Sebenza Blade Centering - Measurements & Observations

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That's a great pic. It looks like the blade profile is whacked, especially as it travels up to the point. Ok, maybe whacked is a bit extreme, but it certainly appears more tapered on the non-lock side.
 
US-STEEL said:
Not to be confrontational, but I think blade centering as a quality metric for a working tool is over-rated. While there's cause for concern if the centering interferes with function, I just can't embrace the whole blade centering controversy as a means to be alarmed, especially if at some angles it looks centered to the naked eye.

We all have our own perceptional on what's acceptable (for any product) and therefore, what may be of concern to me may not be of concern to others and vice versa; so, one size clearly doesn't fit all and that's ok too. It's just that if we resort to dissecting working tools with precision instruments of measure, I think we'll find measurable data in tolerances that wouldn't otherwise be prevalent to such a punctilious degree.

I liken this to tool marks. With a naked eye, we may not notice much, as the product appears aesthetically pleasing. But, under a macro lens, it's a completely different story; much like a blade edge under a microscope. Just my observation folks. I want an aesthetically pleasing tool that function 100% of the time and is guaranteed for life to just that, if they pass the microscope test, well then, that's just a bonus.
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Agreed and Amen, brother!
 
US-STEEL said:
Not to be confrontational, but I think blade centering as a quality metric for a working tool is over-rated. While there's cause for concern if the centering interferes with function, I just can't embrace the whole blade centering controversy as a means to be alarmed, especially if at some angles it looks centered to the naked eye.

We all have our own perceptional on what's acceptable (for any product) and therefore, what may be of concern to me may not be of concern to others and vice versa; so, one size clearly doesn't fit all and that's ok too. It's just that if we resort to dissecting working tools with precision instruments of measure, I think we'll find measurable data in tolerances that wouldn't otherwise be prevalent to such a punctilious degree.

I liken this to tool marks. With a naked eye, we may not notice much, as the product appears aesthetically pleasing. But, under a macro lens, it's a completely different story; much like a blade edge under a microscope. Just my observation folks. I want an aesthetically pleasing tool that function 100% of the time and is guaranteed for life to just that, if they pass the microscope test, well then, that's just a bonus.
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I agree with most of what you say, but I don't agree that the Sebenza is simply a "working tool".
To me, the Sebenza is much more than a simple tool.
I think the Sebenza is approaching knife jewelry.

If you want a simple, working tool, you can find one for much cheaper.
A Sebenza is something more, in my opinion, of course. :D
 
Nullity said:
To me, the Sebenza is much more than a simple tool. I think the Sebenza is approaching knife jewelry. If you want a simple, working tool, you can find one for much cheaper. A Sebenza is something more, in my opinion, of course. :D
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By no means am I insinuating that a tool is a tool is a tool. Certainly, there are many attributes to a tool, other than performance, quality and price. My CRKs, like my Wilson Combat pistol are indeed tools, in the same sense as my torque wrench or floor jack. However, as we know, there can be a large separation of quality, price and performance of tools within the same product category; none of which negates the fact that they're still tools.

But, I must admit that I do have a passion for my tools; I use them, but never abuse them and treat them with the utmost care. In reality, I view knives, firearms, wrenches and a myriad of other tools as functional art. I always have to be mindful of the fact that they're tools though, because if I just accept them as museum/art pieces, then I'll never be able to fully appreciate them beyond their stylish beauty. Not that there's anything wrong with someone choosing to do exactly that, because the owner gets to decide the purpose of their tool or masterpiece.:)
 
Nullity said:
If you want a simple, working tool, you can find one for much cheaper.
A Sebenza is something more, in my opinion, of course. :D
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Totally agree. Lots of decent blades out there for a fraction of the price. I'm talking US made blades as well. If there aren't pretty obvious quality differences, then the additional cost becomes harder to justify.

Well, my Sebbie is in a box and off to Idaho tomorrow. I provided a nice letter, explaining my concerns. With some luck, I'll hear from them late next week.
 
No need to educate people on something that has several threads on the subject matter. Off center screws? Several different threads on that. None of my Sebenzas or Umnumzaans have perfectly centered screws. Stiff opening? New thread every week on some guy whos thumb is sore. I just dont see the point of these thread anymore to be quite honest. If you feel like you have a problem send it in to CRK. Dont expect people to validate your concerns because you just end up getting butt hurt. Just my 2 cents and I'm sure CRK will fix your problems lol.
 
I could not of said it better myself, 101% in agreement with this.


US-STEEL said:
By no means am I insinuating that a tool is a tool is a tool. Certainly, there are many attributes to a tool, other than performance, quality and price. My CRKs, like my Wilson Combat pistol are indeed tools, in the same sense as my torque wrench or floor jack. However, as we know, there can be a large separation of quality, price and performance of tools within the same product category; none of which negates the fact that they're still tools.

But, I must admit that I do have a passion for my tools; I use them, but never abuse them and treat them with the utmost care. In reality, I view knives, firearms, wrenches and a myriad of other tools as functional art. I always have to be mindful of the fact that they're tools though, because if I just accept them as museum/art pieces, then I'll never be able to fully appreciate them beyond their stylish beauty. Not that there's anything wrong with someone choosing to do exactly that, because the owner gets to decide the purpose of their tool or masterpiece.:)
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I just purchased my first Sebenza and was one of the ones that posted a picture of my off-center blade recently. I have a lot of knives that are perfectly centered (Kershaw and Spyderco mainly). So when I paid $450 for my Starbenza - well, I was wanting it to be centered. It may not be important to everyone, but it sure was to me. To me, when you purchase a CRK, you are paying a bit for name, reputation and to a degree, collectability (even though I plan on using it). That's the way I rationalized my purchase - after all, my PM2 is pretty dang good - and honestly I'm even now trying to decide if it's $350 better than my PM2. Nevertheless, if I don't loose my Starbenza, one of my kids or grand kids may enjoy it someday. I called CRK and they told me to send it back to WC. I did and the fellow at WC found one off the shelf, personally looked it over and sent it to me. It is much better. It's centered (to my eye) and opens better. I feel much better about it now. But for $450 a centered blade is an important part of the over-all look, estetics AND expectation. I consider my car a tool too, but if I'm buying a BMW off the lot, I'd prefer it to be about as perfect as it can get.
 
Question - where / how is everyone who is having issues with centering buying their CRKs? New from store, new from net, used from forums / bay?

Just curious - I've owned 5 large sebenzas (still own two) and owned two umnumzaans (still own one). None have had blade centering issues - but all were store bought so I got to hold and inspect before purchasing.

Are any of these used from a forum or the bay, with a concern that maybe people (sellers) are blade swapping before selling?

I don't doubt the validity of the complaints at all. It would bother me (just not enough to measure).
 
For me, direct from distributor. I also looked at some at a retailer and every one I looked at appeared to be centered. I think it is probably more the exception than the norm - although there was one knife in particular that was super smooth, but I wanted a Starbenza.
 
I would put a greater weight on date of manufacture, as the true source is CRK. Unless you buy a used & abused knife, I'd presume that the faults would be factory related.

My Sebbie is April 2012. I'm sure CRK tracks customer returns in their quality management system. If patterns arise, they are sure to notice.
 
Toyz said:
Question - where / how is everyone who is having issues with centering buying their CRKs? New from store, new from net, used from forums / bay?

Just curious - I've owned 5 large sebenzas (still own two) and owned two umnumzaans (still own one). None have had blade centering issues - but all were store bought so I got to hold and inspect before purchasing.

Are any of these used from a forum or the bay, with a concern that maybe people (sellers) are blade swapping before selling?

I don't doubt the validity of the complaints at all. It would bother me (just not enough to measure).
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Brand new from dealer. Birthdate July 2012
 
kawr said:
...Just my 2 cents and I'm sure CRK will fix your problems lol.
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Well... they didn't. Blade just came back from CRK. The centering is identical to before and the off-center screws are still off center. They did reblast the handles and sharpen it. The folks at CRK are really nice people, but I'm having my doubts about a Sebenza being worth $400 to me. I know there are plenty of folks that love them. I'll sleep on it for a while I guess.
 
I sent my small snakewood in about 3 weeks ago and got it back this week. Blade is now centered. Not sure what they did but it sure is nice having it back and 'fixed'. I'm sorry Honda that you didn't get the same results.
 
Based on my observations, a new blade would be in order to correct it. CRK must have felt it was good enough to leave it the way it was.
 
dinokay said:
I could not of said it better myself, 101% in agreement with this.
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Those were good words indeed.

At the end of the day if you look for it you find all sorts of things that don't match up. How accurate do we want to get here because you could go crazy if you want ? If one wants knives that are with in near preposterous tolerances and want blades that are slightly warped from heat treat or grinding to be thrown out and not used expect to pay rather more than a Sebenza for those knives.
 
I too don't think the blades are warped, we all know the blades are ground by hand so a few thousandth's no big deal imo, as long as its not way off center then I don't see a problem. I don't know if any of you have tried to hollow grind a before but its not easy. I think I've seen 1 or maybe 2 Seb's that were noticably bias to one side and I think they were both Insingo's CRK's are at the top when it comes to F&F in imo at least. Put the Calipers down people for the love of god and go use your knife and enjoy it, thats what you bough it for right
 
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