Off Topic Sebenza BS

[Mo2]

Ceremic detents? I thought the little corner of the lock bar was just heat treated differently than the rest of the titanium giving it that "darker" color you notice? But hell what do I know..

Ceramic detent

stainless detent

notice how one is dark and one is not dark. first picture is of a CRK of some type. the bottom picture is just some random one.

the reason im asking is because the ceramic detent glides better on the blade. if you cant flick the knife out your blade or detent might be dirty and may require some heavy duty cleaning. just a possibility, not sure if thats the exact problem, i asked because im not sure if they are stainless or not in the knives people are having issues with.

stainless = not flickable as much as ceramic
ceramic = should be more flickable.

but what do i know?

 

[Aquaholicc]

Ceramic detent

stainless detent

notice how one is dark and one is not dark. first picture is of a CRK of some type. the bottom picture is just some random one.

the reason im asking is because the ceramic detent glides better on the blade. if you cant flick the knife out your blade or detent might be dirty and may require some heavy duty cleaning. just a possibility, not sure if thats the exact problem, i asked because im not sure if they are stainless or not in the knives people are having issues with.

Awesome post man, sadly enough it sounds like most of the people on the thread aren't with us on this one.

Seems like not being able to flick open a Sebenza isn't an "issue" to them lol. I understand "you don't buy a Sebenza to flick you idiot, enjoy the smoothness blah blah" but shit man..I like to flick my knives.

With that being said ..the Sebenza is my only knife were I DO NOT flick it open to deploy 100% of them time. Sometimes I do take a little bask in the glory and deploy the blade nice and smooth till she "locks up like a bank vault"

 

[Aquaholicc]

There is a documentary on youtube which is like one and a half hours long and it explains all the details of the Sebenza, including heat treated lock bar and ceramic detent ball.

Could you post please? I really enjoyed the BHQ videos on their production facility and all about their tolerances/quality control. Would love to see this my friend.

Edit: Nevermind you must be talking about the terrible Russian one that's 90 mins long with English dubs? Lol.

 

[Ajack60]

Y'all are 100% correct, yeah, detent ball not lock face treatment.
See, this it what happens when you get old, sometimes you need a visual to understand

 

[Aquaholicc]

Y'all are 100% correct, yeah, detent ball not lock face treatment.
See, this it what happens when you get old, sometimes you need a visual to understand

It's funny if you actually open your blade to about a 45 degree angle you can see the little hole in which the detent ball rest in..not sure why I didn't put two and two together before lol.

 

[JNewell]

did Sebenza's always have ceramic detent balls? if not, when did they introduce them?

anyone that cant flick open a sebenza do you have a SS or Ceramic detent?

Only the Umnumzaan, Sebenza 25 and Inkosi have the ceramic detent balls.
The Sebenza 21 has never had a ceramic detent ball.

This is incorrect and has been for roughly 15-20 years. A few years ago I mailed in a 1995 or 1996 Sebenza that needed work and one of the things that CRK told me the "had to do" was replaced the steel detent ball with ceramic. I was surprised and asked when they'd changed. I don't remember the exact answer but it was within a few years of Y2K one way or the other, IIRC.

I still have a couple of steel detent Sebenzas from the 1990s and I wouldn't say they're any more or less flickable than ceramic detents, but each knife is sort of its own case, so it's hard to say.

The difference between the Sebenza and the Umnu, 25 and Inkosi is the spherical ceramic lock interface.

 

[Aquaholicc]

This is incorrect and has been for roughly 15-20 years. A few years ago I mailed in a 1995 or 1996 Sebenza that needed work and one of the things that CRK told me the "had to do" was replaced the steel detent ball with ceramic. I was surprised and asked when they'd changed. I don't remember the exact answer but it was within a few years of Y2K one way or the other, IIRC.

I still have a couple of steel detent Sebenzas from the 1990s and I wouldn't say they're any more or less flickable than ceramic detents, but each knife is sort of its own case, so it's hard to say.

The difference between the Sebenza and the Umnu, 25 and Inkosi is the spherical ceramic lock interface.

Way off topic here, but

Is your profile picture the inside of a damn octopus mouth? I've been trying to figure this out now for about 23 mins and I've given up..

 

[kidcongo]

The ceramic detent ball, which is a feature of all Sebenza 21s, it a big part of the CRK reputation for smoothness. Ceramic glides much easier over steel, than steel on steel. Steel grips steel under pressure (think railway locomotive), but ceramic has much less friction.

It's a popular misconception that the Umnumzaan or Sebenza 25 introduced the ceramic ball to CRK, but that is completely wrong. Those knives were the first to use the ceramic ball as BOTH detent, AND lockface, but the ceramic detent ball pre-dates both those models, and was a feature of all 21s to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Aquaholicc]

The ceramic detent ball, which is a feature of all Sebenza 21s, it a big part of the CRK reputation for smoothness. Ceramic glides much easier over steel, than steel on steel. Steel grips steel under pressure (think railway locomotive), but ceramic has much less friction.

It's a popular misconception that the Umnumzaan or Sebenza 25 introduced the ceramic ball to CRK, but that is completely wrong. Those knives were the first to use the ceramic ball as BOTH detent, AND lockface, but the ceramic detent ball pre-dates both those models, and was a feature of all 21s to the best of my knowledge.

Maybe that's what I was thinking of the 25 and Umnum have a ceremic lockface.

 

[BD_01]

I got to handle a CRK Umnum today.. Not a fan...

I will forgive your lack of enlightenment.

 

[Saint 3:16]

IMO, all 21s should break in with use and proper cleaning and maintenance, and should eventually be flickable and even free dropping. It's a testimony to Crk's design (ceramic detent ball) and tolerances.

If your 21 isn't flickable and it's your edc, it likely needs cleaning and degreased.

 

[Aquaholicc]

IMO, all 21s should break in with use and proper cleaning and maintenance, and should eventually be flickable and even free dropping. It's a testimony to Crk's design (ceramic detent ball) and tolerances.

If your 21 isn't flickable and it's your edc, it likely needs cleaning and degreased.

Shhh don't say this too loud!

 

[353]

Way off topic here, but

Is your profile picture the inside of a damn octopus mouth? I've been trying to figure this out now for about 23 mins and I've given up..

Haha, I've wondered about wth that picture is for years..

 

[JNewell]

Way off topic here, but

Is your profile picture the inside of a damn octopus mouth? I've been trying to figure this out now for about 23 mins and I've given up..

No, I had surgery to rebuild a shoulder that completely blew apart in a fall several years ago. That's the surgeon's view through his camera. 8^0

 

[palonej]

Ok!!! Now that pic is even freakier!!!!

No, I had surgery to rebuild a shoulder that completely blew apart in a fall several years ago. That's the surgeon's view through his camera. 8^0

 

[Wanimator]

Mobil 1 synthetic grease would do a similar job. Redline CV2 would work great as well. The PFPE/PFPAE grease that's used was never used for space necessarily because it was that much of a superior lubricant so much as that it's chemical resistent. There's little to no benefit of it in this application considering how often it's cleaned. By the way, the Finishine product IS a Krytox product made by DuPont and packaged under their bike brand.

 

[TTTis]

This is exactly my problem. I would go to lube my bushing and I got nothing but watery crap lol. I guess I'll just kneed the tube like playdough.

Interesting, my experience with CRK's grease has been less than stellar. I found it very watery and when it dried the action became noticeably worse (it dried within a day or two, tried it multiple times before giving up and buying some Finish Line).

I don't kneed it but I shake the tube for a good minute before use. When I first started using CRK grease I had the same issue. When mixed properly and applied to say the washer side of the blade, the stuff won't run at all. Resembles more of a paste consistency and you only need a super thin layer. I usually go about six months before cleaning my daily carry out and generally use it multiple times a day. Frankly I don't even need to clean it or lube it that often, but I just enjoy the process. Hell I'd probably break it down weekly if I had the time, but for no other reason than the enjoyment of taking it apart.

@Peter Hartwig
A free falling blade is nice and all, but I've yet to see where it's beneficial to the function of the knife when it's being used. Except, for it to bite you when you've got your mind on other things at that moment.

This is why I enjoy the tolerances of a CRK with the RIL, personally I believe it makes the idea of a framelock safer. I enjoy unlocking the knife and having no fear of a guillotine coming down on my finger. A free falling blade looks cool for sure, but in real life application I've always found it to be a liability.

Lol I'd hope my 70% detent lock up on a CRK wouldn't fail me...

Its not the locked position he was referring to, when you unlock the knife and the blade falls on its own. That can be dangerous if your mind isn't on the task at hand (which obviously it should be).

With that being said ..the Sebenza is my only knife were I DO NOT flick it open to deploy 100% of them time. Sometimes I do take a little bask in the glory and deploy the blade nice and smooth till she "locks up like a bank vault"

I can't say I open mine extremely slow every time, but my thumb stays on the stud the entire time slow or fast. Feeling the smoothness the entire way to opening is something I've come to really enjoy about the Seb. I think with time the desire to snap the blade open will fade, mine did. The feeling of this knife opening is different than others and may change you, ha.


And finally....... just use the crk grease.

 

[Aquaholicc]

JNewell Damn man much respect! Hopefully your should healed up well.

TTTis I can't disagree about opening the nice slowly to enjoy the smoothness of the craftsmanship. Guess I'll see how long it last after I shake the tube like you said and see how long it last.

I'm like you on the fact that the knife is simply enjoyable to take down and I worry that I won't be able to keep my hands off it for more than 3 weeks lol. Especially when I see stuff around the bushings it'll drive me nuts.

 

[GermanyChris]

Wow that sucks..I just wasted a 10 dollar bill lol.

Ok so last Saturday I tried the finish line again and by yesterday it was pretty dry, that might be because I didn't use it at all this week but still. Today because I have it I mixed my finish line chain oil with the finish line grease to to test it. Initially it's just like Reeve grease but we'll see.

 

[Aquaholicc]

Ok so last Saturday I tried the finish line again and by yesterday it was pretty dry, that might be because I didn't use it at all this week but still. Today because I have it I mixed my finish line chain oil with the finish line grease to to test it. Initially it's just like Reeve grease but we'll see.
View attachment 718345

Man I'm sorry to hear this. My syringe is just sitting in my drawer at home, hopefully it dried on you due to the lack of carrying the knife?

Please share you experiences on how this little mixture works out for you.. as I fear/know my CRK grease won't last forever sadly!

Edit: I'm not sure where your live but I'm in Florida and I've noticed if I simply carry my Sebenza in pocket it's considerably smoother at the end of the day, I'd like to believe the heat reacts with the grease to make it a little more "buttery" if that makes sense? Any input on this theory?