ohh... so that's a sebenza.

PocketEdge

PocketEdge

Joined
Dec 23, 2008
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I have been collecting knives for about four years. I have been a traditional slipjoint guy other than the BDS Boyle that my wife purchased for me in 1999. Tuesday is my 40th b-day. For this special milestone I chose a small 21 sebenza with ebony inlay and raindrop damascus blade as my birthday request. I had never seen a CRK in person. Just pics here on BF. I decided on the small because a 3" blade is a lot of blade especially if you are used to traditional slipjoints. I have some nice slipjoints ( I make them as a hobby) that I have purchased as well as made. But I have also really admired SAKs because they are made so well and function so perfectly and made in such a high number. It is mind blowing how Victorinox makes hundreds of thousands of knives that operate so perfectly. try making one sometime!

Anyway, the modern knife has slipped into my mind via the SAK (I know it's a slipjoit..) then Spyderco. I just looked at pictures on the web. lots and lots of pics. I admire a well made knife as well as a well made anything. I knew about CRKs via BF. I remember telling my father a few years ago "yeah, there are some real knife nuts on BF that pay over $500 for a knife! They're nuts!"

(clearing my throat) Well, here I am looking for a special Year 40 birthday gift for myself and I somehow get mixed up and enthralled in reading all about Chris Reeve knives. After a lot of research and reading between the lines, I bought a CRK. It came last week and even though I was able to wait three days to open it, I couldn't wait any longer. Today I opened it....

O.K. Whlie I paid over $500.00 for my very special knife. You can buy one for well less than $400.00. It is a bargain. If you want a quality tool that has been meticulously engineered and made in USA (very important in my mind), then don't hesitate to buy a CRK. I read through history of what our grandfathers paid for quality tools and the Sebenza is well within a weeks pay and reasonably priced.

I plan to use my knife daily. I have absolutely no question in my mind that this knife will have any trouble taking care of any task and enduring much abuse through the years. It is as perfect as a knife can be. There is no need for improvement. I they want to make changes then I would trust them to it. For me, I have found the perfect knife. I'm done. I have found the ultimate knife.

I plan to buy another CRK for work and other misc. knives just for fun.
 
Congrats to you. Love how you went all out with the inlay and damascus for your first Sebenza.
I bet it totally blew you out of the water when you first held it. Hope you get many years of use and enjoyment out of it :)
 
Nice Grant and congrats. I need to see some of your slip joints sometime.
 
Congrats on a fine piece of CRK goodness, I'm thinking about some damascus myself
 
Loved reading that. It makes me miss my Umnumzaan that at the CRK shop getting its treatment, thankfully I have my first large sebenza coming in a few days.

Sounds like you have you're grail knife, and you're right it is an extremely reasonable price for a tool that we use throughout our day.

Enjoy :D
 
Shiny! Thanks for sharing. For work, consider one with Micarta inlays. They have the look and feel of a proper tool. And if you like the 21 blade, just wait until you hold one with a swedge.
 
happy birthday to you sir!! I quite enjoy such a fun story. And I always explain it this way.

First I ask a question. How much is your lap top? or ipod? or cell phone? How long have you had it/when did u buy a new one. More often than not, they will have replaced their Ipod in just a few years or their computer in just a few years. If I buy a knife, like a CRK, that is very expensive but hugely functional and well made, it will last me a long time. I will have it for the rest of my life and will not have to worry about having to replace it due to failure. Many people could get by with using a music player that is not made by Apple, but would they enjoy it as much? Therefore I want the best, and am willing to pay for it to happen. :)


My seb was a graduation present to myself. Woot. Hmmm...wonder what my College grad present will be? Jake Hoback custom? yes please!!!!
 
First, happy birthday to you.

Second, congrats on your first Sebenza and at least a few more to come.

I got my first used Sebenza last July and have been enjoying it a lot. It replaced my EDC, a kit knife that I put together with special exotic wood scales.

What I've learned is that when people complain about the expensiveness of an item, like the Sebenza, they only think on the surface of it. To most people when they buy something that money is gone for good. This is true of cheap/expendable items. But it is not true of well made items like the Sebenza.

I look at it this way. When you purchase a well made item that has held its resale value, you have nothing to worry about. In my case, if I were to sell it today, I would still get most of my money back, and I got to use a great knife for almost a year for FREE, or almost free. This does not even include the proud of ownership; you can't equate money to it. Also, the amount of money I lost is probably less then the price of a cheap knife, and I got to use a great knife everday. I am sure you are at some point feel the frustration when you use a cheap tool and it fails on you. With the Sebenza, you don't have that problem. If there were a problem, the life time warranty will take care of it.

To other people, they think that the $400 you spent on the Sebenza is long gone. This is ony true if you lost it and it is true to all things when you lose them. So, in the end you come out on top. The only issue that I can see is the initial investment, which is hard to come by. I am saving my pennies for my next CRK.

Sorry for the long post.

Area965
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! here is a pic of my new little guy.
2012-04-09_18-51-20_839.jpg
 
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