Off center sebenzas

Is your sebenza off center?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
Status
Not open for further replies.
Bladenoobie1

Bladenoobie1

Joined
Jul 20, 2012
Messages
1,261
Vote yes if a sebenza you've owned has been off center, and vote no is you never had one as such.

To start off, I'm not trying to generate any heat or an argument regarding the f&f and quality of sebenzas. Simply a neutral poll to see how many share the same experience with me.

My starbenza is as bit off center, I've tried disassembling and reassembling several times and I was very careful to keep the orientation of the spacers, washers, and pivot--even tried them flipped to see if it makes a difference. Now the blade doesn't touch the scale, and it isn't off center to the degree to warrant a trip to CRK, but it sure does annoy me. I'll probably keep and use the knife though and by the day I need to send it in to CRK, have them center it.

With this said, I just wanted to run a quick poll to see how many in their experience has owned or is owning an off center sebenza. To repeat again, not trying to argue or start any heat so please don't any comments of such manner.

- Bladenoobie1
 
Have you tried tightening or loosening the pivot? I've had that make a difference before.
 
Yeah, I've been checking over all the parts and tolerances to the best of my ability and I really think the blade is slightly warped. Just barely, I can tell by when I have the blade open, perpendicular to the handle while horizontal. You can notice blade is just barely leaning to the locking side, more so on the tip. It could just be an uneven grind, but by a very negligible amount. Whatever the reason, its off center and I'm unable to fix it.

I just really hate shipping stuff back to the manufacturer for anything...lol The wait just drives me insane and I prefer to just keep the knife. Seeing how this doesn't effect performance, I'll probably hold onto it for awhile.
 
Ahh, I see.

Didn't you mention elsewhere that you were looking at getting another CRK? If you do, that's be a good time to sent this one in. BTW, this does sound like a warranty issue. The other possibility that comes to mind is that someone used the knife to pry with. And it'd annoy me, too.
 
Lone_Wolfe said:
Ahh, I see.

Didn't you mention elsewhere that you were looking at getting another CRK? If you do, that's be a good time to sent this one in. BTW, this does sound like a warranty issue. The other possibility that comes to mind is that someone used the knife to pry with. And it'd annoy me, too.
Click to expand...

That place you were mentioning was my thread deciding whether to buy a crk or not. And this is the CRK I bought lol. The only one I'll have for a long time too. I don't see myself dropping $400+ in the near future. I did buy it 2nd hand, but the owner claimed it as new. He had substantial feedback too, and this particular seb was born in October of 2012.

I can tell when I received it that it still had the factory bevel and there was no such evidence showing the blade was used as prying. The warping or uneven grind whatever it may be, is very very negligible. It is very hard to notice, but I'm positive its there. I'm not necessarily unsatified with this knife--I'm still very blown away by the f&f as my first high end knife, I was just expecting at the price point it would be perfect
 
Ahhh, my faulty memory. I was thinking you got the bug and already want another. :D

No, that doesn't sound like a knife used for prying. I don't think your expectations are unreasonable for the price of these knives. I have the feeling it's going to bug you until you decide to send it in and get it over with. And no one could blame you a bit.
 
Of the more than a dozen that have passed through my possession, I can't remember any being at all off center. You should send it in, they'll take care of you...
 
Just send it back to CR. The whole point of owning a CRK is having the precision engineering and tolerances that CRKs are known for.

The phospher bronze bushings are "fitted" to each knife individually. Thats why CR wont sell you new bushings. You must sent it in.
 
I guess out of the people who voted so far, I'm in the minority. I'll see about it in the future to send the knife to CRK, but right now I much rather carry it and enjoy it. While disassembling it and trying all possible ways to center the blade, I polished the washers with my strops and the result was a buttery smooth action.

What is your typical turnaround time from CRK when sending knives for issues like mine?
 
A few weeks unfortunately.

Be careful polishing those washers. NEVER sand them. That will certainly throw off the centering. There is nothing you can do to fix it yourself. The knife is built to go together in only one way and no adjusting of the pivot screw is ever needed.
 
You may be better off sending it in sooner rather than later.
The danger in waiting is that the more you become attached to it, the more you'll miss it when it's at the factory, the more you'll find yourself lurking the exchange, the better chance you may inexplicably have a few more knives by the time you get it back. That's how come I have a ZT0550 :rolleyes:
 
The tolerances of a sebenza make it near impossible to have an off centered blade. What you are experiencing is most likely a slightly warped blade or an uneven grind. These are hand sharpened blades so there can be variance especially near the tip. An uneven tip can make the blade look off centered.
 
Below is exactly right. The way the knife is built makes it centered virtually by definition. Let''s say 99.9% are centered, as there are always flaws in any system, sharpening variances. So either you are seeing something that is not there, the previous owner did something he should not have, or it is a manufacturing flaw/variance. If you have doubts, send it back. Do not try to fix on your own. That is my advice.

kawr said:
The tolerances of a sebenza make it near impossible to have an off centered blade. What you are experiencing is most likely a slightly warped blade or an uneven grind. These are hand sharpened blades so there can be variance especially near the tip. An uneven tip can make the blade look off centered.
Click to expand...
 
I totally agree, do not try to remedy the situation yourself send it back to the mother ship. I own more than my share of Chris Reeve Knives and they're all perfectly centered.


Locutus D'Borg said:
Below is exactly right. The way the knife is built makes it centered virtually by definition. Let''s say 99.9% are centered, as there are always flaws in any system, sharpening variances. So either you are seeing something that is not there, the previous owner did something he should not have, or it is a manufacturing flaw/variance. If you have doubts, send it back. Do not try to fix on your own. That is my advice.
Click to expand...
 
Lone_Wolfe said:
Ahh, I see.

Didn't you mention elsewhere that you were looking at getting another CRK? If you do, that's be a good time to sent this one in. BTW, this does sound like a warranty issue. The other possibility that comes to mind is that someone used the knife to pry with. And it'd annoy me, too.
Click to expand...

The poll should read: Have you recieved a NEW Sebenza that is off centered. Who knows what the previous owner did to it..
 
Very good point. The other point i would add is that if you expect perfection, you probably should not be buying used knives. Just my opinion. Perfection is hard enough to find in a new knife.

zcd said:
The poll should read: Have you recieved a NEW Sebenza that is off centered. Who knows what the previous owner did to it..
Click to expand...
 
I've had about 12, and have held many of my friends, and looked at many at Blade each year. I've never see a single one with a blade that wasn't centered. Send it in.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top