Sebenza

"Sebenza" must be Swahili for 'crescent wrench' 'cause that's what they feel like in the hand.

Definitely not for me regardless the magical hand sanded washers.
 
I wanted to like the ones I got. Used and kept one, sold one, they're ok. Well-made no doubt, but definitely not the end-all, be-all that a lot of people make it out to be.
 
To own a sebenza is to adore a sebenza. I totally get the people who don't like them. For my uses, I don't know of a better folder. It's perfect in my opinion. Ymmv. I have a small sebenza and an umnumzaan and I'm window shopping for my third Chris Reeve. It's a hobby, it's an obsession, it's a commitment to quality.
 
I've checked them out in the past but never pulled the trigger on them. I like a folder to fill the hand, and the 'regular' large Sebenza was just a tad thin for my liking. Recently, I got a small and large Sebenza in on trade, both with micarta inlays. The inlays help fill the hand, so I am keeping the large to give it a whirl. The quality is certainly there but only time will tell if I like it enough to make it a keeper.
 
It seems lately I've been getting real into Ti. frame locks (seems to be a bug or something going around with that), flippers, CF, and just really beautiful knives in general. I've never had a particular style of knife I preferred, although I am a sucker for clip points and bowie styled blades. I do love the way my 0560 and Szabo feel in my hand, but I also like the way smaller knives feel in my hand too, so I think that a Sebenza should feel fine to me!
 
When I first got into knives after acquiring my ZT 0560 I landed on the Sebenza and Umnumzaan numerous times as I wanted a knife with full titanium handles. After maybe $500 in Spyderco knives I went for my favorite (in pics) the Wilson Combat Umnumzaan. I get it tomorrow. I am nervous because I have lusted over it for so long (for me). I am very nervous that it won't live up to what I have built it up to be in my mind. If it does then it will truly be a thing of beauty. Chris Reeve knives have actually been the reason that I have gotten into wearing watches. Seeing the Umnumzaan has cost me roughly $2000 in knives and watches in 30 days.
 
The Dude1 said:
When I first got into knives after acquiring my ZT 0560 I landed on the Sebenza and Umnumzaan numerous times as I wanted a knife with full titanium handles. After maybe $500 in Spyderco knives I went for my favorite (in pics) the Wilson Combat Umnumzaan. I get it tomorrow. I am nervous because I have lusted over it for so long (for me). I am very nervous that it won't live up to what I have built it up to be in my mind. If it does then it will truly be a thing of beauty. Chris Reeve knives have actually been the reason that I have gotten into wearing watches. Seeing the Umnumzaan has cost me roughly $2000 in knives and watches in 30 days.
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Awesome! Let us know how you like it, I hope it's everything you wanted and more my friend!
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Sebenza is my reference knife. Whenever I consider any other folder, the first question I ask myself is "how well does this knife compare to my Sebenza?" The usual answer is "it's not as well-built", but then I take everything into account including the price and I make a purchase decision accordingly. Occasionally, the answer is "it's better built than my Sebenza", but then I'm typically looking at a full custom that costs as much or more than the Sebenza. Without my Sebenza, however, I really wouldn't have an anchor to base those kinds of decisions on. If acting as a reference was the only purpose my Sebenza served, it would be worth owning it for that reason alone.
 
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