New Sebenza 21 -- very difficult to open

At first, my Sebenzas seemed a bit tight on the opening. But that was only compared to my Benchmade Osborne Axis-lock models that I had been carrying for years before I discovered CRK. Now the BM's seem a bit too loose on the opening! My daily small Seb 21 has loosened up a bit over the past few years, but it's still "tight" by comparison to my BM's.

At any rate, on my Seb's, I get my thumb tip under the thumb stud to just get the blade started, then I use more of the side of my thumb to complete the opening. I have got it down to the point where it looks like one fluid motion, even though I really use two motions.
 
If it is abnormally hard to open due to the detent you may want to send it to Reeve to take a look.
 
bunghole said:
I wonder if you took a very small needle file or even a pointed dremel bit and created a bit of a "ramp" on the blade near the detent hole if that would help. Kinda risky to my mind, but might do the trick.
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i was thinking this EXACT thing last night. im sure it would do the trick if done cautiously, slowly, and correctly, but at the same time im a bit nervous to try it.
 
Also, since the pocket clip presses directly on the lock bar, an excessive amount of spring tension on the pocket clip can make it dificult to open a Sebenza. Try removing the pocket clip and checking if there is any difference in how easily the knife opens.
 
I think the new Sebenza lockbars are preset to go too far, meaning they are putting excessive pressure on the blade and makes it harder to open.
 
Socom Elite said:
I think the new Sebenza lockbars are preset to go too far, meaning they are putting excessive pressure on the blade and makes it harder to open.
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:thumbup: +1000

im all about good lockbars, but when it makes the knife difficult to open, thats a little bit more tension than i prefer :p

ive been opening and closing it a lot the last 24 hours trying to break it in. gonna continue through the weekend and see if it helps any.
 
It's the inherent design of the knife. The pocket clip pushes against the lock bar which decreases the chance of overtravel (when closing the blade), but it puts more tension on the detent ball when it is in the tang of the blade.

Also, the detent ball seats rather deeply in the blade tang hole when closed, so the initial force to break it open is noticeable.

Chris probably did this to avoid accidental opening of the knife as it is set up for tip up carry. I guess better safe than sorry, a good knife nevertheless. :thumbup:
 
I had the same problem , mine was brand new and i couldnt even open it without scaring my thumb for life , the detent is f--- up , they open easy and smooth.






For Sale Umfaan
 
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Hey alpine0000, here's one that'll confirm if it's too stiff or not. With the knife opened/locked and held horizontally, with the blade edge facing the ground, push the lockbar 'open' to release the blade, ensuring you're holding the lockbar open enough so that the ceramic ball on it is clear of the blade tang. With gravity alone, the blade ought to drop down to the vertical position, or so that it's open/closed about 90deg to the handle.

If it won't drop at all, and stays 'open', then disassemble, clean it, lube it with whatever you've got (even vegetable oil will do, and is preferred if you'll be cutting much food with it), and then carefully reassemble, using the directions here if you're not sure how --> http://www.chrisreeve.com/sebenzaclean.htm


That ought work, and if it's still crazy difficult to open after a couple hundred cycles (watch the game or something while playing with it), then I'd call CRK for further advice and possibly to send it in for a fix. Their customer service is AAA, so no worries. There's a (f*cking) slim chance you got one that's not quiiiiite tuned properly from the factory but it's really unlikely to be the case. My bet is it's got some schmutz in the pivot/washer area and a cleaning will sort it out. That, plus an hour or two of playing open/closed/don't-cut-yourself will help the ceramic ball wear or smooth the edge of the detent hole a bit and you'll have a whole new experience, and a thumb that's on the way to being a bit more calloused.

Enjoy your Sebenza... it'll get easier to open as your thumb/angle adjusts to the new stud as well, I promise. :D

Lastly, I would not put a dremel or anything like it near your knife, as someone else suggested. Go a c-hair too far doing that and you'll need the blade replaced to fix what would be a way-too-loose closure. :(
 
Yea, if I held the lockbar open on mine the blade would swing freely, so I know it's not the washers. The tension is from the lock.

My older Lg Regular opens super easy and smooth. Almost as smooth as my mini grip and that is saying a lot.

alpine0000 let us know if your blade swings freely or not.
 
Wow. Yea, my blade is not even close to swinging freely. And I actually already took it apart yesterday to make sure it was clean and added a few drops of RemOil. That didn't improve anything at all.

However, while that may be an issue, it's not THE issue here, as already discussed earlier in the thread. This issue is the retention ball/hole; and not so much the pivot washers.

There is just nothing smooth and buttery about opening this knife at all. I'm wondering if I should have CRK take a look at it.
 
bunghole said:
I wonder if you took a very small needle file or even a pointed dremel bit and created a bit of a "ramp" on the blade near the detent hole if that would help. Kinda risky to my mind, but might do the trick.
Click to expand...

No no no no no no no no no no no!!!!!!!!!
 
alpine0000 said:
i was thinking this EXACT thing last night. im sure it would do the trick if done cautiously, slowly, and correctly, but at the same time im a bit nervous to try it.
Click to expand...

You should not have to do this to a CRK at all. We pay a premium price for these knives and they should be as close to perfect coming out of the box. In general, CRKs are very tight when they are new. I've had 3 all of which needed to "break in." I've noticed that when coming from other folders to CRK, you must push out in an ark compared to straight up with many other folders.
 
alpine0000, I think that you just need to get used to it, and give it some time to break in. It's just the way sebenza's work. They aren't supposed to just swing open like an axis lock or something.
 
Socom Elite said:
Yea, if I held the lockbar open on mine the blade would swing freely, so I know it's not the washers. The tension is from the lock.

My older Lg Regular opens super easy and smooth. Almost as smooth as my mini grip and that is saying a lot.

alpine0000 let us know if your blade swings freely or not.
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My 21 Large Micarta's blade does not swing freely if I do this. It still opens easily and smoothly. My normal large 21 does swing freely though. I don't think this is an indication of anything wrong. Chris Reeve looked at my Micarta model himself and he said everything is in spec and in working order.
 
mongomondo said:
My 21 Large Micarta's blade does not swing freely if I do this. It still opens easily and smoothly. My normal large 21 does swing freely though. I don't think this is an indication of anything wrong. Chris Reeve looked at my Micarta model himself and he said everything is in spec and in working order.
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Correct, it not swinging freely I don't believe to be an indication of something wrong. But If it did swing freely when no tension from the lockbar is applied and then stiff as hell to open when tension from the lockbar is there then I would say there is too much tension
 
i still love this knife, and dont want to send it in. i am going to give it another week or two and see how it breaks in. i have been opening/closing it a lot trying to get it smooth.

its not quite there yet. so yea, that test earlier about holding it with the blade facing down, and holding the lockbar all the way open so its totally out of the way, and seeing if the blade drops... my blade stays put, even when i shake the knife, it doesnt fall down.

i also did another little test: i opened the blade at a 90 degree angle to the handle (halfway opened, basically), and held the handle pinched between my fingers with NO finger on the lockbar to make sure there is no additional pressure on the blade from my grip, and if i shake the knife vigorously up and down, the blade doesnt budge a bit. hahaha. I have never seen that in a knife before. it is SO tight :eek:

I still dont want to "modify" it in any way yet, so Im not going to grind down the thumbstud or modify the hole in the blade. I want to leave this thing bone-stock for the time being and see how it breaks in.

Has anybody here used a polish and polished their blade on their own? If so, how did it turn out, and did it help the smoothness of opening/closing? i was thinking if i took it apart and polished the entire blade, that it could make a noticeable difference. or maybe just polishing the part inside the handle and leaving the rest stonewashed, since this is a user-knife and the stonewash helps hide scratches. Also, maybe trying to polish the ball detent on the lockbar a little bit.

I noticed that the ball detent is starting to put its own little ramp on the edge of the hole in the blade. its only SO SLIGHT right now, but i can tell that the hole isnt perfectly round with crisp, sharp edges anymore. The edge is rounding off a bit on the side where the ball goes in and out. This is exactly what I was hoping would happen :)
 
Try taking the knife apart cleaning it , and use a thinner lube when you reassemble . When I got my small
Classic there was too much o the fluorinated grease in the pivot causing it to be tough to open! After the cleaning it was perfect !
 
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