New Sebenza, pathetically dull!

Im really sorry if I was rude in my first post, I should have been more understanding. Anyway IMO the sharpmaker is not good. My knifes are always seriously sharp ever since the day I bought a guide and rod system. The one I use is made by a company called DMT. The model is called Aligner pro, it has blue, red and green stones. Be patient and very gentle, the rewards are worth it. Its really important to get good with a leather strop. A few gentle strokes done properly on the right type of leather can take the edge from sharp to super sharp in a matter of seconds. If overdone or done incorrectly then you will lose the razor edge... It takes practice and alot of patience. Another tip is to get a jewelers 10x magnifying loop and check the edge over and over as you go through the process. You get to know what super sharp looks like magnified 10 times and you can use it as an extra reference for future sharpening....
 
MikeyE said:
Okay, okay, some of you are right. I may be making too much out of this, of course I can just sharpen it. The point is when buying a knife at this price and with such a godly reputation I expected more. Like I said, everything else is wonderful but what do you ultimately buy a knife for? To cut! So when it can barely cut fresh out of the box I find that pretty poor and disappointing. I also find it unacceptable that knives which cost a fraction of this are far more sharp out of the box.

Some of you are a bit harsh but I see your point. Hope you see mine as well.
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You keep telling us about buying knives that are a fraction of the cost that are sharper...did you strop your knife yet ?

The cheaper knives you speak ofmay have been sharper but will not hold up like a CRK and are NOT of the same quality...i have broken more than a few blades on the cheaper knives.

I will admit that i my self was dissapointed with CRK this past thusrsday.

I like to sharpen my own knives...I sent 2 knives to Chris Reeve and in less than a week Heather called me and said my knives were on there way....i received the knives on thursday as promised...when i opened the box and inspected the knives i was very dissapointed to find that they were both HAIR POPPING SHARP...did NOT even need to strop them...i was soooo looking forward to putting my magic on them.

I'm serious CRK ROCKS !! I have dealt with them many times and they have always kicked ass.

Maybe thats the problem...we are so used to there kick ass product and service that we expect such a high standard of quality and performance from there knives and there staff that we forget that they are a production company producing mass amounts of knives and now and then one may slip through the cracks.

It's OK with me Chris...I understand you are human. :)
 
bigmark408 said:
You keep telling us about buying knives that are a fraction of the cost that are sharper...did you strop your knife yet ?

The cheaper knives you speak ofmay have been sharper but will not hold up like a CRK and are NOT of the same quality...i have broken more than a few blades on the cheaper knives.

I will admit that i my self was dissapointed with CRK this past thusrsday.

I like to sharpen my own knives...I sent 2 knives to Chris Reeve and in less than a week Heather called me and said my knives were on there way....i received the knives on thursday as promised...when i opened the box and inspected the knives i was very dissapointed to find that they were both HAIR POPPING SHARP...did NOT even need to strop them...i was soooo looking forward to putting my magic on them.

I'm serious CRK ROCKS !! I have dealt with them many times and they have always kicked ass.

Maybe thats the problem...we are so used to there kick ass product and service that we expect such a high standard of quality and performance from there knives and there staff that we forget that they are a production company producing mass amounts of knives and now and then one may slip through the cracks.

It's OK with me Chris...I understand you are human. :)
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Good Post :thumbup:
 
bigmark408 said:
You keep telling us about buying knives that are a fraction of the cost that are sharper...did you strop your knife yet ?

The cheaper knives you speak ofmay have been sharper but will not hold up like a CRK and are NOT of the same quality...i have broken more than a few blades on the cheaper knives.

I will admit that i my self was dissapointed with CRK this past thusrsday.

I like to sharpen my own knives...I sent 2 knives to Chris Reeve and in less than a week Heather called me and said my knives were on there way....i received the knives on thursday as promised...when i opened the box and inspected the knives i was very dissapointed to find that they were both HAIR POPPING SHARP...did NOT even need to strop them...i was soooo looking forward to putting my magic on them.

I'm serious CRK ROCKS !! I have dealt with them many times and they have always kicked ass.

Maybe thats the problem...we are so used to there kick ass product and service that we expect such a high standard of quality and performance from there knives and there staff that we forget that they are a production company producing mass amounts of knives and now and then one may slip through the cracks.

It's OK with me Chris...I understand you are human. :)
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Must this turn in to a fight? I'll simplify my point:

Knife. Intended purpose is to cut.

Sebenza. Reputedly, one of the finest knives produced.

My experience: Doesn't cut so good.

Anyway, despite the poor finish it is still a fantastic knife and I am pleased. I still like the Ferrari analogy above however. Would you be satisfied to pick up such a reputedly fantastic machine only to have to immediately start wrenching on it?
 
MikeyE said:
Must this turn in to a fight? I'll simplify my point:

Knife. Intended purpose is to cut.

Sebenza. Reputedly, one of the finest knives produced.

My experience: Doesn't cut so good.

Anyway, despite the poor finish it is still a fantastic knife and I am pleased. I still like the Ferrari analogy above however. Would you be satisfied to pick up such a reputedly fantastic machine only to have to immediately start wrenching on it?
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Absoloutly NO fight intended !! I just think your statements comparing the Reeve to cheaper knives is unfair ...of course these are just my opinions. :)

I really would like to see the pics of blade. ;)

BTW, i have a couple friends that own several Ferrari's and there always worked on. :D
 
Anyway, it's fine. All is well now. Still love the Sebenza. I don't think there's anything to argue about. Should have arrived sharp, didn't. Fixed it.

Still, shouldn't have had to.
 
I have to agree with the previous posts. If you pay $300 or $400 you have a right to expect perfection. But also if it came dull from the factory you should give Chris Reeves a chance to make things right. I've never dealt with their customer service but I imagine they would be happy to help you out.
 
I don't think it's unfair to compare CRK factory sharpness with "cheaper" knives. (Most of the comparisons on this thread have been between CRK and Spyderco so we'll stick with that). Spyderco puts out probably ten times the knives per year than CRK, maybe twenty times as many. Spyderco gets them contract manufactured all over the world. Spyderco is WORLD famous for (among other things) out-of-the-box scary sharpness. This is not comparing apples to oranges. Both companies produce knives. CRK has the luxury of having it all happen in the same building. They could really nail this down.

One would think that a high end manufacturer that produces a very limited number of knives per year would take the time and effort to produce a scary sharp knife, every knife. I've inspected many CRK knives and the smoothness is there. The fit and finish is superb. Why do they constantly drop the ball on sharpness?? It's a knife! Makes no sense, but it is what it is... A Ferrari that needs a tune up the minute you drive it off the lot. :jerkit:
 
Hi Mikey,

While I am one of the all time great fans of CRK, I also feel that an extra effort should be taken to make sure the knives leave the factory sharp and that it's just not fair on the buyer if it isn't. If another step has to be made in production and final QC to check and correct it, if necessary, then that needs to be up and running as soon as possible.

Whether or not the person can sharpen it really isn't the point as you would be assuming that every buyer has a sharpener which is plain wrong and patronising.

On a side note, I do sharpen my knives and my own preferred method is to raise the factory edge grind on my EdgePro before adding a secondary micro bevel with the Sharpmaker. This is a slightly weaker edge but I think that the sacrifice in strength is worth it compared to greater sharpness and cutting ability. Also, I don’t use my Sebenza for heavy work so it is a pleasure to have it like a scalpel at all times.

Mark
 
It seems lately that the Sebbies aren't as sharp new as they used to be. I got my 21 and it was the same as his but also uneven towards the blade tip. I sent it in to get 20 degree inclusive and it they said they would do it. It came back more even but still not sharp. I don't know why this is happening but that's been my experience.
 
If you're going to complain about Sebenzas then by all means go buy another knife and stop complaining. It's been said countless times here on BF (and other forums) that CR will take care of any problems you might have.
 
Nobody is saying that CRK won't take care of any problems. Sheesh. This is why there's a market for the mindless political "debate" shows on cable news networks. People can't seem to FOCUS!....

The man ordered a high-end knife over the internet. It came dull. He posted a thread on a knife related forum in which he expressed his disappointment. Some other folks shared stories of the same thing happening to them and what they did to overcome it. Nowhere did ANYONE say that CRK refused to make things good.

I don't think he's asking too much by suggesting that a four hundred dollar folder should be sharp out of the box. But hey, "by all means" he should go buy another knife and "stop complaining"...

What a pantload.

EDITED TO ADD: I purchased a Swedish Mora at New Graham Pharmacy friday for less than nine dollars. It was shaving sharp. Just thought I'd mention that... :)
 
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I have received a couple of Sebenzas that were not sharp out of 14 that I have owned over the years.

I have also received other production knives that were not sharp. Several custom knives were not very sharp, also. The customs were priced over $400 each.

The bottom line-stuff happens. It is frustrating and aggravating, but it happens.
 
I got a kick out of this thread because it probably took longer to post the thread than it did to strop the knife...Thats all. :D
 
If I spend a ton of cash on a new blade, I expect it to be sharp out of the box. sure I can sharpen it to a razor edge and at some point will have to, but not on the first day. I dont blame this guy one bit.
 
My large sebenza 21 came extremely sharp. And recently I purchased a small sebenza which was mediocre. I feel your pain, I always enjoy a good factory edge its part of Quality control in my opintion.
 
Give the guy a break, some of you are starting to sound like fanboys. It was a reasonable observation by Mike and worthy of comment without being jumped on.

There is no doubt that it should leave the shop sharp. We all know this. Yes, it is something that you can fix yourself but should you need to when you just paid $400?

I have 2 Sebbies and I won't buy any other manufacturers folder again. Period. In my opinion CRK are that good. However, when you pay that much money you have a reasonable expectation that the blade should be sharp when it arrives. If a $9 Mora can do it then so can CRK. No excuses.
 
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Harry Callahan said:
Nobody is saying that CRK won't take care of any problems. Sheesh. This is why there's a market for the mindless political "debate" shows on cable news networks. People can't seem to FOCUS!....

The man ordered a high-end knife over the internet. It came dull. He posted a thread on a knife related forum in which he expressed his disappointment. Some other folks shared stories of the same thing happening to them and what they did to overcome it. Nowhere did ANYONE say that CRK refused to make things good.

I don't think he's asking too much by suggesting that a four hundred dollar folder should be sharp out of the box. But hey, "by all means" he should go buy another knife and "stop complaining"...

What a pantload.

EDITED TO ADD: I purchased a Swedish Mora at New Graham Pharmacy friday for less than nine dollars. It was shaving sharp. Just thought I'd mention that... :)
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:thumbup:

My Small Regular was not sharp at all when I received it (direct from CRK).
It is sharp now, but when I pay $350 for a knife I expect it to arrive sharp.
It is a cutting tool, after all.
 
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