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Sebenza, Is it really worth the $$$$$?

I'm surprised that a lot of people knock the looks of them. I've always thought that even the non embellished ones were very nice looking knives. I think the thick, ti handle slabs, the outline of the handles, the shape of the blade, and the thick framelock are spot on in the looks category.
I didn't care much for my small stars & stripes sebenza when I got it. It was actually painful to open. (REALLY tight - and that pointy thumb stud did not help matters at all!). In fact, I think I would have swapped it out for something else for that if not for a lot of posts here insisting that it would break in nicely. It did, (after several hundred opeinings and closings), and it opens like I would expect now. I still wish CRK offered it with a flat cylinder shaped thumb stud.
Now I like it as much as I expected to when I bought it, though.
That said, I like my Mnandi more.
 
There are two contrasting opinions in all of these threads:

Buy the best and forget the rest

Save your money for a rainy day



One of these days, you are going to be on the wrong side of the grass, and all the money in the world will do you no good whatsoever.

Live life to the fullest and get all the gusto out of it you can. Buy the best stuff and dont look back. Money is just a tool, and you cant use it for anything except getting stuff.
 
I go to the Blade show every year. Every year I look at, and handle a Sebenza. I admire the quality of the fit & finish and prefer the Classic Sebenza over the newer one.

Then somewhere in the course of the Blade show I find another knife I would rather have. Just not a Sebenza person. If I had a larger income I would own a Sebenza. As it is now my folder needs are met by my Spydercos, Benchmades, William Henrys, or my custom Atkinson or W.C.Davis.

My personal choice and what adds that much more enjoyment to owning fancy knives. Otherwise most peoples folder needs could be met with your basic Buck 110.
 
edamhcneb said:
I have been reading a lot on here about the Sebenza and am thinking of getting a Left handed Large Classic. I am just curious if some of you current owners feel that it is worth the $385.00 and up?

Comments?
Click to expand...

Make your own decision. Buy one and carry it for awhile. If you don't like it I'll take it off your hands for 50 bucks or so... (ducking for cover) :D
 
Each person has his own answer to this question, because each has his own definition of worth and afford.

I'm kind of both people Tom Mayo speaks of. I"m a big saver, yet i'll spend for a Strider or custom from time to time. As far as one day being on the wrong side of the grass,heres my thoughts. Well I'm 47 and have saved and invested enough that right now I could lose my job and it would be no big deal at all. I'll still have a nice retirement, the kids will go to good schools and thats a great feeling. I could die and my wife and kids will be more than ok money wise, thats an even better feeling.That feeling does not come from buying all the best toys all the time. Just my one cent ( the other one I'm investing);)
 
I owned two at one time. A NICA Tanto and a wood inlay. They are well made and great peices to collect, but I was always afraid to use them. I wound up selling them. Now I kick myself in the ass. The prices have gone up quite a bit.

But do I think its worth the price?

No.

My opinion only.

I started looking at the prices on the new ones out there and I just couldn't bring myself to purchace such expensive peices and not use them.

Maybe the fact is I don't like them. :(

One thing I would like to see on those knives though are a flat ground blade. Actually I would like to see all of his blades in a flat grind option.
 
STR said:
If you want the best frame lock for the money I'd say the Sebenza is worth it.
Click to expand...


Framelocks are way over-rated. I'm waiting for the liner-lock Sebenza.



Or a lockback.



.
 
edamhcneb said:
I have been reading a lot on here about the Sebenza and am thinking of getting a Left handed Large Classic. I am just curious if some of you current owners feel that it is worth the $385.00 and up?
Click to expand...
Compared to other available knives, and considering practical use only, no.

Based on private party prices of mint condition Sebenzas I've seen, no.

Looking at materials and workmanship ... maybe.

If you find satisfaction in owning things that are very nice, and just because you like them, then the answer might be yes.
 
tom mayo said:
Live life to the fullest and get all the gusto out of it you can. Buy the best stuff and dont look back. Money is just a tool, and you cant use it for anything except getting stuff.
Click to expand...

Yeah, what HE said- GET A MAYO :D :p :D !!!!
 
I've had my large (plain) Seb since 98 and I never fail to admire it. It's beauty lies in 2 things: simplicity and quality. The simple lines and fail-safe mechanism suit the minimalist look of the knife and the outstanding quality means that you just have to run your hands over it. The contour on the spine always amazes me. Oh, and the combination of that design and quality = outstanding cutting performance. Now price, let's remember that price is not just about CR meeting his costs plus a profit margin - it is about getting what the market will bare. Just look across these forums and you will see the large follwing that the Sebenza has - such a following must be invaluable marketing to CR. But this is a following built on satisfaction not some clever advertising campaign. The interest in the Sebenza has done nothing other than increase and just see how many threads there are from disatisfied owners (not many at all). Is it worth paying the 380 mark? Well, if you want a reliable and effective knife built to the highest standards, then the answer is a big YES.
 
Well, for me it isn't. Let me tell you why.
Let's see...

Sebenza: $400.

Vs.

A very good production folder (Benchmade 710HS, Kershaw ZT200, Buck Strider 880 etc.) : $130.
A good small PC folder (Benchamede Monochrome, Buck Hilo): $30.
An also very good small fixed blade (Ranger RD3.5, a Swamp Rat Tail etc.): $80.
A very good big fixed blade: (Something from Becker, or a Ranger RD7) $ 90.
A good multitool: (Victorinox Spirit, SOG Power Lock, Leatherman PST) $60.

... and I still have enough change for a bottle of scotch. It's a no-brainer.
 
I'm sorry, Redguy. I would never have guessed English was a second language for you!

But I was just kidding. :D

There are so many knives, and different models of most of them, for a reason. People's needs and tastes differ. There is nothing wrong with some people liking a knife and others having no use for it. Even the knifemakers understand this. It would be foolish of us to become more loyal to a brand than to our own interests.
 
You're a gentleman Esav. :thumbup:

Anyway... I've seen a Sebenza once in a local knifeshop. It was around 1200 bucks in Hungarian money! :eek: That's a very good monthly salary here.
I was stunned. I examined it, opened and closed it, played with it, and I found out, it's an extremely good knife. Clear puritane lines, tight tolerances, smooth as glass, etc... Then I picked up a BM 710, a Buck 880, a Seki-Cut Bob Lum Encounter and a Spyderco ATR and I have found every one of them just as perfect, useful and clean as the Sebenza.

Of course, personal preference is significant factor here.
 
Having handled both large and small sebbies I can safely say they are not for me they just don't feel comfortable to me and to pay the price of a sebbie I would want a knife that felt right. That is not to say that you will find the same thing. Other people love the sebbie and thats fine by me, each to their own thats what I say otherwise life would be dull if everyone agreed on everything.

Join a passaround, borrow one or buy one second hand and then sell it if it is not for you as you will get pretty much what you paid for it if it is not damaged.
 
Sebenza's are great knives. Period. Sharp as heck, extremely well made, durable as all heck. Sure they could be more "tactical" looking but that isn't what CRK was going for with the sebenza. Frame locks in my opinion are the best locks yet. CRK pioneered them and they hold up like no other lock

I've seen. Lock backs lay inside the palm where (if enough pressure is applied) the lock can be depressed and hence the knife closes. Liner locks....they fail all to often mostly because the liner is too thin for the blade thickness. As well they can accidentally be unlocked by your fingers in some models.

Frame locks, you are actually holding the knife closed...there is far less room for flaw. As well with the Sebenza the Ti locking bar is as thick if not slightly thicker than the blade. Hence you get maximum strength out of the locking bar to blade pressure ratio. Maximum surface as well. Leaving the probability of the bar going too far toward the inside of the handle real slim unlike liner locks.

Titanium and steel have the right adhesive qualities together as opposed to steel on steel which is too slick. The channels milled into the locking bar to create the angle the bar sits on are just right on a Sebenza.

Liner locks with Ti liners are usually too thin, Ti can be too flexible so it needs to be as thick as the steel is to work properly.

The thumb studs on a Sebenza are pointy and uncomfortable at first BUT, you get use dto it and it feels like nothing after a while. I woud imagine that it's pointy-ish because it will catch your thumb better than say a rounded smooth thumb stud.

I like what Tom Mayo said. Money's just a tool and it's only good for buying more stuff. Money is worthless really (being printed by a private entity and based on GNP that is lessening every year) except in material matters like survival, housing, eating, and acquiring more useless stuff. However, if you have some money and want something you might as well buy the best quality item you need instead of buying something of lesser quality. You usually get what you pay for. So why not get the best?

You can buy 20 okay knives that loook really cool but won't last or buy one kickass high quality piece of cutlery that will last a lifetime. But, not everyones budget is the same so you either save up, or get something less expensive and more immediate.
 
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