Sebenza v Griptilian

[Hair]

The Sebenza is a great knife, and I really like them. However, from a performance standpoint, I seriously doubt that the Sebenza performs signifigantly better. If you really like Sebenzas, great; buy one. Otherwise, I think you would be well served with a Griptillian.

I don't think anyone has ever said the Sebbie performs signifigantly better. Just better. Slightly better. But better is better.

An Opinel will do most of what a Grip will do. If we knife-lovers always went with the least that we need, we wouldn't need much more than an Opinel.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

I don't think anyone has ever said the Sebbie performs signifigantly better. Just better. Slightly better. But better is better.

An Opinel will do most of what a Grip will do. If we knife-lovers always went with the least that we need, we wouldn't need much more than an Opinel.

Agreed. It all comes down to what you like the best.

 

[Hair]

Definitly.

When comparing any knife to any knife, it's always a matter of personal preference. There are some objective criteria, but whether those issues are even important or not (or how important they are) is subjective. And of course most issues when comparing one knife to another are purely subjective to begin with.

I have an Opinel, Grip, and Sebbie. They each have their own charm. The one I use depends on my mood since they can all do virtually all of my daily tasks.

 

[hydrophobia]

Thanks again for a very lucid discussion and for raising some excellent points. I can handle the griptilian at my local store but not the sebenza, I guess I'll wait to handle one before I decide if it offers me anything extra.

Since you only have 2 posts as of yet I will take it easy on you.

Sorry, I thought this was a knife discussion board not a post count pissing contest. Easy enough back atcha?

 

[Nathan S]

Sorry, I thought this was a knife discussion board not a post count pissing contest. Easy enough back atcha?

Post count pissing contest? I don't see it. The whole "Sebenza vs. some other knife" thing has been done to death. It has become tiresome, very old news. If a more experienced poster had asked your question, he might have received different treatment. I think Barrabas was giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Oh, and by the way, please use the search function. You will turn up an enormous amount of information about both the knives you're interested in.

 

[cerulean]

Welcome to BladeForums, Hydrophobia!

Please don’t be upset with barrabas74. Threads about the Sebenza being overpriced surface here frequently. It might be surprising, but many Sebenza fans do not recommend the knife to others, especially those that may be newbies.

I haven’t owned a Griptillian personally, but Benchmade certainly does make some great stuff. Though I’ve only bought a handful of Benchmades in the last several years, they’ve all been very impressive and I doubt you could go wrong with one.

 

[Steven Andrews]

My Small Sebenza rarely gets carried - not because I worry about losing it, but because I prefer my Mini Griptilian variants.

I find the mini Grip easier to open and close, and more comfortable to use.

And for the price that I paid for my one small Sebenza I have bought three Mini Grips - in M2, S30V and D2!

 

[Trout Tamer]

And for price that I paid for my one small Sebenza I have bought three Mini Grips - in M2, S30V and D2!

Out of curiousity, which is your favorite steel for all-around use? Do you notice any discernible differences between the 3 types?

 

[Steven Andrews]

Out of curiousity, which is your favorite steel for all-around use? Do you notice any discernible differences between the 3 types?

To be honest I haven't found any noticable difference between the three yet.

I think you'd have to use your knives a lot to see a difference.

 

[edamhcneb]

When comparing the two knives, you need to remember a few things.
1. Both will cut pretty much whatever you want.
2. Neither knife is a machete!
3. Remember to compare the different features (not just handle and blade material).
--A. The grip has an Axis lock and is very strong (excepting the tiny omega springs) which are it's weak point.
-- B. The grip also lacks the pivot bushing that the seb has.
--C. The grip has thin ss liners that provide the handle strength, while the seb utilizes the solid Ti handles.
4. CRK encourages the disassembly of the seb for cleaning and maintenance while BM forbids it. (warranty).



Do all of these features warrant the severe price differential? That is a personal decision that each knife user needs to answer for their self. I personally traded off the griptillian (though it was one of my favorites) and now EDC a seb.

Good luck, whatever decision that you make will surely be well thought out and therefore, be correct for you.

 

[Steven Andrews]

Edit.....oops

 

[Steven Andrews]

sorry - double tap!

 

[jlh2600]

Sorry, I thought this was a knife discussion board not a post count pissing contest. Easy enough back atcha?

lol not a pissing contest. First, understand that in any "gear driven" forum, there will exist an elitist attitude when it comes to the highest quality gear (in this case sebenzas). You just can't mention them in the same sentence as anything costing under a $100. In fact, it is actually preferred that you do not speak of Sebenzas at all, as a newb.

So between that and in the Dupe-Police (if you ask about a knife which a thread or two already exists on, you'll get brow beaten for posting a rerun instead of using doing a search first- but what's funny is, if threads like these weren't recycled constantly, activity here would grind to a hault... "brand x vs brand y", "just bought a brand x today", "brand y quality control?", etc are staples of the board), you were doomed.

Remember, these guys definitely know their stuff, so just take their expertise and ignore the snobbery. Because imagine how much easier it learning in this way (comfort of your own home, reading it at your convenience) than learning from an old timer in a smoke filled knife shop, where you can't laugh out loud at the condescension, or skim over the BS?

Sooo, on the sebenza, since you are officially a collector now, I guess you should aquire one? I personally tend to agree with the utility-focused crowd, in that there is a point of limiting returns at which spending more money no longer yields a higher performance knife, but perhaps higher quality (depending on how you define quality). I personally DO value gear with a higher fit and finish, nice aesthetics, and definitely those built with higher grade materials- and will pay more for them... to a certain degree. Where that point of diminishing returns lies is different for everyone, and depends on stuff like your budget- whether you make $500 per day or per week determines whether the Sebenza is a STEAL or a RIPOFF relative to a Grip, to answer your question. ymmv.


Let us know what you decide.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

In your opinion, what makes it better?

If you reprofile to low angles, the deep hollow grind on the Sebenza can be a major advantage, of course you could just get Krein to mod a Grip.

-Cliff

 

[SpyderJon]

Heck, if you're GOING to spend the MSRP (on a Large Sebenza, anyway), don't buy the Sebenza and just get yourself a Rick Hinderer XM-18. Fixes most if not all of the "issues" that are typically discussed with the Sebenza (i.e. its ugly or plain looking, the all Ti construction is too slippery, etc.)

Anyhoo, welcome to the forum!!

Edited to add: For your question, I'd probably just get the Grip. It's a high quality product at a reasonable price.

 

[JPD1998]

I handled a small Sebenza about five years ago, at the time my boss had gotten some work done on his and had the knife shipped to my attention. I opened the box and figured he bought a knife....

I didn't know anything about Sebenzas or CRK, the invoice inside the box had three items listed 1- Sandblast Sebenza Handles , 2-Polish blade 3- Double Thumb Lug , for a total of $63.00 I remember thinking it was a nice knife and worth $63.00 ( I thought that's what it cost).

The reason this is fresh in my mind is because i just found the invoice in my files last week and never even realized the knife I handled that day was a Sebenza.

I had a chance last week for my birthday to buy a large classic or regular Sebenza for $335.00, I passed... Not that it isn't a well made knife and not that I can't afford it but I figured if I couldn't even remember that I handled one , then it's not for me right now.

I am not knocking anyone who owns one or loves their Sebenza, I appreciate well made things too. You should buy whatever makes you happy, lord knows you worked for it. I'm just sharing my own experience.

 

[barrabas74]

Post count pissing contest? I don't see it. The whole "Sebenza vs. some other knife" thing has been done to death. It has become tiresome, very old news. If a more experienced poster had asked your question, he might have received different treatment. I think Barrabas was giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Oh, and by the way, please use the search function. You will turn up an enormous amount of information about both the knives you're interested in.

Thanks Nathan S and Cerulean I am not trying to pick a fight with Hydrophobia and I am glad you guys understand where I am coming from. I dont think however activity around here would grind to a hault if we had these sebbie vs or strider vs threads slimmed down and they have in recent months. But comparing a 400 dollar knife an 100 dollar knife may be fun but if you sit down and think about it you'll come up with why there diff and why you might buy or not buy one usually on your own. I am not tryin to brow beat anyone and if you look through my posts this is the first time I think I have started anything confrontational at all. When you ask a question like Ben Grippy Vs. Spyderco para-mili I fee its a thread where you can explore the differences of the knives to a greater extent w/o this kind of stuff happening.

Spyder John brings up a good point with the Hinderer. I like that he's throwin a custom out there for you to look too around the same price range. I myself love RJ Martin's work and his stuff is right around there too. And if there wasnt a halt in orders a Lochsa would be just phenomenal even with the wiat(which I dont mind )

Anyway, Not that these threads sebbie threads should be censored I just wish the question or thread would be proposed differently such as " Should I wait for a sebbie?" or something to that nature, and if your pretty new into knives I think you should as you would appreciate it more after going "up the latter in price". Its like startin off with a bmw as your first car you dont appreciate how darn nice it is cuz you never drove a honda. Not that there arent a mess of knives under even 200 dollars that I am still proud to carry(benchmade, spyderco, SAKS, kershaw, Lonewolf to name a few) but anyone who knows what I am talking about will get me. Like I said didnt mean to cause a fuss and Hydrophobia no hard feelings.

 

[hydrophobia]

Like I said didnt mean to cause a fuss and Hydrophobia no hard feelings.

None here either and no offence taken. Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate all the points of view and I'm getting a good perspective on the choice.

I think the best plan is to get a Grip now and a Sebenza later - I guess I won't lose much money on the Sebbie if I decide it's not for me.

 

[ras]

Good choice. Buy the S30V Ritter Grip from Aeromedix first, then if you still feel the need for a Sebenza, go for it. I have both along with other knives.

The Sebenza is just so smooth and tight, I carried mine for a while in my EDC backpack and didn't buy a Grip until Doug Ritter came out with the RSK in S30V. First a full size RSK and now a mini-RSK is in my EDC pack along with a Leatherman. I really like the RSK blade shape.

 

[DaveH]

RSK blade shape.

giggle, looks kinda like a sebenza.

BTW, no one noticed but I have changed my tune on reccomending a sebenza. Simply put, if you have to ask, you're not ready and or won't like it.