Polished Blades..

BluegrassBrian

BluegrassBrian

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Apr 20, 2015
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I was browsing around at some Sebenza and got to wondering- Is the polished blade appearance a dramatic difference? Is it worth the $100 up-charge?
Anyone who has one, can you post a side by side pic with a regular finished CRK?
 
It's a notably different look. It does show some grind lines, not a pure mirror polish. I like it, but not sure it looks 100 buck better. Sometime I'll try to get a side by side picture unless somebody else gets to it first.
 
If you use the search function and enter "polished + blade" you can find some pictures. Just search the CRK forum though.
 
Here's a quick picture. It does make the polished blade look much more dull than it is, though. The polished blade is a bit tough to photograph without getting stuff blown out/overexposed by reflections. It does show the grind line pattern left on the blade, though.

i-FnrQkXp-L.jpg
 
On a Unique, a polished blade complements the design and looks good. Even on some CCG’s, a polished blade looks good.
But, a polished blade on a plain jane is a no go for me. IMO, a plane Sebenza is a user/work knife, so a stone washed finish makes sense.
A polished blade will show scratches and dings more so than a regular blade finish. With a polished blade, the angle of the light hitting it makes the difference of seeing the grind lines and them not showing. Is it worth the extra money, as a show piece, absolutely. As a user, no it’s not.
 
Thanks to all who provided input and pics.
I think the expressed opinions line up with my assumptions.

I've always liked the stock stonewash blades. They compare favorably to the same Shiro finish.
 
Polished blade looks a lot better. I have used mine for 13 years now and it has no noticeable “scratches and dings.” Is it “worth the money”…of course. My sebenza has a graphic and the polished blade looks a lot better when paired with the graphic. To me a plain sebenza is a grey turd…don’t buy no ugly knife 😁 I wouldn’t buy one until I saw the graphic models with the shiny blade.
 
Ajack60 said:
On a Unique, a polished blade complements the design and looks good. Even on some CCG’s, a polished blade looks good.
But, a polished blade on a plain jane is a no go for me. IMO, a plane Sebenza is a user/work knife, so a stone washed finish makes sense.
A polished blade will show scratches and dings more so than a regular blade finish. With a polished blade, the angle of the light hitting it makes the difference of seeing the grind lines and them not showing. Is it worth the extra money, as a show piece, absolutely. As a user, no it’s not.
Click to expand...

I have so far had no issues with scratches on either blade finish.
 
Regarding the overall look of the Sebenza line, polished or not.

Polished firttt: Not a fan of that look. I view a Sebenza as a work knife; plain unembellished handle and unassuming blade. Work-wear markings are just character that can be beauty shopped out to some extent if wanted.

Profile" Blasphemy to follow . . .However, I am not especially drawn to the overall styling of the drop point blade profile. I woulsd prefer a smoother contour from point to pivot, without the thumb hump. The Spiderco thumbhole jars my sensibilities in the same way. I would prefer a subtle flipper tab on the Sebenza too. Maybe a future "Sebenza 41" will be my dream knife.

I am fully appreciative of the CRK practice of offering military oriented knives with a non-reflective finish, unlike Randall Made.
 
VorpelSword said:
Regarding the overall look of the Sebenza line, polished or not.

Polished firttt: Not a fan of that look. I view a Sebenza as a work knife; plain unembellished handle and unassuming blade. Work-wear markings are just character that can be beauty shopped out to some extent if wanted.

Profile" Blasphemy to follow . . .However, I am not especially drawn to the overall styling of the drop point blade profile. I woulsd prefer a smoother contour from point to pivot, without the thumb hump. The Spiderco thumbhole jars my sensibilities in the same way. I would prefer a subtle flipper tab on the Sebenza too. Maybe a future "Sebenza 41" will be my dream knife.

I am fully appreciative of the CRK practice of offering military oriented knives with a non-reflective finish, unlike Randall Made.
Click to expand...
Sounds like what you want is an Arno Bernard iMamba.
 
VorpelSword said:
Regarding the overall look of the Sebenza line, polished or not.

Polished firttt: Not a fan of that look. I view a Sebenza as a work knife; plain unembellished handle and unassuming blade. Work-wear markings are just character that can be beauty shopped out to some extent if wanted.

Profile" Blasphemy to follow . . .However, I am not especially drawn to the overall styling of the drop point blade profile. I woulsd prefer a smoother contour from point to pivot, without the thumb hump. The Spiderco thumbhole jars my sensibilities in the same way. I would prefer a subtle flipper tab on the Sebenza too. Maybe a future "Sebenza 41" will be my dream knife.

I am fully appreciative of the CRK practice of offering military oriented knives with a non-reflective finish, unlike Randall Made.
Click to expand...

For the thumb hump to go away, the thumb stud would have to move lower on the blade. For that to happen, the grind would have to change. For it to be ergonomic, the scale shape would have to change to allow access. Assuming your dream CRK flipper even still had a thumb stud. The grind, stop pin, and scale shape would also all likely need to change to allow for a flipper.

Whether or not any of that ever happened, a CRK with a flipper would most certainly not be called a Sebenza. They even decided that the Inkosi was different enough to stop calling it the Sebenza 25. Sticking with the Zulu naming scheme, "ikusasa" means future or tomorrow in Zulu. I think that would be appropriate if CRK ever decided to do a flipper knife.

I also think that if Tim had that idea in his mind, it probably would have happened by now. You might have to wait for the next generation Reeves to take over before we see something like that.
 
^^^^

Thank you for that, it all makes sens to me.

Never the less: My dream CRK folder would be a large Sebenza sized titanium frame lock with a flipper tab and a smoothly arced profile from its thong hole to its' dropped point in whatever the current magic knife steel is a that time.

I would be amenable to calling it whatever Zulu name would describe such a knife.
 
Heh.. thong hole.

I think a shiro would fit the bill for you.
 
Maybe I'm not getting it, but the even curve of the blade on the sharpened side is an Insingo, even curve on both sides is like a dagger?? As an aside, the old polished blades on the "P" models , to me even on a PJ, look killer!,They do not seem to scuff or scratch any easier than a stock blade at all. My .02 Bart
 
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