Problems with the sebenza?

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baberuth 43

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Ok so I've been looking at a sebenza for awhile now and I've finally decided to buy one, but as i read through some of the forums on the sebenza i came upon one in particular that the person mentioned his brand new sebenza was so stiff that his strider sng was smoother!:confused: To make things worse he wasn't the only one with the problem, some others have had this problem and they either had to sand the washers down a little or send it in. Now this is something I've never heard of before as far as i knew the sebenza is known for being flawless on fit and finish, and this is what i think is expected from someone that is known so highly for their fit and finish. I was just wondering is this a often occurring problem and if so are the sebenzas the same quality of knives as the ones that earned their reputation to begin with?
 
I'm just not buying it. This is classic "cold feet" syndrome. If you don wanna spend the money, we understand. A lot of people choke at 3 or 4 hundred for a knife.
 
Problems with the sebenza? No.
Next question. . . .

BTW, I have 10 of them, and 10 of 10 are perfect.

P.S. Welcome to BF.
 
One of mine does have a lot of lock pressure. When you release the lock and hold it the blade moves easy. Even with the lock bar riding on the tang it is still super smooth. It takes quite a thumb push to fling it open without a wrist snap. Doesn't bother me at all though.
 
baberuth 43 said:
Ok so I've been looking at a sebenza for awhile now and I've finally decided to buy one, but as i read through some of the forums on the sebenza i came upon one in particular that the person mentioned his brand new sebenza was so stiff that his strider sng was smoother!:confused: To make things worse he wasn't the only one with the problem, some others have had this problem and they either had to sand the washers down a little or send it in. Now this is something I've never heard of before as far as i knew the sebenza is known for being flawless on fit and finish, and this is what i think is expected from someone that is known so highly for their fit and finish. I was just wondering is this a often occurring problem and if so are the sebenzas the same quality of knives as the ones that earned their reputation to begin with?
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LOL. Post links to these supposed comments about people needing to sand down their washers on Sebenzas or you are just a troll. Biggest pile of crap I've ever heard. I'm guessing if they are stupid enough to sand down bronze phospherous washers than they are probably trying to open the knife with their face and that is understandably difficult to do and I would agree with them then that the Sebbie is very hard to open. ;)
 
I held one and it wasn't the end all be all for me. You could get one on the Exchange for around $280, save yourself some money and get one that you're not afraid to use because of the sigificant amount of money you invested into it.
 
The Sebenzas I handled at Chris Reeve's knife table, at Blade West, a few years ago, were all extremely stiff and hard to open. I came to his table interested in a possible purchase; for a number of reasons – including the stiffness – I left his booth no longer interested in owning a Sebenza. For my weak, arthritic hands, his knives were quite patently painful and difficult to open.
 
CrimsonTideShooter said:
If he doesn't link to the comments about sub par sebenzas then I say we stop feeding the troll.
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...Or you could do a search for yourself.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=779879

I actually had this same problem a couple of months ago with my first Sebenza and posted the thread above about it. I was very turned-off at first at how difficult it was to open.

The problem ended up being that the lockbar was applying SO much pressure to the blade when closed, that the ball-detent didnt come out of the hole easily when trying to open the knife. What I ended up doing was bending the lockbar back in the opposite direction about an inch so that it doesnt apply such strong force against the blade (see post #59 in the thread above).

I am much happier now with the knife.
 
I own two Sebenzas: One 08 classic micarta and a 93 P model and both are smooth as glass opening and closing.

As you may already know, Sebenzas incorporate a pivot bushing so all you do is tighten the pivot until its snug and it will end up in the same position every time. Chris Reeve is a fan of a slightly slower controlled opening as opposed to a looser action that thumb flicks open with ease. Depending on ones preference this can be a good or bad thing however it does mean that you never need to use locktite. I personally really like this feature and think that most do as well, yet there are some that want all their knives to flick open and this feature, of course, does not work well for them.
 
I have 3 Sebenzas, and all open with a smoothness that other manufacturers strive for...but rarely reach.

They have a smooth, slightly resistant feel when new, almost hydraulic-feeling.

The more you use them, the smoother they get.
 
Sebenzas' are made with tolerances that shame other production knives.
They open smoothly and the only "stiffness" comes from everything having extremely close tolerances. I have two and both open and unlock very nicely. You can look at them and see the fitting and finish is definitely superior to lower cost production blades.
 
kawr said:
LOL. Post links to these supposed comments about people needing to sand down their washers on Sebenzas or you are just a troll. Biggest pile of crap I've ever heard. I'm guessing if they are stupid enough to sand down bronze phospherous washers than they are probably trying to open the knife with their face and that is understandably difficult to do and I would agree with them then that the Sebbie is very hard to open. ;)
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CrimsonTideShooter said:
If he doesn't link to the comments about sub par sebenzas then I say we stop feeding the troll.
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:rolleyes:

Here's one that was right on the first page of the CRK forum.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=796726&page=2

I think these "problems" are few and far between. Nothing can be 100% perfect all the time. Things do happen we are all human...Even CRK.

My large 21 is full of buttery smooth goodness. ;)
 
I have a large and a small wood inlayed Sebenza - Both were a little stiff opening the first week or so but they are both smooth as butter now. I thought long and hard before I dropped $400 bucks on my first Sebbie but they have been worth every dime - I wouldn't part with either of them.
 
Boozoo Chavis said:
I have a large and a small wood inlayed Sebenza - Both were a little stiff opening the first week or so but they are both smooth as butter now. I thought long and hard before I dropped $400 bucks on my first Sebbie but they have been worth every dime - I wouldn't part with either of them.
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And this is key. The more you use it the smoother it will get. If not. Email CRK because then they slipped up and they WILL make it right with you.

I am going to post this while I can.

When new a stone washed blade will have more resistance then a older one because as you use the knife (any knife for that matter) with washers the washers will polish the blade under the washers to a mirror finish sometimes. This holds the same for the area underneath the ceramic detent. The more you use it, the more it will smooth out and polish the area.

If one gets the chance take a plain jane new and a sebenza with a polished blade. The differences in smoothness is huge in my experience.
 
baberuth 43 said:
Ok so I've been looking at a sebenza for awhile now and I've finally decided to buy one, but as i read through some of the forums on the sebenza i came upon one in particular that the person mentioned his brand new sebenza was so stiff that his strider sng was smoother!:confused: To make things worse he wasn't the only one with the problem, some others have had this problem and they either had to sand the washers down a little or send it in. Now this is something I've never heard of before as far as i knew the sebenza is known for being flawless on fit and finish, and this is what i think is expected from someone that is known so highly for their fit and finish. I was just wondering is this a often occurring problem and if so are the sebenzas the same quality of knives as the ones that earned their reputation to begin with?
Click to expand...

I'm the one that made that thread in the CRK subforum. In my opinion it is a fluke as I have owned many other Sebenzas with no such problems. I'm sending it in to CRK and they will make it right. Guaranteed. Something will fall through the cracks once in a while, and when it does a company like CRK will take care of it no questions asked. I didn't intend to make that thread to ward people away from CRK, I will continue to buy their knives.
 
Posts five and six in this thread are pretty screwed up. Hope you guys didn't scare the new guy away with your ignorant response to a legitimate question.

I don't own a sebbie but have handled a few and only one of them had an very stiff lockbar causing a smooth but slow opening. The owner did say it's lightened up in the last few months though and since others have said the same here I wouldn't worry about it. If you like it get it they are extremely well put together knives!
 
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