Please explain appeal of Sebenza to me

[CSG]

...The sebenza is a well made, well planned knife that does exactly what it was designed for.

Which is what, exactly? Opening packages, cutting string, eating your lunch? Or is it designed to be a rugged outdoors knife that will do bushcraft and camp chores? What is the intended design of the Sebenza?

Here is my take on this.

...As with most things that are considered expensive by people who can't afford them there will be haters, and yes that is were the hate comes from if those people want to admit it or not... And they never will by the way.....

Comparing expensive items to cheap ones is nothing more than another way to hate because they can't afford the expensive item....

Sayings like just as good as are red flags and one really needs to completely ignore those posts because for the most part they are worthless...

What a load of horseshit.

 

[skav]

it's like any luxury item, the price is not for anything inherently better, it's for the "gotta have it" factor. you can find any variety of simple work horse designs with equal or BETTER materials for less than half the cost of a Sebenza. all of which have great fit and finish. the "tolerances" everyone talks about are invisible to the naked eye, you will literally never be able to tell without micrometers and a microscope. the only reason people talk about the tolerances is because everyone else talks about the tolerances.

the one single thing that a Sebenza does that great production folders half the price generally don't offer is its design which is very simple to tear down and put back together.

other than that it's all subjective taste. if it does something for you, you can't go wrong buying it. but if I want a knife with a straight, rectangular handle, and a drop point design, I'll look at any of the other thousands of knives that have that same design for a fraction of the cost. tearing down a knife is not a quality I look for.

I just purchased a Sebenza, and really enjoy it. One thing that you didn't touch on is the customer service that comes along with it. I bought my knife used, then when I called about sending it in to have it sharpened and freshened up, they told me to send it in and they'd take care of it. I then asked how much it would cost. (I've owned Emerson's in the past. When I sent them in for service, I paid $20.00 to $30.00 for each knife.) The lady told me it was a free service. Then I explained that I bought it second hand. She told me, "that doesn't matter". I was honestly surprised. That's huge, and very respectable from a knife maker.

 

[Tripton]

Like clockwork

Trollllolololololol.

Chris is the kind of person that tries to silence people when they bring his sales down quite sad.

as for the youtube test, I don't see how it could get any more valid than that. No editing was done, the knife just failed a simple task. Because it wasn't HT'd properly.

Again, a simple search can show how many posts you have spent deriding Chris Reeve and his knives. You have an agenda, and you spend a silly amount of effort dredging it back up and trolling with it as much as you can.


Remind me, aren't you the one who bought a used Sebenza, with no knowledge of the history of the knife, then got all sandy in the undercarriage because you were informed that your used knife was indeed abused? Oh, and after you were informed that the knife was not going to be fixed under warranty, you sold it without informing the buyer that the knife was NOT able to be repaired under warranty?

"Sad" is that you couldn't handle speaking to Mr. Reeve as an adult, and now you have this vendetta against his company because he was "rude" to you.

For the record, all 4 of my S35VN CRK knives perform very well, even in comparison to S35VN from other companies.

 

[Hairlesstwinkie]

Just a few that I own/have owned. The Ivory/Damascus is my daily carry & is used and still looks 98% after several years; reason for using/carrying is when I am 100 years old & pull her out of my pocket the memories will come back. My description of the Sebenza appeal is like an Lexus; It is not the highest end "status" or "luxury" and not the "cheapest" or "poor man's" car. Where the Lexus strikes a balance is with workmanship & material quality, ride, resale value, etc. Other knives are appreciated & owned as well and the $$$ amount has no bearing on how much I like them as a Kershaw Leek to me is a great little knife. Enjoy all your blades and also knives that other friends have or appreciate as it is a common bond that some folks just will never get. Anthony ==================================================

Lexus, what a perfect way to describe CRKs. I couldn't agree with you more. Lexus is the perfect auto-company equivalent to CRKs. They always maintain their quality, luxury and reliability.

To the OP, if you have the money to spend on a CRK or have the opportunity to trade for one, just do it. It's just one of those things that you should experience when given the opportunity. I do enjoy my Sebenzas, but they're not my favorites. Yet, I still appreciate them for what they are and what they stand for. Just like what everyone is saying about the craftsmanship and the tolerances, those are just little things that'll just make you smile. Sure the opportunity cost of getting a CRK or any higher end knives is pretty significant, but it is more satisfying to have in hand. There is something magical about the Sebenza that you can only experience. Some people never do experience it so they don't like them, or are indifferent toward them, but the ones who do are the ones who kept theirs like me and many other forum members here. Honestly, you have nothing to lose. Pick one up and enjoy it. If you don't like it, then you can always resell it and get your money back. Sebenzas get picked up on the exchange fairly quick.

 

[bdmicarta]

They don't appeal to me at all, designwise. I have a Benchmade 760 and a Bradley Alias, both somewhat similar to the average Sebenza. Both of mine are very well made and work well. I can believe that a CR is made better but I can't imagine it would be much better, and my knives cost 1/3 of what a Sebenza would have cost.

Value and price are relative. A person that can afford $400 for a knife should be able to buy one and appreciate it. I can't pay that much for one but if there was something about it that was very much better than other brands I might save up and figure out a way to buy one. I'm happy with my less expensive knives so I'm glad to be there.

I don't really like their styling and I don't understand the naming convention- Sebenza, Umnumzan, etc. I guess CR can call them whatever he wants.

And for what it's worth, I feel mostly the same way about Striders.

 

[AmericanEDC]

Out of respect to this manufacturer and with all the animosity it apparently dredged up I'm closing it down.

It definitely wasn't my intent to stir up emotions. It's just a dang pocket knife. My neighbors are at the hospital on death watch for their father/father in law right now. We've had their 12 year old here for days now. Doctors said it's unethical to continue to treat him with multiple myeloma. He has decided to die by starvation and morphine. Beyond stage 3 with plasmacytoma (bone rumors). We are all here temporarily. Stay cool everyone.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Maybe I'll pick one up and see what they're all about to make up my own mind. I like that he is making them for leftys. That counts for something.