Sebenza 25 First Run Screw Issue

damascus blades · Oct 5, 2013

I looked through the forum and did not see info on this. I picked up one of the first run 25's with the pressed in blade stop. The problem I am having is that when I went to disassemble the knife to clean, the head snapped off one of the screws with almost no pressure. The head snapped right off at the thread. You can see through the head piece where the threads were. I did manage to get the threaded part out, since it was not really tight. CRK was great and fast in sending out replacement screws, but they are a different thread. I have not come across this before. The screws in my knife are slightly smaller than the ones that were sent to me. If anybody here knows, was this an issue with thee first run models? I really like the knife and I hope they have the correct screws to send to me. It just seemed strange to me that they changed the screw design from the first run to the second. Anybody with input on this, please let me know. Thanks.

nyefmaker · Oct 5, 2013

Was just a bad screw. When the hex head is machined, it just went a little deeper than it should have making there a very small metal area between the bottom of the hex hole and the threaded shaft, hence making the screw extremely weak. I have had this happen on a couple Hinderer Knives. RHK always will send out replacements and had to have them do so 4 times to date. I have never had this happen to a CRK screw though........

And for anyone reading, I am in No Way bashing Hinderer, I like their knives, but for me, CRK will always be my favorite by far. They took care of me immediately sending me new screws. Both are the Best in Quality & Customer Service in my book.

damascus blades · Oct 5, 2013

nyefmaker said:
And for anyone reading, I am in No Way bashing Hinderer, I like their knives, but for me, CRK will always be my favorite by far. They took care of me immediately sending me new screws. Both are the Best in Quality & Customer Service in my book.

The screws did show up super fast. I was very pleased with that. I was just wondering why the screws are different. I remember reading somewhere about some of the 25's with screw issues. I know I am always lucky enough to be the guy who will get one with an issue. The thing I did not find anywhere was the thread size thing. It just seemed odd to me. I am not upset they were wrong, just surprised. I have my Classic to carry until it is fixed, so I am not completely lost.

damascus blades · Oct 7, 2013

damascus blades said:
The screws did show up super fast. I was very pleased with that. I was just wondering why the screws are different. I remember reading somewhere about some of the 25's with screw issues. I know I am always lucky enough to be the guy who will get one with an issue. The thing I did not find anywhere was the thread size thing. It just seemed odd to me. I am not upset they were wrong, just surprised. I have my Classic to carry until it is fixed, so I am not completely lost.

I just heard back from Angela today. They no longer have any screws for this model. They changed them all over to a stop pin held in with screws. They are going to send me the new stop pin and whatever I need to change it over. It is a different screw. I think the customer service there is very good and they really get back to you quickly. This should fix all the issues.

Tripton · Oct 7, 2013

damascus blades said:
I just heard back from Angela today. They no longer have any screws for this model. They changed them all over to a stop pin held in with screws. They are going to send me the new stop pin and whatever I need to change it over. It is a different screw. I think the customer service there is very good and they really get back to you quickly. This should fix all the issues.

Hmm...

If you have the pressed in stop pin, the only way to replace the stop pin would be to replace the whole lock side, no?

I am interested, as I have a 25 with the pressed in stop pin.

damascus blades · Oct 8, 2013

She told me they are sending the correct parts to change this over to the new style. The problem I found with the screws that were used with this style is the threads are not standard. The threads lined up perfectly with a 4-40 screw, but the shaft is 6/32. I tried metric and anything I could find. I think they were made custom for CRK when they changed over. I read some things about screw failures and stripped screws in the original 25s and then they switched back to the larger screw with a removable pin. If it does not work, I will just send it in and let them do whatever is needed there. I will keep posting here until everything is fixed, just so anyone who comes across the same issue knows the routine.

FordFan · Oct 9, 2013

Damascus Blades, thanks for providing the information and for continuing to follow up until the issue is solved. Might be great information for others. I have a 25 headed my way now but assume mine will be the new style as I brought it brand new just this week. With a little luck the 25 and some more CRK grease will arrive Friday.

damascus blades · Oct 9, 2013

This should be the final installment. They sent me a new backspacer with new screws to replace the old backspacer. This freed up 2 of the special size screws to use in the press in pin. It seems to work just fine now. I just need to keep track of the screws when I take it apart to clean. I think the only other solution for the problem would be to send it in and the lock side would need to be replaced, as Tripton stated. it was nice to be able to take care of all of this without sending it, so I chalk it up as a win.

Tripton · Oct 9, 2013

damascus blades said:
This should be the final installment. They sent me a new backspacer with new screws to replace the old backspacer. This freed up 2 of the special size screws to use in the press in pin. It seems to work just fine now. I just need to keep track of the screws when I take it apart to clean. I think the only other solution for the problem would be to send it in and the lock side would need to be replaced, as Tripton stated. it was nice to be able to take care of all of this without sending it, so I chalk it up as a win.

That makes all kinds of sense, I wish I had thought of that.

Its a great knife. Glad you got it all worked out.