my other large 21 sebenza with a insingo blade. I got the other sebenza about 3 weeks and it was kinda hard to open, but I put some break free on the washers and after that it was smooth as silk to open and close. It did nothing for this one. Any suggestions? I really don't want to take it apart since it is new and it has been along time since I took one apart.
 
I just went through the exact same thing with a new large 21. In my case I had to take it apart.

Turns out there was a ton of dried up grease gumming it up. Guess it sat around for a long time or something. Kind of makes sense if you are buying a ‘new’ discontinued knife - could be a bit old at this point.

Is good now though, although the detent is still pretty strong, but at least useable now. Did take a lot of cycling and a bit of oil to get the detent to loosen up.
 
Out of curiosity, what was the DOB on your knives? That should give you a good idea of how long it "sat around".
 
June 2017 on mine that I just bought new. This was a Basketweave Damascus & Macassar Ebony.

I bought a few others recently and didn't have any problems, and they were all cheaper variants. My assumption is that the more expensive knives probably sit on the shelves longer.

Anyways, mine was so stiff that I literally couldn't open it one handed initially, but after the cleaning and a break in of a few days, it is feeling really good - so there is hope!
 
Razor said:
I bought a new large CG 21 sebenza 3-4 days ago. The only way I can open it, is open it like a slip joint. I have to use my left hand and pinch the opening stud and pull up. It seems to open smooth after that. It seems the lock bar is pushing real hard against the blade compared to my other large 21 sebenza with a insingo blade. I got the other sebenza about 3 weeks and it was kinda hard to open, but I put some break free on the washers and after that it was smooth as silk to open and close. It did nothing for this one. Any suggestions? I really don't want to take it apart since it is new and it has been along time since I took one apart.
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Razor said:
DOB is 11-7-2017. Is Northwest knives a CR dealer?
Click to expand...

I bought a left handed Wilson Combat 21 that sat on the shelf for a couple of years. Had to take it apart, clean and re lube it. What little grease that was there was all gummy and somewhat hard. Sounds like that’s what you need to do.
CRK has a list of distributors on their web page. Northwest may be one of those sleeper distributors.
 
It seems pretty typical for a 21 that the detent can be difficult to overcome when new. Cleaning and lubricating helps and they seem to get easier over time. I purchased a new large CF 21 about 6 months ago and it's definitely easier to open one handed now. Still not as easy as my large Inkosi, though. My take on it is that these knives are built for the long haul, and since the pivot bushing is not adjustable, it's understandable they start out a little stiff.
 
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