Now I'm part of the family - Just one concern

Moxy

Moxy

Joined
Oct 30, 2011
Messages
1,648
20130109_201818.jpg


Born on 12/12/12... Thats kinda cool, hehe.

Aesthetics 10
Build Quality 10
Material Quality 10
Performance/Design 10
Fit/Finish 10
Ergonomics 10
Ease of use 5


hmm... yeah... thats right... a 5. This thing has a really strong detent and I can't say I'm a fan of the thumb stud. It's a little small but not sharp. It wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't such a pain in the A$$ to get this thing open. For me it's really important that a knife get from my pocket, to open in my hand, easily and quickly. I know the knife is brand new and it just has to be worked in a bit. But it's really uncomfortable to open right now. So much so that I don't really want to carry and use it. Putting just enough pressure on that small thumb stud to get it to push past the detent makes it quickly flick half way open. Then I'll push it the rest of the way. Putting alot of uncomfortable force on the stud makes it flick all the way open (no wrist action needed). I know it's not recommended to "flick" the knife all the way open. Nor do I plan on doing so. What I want is just a smooth glide out. But that strong detent makes that a no go. Hopefully it'll loosen up, assuming I can even force myself to deal with it until then. Any ideas, comments?

Everything else about the knife is flawless. I'm very impressed.
 
This has been covered quite a bit, and is a common "complaint" for new owners. A lot of it boils down to technique. You'll get alot of advice, but just play with it and you'll figure out what works. One thing is to make sure you are not putting pressure on the lockbar, that helps. That being said, sebenzas do have a stronger detent than most production knives, especially the smalls. I count that as a good thing. I don't trust a weak detent. I understand it can be surprising, but don't be too quick to be down on it. You may get used to it and come to appreciate it over time.
 
humblerodent said:
One thing is to make sure you are not putting pressure on the lockbar, that helps.
Click to expand...

This for sure. Some people fight themselves trying to open it before they realize they are putting pressure on the lockbar.

Also, try taking it apart, greasing it up, and putting it back together a few times.

Other than that, just use it, it'll definitely loosen up over time and you'll find it to be incredibly smooth. Play with it a bit.

Welcome to the family:thumbup:
 
I've been collecting for a few years and I didn't have unreasonable expectations when buying this knife. As far as I'm concerned it's an amazing knife even for the price. From a strictly utilitarian perspective it's no better than other higher end knives that cost a 3rd of the price. I am one who can appreciate attention to detail and pride of ownership. But ease of use is also important to me.
 
I had the same problem and even called CK about the issue. Fortunately the action will smooth out over time with use. If you want the rush the process then carefully polish the washers and avoid bending them in the process. The other problem will rest with your technique in opening the Sebenza. You'll have an easer time opening the knife with an exaggerated outward swooping pattern as opposed to pushing the stud parallel to the titanium handles like you would with an Umnumzaan.

After some time, trust that the action will become smooth as water across glass. Hence, do not return or sell the knife for this issue alone because it will work itself out.
 
Moxy said:
. . . But that strong detent makes that a no go. Hopefully it'll loosen up, assuming I can even force myself to deal with it until then. Any ideas, comments?
Click to expand...

For me, all my problems with Sebenza opening went away when I changed the direction in which I was pushing the thumbstud. I had a really tough time pushing perpendicular to the length of the handle. When I tried pushing more towards the pivot (see photo), the Seb opened right up with minimal drama. See if that helps.
Sebenza_opening_vector.jpg
 
I bought my first Small Sebenza last week and had the same exact initial concerns. I disassembled it, cleaned it, removed the lanyard, put in some fresh oil and started to work it in. I discovered initially, that I was inadvertently putting too much pressure on the clip/lock bar due to my grip. I also noticed tha the Lanyard was sometimes getting caught in the tip of the blade and affecting deployment.

Technique and hand position makes a huge difference with the Sebenza. You need to play around with your grip and finger position and hopefully you will be able to find the smooth opening you are looking for. I know I have.

Also, the admonition against "flicking" a CRK is in regard to a wrist flick. A smooth light thumb flick will not hurt the knife at all.
 
I thought the same thing when I first started carrying my small CF Sebenza. Just give it time and it will smooth out with use.
 
Give it a little time and if it doesn't resonate with you, I bet someone would dig that 12/12/12 birthdate.
 
Same problem here, too. I grew my fingernail just a little longer (I keep mine really short), squirted a drop of Nano oil in the pivot (I did not take the knife apart). And just worked the blade open and close over and over, and practiced technique. And it definitely improved over the last month. Now it is perfect. Signed - sorethumbz.
 
As tight as the tolerances are, some come harder to open than others. I think it all depends on the bend in the lockbar, myself. I'm sure I'll get chastised for this, but I got a Sebenza and it was crazy tight so I carefully bent it out a hair. Now it's perfect, IMO.
I took it apart, folded one of those foamy jar opener things on either side of the scale in a vise so as to not scratch it, took note of the position of the lockbar and slowly and carefully pushed it out a few times until I could see that it returned to very slightly less than where it was when I started. Put it back together, and it opens with very little effort at all, and the retention is definitely still there when it's closed.
I am absolutely not recommending that you do this to your first (and brand new) Sebenza!
Did I void the warranty? Probably. Does the knife suit me better now? Definitely. Would I disclaim this if I were to ever sell or trade it? Absolutely.
 
It was a long time ago, but when I got my first Sebenza I was disapointed in the thumbstud. I realized I wasn't using the right angle to deploy, and once I got the hang of it I had no problem. I acually like the smaller stud better than all others once I got the hang of it. It may take you a few weeks.

Most like a heavy detent, and it is more safe, but I like a lighter detent myself. The Sebenza's I've bought in the last couple of years had a stronger detent than the older ones I have. I sold all of the those but one(an Annual), and kept my four older one's(1999, 2000, 2005's) that came with a lighter detent.

If you still don't like the strong detent in a month or so you won't have trouble selling it, and should think about picking up an older one here on the exchange(IMO). Or you could trade it for one, as I'm sure someone would like that 12-12-12 date.
 
My small had a savage detent and the thumb stud destroyed my thumb for the first few weeks. It wears in from hard as **** to open to perfect eventually. Practice helps, and I repeatedly half opened the blade repeatedly to overcome the detent point but not lock the blade. Now its absolute perfection - just takes some time for the parts to wear in and polish themselves to the adjacent surfaces. Stick with it
 
And especially with damascus, as it has texture and is therefore very slightly thicker/rougher. So it has to wear in.

zcd said:
My small had a savage detent and the thumb stud destroyed my thumb for the first few weeks. It wears in from hard as **** to open to perfect eventually. Practice helps, and I repeatedly half opened the blade repeatedly to overcome the detent point but not lock the blade. Now its absolute perfection - just takes some time for the parts to wear in and polish themselves to the adjacent surfaces. Stick with it
Click to expand...
 
Try loosening the pivot screw just ever so slightly. A lot of people will argue that the pivot screw on the sebenza is designed so that you can't over tighten, but from my experience is that you CAN over tighten. See if that helps.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
And especially with damascus, as it has texture and is therefore very slightly thicker/rougher. So it has to wear in.
Click to expand...

My experience was opposite. My new ladder 21 was smoother than plain janes that I have owned. And for whatever reason, a small ebony that I ordered new was the smoothest sebenza I've ever owned, and I've heard others say that about the wood inlaid models as well.
 
100% agreed about the wood inlaid. Granted, I've only had 2 with wood. But they were definitely the 2 smoothest of all.
 
I guess this is proof that each is unique.

humblerodent said:
My experience was opposite. My new ladder 21 was smoother than plain janes that I have owned. And for whatever reason, a small ebony that I ordered new was the smoothest sebenza I've ever owned, and I've heard others say that about the wood inlaid models as well.
Click to expand...
 
Well I'm certainly not going to sell the knife. I love it. And the 12-12-12 date is pretty sweet.

I just never thought I'd have to improve or change my "technique" to open a knife. I've been playing with it some more and it is smoothing out a bit. I don't want to, nor expect the knife to "flick" open. Having a knife with a fast deployment is nice but not necessary. But ease of deployment is essential in my book. When you're sit there playing with the knife over and over, your mind is on the knife and is actively thinking about the knife and its mechanics. But when you actually want to use the knife to open a box or a letter, you're not thinking about the knife. You're thinking about the job at hand. Yeah I can get real good at opening the Sebenza over and over as I'm playing with it. But come the time when I just want the thing out, make the cut, and go away back to my pocket, I don't want to have to fuss over it. I know it'll get there though. It's just not as user friendly to begin with as I had hoped.

Criticizing a knife like this is tricky because the biased part of my brain is telling me the knife is right, and I am wrong, and this IS folding cutlery perfection. To a large degree it really is. But on the other hand, for the price of CR's work I think you should be super critical. You deserve to be for having spent so much. I also play guitar and have some stupidly expensive instruments that don't necessarily sound any better than cheaper models. However, the build quality and attention to detail is unmatched. But if there is a tiny little issue, it's all the more upsetting. When you pay so much for something you expect it to be absolutely perfect. Perfection is impossible. How can the same product please everyone completely? It can't. The this thing comes pretty close.
 
I just received my first Small Seb (a P) and have quickly fallen in love with the knife.
It's detent is quite tight, I may need to grow a little callus on the ball of my right thumb.
But I wouldn't let the difficulty in one handed opening make me decide to sell it.
I'll work it, because I don't want this to become an impediment to my enjoyment of the knife, but I'm not sure I need to open a knife one handed to begin with for most of my use cases.

To the OP, cool birthdate. Enjoy!

J
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top