Skirmish or Sebenza?

A

akubra

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Sep 10, 2006
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Hello all-looks like this is going to be my first post. :) So here we go... .

I am interested in purchasing either, a large Benchmade Skirmish or the CR large classic Sebenza, and was wondering how these two compare to each other.
In regards to finish, quality and feel.

The Skirmish sells for about $150, while the plain Sebenza goes $for 385. Am I right in assuming that the Sebenza is higher quality, and closer to being a custom?

I have never been able to check out either of them in person, so some advice from the experienced would be nice...! ;)

Ive been using a Spyderco Police for EDC in the last 12 yrs, and while it didnt really disappoint, Id like to finally upgrade.........! :D
 
Let me start off by saying I do not have a Sebbie, but I have seen them at gun shows. That being said I do have a Skirmish and love it. I think the materials are the same, but the sebbie can be customized. I just could not justify paying the extra cash for a sebbie right now. I would prefer to buy a gun with what it coast to buy a sebbie. One day down the road I would love to own a Sebbie, but right now the BM seams just as good. I would say the BM is just as smooth as a sebbie, but I know some members may say there is a difference between the two. I just do not see it. Best of luck John
 
I don't have the Sebbie.

I have the Skirmish and wish I had bought the smaller version. The full size one is BIG. Just a thought to ponder. I only carry it in uniform now since it's big enough to get real nasty looks otherwise. It's a great knife other than that!
 
The Skirmish is a very well made and executed LARGE knife. It actually carries smaller than it is in size. It feels great in the hand.

The Sebenza is the Sebenza! You would be hard pressed to find a better production folder. Fit and finish is second to none. It is a very functional all around use folder. But, it is more expensive.

They are both good choices-the Skirmish is very good and the Sebenza is great! You could look at the mini Skirmish, also. It is much more the size of the Sebenza and less expensive.
 
I would get the mini Skirmish. More and more lately I find myself not being able to justify the Sebbie's price.
 
Daniel said:
The Skirmish is a very well made and executed LARGE knife. It actually carries smaller than it is in size. It feels great in the hand.

The Sebenza is the Sebenza! You would be hard pressed to find a better production folder. Fit and finish is second to none. It is a very functional all around use folder. But, it is more expensive.

They are both good choices-the Skirmish is very good and the Sebenza is great! You could look at the mini Skirmish, also. It is much more the size of the Sebenza and less expensive.
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Thanks for all the responses so far.

How do both knives compare in finish and feel?

To be honest, Im not really too fond of spending $400 on a knife right now, but its not something that I havent done before. ;) So yeah, I guess the price wont be the main issue. I just want a nice and cool folder for EDC. If I like it, I will most likely carry it for years, just like I did with the Spyderco... .
 
if you are considering a skirmish, I'm a little surprised you would also like the looks of a sebenza. They seem totally differrent.

IMO a skirmish is too large and awkward, but if you like big knives it might just be OK.
 
Those are two VERY different knives. The Skirmish is too big for me, and it just isn't my cup of tea.
I do however own several Sebenza's. I love them, they ARE very close to being a Custom. GREAT knives
 
I have both. The skirmish uses good materials, however, here is what I dislike with mine:

1. The clip is awful-I hate it and wish it would die!
2. The blade is so massive that mine will cause the pivot to loosen frequently. I suppose loc-tite might remedy that problem though. I have a hard time finding the balance of too loose/too tight with the pivot.
3. On my skirmish, you can see lines in the blade, I am assuming from the CNC process, but I don't like it, just a personal preference.

My Sebbie has none of these issues. Granted, they may not even be issues for you. :)
 
TheKnifeCollector said:
I do however own several Sebenza's. I love them, they ARE very close to being a Custom. GREAT knives
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TKC- I personally haven't handled any customs that are consistantly in the same league as the tolerances and fit of the Seb. I had the opportunity to handle MANY awesome customs at Blade, and have a few myself, but none are any better than the Seb. Do you have any customs that exceed the Seb in these areas?

Don't mean to hijack the thread.
 
Skirmish is a better value, the mini-skirimish is an alternative, if you have a problem with larger knives.

Of course, you could get them both, for less than the price of a Seb.
 
Sebenza is a very uncomfortable knife and it is unacceptable for useage of over 5 minutes. Sure it has good tolerances, but you people are buying to much into that, any company that uses cnc machines will hold the same tolerances. getting repeatable results on the parts that a Sebenza uses is very simple.
 
severedthumbs, I've used my Sebenza for "hours" with no uncomfortable feelings. ...and it isn't just the CNC that produces tight tolerances, it's the individual hand fitting the Sebenza gets. In other words, no bad ones.

I've had many Benchmades and would recommend them for lots of things but if I could only have one folder, it would be my Sebenza. I bought it for $325 in 1997 -- almost ten years ago -- and it's still as tight and sharp as the day I got it, and it's only been sharpened once! ...and I use it frequently! (BG42, not that S30V stuff).
 
I own many Sebenzas and only one Skirmish - the large one.

I love the style of the Skirmish but I have all the same issues as jokrswylde. I even took mine to the BLADE show this year to ask the Benchmade Reps about it, stopped in told them about the pivot issue - they tightened it to the point that I almost could not open it and then stated "Man the action on that knife is sweet, most custom Makers would kill to get that kind of action on their knives". :jerkit:

I recommend you getting the Sebenza, you will see what all the justifiable raving is about. Lots of colorful handle graphics to choose from - or create your own. :thumbup:
 
akubra said:
Hello all-looks like this is going to be my first post. :) So here we go... .

I am interested in purchasing either, a large Benchmade Skirmish or the CR large classic Sebenza, and was wondering how these two compare to each other.
In regards to finish, quality and feel.

The Skirmish sells for about $150, while the plain Sebenza goes $for 385. Am I right in assuming that the Sebenza is higher quality, and closer to being a custom?

I have never been able to check out either of them in person, so some advice from the experienced would be nice...! ;)

Ive been using a Spyderco Police for EDC in the last 12 yrs, and while it didnt really disappoint, Id like to finally upgrade.........! :D
Click to expand...

If you've been EDC'ing one knife for 12 years, I think a Skirmish would be a nice upgrade for you at a lower price point. I have a mini-Skirmish, a small Sebenza and a regular Sebenza. For me the full-size Skirmish was just too big and didn't do anything more with respect to functionally me than these smaller knives I mentioned.

However, there's another way of looking at it. Think about it....You carried the same knife for 12 years. You got a huge amount of value from that Police. If you're going to continue in that mode, then just get a Sebenza. It's fit and finish is unsurpassed in the production market. You'll remember the quality far longer than the price you paid.
 
ive looked at the sebbie and they are nice. i love my skirmish one is a user the outher is in the box in my tool room. they are made of the same materials the sebbie are. even have bronze washers i think? and they lock up like a tank. now if you like the way the blade looks on the sebbie then i would buy the doug ritter gripper as well and have two knives for half the price of one sebbie. and the ritter is a nice knife the blade is s30 v is left or right handed has a axis lock is a real nice slicer and the washers are bronse as well . add to this if you lose one your out say around 125.00 i dont no about you guys but i use most of my knives i carry 3 with me every day even church i carry the two im talking about and i carry a leatherman charge ti . ilive here in washington on the columbian river goarge. so when i go hiking ilike to be prepared . and between me and you the skirmish is just as good a knife probly more stout fits my hands very niceand isa lot cheeperthan the sebbie and most people from what i read .just save there sebbie to resell what good is a knife if all you do with it is look at it.a knife is a tool use it enjoy it and then get more
 
jokrswylde said:
TKC- I personally haven't handled any customs that are consistantly in the same league as the tolerances and fit of the Seb. I had the opportunity to handle MANY awesome customs at Blade, and have a few myself, but none are any better than the Seb. Do you have any customs that exceed the Seb in these areas?

Don't mean to hijack the thread.
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I have handles ones that do. Ken Onion, Tim Galyean, Scott Cook, Todd Begg, Kit Carson, Jim Burke, DB Fraley, JL Williams, Pat Nihiser and many more.
 
Slatts said:
However, there's another way of looking at it. Think about it....You carried the same knife for 12 years. You got a huge amount of value from that Police. If you're going to continue in that mode, then just get a Sebenza. It's fit and finish is unsurpassed in the production market. You'll remember the quality far longer than the price you paid.
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Well, yeah, thats what Ive figured. :) IF I went ahead and bought a Sebenza, and carried it for ten years, it would be money well spent.
Im just wondering if I will actually EDC and use it without hesition. I mean after all its a $400 piece! Getting to the point where you dont care about it looks as much anymore, and are able to ignore a scratch here and a buff there, is kind of hard... . ;) It was somewhat easy with the Spyderco, as it was only about $100 back then.

I do have a few other expensive ones, that Im not EDCing for the very same reason (as well as the fact that they wouldnt be practical ;))-so I dont know! ;)
 
TheKnifeCollector said:
Those are two VERY different knives. The Skirmish is too big for me, and it just isn't my cup of tea.
I do however own several Sebenza's. I love them, they ARE very close to being a Custom. GREAT knives
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Yes, they are very different. At first I kind of preferred the Skirmish design, as the Sebenza looks quite plain. However, right now I am tending to favor the Sebenza. May be better suited for EDCing in my pants-pocket... .
 
jokrswylde said:
TKC- I personally haven't handled any customs that are consistantly in the same league as the tolerances and fit of the Seb. I had the opportunity to handle MANY awesome customs at Blade, and have a few myself, but none are any better than the Seb. Do you have any customs that exceed the Seb in these areas?

Don't mean to hijack the thread.
Click to expand...

I HAVE handled some incredible CUSTOM knives that ARE above the league of the Sebbie: Matt Cucchiara, Patrick Nihiser, I have own these. I have handled some that severedthumbs have handeled too!! I would also add Jens Anso......

I LOVE the Sebenza, it is a great knife.
 
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