Sebenza or Alias

phantom357

phantom357

Gold Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Messages
383
First of all, I would like to thank all of you who contribute to the boards. It is certainly worth its weight in gold.

I have been lurking around the boards for awhile now and I finally had the opportunity to contribute something worthwhile. Here goes...a few months ago a bought a Bradley Alias II after reading much discussion about Alias vs. Sebenza. The Alias is fine knife in its own right and I've been happy with it since the purchase. However, I still didn't feel complete and I knew exactly why (i.e., I needed a Sebenza). Well, I had received some Christmas money and I debated between the Ipod touch 32 gig and Sebenza. The decision (if there really was one) was quick and without any pause. I ordered the Sebenza last week and received it today. As I ripped through the tissue paper, all of a sudden a feeling of peace was upon me and now I know what you guys have been talking about. The Alias is a good knife and does a fairly decent job or trying to mimic the Sebenza; however, the Sebenza is in a league of its own. I will post some pics later. Btw, I got the Small Regular Sebenza with the Dual Silver lugs.

Because I am a Sebenza fiend now, today I ordered another Sebenza with Snakewood Inlays. My wife is gonna kill me :D and it's your fault.




 
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sell the alias. you dont need it anymore, and it will help fund your inlay.

you most certainly will not be disappointed with your sebbies!
 
Buying more Sebenzas is simply a good test of the worth of your wife. :D

(BTW not a good idea to use this line explaining your new found addiction to the wife)

Congratulations
 
MORIMOTOM said:
sell the alias. you dont need it anymore, and it will help fund your inlay.

you most certainly will not be disappointed with your sebbies!
Click to expand...

That's an excellent point. Is it true what they say, once you go sebenza, you never go back? I sure hope not because my bank account won't be happy, but at least I will :)
 
Well done, you have two beauties.

Just blame the forums all you like when explaining the knives to your good wife.
 
Methinks the Seb would outlast the I-Touch anyway.

:)

Enjoy!! Get out there and scratch that thing up!!!

Professor.
 
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Very nice.

You should start saving up for a third as the one with snakewood will be too nice to use!
 
I would agree about selling your Alias, to help fund your next Sebbies purchase.

Congrats on getting your first Sebbie!
 
Congrats! First, by looking at this forum, you assume all responsibility for financial and marital damage caused by subsequent purchases. Second, you need to make a Mnandi your next purchase. :D I suggest snakewood to match your Sebbie.
 
I'm now a firm fan of Chris Reeve Knives, and already have my sights set on an inlay small Sebenza or quite possibly an Umnumzaan (might take a while though). :D

Anyways, if you don't have any sentimental attachments to your Alias, then putting it up for sale would be a good option. It should net you a tidy bit of cash for your next purchase in the near future. And congrats on your first Sebenza!
 
I would like to look/handle an Alais. The only way that will happen is if I buy one and that won't happen.:D
 
I prefer the alias over the sebenza but it seems all these knife snobs disagree. the blade shape of the bradley is superior to the sebenza and the ergos are better. do yourself a favor and pick up an alias. think about this. If you spent $385 on a knife would you dare say it was less than perfect. Never...because your trying to justify the price. CRK knives are solid for sure, but you pay a premium for the name and the legend.
 
I had $500+ wilkins which had problems and I sent it back to the seller.

I had a $600 or $700 Mayo that I sold as it was inferior.

Ergos and blade shape are subjective IMO. I can tell you that the engineering on the alias is not even in the same league as the sebenza. The alias does not have the pivot bushing, has itty bitty washers and a really small lock face.
 
BMBLADE said:
think about this. If you spent $385 on a knife would you dare say it was less than perfect. Never...because your trying to justify the price. CRK knives are solid for sure, but you pay a premium for the name and the legend.
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This is an interesting issue.

I don't think there is as much justification going on as some people seem to believe. Don't have any numbers to back this up, but folks buy CRK knives (and other such things) because they want them.

Maybe the CRK owner has a relatively high disposable income. Maybe he lacks other expenses that you have. Maybe he just prioritizes knives to a greater degree. Point is, the guy with the Sebenza had $385 (or whatever) to spend on a knife. He wanted a 385 dollar knife. He was not going to get the same degree of satisfaction from a 200 dollar knife.

That is not necessarily snobbery. In a lot of cases, I think it is just a matter of wanting to own a more refined object. There's nothing inherently snooty about that.

You can't necessarily quantify a person's desire to own something down to the last nickel. Some of it is intangible... like having kids, winning an Olympic gold, starting a business or spending a year biking across the country.

The fact that the knife itself is a material object, does not mean that all aspects of ownership can be reduced into material terms. Just as one example, I have a lot of stress and dissatisfaction in my life from time to time. I also happen to carry a knife for utilitarian purposes. It is true that my utilitarian needs could be fulfilled by a 200 dollar knife. Sometimes when I am not feeling well... when I am having trouble getting a particular thing to do what I want it to do, I'll pull out my Sebenza and just look at it. Just handle it. It feels good to be physically close to something that's done right. The ability to do that... to have that soothing feeling is not a completely tangible thing. It has nothing to do with arrogance or greed. It definitely has utilitarian value though, and that value derives directly from the quality of the knife.

Maybe a little esoteric, but just sayin'... everything in the world is not 100% black and white.
 
BMBLADE said:
I prefer the alias over the sebenza but it seems all these knife snobs disagree. the blade shape of the bradley is superior to the sebenza and the ergos are better. do yourself a favor and pick up an alias. think about this. If you spent $385 on a knife would you dare say it was less than perfect. Never...because your trying to justify the price. CRK knives are solid for sure, but you pay a premium for the name and the legend.
Click to expand...

Apparently you didn't read my intro post because I do have an alias which I do like by the way. However, the alias is probably the top knife in the minor league whereas the sebenza is in the major league. At the end of the day, price points/value of money are relative to the individual's standard of living and income and I would happily say that a $385.00 knife is inferior, if that's the case (which by the way, the sebenza isn't). Your statement about me or any other "knife snob" trying to justify price is very presumptuous, especially if $385.00 is like $3.85. My point is, you never know. Enjoy your Alias and I will enjoy my Sebenza. Oh, btw, I plan on selling my Alias in the marketplace in the near future, so if you know someone who would like to buy bolo.
 
BMBLADE has one post and already calling names.... bit of advise if you are serious on staying on Bladeforums don't call people names. It is seen as trolling and the moderators will kick you off for that.
 
marthinus said:
BMBLADE has one post and already calling names.... bit of advise if you are serious on staying on Bladeforums don't call people names. It is seen as trolling and the moderators will kick you off for that.
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That and his screen name is "BMBLADE" which we know BM makes the alias. Lets not feed the trolls :foot:.
 
Interesting discussion. Hmm, unfortunately to have the Sebenza imported it will cost me at least USD 385 + USD 65 (shipping) + USD 150 (taxes) = USD 600. Now, is it worth 600 bucks? I could buy more to reduce the shipping costs relatively, but it is a lot for a knife.
 
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