Sebenza 31 Lock Rock?!

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On Saturday I received an inlaid small Sebenza 31 from an authorized dealer, and the lock rock is significant. My large 31 also has lock rock, but it is barely noticeable. The small, however, will likely be returned.
 
cmfkdragoon said:
On Saturday I received an inlaid small Sebenza 31 from an authorized dealer, and the lock rock is significant. My large 31 also has lock rock, but it is barely noticeable. The small, however, will likely be returned.
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Thank you for the report!

:cool: :thumbsup:
 
I got a large Sebenza 31 today. S45VN.

I had a Sebenza 21 for many years, sold it about 5 years ago, and moved to pocket fixed blade's.

This 31 appears just as awesome as I remember Sebenza's to be. Smooth, lock up is tight, no bladeplay, or lockrock. So far it's like the same great pocket knife I remember.
 
So can someone summarize the thread? From what I gather:

-The new ceramic ball lock mechanism can cause lock rock bar flex;
-CRK has said this is normal and maybe has also said it will go away as the knife breaks in;
-CRK has not responded otherwise at least within this thread;
-The inkosi does this also but to a much lesser degree;
-The lock bar cutout may have been changed to address this issue

I will edit this post if I get other information or corrections. The only part of this that potentially bothers me is if they haven't responded directly to the community. That's just a self-inflicted reputational wound.
 
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Toivo said:
So can someone summarize the thread? From what I gather:

-The new ceramic ball mechanism can cause lock rock;
-CRK has said this is normal and maybe has also said it will go away as the knife breaks in;
-CRK has not responded otherwise;
-The inkosi also does this;
-It doesn't seem like any QC changes have been implemented;

I will edit this post if I get other information or corrections. The only part of this that potentially bothers me is if they haven't responded directly to the community. That's just a self-inflicted reputational wound.
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- It’s not lock rock, but the lock bar flexing in toward the spine of the knife
- CRK said it was normal, then it wasn’t normal, some say they have it and some don’t
- CRK has not responded in this thread, they may have elsewhere
- the Inkosi and Umnumzaan and even the seb 21 will do this, however it takes an unreasonable amount of heavy force to make it happen and the flex is much less than what we have seen on the 31. The seb 31 seems to flex much easier
- I believe the lock bar cutout was changed to address the issue
 
johnnytoxin said:
- It’s not lock rock, but the lock bar flexing in toward the spine of the knife
- CRK said it was normal, then it wasn’t normal, some say they have it and some don’t
- CRK has not responded in this thread, they may have elsewhere
- the Inkosi and Umnumzaan and even the seb 21 will do this, however it takes an unreasonable amount of heavy force to make it happen and the flex is much less than what we have seen on the 31. The seb 31 seems to flex much easier
- I believe the lock bar cutout was changed to address the issue
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My experience with a recently purchased small 31 in S45VN fits with your description, specifically, that the lock bar will flex (even though I called it "lock rock" in a previous post) so badly that it compares to some of the more outrageous videos on YouTube. For example:

I can place my knife on a flat surface, open and blade down.... While the knife rests on the handle scales facing blade down, I can place force on the back of the blade and see it bend all the way to the surface below.

This experience has been rather disheartening - I would have never imagined a CRK, which as a newer collector I have strived for, has less integrity than a gas station knife.
 
cmfkdragoon said:
My experience with a recently purchased small 31 in S45VN fits with your description, specifically, that the lock bar will flex (even though I called it "lock rock" in a previous post) so badly that it compares to some of the more outrageous videos on YouTube. For example:

I can place my knife on a flat surface, open and blade down.... While the knife rests on the handle scales facing blade down, I can place force on the back of the blade and see it bend all the way to the surface below.

This experience has been rather disheartening - I would have never imagined a CRK, which as a newer collector I have strived for, has less integrity than a gas station knife.
Click to expand...

Wow, that was a bad one...

Is yours really as bad as that?

:oops:
 
I wonder if they can put in an LBS on the inside scale with a lip that fits in the lockbar cutout, it'll keep the lockbar from flexing upward.
 
Curious...How many actual lock failures (actually closing) have occurred under normal, not Youtube Nonsense, usage?
 
353 said:
Wow, that was a bad one...

Is yours really as bad as that?

:oops:
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Yes, it is that bad. Mine perhaps requires more pressure but I can push the blade all the way down to the table.

I repeated this test with several other titanium framelocks and saw no movement.
 
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dano said:
Curious...How many actual lock failures (actually closing) have occurred under normal, not Youtube Nonsense, usage?
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I am not suggesting that my lock is failing, however it does behave differently than the other seven titanium framelocks that I own, including a large Sebenza 31 in 35vn (it still rocks a bit). I have never experienced this sort of blade play under normal usage and it just doesn't seem right to me.
 
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This is not directed at anyone. Just an observation…

You put an older lockback in peoples hands with side/side play and people are gonna complain.

You put another lockback with some slight up down play and people will say that it’s horribly built.

You put any modern framelock with any sort of off-centered blade, bad action, or any blade play and people will roast that knife publicly.

All of these scenarios do not affect the knife’s performance…but you will be hard pressed to find someone to make excuses saying they are fine.

So my question is: Why does CRK get a pass on sloppy lock flex?

CRK has boasted a higher standard…so why can’t we hold them to it?
 
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Sharp & Fiery said:
CRK has boasted a higher standard…so why can’t we hold them to it?
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We can. I was interested as a first time buyer but the lack of communication from the company about a known issue for over a year is a red flag. So I'm not getting one.

Maybe somehow their design, testing, quality control, communications, and customer service departments are all simultaneously experiencing unrelated breakdowns. But it seems more likely from the lack of communication that there is something wrong with the company besides a run of bad luck.

Edit: after finding worse issues with the spyderco spydiechef that similarly went unaddressed (lock slip) - I am not sure what to think. I think CRK should be better because of their higher price, in house construction and fewer models to work with. Tempted to give them a chance and write this off as part of the learning curve for new mgmt.
 
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Toivo said:
We can. I was interested as a first time buyer but the lack of communication from the company about a known issue for over a year is a red flag. So I'm not getting one.

Maybe somehow their design, testing, quality control, communications, and customer service departments are all simultaneously experiencing unrelated breakdowns. But it seems more likely from the lack of communication that there is something wrong with the company besides a run of bad luck.

Then again, I'm new here so maybe their communication was always nonexistant but no one cared because the knives didn't flex.
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Same, I had ordered and was waiting on one which would have been my first, but cancelled after this was basically unaddressed by them.
Its a shame, I was really keen to try a Chris Reeve, but a company that prides itself on tight tolerances and dismisses this, just makes no sense to me. It seems the high expectations Chris himself held to, are starting to slip
 
I think the high expectations are still there, but some instances of the new lock design don't "live up" to what was expected of it. I have a few 31's that have noticeable up and down, and others that don't. Sorry, too lazy to go back and date them to see if there is a pattern to that. And of course, we at the user level at this point aren't going to be privy to what the company is/will do to address it. Maybe they'll go back to the older lock sans ceramic ball, maybe call it Sebenza 2022 or something...
 
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