New Sebenza, pathetically dull!

M

MikeyE

Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
16
Hi guys, I just today received my small Sebenza 21 micarta purchased from KnifeArt.com.

This thing is dull! It performs very poorly on paper slice tests and aside from grabbing a hair here and there it will not shave arm hair at all!

Am I expecting too much? Are these good ways to test sharpness? How do you guys do it?

The construction is fantastic but the edge seems pretty awful.

Maybe someone can offer a suggestion for a test I should try and I can compare it to your experiences before I go complaining to the manufacturer.

As long as I've waited to get my hands on one of these I would hate to have to send it back to Chris Reeve now and wait weeks for its return.

I haven't had a knife fetish for very long and I'm not all that knowledgeable but I know my KaBar, Benchmade and Spyderco were way sharper out of the box.

Even simply rubbing my thumb over the edge, it just really doesn't feel very sharp at all and seems to be quite inconsistent. By that I mean a few 'sweet spots' but mostly pretty dull.

Your feedback is appreciated!
 
I think most of us have had a similar experience with the Sebenza out of box sharpness. Don't worry though, after you sharpen it up a bit you will love it!
 
Its dull. There is a simple fix to the problem though rather than sending it back. You sharpen it...
 
Don't know about you but mine was crazy sharp out of the box. One of the sharpest knives I've owned. Just sharpen yours up and everything will be alright.
 
Sounds like it's "almost" sharp. By that I mean the edge may not have that toothy grab. Easily fixed with a Sharpmaker. Just run it down the corners of the white stones about fifty strokes then go maybe a hundred strokes on the flats. 40 degree setting. Should fix it right up. Use really light pressure on the last forty strokes to avoid a wire edge. Then strop the blade on the backboard of a legal pad.

How these things make it past final QC dull is totally beyond understanding. :confused:
 
Mine was Spyderco-ish sharp out of the box. You must have got that very rare CRK-lemon in this respect. My Seb is the only non-Spyderco knife I own that I didn't have to take to my Sharpmaker immediately.
 
All my CRK have came with a great edge. I have gotten other makers that were so dull, I had a hard time cutting butter ! If you find its cuts hair slightly, then its almost there. I would run it on the edges of a sharpmaker on the 40 degree setting ( 20 degrees each side ) about 10 times alternating each side. You should not have to hog wild and go 50-80 strokes. Sometimes if just needs a little coaxing. When I got my strider, it was similar to yours. After 10 strokes on each side on the corners of the "fine" white rods on my sharpmaker, it was scary sharp..........I have a hard time sometimes telling if a knife is sharp or kinda getting dull. I sometimes slice across my thumb nail. If it catches, its sharp, if it slides off its pretty dull. My left arm has a large patch of hair missing, so to me, thats a good way to tell. Slicing paper works too. There are many ways and everyone has their own ways to test for sharpness. Try what I mentioned above, that should get you headed in the right direction.............Congratulations on your Sebenza ! Welcome To The Family !!!
 
Mine was extremely dull also, but after sharpening it' s fine now, not a deal breaker I think.
 
I dont understand the problem SHARPEN it! This has come up time and again even with other companies (a few spyderco's have been known to not come spyderco sharp and people complain about it :grumpy:). We have been spoiled by many knife makers giving us razor sharp edges from the factory. They do not have to its more of a privilege rather then a must by makers. IMO ;)
 
Mine was very sharp out of the box.

If you have difficulty sharpening it at first (a common problem that you shouldn't feel bad about), a spyderco sharpmaker is a necessary investment.

5 minutes with the sharpmaker, and you'll be fine. Congrats!
 
Maybe somebody bought it from KnifeArt, tried to cut a penny in half, and returned it.

Either way, you'd have to sharpen it sooner or later.

Professor.
 
marthinus said:
I dont understand the problem SHARPEN it! This has come up time and again even with other companies (a few spyderco's have been known to not come spyderco sharp and people complain about it :grumpy:). We have been spoiled by many knife makers giving us razor sharp edges from the factory. They do not have to its more of a privilege rather then a must by makers. IMO ;)
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The problem is that thge one I(!) got was so dull that it needed to be reprofiled, which takes a while with S30V..
 
Buffalohump said:
That can be easier said than done with S30V....
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If you cant sharpen your knife, why bother having one. Might as well stick to toss-aways. If you never need to sharpen your knife, then you don't use a knife and don't need one. The way I see it , if you spend the kind of money that seb costs, you should probably know a few things about knives. Sharpening is one of those things. Just a personal opinion of course. But I always get annoyed when people buy stuff out of their league. This includes bikes, cars, cameras etc.

Yeah, it sucks that it came relativly dull, but sharpening S30V isnt that hard. It takes a little time but I bet I could get his knife sharp in 5 mins--it already sounds like it is nearly there anyways.
 
Thalestin said:
If you cant sharpen your knife, why bother having one. Might as well stick to toss-aways. If you never need to sharpen your knife, then you don't use a knife and don't need one. The way I see it , if you spend the kind of money that seb costs, you should probably know a few things about knives. Sharpening is one of those things. Just a personal opinion of course. But I always get annoyed when people buy stuff out of their league. This includes bikes, cars, cameras etc.
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Agreed :thumbup:
 
Thalestin said:
If you cant sharpen your knife, why bother having one. Might as well stick to toss-aways. If you never need to sharpen your knife, then you don't use a knife and don't need one. The way I see it , if you spend the kind of money that seb costs, you should probably know a few things about knives. Sharpening is one of those things. Just a personal opinion of course. But I always get annoyed when people buy stuff out of their league. This includes bikes, cars, cameras etc.
Click to expand...

Oh stop.

How do you expect people to get into the league if they don't occasionally buy stuff that's out of their league?

The OP's point is valid. The knife came dull from the manufacturer. This is not what most consumers expect when spending hundreds of dollars on a knife. Chris Reeves Knives should spend a little bit of time examining their QA processes, if you ask me. I've bought four of their knives but one (a small micarta) came annoyingly dull from the factory. This should not happen, period.
 
Ease up on the guy. A good reason to ship a knife with a really sharp edge is to show the buyer just how sharp it can get. Of cours he has to sharpen it some day. The sooner the better -- it means it's getting used. But he has a right to mention it slipped past that final stropping at the factory. We get enough comments * happy happy joy joy * about how sharp they are.

Bigmark is probably right. Try a quick stropping first, that just might turn it around.
 
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