Really interested in a sebenza. Couple questions.

EDDAKA

EDDAKA

Joined
Oct 24, 2009
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Really interested in a sebenza. Couple questions.


Hey everybody.

Been interested in a Sebenza pretty heavily as of late. Watched almost every youtube video about them, have alot of pictures, read as much as I could etc, etc...

I do want a large seb, and that's around $380.


So what to you personally makes it worth that much? is it the titanium handles? The blade steel? The plain but classic look? The I have a "chris reeve" knife mentality?


I'm not doubting that it’s worth what it is, every person I've seen says it's made fantastically, and that it's a very solid exceptional knife. However $480 bones is a lot of money, money that I hope will be well spent!


Questions:

Now I know this first one has been beat to death but I’m asking more of technical version. I’m NOT trying to sound like I‘m bashing the knife. I don’t want anybody jumping on my back. I really do want this knife. Just making that clear.

That whole “flicking it open REPEADITLY voids you warranty.” I don’t flick my knives open. Don’t have a reason to, so I just don’t. Why does Mr. Reeve state this? If a knife is very well made the parts should wear less by flicking it open., correct?

What puzzles me is that even the cheaper manufactures and what not do not state that flicking voids their warranty, and their knives are made with less tolerances and superior parts as say a CRK is.

From (me) a buyer’s perspective this just sounds like he wants to gain a quick buck rather than fix the knife for free.

However if it is a well made knife then it shouldn’t break often enough for him to have to replace anything.

Does my concern make sense? If I made a really expensive working folding knife I would assume I’d make it good enough that it wouldn’t be able to break easily! I would boast about this and have a great warranty.

I believe this would show the perspective buyer that I’m confident in my knife making abilities. By saying “yeah it can be flicked, but not all that often please.” makes me doubt the integrity of the knife. If it can’t be flicked open all the often, then how durable is the knife as a whole?

(This is just the thought chris reeves gives me, please don’t take offense.)

What are your gripes about the knife?

Be honest. Different blade steel? Too expensive? Etc, etc?

I’d like to hear what people don’t like. I hear a lot on the videos of people just taking it out of the box, and just “awing” at the knife. After using it for a while, what do you think? Did it perform like you thought?

There is a picture in the picture threads of a god awful dirty seb that has just filet some fish. I really love that picture =) How hard do you folks use your sebenza’s? is a dress knife or a hard worker? Explain?

I really enjoy the "classic" style and look the Sebenza offers. It looks perfect. Not alot of flash, but alot of thought gone into it.

Really looking forward to owning (hopefully) a Chris reeves Sebenza.
-Richard.
 
The flicking thing is simple. If you abuse the heck out of it, and break it. Not covered.
I personally like the no-nonsense rule. It's a simple rule, if you don't want to follow it and have a problem with it, don't buy the knife there are plenty of folks that will. He doesn't mean thumb flicking, just the heavy duty wrist action which is very abusive. (I'm not trying to sound mean here, I'm just being straightforward about it and trying to give you advise to help with your decision)

A cheaper manufacturer will not mind replacing a knife that cost them 10-40 dollars to make every once in awhile, even if it is user error. CRK Sebenza costs much more to make, and more pride is taken in their construction and durability.

I have used my Sebenza to gut a deer. I use them for anything that comes up during my day. I've owned Sebenzas for as long as any other edc knife.

In the time that I've owned them, I've owned XM-18s, Custom Jens Anso knives, Custom Bob Dozier folding knives, SNG's, all manner of exotic steel, handle material, and ergonomic Spyderco, Fallkniven, and Benchmades.

When it comes time to choose which one to sacrifice to cover a bill or new desire, it is rarely a CRK. If I do sell one, I wind up buying a new one later.

If I am going to do a tough job with a knife I grab the Sebenza rather than a Spyderco or Benchmade or whatever, because when I am done I know the Sebenza will be in just as good of condition as when I started. I know the lock will hold. I know it will be easy to clean if it needs it. If you are doing anything that a folding knife can or maybe should be doing, the Sebenza will last you forever.

I've done a good bit of cutting with mine and a once in awhile touch up on the sharpmaker and it stays plenty sharp.


When I first purchased a Sebenza I was very underwhelmed and sold it. But now I own a Large, Small, (Both CGG graphiced An acoustic small and large enigma) and an Umnumzaan (which I keep buying and selling)

I keep getting rid of them, because my practical side tells me I don't need it. My practical side tells me $400 is too much to spend on a knife. Once they are gone I realize I do need one, and that there is no other knife like a Sebenza.

Life is Short. Enjoy yourself!
 
This flicking thing has been done to death. Once you actually get the Seb in hand you will understand that flicking the knife open isn't part of the "thrill" I suppose you could say. It's like opening a well oiled bank vault door. But I didn't reply to this topic to further the flicking part of the discussion. Rather, I'd like to make a suggestion. A suggestion that I wish someone had made to me before I took the Seb plunge.

Buy a used Seb. Let someone else take that hundred dollar hit! The way these things are getting listed for sale on this forum recently is a sign of the economic conditions. Users are routinely selling for a cool hundred bucks less than CRK's iron-fisted price police retail levels. If you're gonna make it a user anyways, then give yourself a break and start out with a scratched up user. If you don't "get it", you can easily recover almost all of your investment by reselling it on the forums. Try that with one that you purchased new and accidentally scuffed or foolishly used then sharpened. Pshaw! Buy used!. :cool:
 
ill try and address a few of your points.

1. the sebenza, imo, is the apex of knife making. simple and elegant. others have done it as well, no one has done it better, and crk did it first.

2. the tolerances are extremely high, most of us wont notice the difference in construction with many other well made knives. i would say the law of diminished returns applies here. but there is no question that the sebenza continues to set the standard to which all others hope to achieve.

3. "flicking", in this context, refers to wrist flicking, not thumb flicking. repeated wrist flicking exerts an enormous amount of stress on the tight fit of the parts and the lock face.

the tighter the fit, the higher the margin for error. make no mistake, the sebenza is a very tough knife. crk feels the wrist flick is unecessary abuse. their warranty, their choice.

4. i prefer a full flat grind, rather than the hollow grind of the sebenza. s30v is not my favorite steel. even that said, i still stand by my first points.

5. the sebenza has about the best blade to handle ratio out there, and it carries extremely small compared to other folders with similar blade lengths.

i was underwhelmed when i bought my first. at first glance, nothing appears terribly special, especially since so many makers are using the same materials and similar tolerances with "fancier" features.

after carrying and using a sebenza, i appreciate mine more and more every day. i wish i could explain it better, but there it is.

some people dont like the ergonomics or the aesthetics, and thats where personal preferences become apparant.

i do not use my folders terrible hard, just the occassional package/mail, some food prep, etc., so i will refrain from commenting on the ultimate durability of this knife.

but i do love mine, and ive owned probably 6 or so over the years. whatever else i own and carry, i always come back to a sebenza.
 
Harry Callahan said:
This flicking thing has been done to death. Once you actually get the Seb in hand you will understand that flicking the knife open isn't part of the "thrill" I suppose you could say. It's like opening a well oiled bank vault door. But I didn't reply to this topic to further the flicking part of the discussion. Rather, I'd like to make a suggestion. A suggestion that I wish someone had made to me before I took the Seb plunge.

Buy a used Seb. Let someone else take that hundred dollar hit! The way these things are getting listed for sale on this forum recently is a sign of the economic conditions. Users are routinely selling for a cool hundred bucks less than CRK's iron-fisted price police retail levels. If you're gonna make it a user anyways, then give yourself a break and start out with a scratched up user. If you don't "get it", you can easily recover almost all of your investment by reselling it on the forums. Try that with one that you purchased new and accidentally scuffed or foolishly used then sharpened. Pshaw! Buy used!. :cool:
Click to expand...

I second that: I have 30 CRK and I would say aprox 10 were bought new, the other 20 were bought by someone else new. And of those 20, only 5 showed some wear. 15 of them were new in the box with the factory edge and all paperwork. They were bought and never used. But with those 15, the price was aprox $50-$100, maybe more in some cases less than what they would cost from a retailer. If you look around, you will be able to save a few $$$ off of what a new one cost.........To me the whole flicking thing is bologna. Open the knife the way it was meant to be opened and you will never have a problem, and since the knife is so well made, you will probably never have to call CRK about one. Open it with the thumb stud the way CRK designed it and you will be happy. I like that slow opening then the "click", to me thats quality. I have had many other folding knives, benchmade, spyderco, strider, and none of them compare to a sebenza. In my experience, the only knife to ever rival a sebenza is the umnumzaan. Picture a sebenza on steroids !!! Buy a sebbie, either a new one or a good used one. I am sure you will get the AWWWW ! effect like me and countless others have when getting their first sebbie. After that, ALL others in my experience are infearior !!!
 
Is the sebenza worth it? Really hard to say...I think it is a personal thing. If you have the cash, id at least check it out. If it isnt your thing resell it with a small loss. At least youll know for sure. Was it worth it to me? I am still on the wall on that. I do think it is a very nice knife, probably the nicest I have owned. But it is still a knife. I cant cut rock, or diamond with it. Sure it cuts an apple well, and so does my spyderco or a simple slip joint.

I just sent my sebenza done to get some work done on a blade centering issue. It kinda ruined the whole sebenza for me. I was dissapointed with the work done as the problem wasnt fixed. They were nice enough to rebead blast my knife, but I didnt really want that done, since I dont mind some character marks--but I thought the thought was nice. Anyways, I wont gripe anymore about it here..ill make a separate post..but anyways I think they are worth a try
 
Flicking will cause more wear than opening it normally via the thumbstud but the wear would probably take years and years. Many knife enthusiasts open and close their knives waaaaaay more than they would if they simply opened them only to use the knife so constant flicking while watching TV for example will of course wear parts faster. If you are a manufacturer and are going to warrant a product for life then constantly wrist flicking it open in this way can be seen as unreasonable wear IMO.
The Sebbie IMO is worth the money but be advised that some of the details you may not be able to see at first such as the tight tolerances. You may be underwhelmed at first but when you use it or when you easily take it apart to clean it, you'll start to appreciate it more.
 
The price is in the type pivot used,materials and craftmanship.
What other knife can you take apart,clean and put back together with it being exactly the same as it was when new all in about 10 min.
 
Morimotom up there pretty much said it all although I would disagree with him somewhat in his point #4. (This is where personal preference plays a big part.) I've never really had any problems with S30V and I have found that the hollow grind of the Seb, properly sharpened, turns it into a scalpel like slicer. Scary sharp is a good description there.

I've had mine for around 6 years and, like others, was somewhat underwhelmed on first taking it out of the box but the more I use it the more I appreciate it. I can't really describe exactly why it impresses me so much, it just does. Once again, personal preference will decide if you like it or not. If you get one, and use it for a while, you'll either "get it" and be converted, or it simply won't do it for you and you'll sell it and find something more to your liking.

As for the flicking thing, it's a non issue. Once you get one you won't have any desire to flick it anyway. The things are as smooth as silk to open, and get better with age, and lock solid as a bank vault.
 
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