Omg!

[pkdmslf]

Well, I took out one of my Unique Graphic Sebs today along with my Alias II to do some touch up on the Sharpmaker. The Seb was brand new when I bought it and I tried to shave the hair off my arm to check the sharpness. It didn't shave too well. I actually carried it for the first time about a week or two ago and used it at the Outback Steakhouse and got a good ooohhhh, aaahhh from the waiter. Anyways I took it out this morning to touch it up and I noticed a......OMG! A very small mark on the handle, hardly noticeable but I noticed it. I was hoping it was a small piece of lint or something that would wipe off. It didn't! I took into another room with better light to better inspect it and yep, sure enough there is a small ding in the handle. You can only see it at a certain angle but "I" know it's there now. OMG! What happened? I don't remember "mis-handling" it in any way. So, I thought, well I guess I could send it back to CRK and have them polish it out. But then I sat back and thought about it for a little bit and came to the conclusion that this one of three Sebs that I have, up until a week or two ago I hadn't carried any of them. I spent a lot of $ for them and they are sitting in a drawer and only come out for a wipedown once in awhile or I'll show them to family and friends who know that I am a small time collector. I compare it to getting a brand new car or truck. You take excellent care of them and try to be extra careful with them to not get them scratched or dented. But eventually it is going to happen, you get that first scratch or ding and it practically breaks your heart. But you finally realize that it is totally unrealistic to think that it is going to remain pristine throughout the time that you own it and drive it. Well, I've come to the same conclusion with "this" Seb. Like a new car or truck, you lay out some good change to get what you want but you're not going to garage it and just look at it, you're going to use it on a daily basis. Well, the same for the Seb, I spent some hard earned buckwheats for a knife that I really wanted and it just sat in the drawer. I finally got that first ding on it and it was devastating, but now that it has it's first "scar", I've decided I might as well carry it everyday now. So I carried it all day today and you know what? It felt really good. So I now have new EDC. Am I weird about this or what? Now that's not all. A new Bass Pro Shops opened here this past week and I decided to go down and get some new casual shorts. I'm one to wait until my clothes are falling apart before I go out and buy new ones, (but I have some cool toys though). I bought 5 new pair of shorts...but they each had to have a separate "knife" pocket, i.e., watch pocket that I could put my Seb in without having to worry about my keys and change scratching up the Seb. Now, I ask again, am I being weird about this or what?

 

[Capt. Carl]

Well...look at how much you typed. Then ask yourself that question again.

 

[djolney]

Congratulations on deciding to carry your Sebenza, and on realizing that it’s much more fun having it with you every day than just handling it every now and then.

My Mnandis always go in the change/watch pocket of my jeans on their own, and my Sebbies go in the front right pocket without anything else hard or abrasive. I love to carry them, but I don’t want them bouncing around with keys or change.

 

[Irezumi]

I totally understand. It is hard to use an expensive knife when you know that the cheaper ones will do a good enough job, especially if you can sharpen them. I had the same issues with my Busse LE FBM...now that I went all out and reprofiled the entire 10 inch blade not only do I like it more, but I will use it. And when it is in bad nick, I will beadblast it! I often keep knives mint so I can resell them if necessary, and on occassion I regret selling something down the track. If you use it, and personalize it, not only do you get to know the knife better but you will probably (well in my case) hold onto it for a long time.

 

[mauiblue]

Carry that fricking knife and don't worry about any dings or scratches when you use it! Have fun with it and JUST DON'T LOSE IT. Now that would be heartbreak...

 

[flipe8]

I can understand not abusing them, but you gotta use them as far as I'm concerned. I'd be inclined to get a regular for using if it's too stressful carrying the fancier ones.

 

[Nukemkb]

I carry mine and I weep over every new dent and scratch. I rotate mine thru a purely random 'what do I feel like carrying today'. This includes damascus...But to date, I still refuse to use the damascus harshly.

 

[Don M]

My small regular is the most expensive kinfe I have by a fair margin. But it is the one I carry the most. I'm still not happy about the marks my keys leave on the handle, but that does not make me want to leave it at home where it doesn't do me any good.

 

[DucS2R]

I carry my small classic all the time and it is scratched and marred all over, but it fits with the stonewashed finish and it has become my daily carry knife. It looks different from yours because I have carried it myself and sharpened it repeatedly. I like it better now than the day I bought it (and believe me, I liked it the day I bought it!).

Now I do have a mammoth bark ivory large classic and a mammoth ivory Minaldi. Don't carry them except with 'dress' clothes when I wear my gold watch. Would not do anything to scratch them any more than I would abuse the gold watch and keep them all in the safe when not in use.

Guess it is all relative.

I must admit I enjoy the knives I use more than my safe queens. My kids love my safe queens because they plan to inherit them someday so they can abuse them. And believe me, they will, because they will not appreciate them the way we do. So I guess the moral of this story is to use all of them now--life is short!

Tim

 

[Slatts]

I beat the livin' crap out of my small seb. I throw it in my pocket with coins, car keys, phone, etc... and don't worry about it. I even had it in a pouch with some framing nails once. The character marks make it mine.

 

[Daniel]

Beat the crap out of it! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

You can always send her back in to be refinished if you are tired of the "character" marks.

 

[KeithAM]

You can't fully appreciate a Sebenza by only looking at it.

Carry it every day. Let it get lots of scratches. After a while, the signs of use won't matter to you.

 

[RNST]

Its too nice never to see the light of day. I carry and use it every day; life is too short to have nice things locked away in a safe. Use it and don't worry about the dings you will get on it. Granted, if I have some major cutting to do, I get out a Strider SMF LOL.

 

[bulgron]

Now, I ask again, am I being weird about this or what?

You are now a true Sebenza owner. Welcome.

Up until now, you've been merely a Sebenza collector. We like collectors, but to be a fully qualified CR fanatic you must have a CR knife that you happily carry, dings and all. You must have felt the grief over that first little mark, and then pushed through the grief to the joys of CR EDC.

I'd send you a "First Class CR Knife Owner" badge, but there isn't one. Or, rather, it already exists in the form of that wonderful tool riding in your pocket.

Welcome to the fold, sir!

 

[Iron City]

Per Anne Reeve as mentioned in the FAQ above.

What's the best way of touching up the titanium handles to conceal or polish out little scratches and dings?

There is not really a whole lot that can be done to remove the marks. The bead blasting creates a whole lot of miniature peaks and valleys - when you scratch the surface, you are removing the peaks. However, general usage will give the handle a more used and comfortable look - but I know, those first few scratches are killer!
When you are ready, send it back and we'll put it back to 100% for you!


Use it and enjoy it.

 

[proguide]

If i had a camera handy, I'd show you dings and scratches that would make you cringe. Ti marks up easy. Use the knife, thats why we buy such high quality.

 

[mchenrytl]

If i had a camera handy, I'd show you dings and scratches that would make you cringe. Ti marks up easy. Use the knife, thats why we buy such high quality.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I have a plain large Sebenza and a small decorated one and I use both pretty hard. I used to windex the small one to keep it clean but not any more. After enough sweat, the polished side takes on a nice patina.

-Troy

 

[JDBraddy]

Not long ago, I lost my long beloved favorite custom EDC. At first I resolved not to carry any more expensive knives, for fear of loss or damage. I set a $120 limit, I surfed the net, and went store to store trying to get a feel for various Spyderco's, Benchmade's, Kershaw's, etc... I could narrow it down to a few that came close, but just couldn't decide on "THE ONE!" Of course, anything I liked, cost a little more, and the prices for ti-framelocks like the Kershaw Ti-ZDP etc.... quickly began to approach the price range of a used Sebenza. So, I thought what if I just carry my large Sebenza? It's been a drawer queen since I bought it in 2001.

I've been carrying it to work with me for two weeks now. It's a much larger knife than I'm used to carrying EDC, and it attracts attention when I pull it out in a hospital or nursing home, and I clearly need a smaller knife to use in public. What I kept looking for was something like a smaller version of my Sebenza, at l/3 the price. So I decided instead of trying two or three cheaper production knives that I wish where like my Sebenza, to say the hell with the self imposed price limit, I just agreed to buy a used small regular for $260.

 

[DaveH]

pkdmslf, I thought I'd include a pic of one of mine, just to give you a heart attack: :thumbup:

BTW, It's all better now.

 

[pkdmslf]

Damn, and I'm worried about a small "blemish" that you can hardly see unless the light is shing right on it. I'm such a Wus. Thanks.