Regular vs 21 Sebenza Review

I love my 21s, but I noticed on my Large 21 the blade is VERY closen to the spine of the scales when the knife is closed. The edge is like right up to the space between the two scales when the knife is closed.

I can easily catch the edge with my finger nail or even touch it with the skin on the tips of my fingers. If I were to push down on the handle scale's spine and drag my finger along the spine of those scales I would absolutely lay my finger open.

For some reason it isn't a problem on my small 21 where the gap is too narrow, or my large Inkosi, where the edge doesn't come as close.

I love my CRKs and to be honest I only noticed this recently as I only started carrying my large 21 recently. I am just shocked that a design which is so well thought out and meticulous with tolerances would leave such a glaring error.

So far I haven't cut myself on it but just look at how close the edge is to the spines of the scales when the blade is closed and you'll see what I mean. Be careful!!
 
Josh K said:
Those amazing tolerances make it so the edge is maximized for the handle and doesn't eek out when closed. ;)
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I assume the other 21s must be like mine because of those tolerances. I am not saying the edge peeks outnjust that it is shallow enough in there that if I push against the spine of the scales my flesh can easily touch the edge.

Infact sometimes I can just barely feel the edge contacting the meaty part of my palm when I shut the knife. Not enough to ever cut me.

The reason I brought it up is because in the comparison the OP talked about how the Regular has a convex spine to the scales vs the 21s concave.
 
Josh K said:
That doesn't sound right. Pictures?
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Ok I finally signed up for imgur. I'll show you what I mean but I really doubt my sebbie is out of spec.

It's pretty hard to see in the picture because A:the lighting was hard to get. B: the angle makes it hard to judge how deep the edge is in by photo.

BHYoVMx.jpg
 
bvo85 said:
I'd probably go $200 to $300 premium, if they did it right. That's the premium I'm paying for Regulars on the secondary market relative to the cost of 21s. I'm sure they'd probably Made-In-Idaho stamp it which would make it less appealing to me, but it is what it is. I wouldn't mind a "Classic" style engraving on that side, instead of Made-in-Idaho - to denote it as a the second run of Regulars. I wouldn't love it, but it would work for me. No Stamp > "Classic Style" Stamp > Idaho Stamp for my personal aesthetic desires.
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I agree!

I would spend more than $100 above the price of a regular and $200-$300 more in a heartbeat. Probably buy several of them.


But that is you and me and a few aficionados. I wonder how the general public would react to the price of Regular sebenza being $200-$300 above the price of the 21. Sounds risky for CRK to consider that. I guess I don't understand the business side and that is why I am not a successful knife company like CRK , Emerson. ect.
 
Lapedog said:
Ok I finally signed up for imgur. I'll show you what I mean but I really doubt my sebbie is out of spec.

It's pretty hard to see in the picture because A:the lighting was hard to get. B: the angle makes it hard to judge how deep the edge is in by photo.
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Yeah, it doesn't look that bad in the photo. I think if you can feel the blade when shutting it (and not deliberately poking appendages in there) it might not be right. My 21 (insingo) is 0.096" (2.44mm) behind the handle. My Inkosi is much closer, 0.0635" (1.61mm). Umnumzaan is the furthest at 0.108" (2.75mm). Keep in mind these are all various states of sharpened/used, and I'm measuring these close to midnight. The accuracy is probably +/- 0.015" as well given these aren't clamped in place.
 
Josh K said:
Yeah, it doesn't look that bad in the photo. I think if you can feel the blade when shutting it (and not deliberately poking appendages in there) it might not be right. My 21 (insingo) is 0.096" (2.44mm) behind the handle. My Inkosi is much closer, 0.0635" (1.61mm). Umnumzaan is the furthest at 0.108" (2.75mm). Keep in mind these are all various states of sharpened/used, and I'm measuring these close to midnight. The accuracy is probably +/- 0.015" as well given these aren't clamped in place.
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Interesting that your 21 is farther recessed than your inkosi, yet my inkosi is further recessed than my 21.

I wonder if your 21 being an insingo blade changes that. I was looking at my large 21 and inkosi, it doesn't seem to be an issue on my small 21. I can only barely feel it closing sometimes when abit of the padding on my palm is being squeezed up between the scales.

To be honest i am not that worried about it. I just thought it odd that If I were to push my finger against the spine of the scales and slide it down their length that I would be able to split my finger open.
 
Lapedog said:
To be honest i am not that worried about it. I just thought it odd that If I were to push my finger against the spine of the scales and slide it down their length that I would be able to split my finger open.
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I mean, if I really try that might happen. But it would be a very deliberate action. Not sure on the blade shape difference, maybe someone else here can measure and chime in.
 
Josh K said:
I mean, if I really try that might happen. But it would be a very deliberate action. Not sure on the blade shape difference, maybe someone else here can measure and chime in.
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This guy gave me a nasty bite when closed. I was gripping it tightly to pull on the lanyard to tighten it. The knife slid in my hand slightly and sliced my finger. My Sebenza 25s have also bitten me a few times while closed with annoying little slices like paper cuts.

i.ashx
 
B bvo85 , if the hex head female body fasteners give you trouble I’ve found the best way to remove them (if the scales are still together) is to insert a hex wrench and just rotate it as you pull outward from the scale. The fasteners always come right out with the wrench when I do this.
 
In the 90's a sebenza was a far too expensive pipe dream for me. Once I finally could afford CRK's it was the 21. So I really have no long term comparison unfortunately. I like to think that they made a change for a reason though. I guarantee if the regulars were what the 21 is now, and visa versa, everyone would be wanting to spend that extra $100 on the older model. Sorry but, truth burns friends haha. And P.S. .. I have cut my finger and palm a good 10 to 15 times. Sorry to see you all in pain, but damn glad to know it's not just me.
 
photoman12001 said:
This guy gave me a nasty bite when closed. I was gripping it tightly to pull on the lanyard to tighten it. The knife slid in my hand slightly and sliced my finger. My Sebenza 25s have also bitten me a few times while closed with annoying little slices like paper cuts.
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Ouch! Can you measure the depth between the back scale and the edge of the blade?
 
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