Review Sebenza 31

[Swp321]

I like how crk is always described as bank vault lockup and with the 21 I believe they nailed it hole drilled in show side or not. I’ve owned several 31s and sold all of them within a short time. Best crk I had was an inkosi from 2019 I think. That was a tank, I got a insingo inkosi late last year early this year and it had the worst lockup I think I’ve ever seen on a knife, the lock bar almost went over to the show side. Called crk which has been helpful in the past, explained that I felt it had late lockup and sent in pictures. Got an email back saying that was normal for the inkosi even though my 2019 inkosi was nowhere near the poor quality control. I’ve since sold off all my crk collection and unless Chris unretires and redesigns the 31 or at least get qc back to what it once was I don’t see myself owning any crks. I’ve got a Spydie shaman that has much better lock up that I trust more than any new crk, I actually think in my heart of hearts the compression lock from Spyderco is bullet proof. Not bashing just stating my experience.

 

[Kyle78]

Changes like the ceramic ball lockup and the lack of pivot bushing just as Chris designed into the Sebenza 25 (which later became the Inkosi)? The Zaan is the same design which Chris did too right??

Other than that, what other changes occurred to make the 21 into a 31…the pocket clip was angled and they did away with the hole in the show side scale. How dare Tim Reeve change these!! Haha.

I had a 31 and a few things I didn't like on mine:
1) The angled pocket clip can "pop" over into the lockbar when the knife is opened.
2) The shouldered stop pin
3) minor lock rock - my guess is due to the geometry between the pivot, stop pin, and ceramic ball.

A sebenza is supposed to give that satisfying bank lockup feeling when opened with no blade play - that's what the sebenza is famous for - simple design with amazing tolerances. Without that it looses what makes it special.

 

[Chris*33]

The 31 just doesn't feel as well fit together as the 21. I get a lot of the redesigns, but it still feels like a streamline/hand fit reduction decision. There is a lot of competition out there in terms of a frame lock titanium folder, and many of them lock up as well as the 31.

I have owned a plain sebenza 31 till a a couple of months ago, and to be honest i was not really impressed. I have not handled/owned a 21 so no point of reference. Mine had no blade play, it did come with a very minor lock-stick though, but i believe it just needed to be broken-in. Great working design, but that's it, didn't do it for me (as in i couldn't see any real value). Maybe we got used to that quality even at lower prices (the competition you mentioned)?
To add to that, i just got myself a ZT0640wbw and i was really impressed with the build quality, the smooth action (runs on washers like the sebenza) and the perfect lock-up/detent out of the box.

I would love to give a 21 a try if i manage to find one, but i think that i won't be getting any of the current models (even-though i really dig the mnandi ever since i got into knives), especially with the prices at the moment.

 

[Sagandavis]

I have a Regular, 21 and 31. I don’t carry my regular anymore because it’s too rare but it’s my favorite. I’ve had classics too. The only 31 I’ve kept is my small PJ. Any 31 I’ve had with inlays did loosen over time and I had to locktite.

My PJ 31 is a tank and I use the hell out of it and have never had to tighten anything

 

[BD_01]

Hyesouljah ,

i’m really bummed your beautiful 31’s are a bit jenky.
If there’s legitimate side to side play, IMO a trip to Boise is in order. Something between the bushing, washers, and stop pin is in need of tuning.

My S31 was a bit disappointing out of the box. As I said in a different thread, it was off center with washers of disparate thickness (I mic’d ‘em) with a horrible action. It was if someone got pulled away during final fitting, & the knife was boxed anyway. I elected to judiciously lap the washers down myself, with good results. (Still just a hair off center if I’m being anal about it). It’s not worth a CS trip at this point.

Prior to fixing the washers, the pivot wouldn’t stay tight. That problem is gone now that the washers fit better.

The S31 has a bit of lock bar flex IF I force it, but there’s no signs that it might slip or fail. It’s not an issue for me. There’s no lock stick.

I‘m very happy with my new L31. It’s very well executed. Solid lockup. No play in any direction. Almost, but not quite drop shut (as it should be when fresh). No lock stick. The hardware is staying tight. Centering was perfect out of the box. If I look at it super closely, it might be a micron off center now…or it could be my astigmatism. Seriously, it’s at that level of scrutiny.

With regards to other CRK experiences, I have a L21 thats not quite centered, even after a trip to Boise; they weren’t all perfect. My Umnumzaan’s both had lock stick until broken in…on my tanto in particular, it took a while to work its way out.

My experience with CRK customer service has been great. It’s one of the reasons I’m a fan, and willing to (occasionally) shell out serious $$$ to support them.

 

[Peter Hartwig]

I would have used some of that good customer service

 

[Blues]

I like 'em all. (Thankfully, my two new 31's don't exhibit any vertical or lateral play...that would be unacceptable.)

The "Regular" was a gift from my wife in 10/98 and is clearly the class of the field...but I have room in my heart for all of 'em.

(Disclaimer: I am no expert on CRKs or the nuances of the various offerings. I just know what I like and what I find acceptable.)

 

[Jsega51]

ww

I had a 31 and a few things I didn't like on mine:
1) The angled pocket clip can "pop" over into the lockbar when the knife is opened.
2) The shouldered stop pin
3) minor lock rock - my guess is due to the geometry between the pivot, stop pin, and ceramic ball.

A sebenza is supposed to give that satisfying bank lockup feeling when opened with no blade play - that's what the sebenza is famous for - simple design with amazing tolerances. Without that it looses what makes it special.

I can “lock rock” my 21 from 2002, and the damascus 21 from 2016 I have has a little side to side with an off center blade (it also had an inlay lift up on one end) so problems and inconsistencies exist within all models. I have two 31’s and neither have the issues that seem to always get brought up with them.

Funny thing is, searching “Sebenza 21 blade play” or “Sebenza 21 lock stick” brings up all sorts of discussions and threads across the internet that mirror the complaints about the 31 lol.

 

[snuffle]

I have a large and small 21 and a small Inkosi. The Sebs are from 2015 and 2018, I think the Ink is from 2020, and they're all tanks in every way. I had and sold a large 31 because of the blade play. I couldn't fix it, and to me a CRK that does that is just defective, like an expensive watch that doesn't keep time.

I'll pick another one up if they fix their design/process, but in the mean time the only CRKs that are catching my eye are lefty 21 Insingos. (Lefty Mnandis with interesting inlays would be catching my eye too, if I ever saw any.)

 

[Mister_Punchy]

No problem. The whole process took a tad under 1 month.
Thread 'Excellent SPA from Chris Reeve' https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/excellent-spa-from-chris-reeve.1892943/

Excellent ! I left a reply in your post to avoir derailing OP's post any further.

 

[Kettleman]

Sorry to hear of your issues. My experience was similar with the 1- 31 I owned for 15 mins. My Inkosi is rock solid as were the 6 - Zaan and the 12-21s Ive owned.
I am to the point that Zaan and Inkosi will be the only I’ll buy if needed from this point on. I am glad I have gifted all the knife folks in my life 21s over the years so they are set.
I have had the screw issue with my Inkosi but a tear down, degrease and CRK locktite seems have corrected that ( thanks badmatt ).

I am a huge fan bit of CRK, Im not a fan of TRK…..

 

[Sharp & Fiery]

My 2 31’s exhibit the same issues as the OP’s and one was sent back to CRK…still has the same issues. I’m over it. The 31’s are not for me.

Tim sure has saved me a bundle of $.

Long live the Reg and 21! Haha.

 

[badmatt]

Blade play is either from the stop pin being to wide or the pivot bushing. I have 4 31's all have been good to me except for one concern with a pivot screw backing it self out. A new screw fixed this.

As for the screws I have only ever had a pivot screw back out on a 31, but have had a stop pin come loose constantly on a large Inkosi that has been rectified for the past two years by the addition of some 242. CRK would likely send you out a batch of new screws and pins.

It sometimes isn't all roses with the 21's either, for example my damascus re-bladed from CRK has lock slip (this could be due to age of the blade surface becoming more "polished" over the years as well, but the original S30V blade and the other S35 re-blade are perfect.). My P serial has lock stick which was common on a lot of them from what i have gathered. The 21 also has had a much longer life span to work out concerns than the current 31 has - but it doesn't excuse the fact knives are still leaving Boise with concerns.

Either way, I am sorry to hear about the concerns with your two knives - Id reach out to CRK and at least give them the chance to rectify the concerns.

You have two very beautiful knives, Sir.

 

[CNCGUNNER]

I have owned 3 31's and only one of them had the slightest up and down blade play, messing with my KnifeArt CF Large 31 right now and I can CRANK on the blade in any direction, zero play whatsoever. YMMV

 

[CNCGUNNER]

I had a 31 and a few things I didn't like on mine:
1) The angled pocket clip can "pop" over into the lockbar when the knife is opened.
2) The shouldered stop pin
3) minor lock rock - my guess is due to the geometry between the pivot, stop pin, and ceramic ball.

A sebenza is supposed to give that satisfying bank lockup feeling when opened with no blade play - that's what the sebenza is famous for - simple design with amazing tolerances. Without that it looses what makes it special.

If your pocket clip can do that on a 31 something is very wrong! There's about .125 of clip resting on the scale... The clip is in a slot... It would have to be severely bent to "pop" over at all.

 

[Hyesouljah]

Is this not something CRK addresses through warranty? I've unfortunately had to use it one time, but came away extremely satisfied with their work.

It is something they will address, I’ve sent one of my knives in before and it came back with the same issues and I’m not willing to send the other one yet.

I think you need a fidget spinner so you can use your knives for cutting. Describing 30-60 minutes of fidgeting as minimal tells me you may be causing the screws to loosen.


Just send it back for the blade play.

30-60 minutes is the timeframe in which I would periodically pick it up and open and close it. I didn’t sit there for 30-60 minutes straight and open and close the knife like a lunatic lol. Even if I did do that the screws should not have loosened, none of my other CRK’s or knives for that matter do.

And thanks for your suggestion but I’m perfectly content fidgeting my knives and cutting with them when I need to.

Hyesouljah ,

i’m really bummed your beautiful 31’s are a bit jenky.
If there’s legitimate side to side play, IMO a trip to Boise is in order. Something between the bushing, washers, and stop pin is in need of tuning.

My S31 was a bit disappointing out of the box. As I said in a different thread, it was off center with washers of disparate thickness (I mic’d ‘em) with a horrible action. It was if someone got pulled away during final fitting, & the knife was boxed anyway. I elected to judiciously lap the washers down myself, with good results. (Still just a hair off center if I’m being anal about it). It’s not worth a CS trip at this point.

Prior to fixing the washers, the pivot wouldn’t stay tight. That problem is gone now that the washers fit better.

The S31 has a bit of lock bar flex IF I force it, but there’s no signs that it might slip or fail. It’s not an issue for me. There’s no lock stick.

I‘m very happy with my new L31. It’s very well executed. Solid lockup. No play in any direction. Almost, but not quite drop shut (as it should be when fresh). No lock stick. The hardware is staying tight. Centering was perfect out of the box. If I look at it super closely, it might be a micron off center now…or it could be my astigmatism. Seriously, it’s at that level of scrutiny.

With regards to other CRK experiences, I have a L21 thats not quite centered, even after a trip to Boise; they weren’t all perfect. My Umnumzaan’s both had lock stick until broken in…on my tanto in particular, it took a while to work its way out.

My experience with CRK customer service has been great. It’s one of the reasons I’m a fan, and willing to (occasionally) shell out serious $$$ to support them.

I am happy to hear your L31 is great and I agree with you, their customer service is the only reason I feel confident spending the money on them. For sure all of their different knives have some issues from time to time as do every knife from every brand but with CRK, you’ll know they will do their best to fix it. They fixed one of my Inkosi’s and 21s before.

I would have used some of that good customer service

The thing is, I just received my Inkosi back after having a warranty blade replacement done on it and after 3 times of sending it back and fourth. With my Damascus 31, I have sent it in twice for some of my aforementioned issues and I still have some of those issues. With my newest 31, I just want to enjoy it for now and honestly do not want to deal with having to send it in. As great as CRK’s customer service is, and I can vouch for how great it is, I just want to enjoy my knives and not have to send them in again. At least not for now.

I like 'em all. (Thankfully, my two new 31's don't exhibit any vertical or lateral play...that would be unacceptable.)

The "Regular" was a gift from my wife in 10/98 and is clearly the class of the field...but I have room in my heart for all of 'em.

(Disclaimer: I am no expert on CRKs or the nuances of the various offerings. I just know what I like and what I find acceptable.)

View attachment 2173512

I am glad your 31’s don’t have these issues and thank you for sharing your experience with them. You have a beautiful collection, thanks for sharing.

Blade play is either from the stop pin being too wide or the pivot bushing. I have 4 31's all have been good to me except for one concern with a pivot screw backing it self out. A new screw fixed this.

As for the screws I have only ever had a pivot screw back out on a 31, but have had a stop pin come loose constantly on a large Inkosi that has been rectified for the past two years by the addition of some 242. CRK would likely send you out a batch of new screws and pins.

It sometimes isn't all roses with the 21's either, for example my damascus re-bladed from CRK has lock slip (this could be due to age of the blade surface becoming more "polished" over the years as well, but the original S30V blade and the other S35 re-blade are perfect.). My P serial has lock stick which was common on a lot of them from what i have gathered. The 21 also has had a much longer life span to work out concerns than the current 31 has - but it doesn't excuse the fact knives are still leaving Boise with concerns.

Either way, I am sorry to hear about the concerns with your two knives - Id reach out to CRK and at least give them the chance to rectify the concerns.

You have two very beautiful knives, Sir.

Thank you sir, I’m not sure what the blade play is from, it’s honestly minor. I have no interest in sending my knife in for warranty at the moment but the reason why I’m reluctant to even try is because I’ve sent my Damascus 31 in twice already and the issues are still present.

Regardless I still love my knives and you will be seeing them often in my images

I have owned 3 31's and only one of them had the slightest up and down blade play, messing with my KnifeArt CF Large 31 right now and I can CRANK on the blade in any direction, zero play whatsoever. YMMV

Thank you for sharing your experience and I am glad you don’t have any issues with your knives sir.

 

[Hyesouljah]

If you are tightening the pivot all the way and still have blade play then you need to send the knife back to CRK for service. Or, you can hone down the pivot bushing slightly, but be very careful - it doesn't take much. The problem with your screws coming undone just baffles me.

The knife locks up really hard when I roll that blade open. Obviously the vibration is causing it to loosen but it shouldn’t be this bad. When I was pulling my knife out of the sheath after the 2nd day of owning it one of the screws was loose in the sheath and scratched the lockside of the knife as I pulled it out. Thankfully it wasn’t the show side. I don’t care for the snail trail but that’s when I realized I have a problem. A few days later the bottom body screw loosened and fell off. I’m not willing to mod my CRK in any way and have no interest sending it in anytime soon so I’ll just enjoy it as is for now.

I have a large Inkosi that I purchased new from Spark in 2019, and I love it. It was a gift to myself for reaching a hard-earned milestone. It is, in pretty much every way, my grail folder as I have wanted a CRK for 20 years but couldn't justify or afford the cost.

That said, I would have loved to have gotten a 21. They were on their way out to make room for the 31, and by the time I was ready to buy they were hard to come by new in the PJ finish.

The 31 just doesn't feel as well fit together as the 21. I get a lot of the redesigns, but it still feels like a streamline/hand fit reduction decision. There is a lot of competition out there in terms of a frame lock titanium folder, and many of them lock up as well as the 31.

Part of the joy of the CRK to many is that there is very little tuning that goes into the knife. 21s can be taken apart, screwed back together, and will be dead center with perfect action. My Inkosi is very similar. I generally take it to snug and then give it 1/8 of a crank, and it walks and talks perfectly...but it's not a 21.

As CRK knives are tough to come by in the wild, I generally spend my money on other brands. However, if I were to by one off the shelf today, I think I would skip the 31 and just go with a Zaan.

Thank you for sharing. I agree, with the 21’s you put it back together, crank everything thing down hard and forget about it and everything works perfectly without requiring loctite. So simple. The 31 is more meticulous than that and requires some turning.

I have a Regular, 21 and 31. I don’t carry my regular anymore because it’s too rare but it’s my favorite. I’ve had classics too. The only 31 I’ve kept is my small PJ. Any 31 I’ve had with inlays did loosen over time and I had to locktite.

My PJ 31 is a tank and I use the hell out of it and have never had to tighten anything

Thank you for sharing your experience sir.

My 2 31’s exhibit the same issues as the OP’s and one was sent back to CRK…still has the same issues. I’m over it. The 31’s are not for me.

Tim sure has saved me a bundle of $.

Long live the Reg and 21! Haha.

Hahah I’ll be saving a bit too not getting new 31s but I’m hunting for a Thuya 21 currently.

The reason I don’t want to even think about sending my 31s in for warranty is, the first, I just got back my Inkosi after dealing with warranty issues and having to send it in 3 times (they took care of me and fixed my problem and I’ll write a review on that soon as well.) And the second, because I sent my Damascus 31 in twice already for these issues and they weren’t able to fix it and I’m not ready to see if they can try to fix my other 31. Just want to enjoy it for now.


To whoever I haven’t replied back to yet I want to thank you for sharing your experiences with me. Look, at the end of the day these are still production knives and sometimes there will be issues like all other production knives. But with CRK, you’ll know they will absolutely do their best to help you out and provide great customer service.

Their customer service is the only reason I continue buying CRK’s and why I love them so much. I just want to enjoy my knives for the time being and eventually will send both 31s in for warranty and see if they can fix them, I’ve already sent my Damascus 31 in twice and it still has blade play so that’s why I'm hesitant as well with my new 31 but I will eventually try again. Just want to enjoy my knives for now

 

[Another Shepherd]

One more data point: My only CRK is a large Sebenza 31 UG. It has had no blade play, lock stick, or lock rock. No screws have loosened, but I am not a fidgeter. Only problem is that the edge angles were lopsided out of the box.

I generally hate frame locks, but the Sebenza is one of the few frame locks I can tolerate because it has that nice large cut-out opposite the lock bar.

 

[jbmonkey]

I have a 31 and mines good. no play no loose screws. work fine cuts fine. I'd rather have a 21 though.....

 

[DMG]

30-60 minutes is the timeframe in which I would periodically pick it up and open and close it. I didn’t sit there for 30-60 minutes straight and open and close the knife like a lunatic lol. Even if I did do that the screws should not have loosened, none of my other CRK’s or knives for that matter do.

And thanks for your suggestion but I’m perfectly content fidgeting my knives and cutting with them when I need to.

Maybe I should send you my large Inkosi to fidget with. It is still too stiff to open easily.