Sebenza (huge) blade play

I'm not sure what the purpose is in that new lock/detent ball setup in the 31, but its just another reason for me to stay away from the newer CRK. That being said, most lock failures are due to improper usage/abuse. The only lock failure I ever experienced was with a CRKT M16-12Z and I was sawing through some pretty heavy material (can't remember what it was 15+ years ago) and it got stuck, In trying to extricate the knife, undue pressure was put on the spine, and the lock bar slipped and the knife nearly closed on my hand.
99% of cutting jobs (using a folder) will not involve untoward pressure on the spine, which is why the downward play on OTF's don't bother me. If this bothers you, return it and get something else. Simple.
 
I look at locks as a whole as a way to hold the blade open while I’m cutting. I don’t rely on them to keep my fingers safe… I rely on good knife handling skills and proper *common sense*. I won a 31, inkosi and 21 all in the large size and have yet to “test” a lock to the point where I notice an issue. If I have no blade play by pinching the blade with one hand and holding the handle with the other, it’s good to me. I still use Swiss Army knives and other slip joints and apply the same thought process to those… and they’re held by just spring tension! The same guys who test these knives locks also test how well a fixed blade can pry a bank vault and they cry when it snaps… it’s a cutting tool.
 
dan35 said:
Not sure why people keep testing this blade movement phenomenon with the 31’s. It’s there to some degree. If you keep doing this test, it will exasperate the phenomenon. Stop pushing 60 hrc steel into a 97 hrc ceramic ball.
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Translation: "I don't understand why people keep complaining about an obvious design flaw, and keep expecting a really expensive knife not to have lock problems that don't exist in knives that cost 1/10 the price."
 
Reswob said:
Translation: "I don't understand why people keep complaining about an obvious design flaw, and keep expecting a really expensive knife not to have lock problems that don't exist in knives that cost 1/10 the price."
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I'm on repeat here but it needs to be said again: the Inkosi and Umnumzaan both have the same ceramic ball interface and DON'T have the rock problems. This is a 31 design flaw.
 
I have to wonder everyone prefers the 21...seems like anyways. if the 21 setup was great whyd crk change it to the ball setup? also why don't see see this complaint on the inkoski with a similar setup?

is it as simple as just cheaper...or did the 21s suffer lots of warranty claims and those back end costs finally demanded a change?
 
Okso I will appoligize for this now, but maybe the play is an actual feature that reduces stress to the lack bar when spine wackin? ;) Too Soon?
 
Not wanting to add fuel to the fire, but my small 31 (December 2021) doesn't do that - although I haven't tried it on a table exactly like that. My observation is one doesn't usually put pressure on a knife in that direction anyways. I like mine and it is a solid knife, the lockup doesn't give me pause. I do know if something bugs me about a major purchase I would at least consider returning it.
Best of luck.
 
jbmonkey said:
I have to wonder everyone prefers the 21...seems like anyways. if the 21 setup was great whyd crk change it to the ball setup? also why don't see see this complaint on the inkoski with a similar setup?

is it as simple as just cheaper...or did the 21s suffer lots of warranty claims and those back end costs finally demanded a change?
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Tim Reeve decided he wanted to break free of his father's shadow after dad lost the company in a messy divorce and thought fixing what wasn't broke was a good idea.
 
Does this only apply to the small Sebenza 31? Because I have a large 31 and there is zero lock rock or blade play. It's rock solid. Maybe I just got lucky?
 
jbmonkey said:
maybe he should have just changed the company name to dba Tim Reeves Knives, instead.....
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lol right? Usually after a couple years people tend to be less vocal about a change they don't like, but updating the 21 seems to be the exception. The 31 sells like a mofo though, so I don't see Tim going back any time soon.
 
Chuck_Nunface said:
I see that on the 31 CRK created a channel for the ball interface on the tang of the blade.
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Never heard of this before, I know the first Inkosis had this but not the 31, pictures?

jbmonkey said:
whyd crk change it to the ball setup?
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To ramp up production numbers and lower cost, my theory anyways..

Chuck_Nunface said:
lol right? Usually after a couple years people tend to be less vocal about a change they don't like, but updating the 21 seems to be the exception. The 31 sells like a mofo though, so I don't see Tim going back any time soon.
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I bet most guys, that know about the lock rock, would trade it for a 21 in a heartbeat. Even adding some $ to make the trade happen.
 
Imo that's not a good way to check for up/ down play. Placing the knife on a table like that and pressing down on the tip exerts a lot of force. For some reason when the 31 came out it seems like everyone started to follow suit and this turned to be the proper way to check for play.
Maybe I'm wrong but I think it's been a bunch of commotion for no good reason.
 
Wanted to add. If I try this on my large 21 it does the same thing. So
353 said:
If that is true your 21 is in need of service, or most likely replacement.
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Well let's try an experiment. There's a lot of 21s out there. Whoever wants to participate I invite you to try this. Place your 21 on a table like in the video and put your weight down on the tip of the blade. If there is any flex or if it's rock solid post your results.
 
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