New Sebenza 21 -- very difficult to open

krazichinaman said:
Sorry but you are wrong again. This is taken directly from CRK site:

"Put oil on the areas where the washers go, and inside the pivot area. Also put some oil on the tang where the lock bar normally engages."

You can find that information here:
CRK site
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I'm not wrong about sh|t but there's obviously a "difference of opinion"!

Adding "lube" to ANY area other than the the pivot bushing/washers only attracts dirt and grit. Why on earth would you want that in such a critical location??? During break-in, YES, but not after that! Maybe this is a moot point for all of the mall ninjas/keyboard warriors/collectors? Yes, surely that must be it. I can understand this excessive lubrication if your knife never gets dirty. LOL As my username suggests, I GET DIRTY (and everything on my person). :D


..and that link is a perfect example on how to EXCESSIVELY GOOP UP your Sebenza/CRK. Nearly all of the extra lube will simply squish out and attract dirt/grit. I'm frankly shocked to see such a poor example on Chris' site! I've never seen that before but thanks for posting it.



Since I'm thinking about this and taking the time to share a bit of my lifetime with sharp pointy things with my fellow enthusiasts...

If you haven't figured out that "excess" lube does nothing but attract things you don't want on your knife, try this experiment. Take you favorite slippie or any other older knife you have had time to carry/break-in and blast that sucker with brake/carburetor cleaner or some other aerosol de-greaser. Then air-blow it clean/dry. Do nothing but put it in your pocket and carry it for a month. Notice how clean it stays? Sure, it will still get some lint on it, but a quick blow from your breath is all it takes to knock off the fuzzies! A well made, precision joint, combined with a properly hardened wear surface needs very little lubrication, that's why the surfaces are "hardened". They will polish themselves and only get better with age. Adding dirt/grit attracted by oil literally "gums up the works". I know that sounds crazy if you haven't thought about it or had the benefit of years of carry.




*important caveat* THIS ONLY APPLIES to modern knives made w/ Stainless Steel blades and other parts that aren't prone to corrosion such as Titanium. Carbon steel will rust in a hurry without oil and this is where many people start their knife collection and form the habit of keeping everything drenched in oil.
 
alpine0000 said:
Well, I just wanted to report back to you guys after my long weekend with the knife:

First off, Larry from knifeart.com called me and told me that he would give me a FULL refund for the knife if I wanted to send it back to him. No questions asked. I refused. Not because I felt bad, but because I do love this knife, and wanted to give it a fair chance.

Last week I took the knife apart and cleaned it out, oiled it up, and put it back together. Mainly, I did this to remove the lanyard and lanyard pin, but it was a good chance to make sure that everything looked good inside the knife as well.

Then, I spent the entire weekend in NY visiting the girlfriends parents. I pretty much played with the knife all weekend -- opening and closing it.

I got home last night, took the knife apart again to clean it out and lube it up (yes, again).

While it was apart, I bent the lock bar backwards about a half-inch past the handle in the opposite direction (sorry chris!), but I did this VERY CAREFULLY, hoping to ease 'some' of the pressure it was putting on the detent when the blade was closed. Again, I barely used any force. Even just a tad bit would be an improvement.

Next, I made sure to put a small drop of oil in the hole in the blade where the detent sits. This may help the ball detent roll out of the hole a bit easier.

Lastly, when putting it back together, I didnt tighten the screws down as tight as time. Last time, I didnt do it tight at all. Just finger tight. This time, maybe a quarter turn less, esp on the pivot.

For the first time, something seemed to actually help!! :D

Then, I played with it a lot today at work.

Tonight, I got home, and MY BLADE SWINGS FREELY DOWNWARDS NOW when I do the test where I hold the lockbar open with the blade faceing the ground!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Also, I can open it with one hand now fairly easily (not too easy yet, but HUGE improvement)!

It still isnt PERFECT yet, but this is such a big improvement since I got the knife 5 days ago. I have faith that within a month, this thing will be like butter!

Thanks for all of your ideas and conversation the last few days.
..<snip>
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Awesome news, I'm so glad things have finally gotten better!! :thumbup:


So glad to have been of "some" assistance too. :D


Cheers.
 
I know I'm late to the party but I just got a large Classic Sebenza that was also very hard to open and close. I tried quite a few different lubricants with no luck. Then I remembered that I had a "Gun Butter" Penoiler so I tried it. Well, it turned out to be the perfect solution. I can literally flick it all the way open to a solid lock up with my thumb. No follow thru, just flicking. This stuff works great. Just thought this info might help someone in the future.
 
kreole said:
Right on--they aren't as easy to flick open with certain lubes, but they can be made easy with others. My small Insigno is super easy to flick with Hoppe's #9 but wasn't very easy with the first two lubes I tried (3-in-1 and Boeshield T9, though both of those give good results with other knives).

Someone told me in another thread CRK grease is similar in terms of slickness to Hoppe's, so freq18hz you may want to try putting less on, as what you describe sounds like what mine felt like when I put too much Hoppe's on. I ended up using a toothpick and "painting" each side of the washer with a very thin coat.
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Not too sure I'd use that........Hoppe's #9 is a bore solvent, not lubricant.
 
haha

3 pages of thread for 5 days. you sound OCD like me! :D i just ordered my 1st CRK (large sebenza 21) this morning and i cant wait to get it next week and see what all this sebenza talk is all about.
 
Adamar said:
You should have gotten an Umnumzaan. Smooth as silk from day one.
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No I shouldn't have. I wanted a 3" blade, a plain handle (cant stand the machined cross-hatches in the Umnumzaan), plus I dont like the spine shape of the Umnumzaan blade. The swedge / humps on the back of the blade just don't do it for me.

But, if those 3 things were addressed, then I'd def consider buying one! :D I'm sure it's a very good knife, though. I just prefer the small sebenza 21.
 
Glad you saw some relief with the knife. They are made to very tight tolerances, and do have a break in period.

I prefer them being a little tight out of the box, knowing that as I use them they will break in and loosen up. Too loose and sloppy out of the box has me worried - it will only get worse.

Don't hesitate to send your knife back for servicing - I have and CRK is great at fixing the problem timely.

BTW - I really do like the CRK grease above all other lubes I have used / tried over the years.
 
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