Sebenza 31 Lock Rock?!

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Just cancelled my order for a large inlaid 31. The reports of side to side play on a few examples turned me off. The CRK of old is gone, at least at the moment. How in the world can that guy from Canada be told side to side play is normal. I’m going to drive over to knifeworks in the morning and hand pick a 21......before they’re all gone. He has some that have been on the shelf for a long time. I’m tempted to just order a Shirogorov from recon1 right now. The main reason I have always loved the Sebenza is the blade grind, blade stock thickness. They just cut like crazy and they’re thin in the edc daily carry role.
 
Born200yrs2late said:
Just cancelled my order for a large inlaid 31. The reports of side to side play on a few examples turned me off. The CRK of old is gone, at least at the moment. How in the world can that guy from Canada be told side to side play is normal. I’m going to drive over to knifeworks in the morning and hand pick a 21......before they’re all gone. He has some that have been on the shelf for a long time. I’m tempted to just order a Shirogorov from recon1 right now. The main reason I have always loved the Sebenza is the blade grind, blade stock thickness. They just cut like crazy and they’re thin in the edc daily carry role.
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Guy from Canada here...lol..
Just an update, my 31 is going in to CRK...I have been told from CRK before that something was “normal,” but when I sent it in they changed their mind. So hopefully that will be the case with the 31 as well.

I am not here to sully CRK’s name. But I have posted my findings and differences between the 21 and 31.

I will definitely be posting the results of my sent in 31. Please stay posted, as CRK has always taken care of me. We will see how this turns out. :)

Either way, you need a 21 in your collection!
:)
 
Josh K said:
Link? Maybe I missed it in this thread. I can't imagine how sideways play could happen unless something was broken.
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In this particular thread, mine and @rileybassman1 both had side/side play.
Another guy I know had side/side play but it turns out he “polished” the washers pretty thin. ;/
 
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Born200yrs2late said:
Just cancelled my order for a large inlaid 31. The reports of side to side play on a few examples turned me off. The CRK of old is gone, at least at the moment. How in the world can that guy from Canada be told side to side play is normal. I’m going to drive over to knifeworks in the morning and hand pick a 21......before they’re all gone. He has some that have been on the shelf for a long time. I’m tempted to just order a Shirogorov from recon1 right now. The main reason I have always loved the Sebenza is the blade grind, blade stock thickness. They just cut like crazy and they’re thin in the edc daily carry role.
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So I kept my word. Drove to knifeworks in Columbia Louisiana. They have a massive showroom. I handled a lot of CRK knives, they have a lot on hand. Ended up going with a large 21. Interesting thing is, the one I liked wasn’t even on their website. It was brand new in the box with a birthdate of July 2016. Couldn’t be happier. Also, I handled several large 31 knives and they too were all spot on. None I handled seemed to have lock flex. Now, I didn’t put them on the table and apply a lot of pressure. I will say this.....for me, they all locked up solid. I don’t use the spine of my knives in such a way that this could ever become an issue. As to the 21 I got, I will NEVER perform that table test and try to force the blade down, it’s rock solid when I feel the blade in hand. Forcing the blade down just one time probably equals a lifetime of normal wear.........that’s just my opinion. No regrets. I have plenty of time to pick up a 31 down the road.
 
Born200yrs2late said:
0-0pbxMusjyhitXYR3Ydh-z-Q



So I kept my word. Drove to knifeworks in Columbia Louisiana. They have a massive showroom. I handled a lot of CRK knives, they have a lot on hand. Ended up going with a large 21. Interesting thing is, the one I liked wasn’t even on their website. It was brand new in the box with a birthdate of July 2016. Couldn’t be happier. Also, I handled several large 31 knives and they too were all spot on. None I handled seemed to have lock flex. Now, I didn’t put them on the table and apply a lot of pressure. I will say this.....for me, they all locked up solid. I don’t use the spine of my knives in such a way that this could ever become an issue. As to the 21 I got, I will NEVER perform that table test and try to force the blade down, it’s rock solid when I feel the blade in hand. Forcing the blade down just one time probably equals a lifetime of normal wear.........that’s just my opinion. No regrets. I have plenty of time to pick up a 31 down the road.
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Pics?
 
thegamettt said:
Sup bros, I got curious after testing the strider so I just tried this on an xm18 gen 6 and it flexed as much as my zaan did. FWIW I still trust the lock on all 3 100%
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The Hinderer lock bar has similar geometry to that of a CRK knife, where the reaction forces placed on the lock bar are directed more tangentially to the bar rather than axially. This pushes the lockbar up, resulting in some small amount of flex. I've had 3 Gen 6 Hinderers that did the same thing, and Hinderer did not do anything about it when sent one in for the warranty team to look at.
 
My 31 arrived today. Spending some time with it after reading all this, there is noticable flex relative to the 21, and that's just holding the handle and pressing the spine with my thumb. However, if that actually acts as a damper and the new system reduces chances of lock failure then so be it.

However, my concern comes with disengaging the lock. I seem to have what would be described as lock "stick"? I mean, is it a byproduct of the ceramic interface that needs to break in or is it not supposed to do that at all? Lockup percentage looks about perfect for the record.
 
sailfish said:
My 31 arrived today. Spending some time with it after reading all this, there is noticable flex relative to the 21, and that's just holding the handle and pressing the spine with my thumb. However, if that actually acts as a damper and the new system reduces chances of lock failure then so be it.

However, my concern comes with disengaging the lock. I seem to have what would be described as lock "stick"? I mean, is it a byproduct of the ceramic interface that needs to break in or is it not supposed to do that at all? Lockup percentage looks about perfect for the record.
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Most of my Inkosi’s have it. Some come and go, some only have it after doing heavy cutting and gripping real hard. The last Inkosi I bought brand new had a real gritty feeling on disengagement. It has smoothed out with time compared to what it was but it’s still there. I’ve had two of them develop it over time. Just that little hesitation or grab when releasing the lock.

I have 21s that have it as well. It’s random with them. Some of my older ones have none at all and some newer ones have it.
 
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Dcdavis said:
Most of my Inkosi’s have it. Some cone and go, some only have it after doing heavy cutting and gripping real hard. The last Inkosi I bought brand new had a real gritty feeling on disengagement. It has smoothed out with time compared to what it was but it’s still there. I’ve had two of them develop it over time. Just that little hesitation or grab when releasing the lock.

I have 21s that have it as well. It’s random with them. Some of my older ones have none at all and some newer ones have it.
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Interesting. I guess I shouldn't necessarily be sounding any RTS alarms then. Maybe over time with cleaning and use it will smooth out.
 
Dcdavis said:
Most of my Inkosi’s have it. Some come and go, some only have it after doing heavy cutting and gripping real hard. The last Inkosi I bought brand new had a real gritty feeling on disengagement. It has smoothed out with time compared to what it was but it’s still there. I’ve had two of them develop it over time. Just that little hesitation or grab when releasing the lock.

I have 21s that have it as well. It’s random with them. Some of my older ones have none at all and some newer ones have it.
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sailfish said:
Interesting. I guess I shouldn't necessarily be sounding any RTS alarms then. Maybe over time with cleaning and use it will smooth out.
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Interestingly enough I just swabbed the tang with alcohol and after about a dozen or so open/close cycles the disengage feels considerably cleaner.
 
I finally caved and picked up a small Micarta I have ever been this disappointed in a knife manufacturer. The vertical blade play I’ll accept but the action on mine is terrible, the hydraulic open is expected, but the hydraulic closing on mine is heartbreakingly bad. I love the 21 and the Inkosi is in my opinion the best folder ever made but adding the large ceramic detent ball was not an improvement on the action. I don’t need it to drop shut but it has an order of magnitude more resistance than an Inkosi and after break in it has not improved. I have not cut myself in years but on two separate occasions the slow hydraulic close has caused my finger to slip off the crowned spine. I don’t put excess pressure on the spine, tear down and cleaning has not improved the action. The only good thing I can say about the 31 is that they are sharp.
 
Freedom Pullo said:
The vertical blade play I’ll accept but the action on mine is terrible, the hydraulic open is expected, but the hydraulic closing on mine is heartbreakingly bad.
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I'd send it back. Either to CRK to fix it or where purchased for a refund. I'm guessing the washers are probably thicker compared to the machined stop pin measurements. CRK will put it right. They have so many times in the past for others.
 
Dogdrawz said:
I'd send it back. Either to CRK to fix it or where purchased for a refund. I'm guessing the washers are probably thicker compared to the machined stop pin measurements. CRK will put it right. They have so many times in the past for others.
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I really wanted to make sure it was past it’s break in but I probably should send it in. Thank you, for some reason I hadn’t even considered that it might have left CRK with an issue or defect.
 
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