Sebenza's Equivalent?

Check out Les George's new VECP. It's a great alternative. Or better yet just get both a Sebenza and a VECP..

Cheers.
 
I've had 3 Sebenzas, a large 21, small insingo, and currently a large 21 lefty. I liked the small insingo the most out of the 3 but overall there's nothing spectacular about them to me except that you can break down the entire knife with one allen wrench vs the umnumzaan or sng, both of which I prefer over the sebenza.
 
I dont own any CRK's but i know several people that do. Ive handled them and think they are very well built and beautiful knives. Ive been to the CRK table at 2 custom knife shows and spoke with CR but i always seem to end up buying (non-CRK) customs at these shows, for me i guess i prefer spending 400+ on a custom because theyre just more unique, seems like everyone and their mother has a Sabenza these days.
Perhaps the best equivalent to a Sabenza would be a "Bandwagon"!
 
Love my Sebenza, but if she didn't exist I'd maybe go with one of these:

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My Sebenza is sitting in my safe, nothing too spectacular about it aside from the massive scuff to the titanium handles.

My Umnumzaan goes in my pocket nearly everyday out of the 50 or so knives I have, some of which cost as much or more than the Zaan. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I suspect the unique ergonomics have me sucked in.
 
Flarehty M1 FL lg. Seriously it blows away any Sebbie I've owned for stoutness, blade steel and machining skills. Tolerances are so tight the pivot snaps together with the blade and you have 0 blade play in any direction. Just take a knife, a well made folder and open it about a 1/3 of the way. Now move the blade back and forth or up and down is a better term. On nearly all you will feel a bit of play around the pivot. I've even felt a small amount on one of the Sebbie's I've owned, on this Flarehty there 0. Also the grip ergo's are way better for me. Now granted you can't just order a M1 so it seems and it's a crap shoot when Ron posts one for sale to be lucky enough to get one, but if you do you'll see what I mean.

For a less expensive version that is a very good cutter try the Alias. I've got the g10 version and it is a slicer par excellence but not as well made as the Sebbie. Again it costs way less than the Sebbie so a good bargain to be sure. keepem sharp
 
hardheart said:
Not sure what statements like this mean.
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Like I said, some knives outperform it in one or two areas, but I have yet to find one that beats the sum total of it's parts.

Yes, some blades can attain higher hardnesses, some blades are more corrosion resistant, some blades are tougher. How many are made for left handed people?

I've had two omega springs break on Axis lock knives I've owned in the past--it's caused me to be leery of the design. From all reports, that seems to be a fluke, but having two failures out of three Axis lock knives in my statistically small sample size has been off-putting. I don't like G-10 on an EDC knife--sure, the G-10 on the Military is great for when you are using your knife when it's wet, but when I need to use a knife in sub-zero conditions, I always use gloves. For me, I actually find the Sebenza more ergonomic and easier to open than even the Military with gloves on.

When closed, the entire knife is only a little bit bigger than a BM 94x series. I carried a 943 for about three years, until the Axis lock broke--I replaced it with guitar string, but later ended up buying a Sebenza because it was closest in size to what I was used to carrying. My only complaint is that it is a little bit heavier than I like. It's nice to know that the tolerances are there, but that's actually probably one of the last things on my list of most desirable attributes.
 
I'm with Cynic2701 on this, as the Seb is a great all-rounder in one package. I've haven't had enough customs to this point to say the Seb will rival any custom, but it beat the models I've owned. I think it's a real compliment to the Seb, a production knife, to be compared to customs most of the time when these sorts of threads come up. While I'm sure there are plenty of customs out there that beat the Seb(doubt they "blow it away"), I'm content being able to call my favourite dealer and have a Seb the next day over hoping to get on a long waiting list and paying a fair bit more(most of the time) for a knife that might be better in some way. Likewise, while I know there are most likely production knives out there that trump the Seb in different ways, I've yet to find one that has been able to knock my CRK out of my pocket for more than a few weeks before the Seb finds its way back into my pocket. Of knives I've owned, the Kershaw Mini Cylone ZDP was one tha I'd be happy to have back as a replacement, as would a Hinderer XM and maybe even the Caly 3.5.
 
There is singing about the Farid K2 - which I believe is Rcd at 68-70 (my eyes were on stalks when I read that :D:D)
 
I am as usual the lone voice in such questions for an alternative. My suggestion is to investigate the manically precise Swiss brand Klotzli. Precision feel is at least good as on my Sebenza, and they offer nicer finish with a combination of polished and sandblasted titanium, inlays and anodisation. Very good stuff indeed.

Admit that you want one:

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If you can find one of Tim Gayleans Pro Series folders like
the junkyard dog or Lahar Id try it out. Similar to CRK in their
both mid tech knives with great tolerances and have premium
materials. But Gaylean pro series offer IKBS and better ergos.
 
You have to be careful with customs - for all the advantages a nice custom may bring, they can also come with some disadvantages. You have to choose carefully and wisely when signing up for a custom. And it's a really good idea to go custom with a maker who has already learned their craft and not those who you help pay them to learn.

Stick with the tried and true makers if you go custom . . . the downside to that is they can command higher prices and usually do which can sometimes take you out of the CRK/Strider price point. The upside to an established and experienced maker? You won't get a test piece. You'll get a knife that works and works well. Again, looks are deceiving. Well designed knives will have a natural flow for the thumbstud arc, they won't have overly loose or tight detents, the will be dehorned, the action will be smooth, the pivot adjustment will allow for no bladeplay while still providing smooth operation. All these things matter. Good looks are secondary yet still important too.

You don't always get these things in a custom until a maker has travelled their path for a while.

Pictures on the internet never determine exactly how a custom is going to function let alone how it will truly look in person once you have it in your hands.

I say all of this through experience. If I could recover the money I've spent on a few recent customs, I'd turn it right around on a high end production or mid-tech knife in a heart beat and not look back . . .

If I ever go custom again, it's going to be a long term maker who has built several knives for many here that I know and the bottom line is that finding one of those for $500 or less is not going to be easy and the wait time can be significant too.

In fact, I can't see ordering another custom for a long time except when I get the go ahead from Andrew Demko.
 
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For the money - not a lot more, not a lot less - I don't think you can find something that hits the notes the Sebenza does, and I've spent an awful lot of time and money looking. At the end of the day, the only person who can really tell you is you, though. Buy a gently used one and see what you think. If it doesn't float your boat, you can resell it without losing any money.
 
I got to play around with a lot of customs this past weekend, alongside the multitude of Striders and Sebenzas present. The Brad Southard Tozer is by far the best folder I have ever opened and closed, and ironically wasn't even part of a dealer or knifemaker display. Someone just happened to have one on him and I got to compare it with a lot of knives there. Brian Fellhoelter's Fotoku & FLG models are a little above the price level, but the difference in action is quite noticeable where I am considering getting one for myself as a christmas gift.
 
Like Striders and Hinderers, the Sebenza is on the far end of the cost-to-performance chart. From what I can see, ownership of any of these knives is more of a status symbol among knife collectors than it is an investment in a tool. Beyond a certain price threshold, you're paying a lot of money for a marginal increase in performance (that is, marginal when considering the demands that such a tool is likely to encounter on any given day).

You own a Sebenza to say that you own a Sebenza. Then you use your Kershaw Leek to open the box it shipped in.

That being said, I'd put the Spyderco Sage and Bradley Alias on roughly the same quality tier as the Sebenza.
 
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