- Joined
- Dec 13, 2009
- Messages
- 777
Note: I typed this up earlier, hit post, then it asked me to login (although I was already logged in...) and then it failed. So I have to type everything again. Sigh. So here we go again.
Note^2: It did it a second time, good time this time I copied and pasted. I guess I typed for too long and it wanted me to login again but failed after I hit post thread. Maybe thing is something mod's should look into.
First off, I would like to thank Dan for making this possible. He had a giveaway on this forum and sent me an extra opinel #6 out of his kind heart. Thank you!
I'd like to say this is not a thread comparing the the sebenza and opinel. I read a thread a long time ago concerning all the hype over a sebenza saying that perhaps it is better to own many many opinels than one sebenza. Seeing as they are such cheap knives, you could easily purchase 40+ opinels ($8) for the price of a small sebenza ($330). Both would arguably last you a life time. Change an opinel every 2 years, and granted you start carrying one at the age of 8, it'll last you until you are ~90 years old which is the average life span. The sebenza on the other hand, you just own one forever. You can easily refurbish it at CRK for a minimal amount and it can be like new again at any time. I won't go into the idea of reselling sebenza's (but everyone knows they can be resold for minimal loss). Anyway, I would just like to say "to each his (or her) own." If you want to carry an opinel, do so. Same with the sebenza. I don't care what you have in your pockets and you shouldn't care what I have in mine. I will use a knife how I will and that is that. Now, onto what I have to say.
I have been carrying some form of a sebenza for roughly the last year, as long as I have been into knives. Something about the quality of benchmades, spydercos, just everything else doesn't cut it (note: I'm taking production not custom). Not even the bradley alias 2 (which is a great knife by the way) that is supposedly a near sebenza knife touches it. Both frame locks. Both titanium. Both s30v. The biggest appeal of a sebenza for me is just how much of a tank it feels like in the hand, solid and sturdy, how it is a people friendly knife, and especially how you can and are advised to take it apart to clean. It is also a knife that can be used in hard use situations if needed. Anyway, I've used (all smalls) a unique graphics regular, plain regular, micarta 21, and my current classic mammoth ivory. Onto real talk.
I put aside my nice small mammoth ivory classic in favor of the opinel #6 for the past 2 days. Just to see the difference.
Now, the opinel is an $8 knife. The sebenza is $500+. With that in mind, I do not feel bad tossing around the opinel to use. Not saying I did throw it around and abuse it (which I did not), but at $8 I'm sure few would have qualms losing it, using it, abusing it, etc. A highly replaceable knife at a cheap cost. I like keep in mind the saying "use it like you stole it" or "use it like you found it." That way you are going to use items to their true potential instead of babying them. Say you found a scuffed up but working ipod on the street. You are going to take it, throw it around, and just plain use it. Now if you bought a new one, you would probably buy a case, baby it, and use it gently. The one you found will be used like it's supposed to, a thin mp3 player, not a thick encased babied one. Maybe thats a bad example. But you get the idea. With that said, I think use gives knives character so I don't mind using my knives. After all, I did pay money for a tool, so I intend to use it that way. I feel like with a knife such as the opinel, applying the "use it like you found/stole it" idea is easily applicable. Sure, I use my sebenza, but I still baby it. Carry it in a sheath. think twice before I start chopping things up. At this point in my life, as a college student, I'm not going to be able to afford anything close to the knife I have right now should I lose it, misplace it, or seriously damage it. With the opinel, this isn't an issue. I'm sure there are people out there who have taken their sebenzas to hell and back, but I'm sure there are equally many who love them too much and baby them. But lets look at the facts. It is an expensive knife. At a base price of at least $300 it's not an item one takes to their wallet lightly. I guess the point I am trying to say is that the opinel is a cheap knife that not many people will have a problem using to it's full extent.
Onto impressions of the knife. The fit and finish are excellent, but nothing mind blowing. The blade is fitted tight but not to the extent that that blade is stuck and I cannot open it. The shape/grind is beautiful to me. It has an exceptionally thin edge but a nice sized spine. Nothing too big, but nothing compared to the edge. Most people know how thin opinel edges are and the #6 is no exception. It's really well. Not made for anything but light work, but I don't do anything heavy either. The sebenza is nice because you know you can rely on it if you have to for most situations, but if you are in an environment where you know you won't need something heavy duty, the opinel is perfect. The knife is really light, wood construction, metal for the lock, pivot, and blade. Thats it. Light enough to not notice in the pocket, but the lock is a circular one, so the handle is going to be circular as well, which takes up space in the pocket. Not a huge issue, but one that should be addressed. Not as flat as a sebenza, but thats the lock style. With that said, you can always mod it to add a carving or make it thinner. Whatever you want. Very customizable, which is nice.
The lock is very easy to operate, and it took me less than a day to get used to locking and unlocked it one handed. The blade itself requires 2 hands to open (it is pretty tightly placed) but I believe some people have modded their opinels to have a looser cut out and be opened with one hand. Not a big deal, especially with a knife like the opinel. The tasks you are doing shouldn't really depend on how fast you can open your knife. Your fruit aren't going to run away.
Edit: The knife has pretty decent ergonomics. As the knife is similar in length dimensions as the sebenza, I can easily grip 4 fingers onto the handle just like I can with the sebenza. There are two good things about the circular body. One is that because it is so circular, you can hold it like you would hold a small bar or carrot (lol). It fits in your hand and you don't even notice the thin cutout in the handle to accommodate the blade. Jimping is not really necessary on a knife like this. I have a Benchmade 530 and that is a the thinnest in the Benchmade line up. It hurts to grip really tightly on that knife because the blade cutout is larger and the handles are so thin it just doesn't feel right. Or good. The circular handle also allows you to hold the knife in a pen like position (albeit at the end of the handle on the lock before the blade so not exactly like a pen) to do "precision work" or anything that would require a pen like grip. Of course you could just really use it like a pen and place your fingers in the pencil grip right on the blade before the tip but thats not nearly as safe as holding it up at the lock (granted you have a razor sharp edge).
There are two main qualms I have with the knife. The first of the two, I believe is a production issue with my particular knife, or a fluke so to speak. The tip of the blade, when closed, will rub against the cut out of the wood meant to store the blade into the handle. A little deeper cut out would fix this problem. It is only an issue if you move the blade in the close position you can hear the tip scrape the wood. Not a great sound. Not a great feeling. But a fluke on my particular knife I think. The second problem, is that the blade is carbon. So it will develop a patina or rust sooner or later unless you care for it. I think the idea that that can happen has embedded itself too deep in my brain and I am super worried about it. But I wipe down all my knives after I use them so it shouldn't be an issue anyway. But the fact that it can happen easier than a stainless steel still remains. But, hey, it is an $8 knife so I'm not expecting s30v or anything. On the plus side, some people think the patina will give the knife character, just like use and scratches give other knives character. Heck, there are thread for people to post used and loved sebenza's for all to see. Shouldn't be different for opinel lovers.
Comparing this to my sebenza, I have come across one interesting fact. The blade lengths are near equal. Or at least the cutting surface.
Now this got me thinking. Why do I have a $500+ knife with the same cutting ability as a $8 knife? I mean, in the same light use setting (that I usually use my knives in), both cut equally well. You can sharpen them both to be just as sharp as the other. Sure the opinel might stain easier, but it is also loads cheaper. And easier to replace. I guess this experience has left me with the true feeling that the sebenza is a knife that is a privilege to own and use. It is beautiful, well built, extremely user friendly, and if anything at least a conversation piece. Something I am very grateful to own. That said, both are great knives, and one will buy and use what they find fitting to their lifestyle.
A last and final picture to end my ranting.
Edit: Thanks again Dan! I will probably pass this knife on to a close friend as her first knife. In fact, she was the first person to use the knife to cut anything and she cut a plant on the side of a path to show me that it had a hollow square shaped stem, the sign that is it part of the mint family. Neat!
Note^2: It did it a second time, good time this time I copied and pasted. I guess I typed for too long and it wanted me to login again but failed after I hit post thread. Maybe thing is something mod's should look into.
First off, I would like to thank Dan for making this possible. He had a giveaway on this forum and sent me an extra opinel #6 out of his kind heart. Thank you!
I'd like to say this is not a thread comparing the the sebenza and opinel. I read a thread a long time ago concerning all the hype over a sebenza saying that perhaps it is better to own many many opinels than one sebenza. Seeing as they are such cheap knives, you could easily purchase 40+ opinels ($8) for the price of a small sebenza ($330). Both would arguably last you a life time. Change an opinel every 2 years, and granted you start carrying one at the age of 8, it'll last you until you are ~90 years old which is the average life span. The sebenza on the other hand, you just own one forever. You can easily refurbish it at CRK for a minimal amount and it can be like new again at any time. I won't go into the idea of reselling sebenza's (but everyone knows they can be resold for minimal loss). Anyway, I would just like to say "to each his (or her) own." If you want to carry an opinel, do so. Same with the sebenza. I don't care what you have in your pockets and you shouldn't care what I have in mine. I will use a knife how I will and that is that. Now, onto what I have to say.
I have been carrying some form of a sebenza for roughly the last year, as long as I have been into knives. Something about the quality of benchmades, spydercos, just everything else doesn't cut it (note: I'm taking production not custom). Not even the bradley alias 2 (which is a great knife by the way) that is supposedly a near sebenza knife touches it. Both frame locks. Both titanium. Both s30v. The biggest appeal of a sebenza for me is just how much of a tank it feels like in the hand, solid and sturdy, how it is a people friendly knife, and especially how you can and are advised to take it apart to clean. It is also a knife that can be used in hard use situations if needed. Anyway, I've used (all smalls) a unique graphics regular, plain regular, micarta 21, and my current classic mammoth ivory. Onto real talk.
I put aside my nice small mammoth ivory classic in favor of the opinel #6 for the past 2 days. Just to see the difference.
Now, the opinel is an $8 knife. The sebenza is $500+. With that in mind, I do not feel bad tossing around the opinel to use. Not saying I did throw it around and abuse it (which I did not), but at $8 I'm sure few would have qualms losing it, using it, abusing it, etc. A highly replaceable knife at a cheap cost. I like keep in mind the saying "use it like you stole it" or "use it like you found it." That way you are going to use items to their true potential instead of babying them. Say you found a scuffed up but working ipod on the street. You are going to take it, throw it around, and just plain use it. Now if you bought a new one, you would probably buy a case, baby it, and use it gently. The one you found will be used like it's supposed to, a thin mp3 player, not a thick encased babied one. Maybe thats a bad example. But you get the idea. With that said, I think use gives knives character so I don't mind using my knives. After all, I did pay money for a tool, so I intend to use it that way. I feel like with a knife such as the opinel, applying the "use it like you found/stole it" idea is easily applicable. Sure, I use my sebenza, but I still baby it. Carry it in a sheath. think twice before I start chopping things up. At this point in my life, as a college student, I'm not going to be able to afford anything close to the knife I have right now should I lose it, misplace it, or seriously damage it. With the opinel, this isn't an issue. I'm sure there are people out there who have taken their sebenzas to hell and back, but I'm sure there are equally many who love them too much and baby them. But lets look at the facts. It is an expensive knife. At a base price of at least $300 it's not an item one takes to their wallet lightly. I guess the point I am trying to say is that the opinel is a cheap knife that not many people will have a problem using to it's full extent.
Onto impressions of the knife. The fit and finish are excellent, but nothing mind blowing. The blade is fitted tight but not to the extent that that blade is stuck and I cannot open it. The shape/grind is beautiful to me. It has an exceptionally thin edge but a nice sized spine. Nothing too big, but nothing compared to the edge. Most people know how thin opinel edges are and the #6 is no exception. It's really well. Not made for anything but light work, but I don't do anything heavy either. The sebenza is nice because you know you can rely on it if you have to for most situations, but if you are in an environment where you know you won't need something heavy duty, the opinel is perfect. The knife is really light, wood construction, metal for the lock, pivot, and blade. Thats it. Light enough to not notice in the pocket, but the lock is a circular one, so the handle is going to be circular as well, which takes up space in the pocket. Not a huge issue, but one that should be addressed. Not as flat as a sebenza, but thats the lock style. With that said, you can always mod it to add a carving or make it thinner. Whatever you want. Very customizable, which is nice.
The lock is very easy to operate, and it took me less than a day to get used to locking and unlocked it one handed. The blade itself requires 2 hands to open (it is pretty tightly placed) but I believe some people have modded their opinels to have a looser cut out and be opened with one hand. Not a big deal, especially with a knife like the opinel. The tasks you are doing shouldn't really depend on how fast you can open your knife. Your fruit aren't going to run away.
Edit: The knife has pretty decent ergonomics. As the knife is similar in length dimensions as the sebenza, I can easily grip 4 fingers onto the handle just like I can with the sebenza. There are two good things about the circular body. One is that because it is so circular, you can hold it like you would hold a small bar or carrot (lol). It fits in your hand and you don't even notice the thin cutout in the handle to accommodate the blade. Jimping is not really necessary on a knife like this. I have a Benchmade 530 and that is a the thinnest in the Benchmade line up. It hurts to grip really tightly on that knife because the blade cutout is larger and the handles are so thin it just doesn't feel right. Or good. The circular handle also allows you to hold the knife in a pen like position (albeit at the end of the handle on the lock before the blade so not exactly like a pen) to do "precision work" or anything that would require a pen like grip. Of course you could just really use it like a pen and place your fingers in the pencil grip right on the blade before the tip but thats not nearly as safe as holding it up at the lock (granted you have a razor sharp edge).
There are two main qualms I have with the knife. The first of the two, I believe is a production issue with my particular knife, or a fluke so to speak. The tip of the blade, when closed, will rub against the cut out of the wood meant to store the blade into the handle. A little deeper cut out would fix this problem. It is only an issue if you move the blade in the close position you can hear the tip scrape the wood. Not a great sound. Not a great feeling. But a fluke on my particular knife I think. The second problem, is that the blade is carbon. So it will develop a patina or rust sooner or later unless you care for it. I think the idea that that can happen has embedded itself too deep in my brain and I am super worried about it. But I wipe down all my knives after I use them so it shouldn't be an issue anyway. But the fact that it can happen easier than a stainless steel still remains. But, hey, it is an $8 knife so I'm not expecting s30v or anything. On the plus side, some people think the patina will give the knife character, just like use and scratches give other knives character. Heck, there are thread for people to post used and loved sebenza's for all to see. Shouldn't be different for opinel lovers.
Comparing this to my sebenza, I have come across one interesting fact. The blade lengths are near equal. Or at least the cutting surface.
Now this got me thinking. Why do I have a $500+ knife with the same cutting ability as a $8 knife? I mean, in the same light use setting (that I usually use my knives in), both cut equally well. You can sharpen them both to be just as sharp as the other. Sure the opinel might stain easier, but it is also loads cheaper. And easier to replace. I guess this experience has left me with the true feeling that the sebenza is a knife that is a privilege to own and use. It is beautiful, well built, extremely user friendly, and if anything at least a conversation piece. Something I am very grateful to own. That said, both are great knives, and one will buy and use what they find fitting to their lifestyle.
A last and final picture to end my ranting.
Edit: Thanks again Dan! I will probably pass this knife on to a close friend as her first knife. In fact, she was the first person to use the knife to cut anything and she cut a plant on the side of a path to show me that it had a hollow square shaped stem, the sign that is it part of the mint family. Neat!
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As a college student, all I could afford to carry was an Old Timer or SAK. 'Course I probably spent a few Sebenzas worth on wine, women and song -- and some of my dough might have even been wasted as well! 
