Sebenza needs an update

I had two beautiful dreams in life. One being a knife with ZERO blade play, and the other not having to deal with loctite every time I want to clean my damn knife. Then I found the sebenza hahaha. I can't be picky here. The sebenza is good just the way it is. If they made changes I would absolutely pick one up. But I could see myself eventually carrying my 21 when things really got to going.
 
bvo85 said:
I'm unclear why the 21 couldn't have a ceramic ball as a lock interface like the inkosi. Is there a technical reason? Is there some people who think there's a benefit to not designing it this way? Same for the pocket clip placement. I think the Inkosi is superior in pocket clip location.

Regarding the handle and blade shape, I think that's personal preference but I do like the looks of the Inkosi. What I don't like about the Inkosi is lack of a pivot bushing. To me, the pivot bushing is what makes the sebenza special relative to most other folding knives.

I'd like to see a pivot bushing offered as an option for every folding knife in the CRK lineup. Bushing-based Umnumzaan. Bushing-based Inkosi. Sign me up!! Still keep the non-bushing versions for people that prefer being able to loc-tite and micromanage their pivot tightness.
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+1 on a bushing based inkosi. Been dreaming about that since the inkosi first came out.

Thought by the time the 30th anniversary of the sebenza came around, CRK would design just that or something i entirely didn't expect too.

Making increment improvements through the years has always been what kept the sebenza ahead and above of competition.

Now, a lot more competition is starting to saturate the market with designs just as beautiful and with quality up to par.

Crk distinguished itself from others by creating better, higher quality, more advanced knives, implementing innovations never before seen into their designs to do so. I am hoping they will continue to do so.
 
Keep in mind i said Inkosi. I've always known the one thing keeping me from loving my inkosi was the absence of a bushing.

Also, what happens to a company when they don't innovate? What happens when everyone who wants a sebenza 21 finally has one?

Eventually, there won't be enough demand to continue to turn up a profit if there is a lack of innovation. We all don't want CRK to cease to exist one day.
 
I think if all we had was the Inkosi, I would either only look for older CRK ( which I do anyways ) or just simply quit buying them.
 
If everyone has a 21 they will buy a large 21, then a tanto, then insingo then larges of those!

I kinda like the 21 the way it is. The one thing I would change is I wish they would angle the clip like on the winkosi.
 
Lapedog said:
If everyone has a 21 they will buy a large 21, then a tanto, then insingo then larges of those!

I kinda like the 21 the way it is. The one thing I would change is I wish they would angle the clip like on the winkosi.
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That's one of the things that I don't like on the Inkosi.
 
I think CRK is in a tough spot. The 21 is hard to improve because for many fans improvement would mean going backward and just doing things the old way, bringing back old models, etc.

The other thing is that CRK already sees the inkosi as an improvement over the sebenza. They are better off just creating new knives but they don't seem to want to have a larger lineup.
 
SVTFreak said:
Have you actually used one?

No, it really doesn't.
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competition isn't far off anymore like it used to be. Other makers are already starting to forge ahead with designs which take advantage of new technological advancements and materials. CRK was one of the first(if not the first) to do this, but they aren't alone anymore.

The integral lock detent was an innovation of its time. It is still the standard to this day.

The use of a bushing is another innovation of CRK.

The use of a ceramic bearing on the lock detent was another innovation at the inception of the unzumaan and the 25.

The application of the bearing to lock onto the blade was once again an application we hadn't seen until the inkosi.

Keep in mind these were all innovations at their time. If Chris Reeve just sat on his butt and said "i'm satisfied with the liner lock" all those years ago, we wouldn't even be here talking about this.

Is it wrong to even consider that there are more improvements which can be made to turn out an even better product?
 
But one of the wonderful things of the sebenza is it's simplicity. Adding new technology also begins to increase complexity and points of problems or imperfections. So, often times, it's a trade off. This can be seen in many competitors that have become heavier and more finicky.
 
One of the wonderful things IS its simplicity. That's one of the reasons many refuse to use any other phone than the iphone. That doesn't mean that it cannot be made more simple, effective, or better.

Anyways, what I'd like to see with changes isn't the Sebenza 21, but the Inkosi.
 
I am completely in love with my Insingo 21. It's closer to a perfect knife (for me) than anything else I've come across. However, I would like CRK to come out with new models. As previously noted, competition has gotten fierce and they seem to have stagnated a bit. Maybe some collaborations with other knife makers like the Ti-lock was? As an aside, I also love my Ti-lock!
 
Sometimes the old saying "if it ain't broken don't fix it" rings so true ... and IMHO the 21 is one of those cases.

I am an avid hunter shooter and I long for the days gone by ... 95% of the guns produced today cannot hold a candle to the quailty of older models ... yes there are some improvements ... but most of what people see as improvements have a give and take ... and for me most would have been better left alone.

So someone cried out leave the 21 alone ... I'll second that loudly.

Just because other companies have something new doesn't mean better ... and just as all these new super steels may have advantages in some areas ... there is NOTHING they can do that good old high carbon can't do ... and with a bit of minor maintenance do as well ... "everything that glitters is not gold"
 
Innovation and updates are fine, but sometimes a model doesn't need it. When a particular model grows such a large fan base and you hear so many say "Don't change it", why would you? Introduce new features into a new model. Keep producing the well beloved 21 and leave it alone. It's great the way it is.
 
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I love the 21 just how it is.

That being said I reckon it would be cool if they offered an option with scales contoured like they do on the spyderco Slysz bowie.
 
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