Sebenza and Military

C

CarlRexHubbard

Joined
Jun 6, 2001
Messages
132
I want a daily carry knife. I have narrowed it down to two choices, the Chris Reeve Sebenza or the Spyderco Military. Both are nice, one is one hundred dollars while the other is three fifty. Can you give me some thoughts on which one to choose. Any bad experiences with one, any quality problems with Military?
 
I want a daily carry knife.
You have answered your own question. The military IS NOT a daily carry knife. Period. It's blade is too thin, and is not guaranteed by Spyderco, unlike their other blades. I would Suggest many, many others if you don't want to pay for a Sebenza. Al Mar SERE for one. I love that knife or Spyderco's Bob Lum Tanto. Go to your local shop and do some research you won't be sorry. Also there are many Benchmade that you could be happy with.
 
I have both a small Sebenza and the Military. The Military used to be in my EDC rotation...until I bought a Sebenza. Now I carry a small CGG Sebenza in a G2 canted sheath. The Military is a very good knife for the price, but the Sebenza is a Very Good Knife. Just remember...you can't put a price on happiness
wink.gif
.
 
If I were in your position, I'd get one plain-edge Military for my right-front pocket, one serrated for rear waistband, and keep $150 for fun.
 
Sebenza all the way! These are knives you can pass down to the next generation! I just picked up a large woody 'benza at the Blade Show on Saturday. Just tradeed for another large 'benza that I hope comes tomorrow. I have not dealt with the Spyderco Military much, but I have the Sebenza. The Sebenza is a knife that will be no problem becomming an edc.

------------------
Art Sigmon
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Php. 4:13

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword"
Heb. 4:12
 
i own both small and large Sebenza's. The large is so old it does't have a clip. I also have the Military. My EDC changes every couple of days. The large Sebenza doesn't get carried but every couple of month due to weight. The small every other week or so. The Military is the knive that stays in the car permanently until I get a Busse basic. I don't think the Military will stand up to the abuse you could do to either of the Sebenzas. Just so you know right now I am carrying an Al Mar SERE. Another knive you might look at is the Spyderco Wegner. This is the knive I seem to find myself carrying the most but a large Sebenza with a clip would very easily displace it. In the long run get them all.

Bob:D
Bob
 
I dont mean to be argumentative (so don't flame me) but I think it's kinda silly to say that the military isn't guaranteed, simply because you could buy THREE militaries for what one sebenza costs. Now for the disclaimer....

I own neither a sebenza nor a military (although I am working on fixing that) so you can disregard all that I said...

--Matt
 
First I've heard that Spyderco doesn't guarantee the Military-Pergatory, can you direct us to some details, or was that off the top of your head?
Not trying to start anything, just asking.

Carl, welcome to the forums!
I recently made use of Spyderco's warranty/repair service. I sent them a heavily used (abused, beaten) knife that was a discontinued model-lock was broken. They informed me that they could not repair it, that it was a manufacturing defect, gave me credit for it's value, and replaced it with a model of similar value. This was unexpected, and gave me alot of confidence in their service.
I have not owned the Military.
I have owned several Spydercos over the years, and have been very happy with them. The reason I don't carry one anymore is...the next paragraph.

All that said, I have not met another production knife that can compare to the Sebenza. The fit and finish are incredible. The lock is outstanding, and just holding the knife gives a feeling of confidence in it that is hard to describe. I have not had occasion to make use of their customer service, but know that they have a great reputation for service.
IMO, Sebenza, no contest. You pay a premuim for superior materials and workmanship, but you get, well, superior materials and workmanship.

Like always, though, personal preference and finances rule the day, so I'd suggest that you handle both if possible (preferably at the same time so they can be compared). That may be hard to do, though. I bought my small Sebenza sight unseen, and have not been to a dealer that carries them. Perhaps visiting a local knife show would give you the opportunity to do that.
Not everybody falls for the Sebenza, and you may not even like it (time for a psych eval
tongue.gif
).

Have to suggest looking into the Benchmade 710 or 710HS as I have been very happy with mine. Good blade (in either steel), good ergonomics, great lock. This is my personal choice in a production folder for the money.

Good luck, and tell us what you get!
 
If you have a large hand, I'd forget the Sebenza. The large is too small for my hand, and mine aren't terribly large. I guess better to say it is too short.

If ergonomics are important to you, you better handle a Sebenza before buying one. Very poor in my opinion. Course, I've only had mine for 4 days.
smile.gif


I've handled the AM2K and think it is a great knife. And, have to admit the BM710 is great. And, I recently bought a SPyderco Wegner. It has great ergos, and is not delicate in any way. It has an incredibly solid feeling about it, despite some Sebenza snob recently calling it a tin can lid.

Check me out in a couple weeks. I might well be selling an almost perfect Sebenza.

------------------
Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
The Military and Sebenza differ on many aspects and are comparable on some other aspects. The main question IMO is, can you afford to carry, use and god forbid, lose the knife? The Military is an excellent production knife, but still a production knife. As such, it will not give you the pleasure of owning anything exotic or with 'character'. Although some may dispute this, the Sebenza does have more character and exotic quality than a 'regular' production knife. The Sebenza will probably give the average person a greater joy of owning a knife.

Locking systems differ as well. The Sebenza has its famed integral lock, no problems there. The Military has the "dreaded" liner-lock, but it is executed very well. In my personal observation on the forums, I think that many critics of the liner-lock agree that Spyderco makes some of the best examples nowadays. In scientific lock strength the Sebenza will win, but in reliability it's probably a tie.


Cutting wise, the differences get smaller. Both Reeve and Spyderco feel that a knife should have a thin edge for high perfomrance slicing and cutting. The edge geometry on both knives is excellent, both are and stay very sharp! Personally, I don't reallly notice any difference in cutting performance due to edge geometry, in both knives.

The clip on the Military is better, doesn't pinch and isn't too tight on your clothes. I have no experience with the newer version of the clip CRK puts on the Sebenzas.

Hole vs. Stud. The thumb-stud on the Sebenza works, period. It's large enough to get a grip on, the first time around. It's just that I am just such a fan of the hole these days. The hole is inherntly ambidextrious and there's no resistance when cutting through large media. The hole is a very low drag solution to the one-hand opening problem.

The customer service of both companies are good example of how it should be with all companies. In the archives, you will find many testimonies of that. A tie, in my opinion.

BTW, don't be fooled by the apparent inefficient handle size of the Military. Alhtough perhaps inefficient for housing the blade, it's very effective for gripping while cutting!! The Military will score higher on overall ergonomics.

The Military is much lighter, but it feels very solid in the hand. The blade steel differs as well, but you'd better ask Cliff stamp how the Sebenza and Military compare steel-wise. I am not that keen on edge holding and such, anything made of ATS 34 and above is fine for me. I am gonna stop now.

IMO: the Sebenza has greater pure lock strength, and offers greater pride of ownership due to the relative exclusiveness in design. After that, performance-wise, the differences get much smaller, in my opinion.
Then there's the cost difference. And again, can you afford to carry, use and face the possibility of losing a $350+ knife? I have come to the conclusion that that is quite a significant question for EDC knives. Then again, I am still a university student, so my funds are limited, your situation may be diferent all together. Hell, when I get a good job after gradutation I sure intend to get a real custom folder. Something a long the lines of a titanium handled/ 3,5 inch bladed Military/ with an integral, or integral compression lock.

Cheers,

Wouter
 
I don't own a Seb, but I can tell you the fine points of the Military. The Military is an exceptional cutter. I don't think that anybody would dispute this. It's a hard use knife with one of the best production liner locks I've seen. The newer version also has an eccentic pivot, so you can adjust the pivot over the life of the knife. The Military has textured G10 handles and great ergonomics, which make for a very secure and comfortable feel in the hand. Some people say that 440V has a tendency to chip. I've abused the heck out of my Military and it hasn't chipped yet.

So what's the down side? That’s easy. The Military is butt ugly. It looks like somebody beat it with an ugly stick. It’s also very imposing to sheeple. The meek run for the nearest closet when you whip out the old Military. The size of the knife also makes it uncomfortable for carrying in a front blue jeans pocket, if you plan on using the pocket for anything else. I’d definitely spend a few of those bucks you saved by not getting a Seb, and have Gary Graley make you up a nice leather sheath for your Military. This is a pretty big knife.

The Military really is a great buy. You get an enormous amount of function for a reasonable price. That is……… if you can get past the looks.
 
Buzzbait,

Isn't that funny...

I think the Military is one of the nicest looking knives around. I bought mine specifically for this reason. This just goes to show how different our tastes can be.

Jeff/1911.
 
It is funny about different taste. I find the Sebenza to be very comfortable in my hand and I have a fairly large hand since I stand 5'11" and weigh close to 250 pounds! I also like the looks of the thing, I know, GREY TURD!

Bugs when you get ready to sale let me know! LOL.

There have been several other knives mentioned here that are great knives. The Al Mar SERE 2000 is one fantastic knife and at the price is hard to beat. I saw one at the Blade Show that Al Mar Co. had customized with wood handles instead of the G-10. It looked great! Of course it had a great price! Over $300.00 about the cost of a Sebbie.

Boils down to what YOU like and want AND to what the billfold will stand!

------------------
Art Sigmon
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Php. 4:13

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword"
Heb. 4:12
 
Okay, I heard this from the manager of my local outdoorsman shop, so don't quote me.
Spyderco will guarantee the military from defects in workmanship, BUT they will not cover a broken blade that has been used in a manner that one would use most others Spydercos in, like hard cutting. I hope that helps.
Ed
 
Carl,
I understand your doubts about hand dimensions, maybe this comparison could help you.
View

Here is Military in my hand (I have pretty overage sized man's hands).
View

And here is large Sebenza, also in my hand. These photos were made in different time and different places so the scale is different but you can compare with the hand.
Seems that for extremely large hand Sebenza's handle can be too little.

As to usefulness - both Military and Sebenza will serve you very decently, of course if you will dare to carry and use $350 knife
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So my advice is: if you want to cut - get Military. If you want to be proud Sebenza owner - get Sebenza.

Ed,
As to my knowledge the Military is not covered with any different kind of warranty than over SPYDERCO knives. I have never saw or listened SPYDERCO would claim this. Prying with the knife it is possible to break each blade, no one SPYDERCO knife is exception here. Military is nicely designed and flawlessly made knife, I need nothing more for cutting, no matter hard or light.
 
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