Sebenza vs Bradley Alias

Don't forget the law of diminishing returns. A Sebbie may not be twice as good as the Bradley but is it worth the money? - yes
 
Greetings Big Chief: The Sebenza and the Alies have attributes that make them both different and the same. Both are high quality, well designed and well manufactured Titanium frame lock knives. The Alias is, in my opinion, ONE of the best production folding knives available. The Sebenza IS the best production folding knife available. The differences between the two are measured in degrees rather than in miles. You may be able to profit from my mistakes depending on what your knife purchasing priorities REALLY are. If you just want a quality knife that will cut well, fit your hand and last a long time either will do. If you found this forum, the odds are you are either: 1) a knife nut, 2) think you are a knife nut, or 3) soon to become a knife nut. If you think that you are making your selection on a purely reasonable and practical basis you are probably mistaken. When knife shopping, either on-line, through a catalog or hands on in person, one or two knives out of all the many observed jumps out at you and grasps your attention. It might be the scale color or material or the blade shape or the steel used or the maker's reputation or any other of many characteristics that grabs your attention and sets those knives apart. If the sole purpose of knife design and construction was just to be utilitarian cutlery the selection would be pretty boring and limited. There are many other important factors which influence the designers, makers, purchasers and users of just about every kind of knife. Cost, material, design, quality, mechanical tolerances, makers reputation, availability, color, finish, warrantee, weight, size, and the "I LIKE IT FACTOR" are all involved in the decision making process. If you are thinking of either an Alias or a Sebenza then appreciation of design, high tolerance in construction and pride of ownership appear to be high on your list. I bought an Alias but really wanted the Sebenza . I thought that I was being more PRACTICAL in selecting the High Quality Benchmade Alias. The cost difference appealed to the money saver in me. After getting the knife, which did everything I asked of it, I still quite unreasonably, deep down in side wanted a Sebenza. I wound up selling the Alias and bought the more expensive Sebenza. The Sebenza's higher level of precision and pride of ownership won out over my practical cost savings decision. Two Small plain Sebenzas later it still does. A knife is a personal thing. Know your personal priorities and you will find it easier to decide. YMMV. OldDude1
 
man wow you are right, i know that i want the sebenza and if i just go ahead and get it i will likely never get an alias so i wont know whether it was worth the extra $$$ anyway anyway. like a stated before i am never satisfied with anything but the best. i didnt find this site because i am a nut or even a soon to be nut i found it because i know you guys are and thats the best tool i can have to aquire the best equipment out there. once i buy the two knives im on the market for ill likely never come back here, but not to worry i'll think fondly of you all everytime i get great performance from one of my knives lol. i think im pretty much settled on the sebenza and a bark river highland special but i guess we will see
 
IGotStabbed said:
Still can't see how Titanium makes it that much more expensive. I don't think Titanium is much harder to cut than Aluminum, it is much much harder to weld, but you are not welding here...
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HA! I take it you've never machined titanium before. It's a lot harder to machine and much harder to finish. More difficult than many types of steel.

I have both and the Alias is worth the money if you are looking for a nice knife. The Sebenza is only worth the money if you have the money to spend on quality above and beyond anything you'd ever need. The bushing pivot on the Sebenza really appeals to me because it takes a lot of work to get tolerances like that and it it makes the knife unique and eliminates all the problems associated with a normal pivot.

The Alias is made with about 75% quality of the Sebenza.
It is made of 100% the same materials.
It cost 50% of the Sebenza.
It cuts 25% better.
Feels 25% more ergonomic.
Opens 100% faster.
I carry the Sebenza 99% more!
 
Is the Alias a good knife yes but at the end of the day it is an obvious imitation. If you get the Alias you will still want the Sebenza. If you get the Sebenza you will not want the Alias
 
bobnery said:
Is the Alias a good knife yes but at the end of the day it is an obvious imitation. If you get the Alias you will still want the Sebenza. If you get the Sebenza you will not want the Alias
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Bingo! Very well said.
 
ok hold on there michealmcgo are you saying the alias opens and cuts and feels better than the sebenza? those sound like my three most important attributes of a knife
 
big_chief said:
ok hold on there michealmcgo are you saying the alias opens and cuts and feels better than the sebenza? those sound like my three most important attributes of a knife
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I would say they open with about equal smoothness. This requires some tweaking with the pivot on the Alias though as it lacks the pivot bushing of the Sebenza. Ergonomics are a personal thing however I found the ergos of the Alias better for my hand than the Sebenza. I do think that the Alias comes from the factory sharper than the Sebenzas do and seemed to hold an edge better in my uses. Your mileage may vary.
 
It all comes down to this...Do you want something special that you can look at and say" That is one of the best folders out there" and i own one or are you just looking for a tool to use every day to cut things. If you are looking for strictly a tool, and you don't care or have a passion for knives, then get the alias. If you think of knives as MORE than just a cutting tool and enjoy them as a whole, get the sebbie for sure. Like mentioned already, they are both made from the same materials so thats not really a factor. If it was me and i also like high end products, i'd get the sebbie. I'd just hate to see to spend the extra $$$ and be disappointed, because you thought you were getting a super duper knife that cuts through anything like a light sabre because of all the hype the sebbie gets. The true is, they are both knives, and can do the same things, it just comes down to which fits YOU better. Best advice i can give is try to handle them both in person, and if you can't, then at least look them up on youtube.
 
big_chief said:
ok hold on there michealmcgo are you saying the alias opens and cuts and feels better than the sebenza? those sound like my three most important attributes of a knife
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The Alias has a thin, high-grind blade and slices better than almost any knife in my drawer. The Alias opens FASTER because the Sebenza is so tight and smooth that you have to (even supposed to) open it with your thumb on the stud the whole time (no flick). The handle on the Alias is a bit more sculpted to the hand than the block of beautiful titanium that the Sebenza is. Having said that, the Sebenza feels way nicer when opening, cuts better than most knives, and I never notice ergos when using a knife, only when I'm fondling them and I'm trying to find a problem. in the end (for reasons I can't fully explain) the Sebenza is a much better knife. You won't even get it the first day you have one. You have to carry it, use it, take it apart, then you appriciate the work that went into it's manufacture. Once you disassemble a Sebenza, you find flaws in your other knives that you never saw before. It doesn't wreck collecting, it just raises the bar on quality.
 
ok the only thing that concerns me about the bradley now is the fact that it diesnt have the bushing. so when you play around with the setting to get it to open just right will the setting change over time and need constant adjustment like some of the cheaper knives do? being able to flick my knife open is important to me ( i would much prefer an assisted opening knife but noone makes one of the quality that i am after ) also i guess it comes down to is the bradley as tough and rugged and will it last as long as the sebenza? thanks for the help i know i am a pain but this is a large purchase for me and i dont want to have buyers remorse
 
Fact: Cost and unit cost are two different concepts. Unless a product costing X is extremely inexpensive, a product costing 2X is likely not "twice as good". You could find a variety of knives costing half the Bradley's price that are much better than 50% as good, and you could find several knives costing 1/4 of the Bradley's price that are much better than 25% as good.

Opinion: The F&F and pivot in the Sebenza are "worth" the cost difference by themselves.

There is no "be all and end all of production knives", but a modified Sebenza can get you close.
 
big_chief said:
being able to flick my knife open is important to me
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A well broken in Sebenza will be able to open just as fast as any other knife out there. Just thumb pressure, no movement of the wrist whatsoever.

Whether or not it was meant to is a matter of debate.
 
Just get the Sebbie.... then you won't find yourself thinking "I should have...." every time you handle the imitation.
I'm sure the Bradley is a fine knife, but in the end, it's a wannabe, built as a wannabe. It will probably serve you well, last forever. But it will never be what it was built to imitate....
 
Greetings Big Chief: Personal experience with an Alias indicates that it does not require constant pivot adjustments. But it does require some tightening or loosening of the blade pivot screw in order to find a balance between ease of opening and an acceptable amount of blade play. Because of it's design, the pivot tension can also effect how centered the blade lies between the scales when the knife is closed. The Sebenza does not . This may not be important to you. A frame lock knife applies varying degrees of pressure against the side of the blade both in the closed position and throughout the opening cycle. This design is one of the best for simplicity of form, and strength of blade lock. It has been my experience that frame locks are not the best for "flicking". If the speed of flicking open and CLOSED is of great importance you will probably be more pleased with a well adjusted Axis lock. I keep a Benchmade 940 next to my chair just because its fun do exactly that. I do however keep a Sebenza in my POCKET because I have found it to be the best knife for most everything else. Pocket knives spend vastly more time in the pocket than in the hand. The ergonomics and the way a knife feels in your hand while briefly holding it at the store are perhaps not as important in the long run as how well it carries in your pocket and how effectively it can be used on a daily basis. When open and in use, the Alias feels like the high quality, frame lock folding knife that it is. When open and in use the Sebenza feels like a fixed blade. It is that rigid. It appears that either knife, under normal circumstances will perform well and with reasonable care be reliable for a long time to come. Both knives have very good warrantees. The Alias is manufactured by Benchmade for sale by Bradley Cutlery. The Sebenza is manufactured by Chris Reeve Knives. The two knives I have returned to Benchmade for warrantee work were repaired or replaced quickly and free of charge. I have not yet found it necessary to return any Sebenzas. OldDude1
 
fwiw, i can thumb flick my sebenza open. quite easily in fact.

my advice would be this:

don't buy the alias becaue it is like a sebenza. buy the alias because it is the knife you want.

if what you want is a sebenza, save a little longer and get the knife you really want. buy quality, cry once.

that said, the alias is well made. never owned one, but looked seriously at them for a bit. i handled a few, and found them to be very nice, quality knives. iirc benchmade handles production (or used to), so you know quality should be very high.

imo, the sebenza is the pinnacle of folder design. simple and elegant. it may not blow you away initially, but carry and use one and you will understand why they are so highly regarded.
 
big_chief said:
being able to flick my knife open is important to me ( i would much prefer an assisted opening knife but noone makes one of the quality that i am after )
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Not so! It sounds like what you're really after may be the Kershaw Tyrade. It compares quite favorably to the Sebenza in terms of fit and finish. Aside from the blade of the Tyrade being a composite of CPM D-2 (edge) and CPM-154 (spine), it is made of the same materials as the Sebbie, and even adds a little carbon fiber to the mix.;)

As far as "flicking knives open" goes, the manufacturer of the Sebenza, Chris Reeve, has stated that it is not a good thing to do with the Sebbie, so you may want to rethink your choice of the Sebenza if the ability to flick a knife open is one of your priorities. Most Kershaws, especially AO's like the Tyrade, were made to be flicked open, and your warranty won't be negatively affected by doing so.

Regards,
3G
 
3Guardsmen said:
As far as "flicking knives open" goes, the manufacturer of the Sebenza, Chris Reeve, has stated that it is not a good thing to do with the Sebbie
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I’ve always gotten the impression that the prohibition against “flicking” was directed more towards the wrist flick, and not necessarily thumb pressure only.
 
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