Small Sebenza 21 > Bradley Alias II

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Received the Alias 2 today!

Was extremely excited, took my sebenza out and tore open the Priority box...

Instantly let down...blade hung to the right...flicked it open, quick! Better i guess....then let down again...the lockbar was stuck to the blade like it was glued....

Took it apart to see what the deal was, and found that the lockbar face was not very smooth at all....F!

Took my very fine diamond lansky stone and went to work...smoothed it out better, and then finished it off with the polishing stone...put it all back together with some better lube (Milcomm tw25b) and still saw that the blade hung to the right (it's no sebenza i guess) It flew open faster than lightening this time, and it closed decent...but it still feels gravely every time I disengage the lockbar....but I guess you get what you pay for.

Lockup is solid, but doesn't clack as loud as the sebenza, not as reassuring, sound cheaper if you will?

Grabbed the blade and it wiggled slightly back and forth...took out a tork driver and turned the screw one billionth of a millimeter and tried again...no wiggle! But then the blade didn't want to move very fast.....Turned it back one billionth of a millimeter...quick as lighting, but some wiggle.

Flicked it open and close about 100 times...and the pivot screw kept working itself out some...will have to invest in some purple locktite...

Tested sharpness on my trusty right leg....didn't want to pop any hairs....grabbed some printer paper...cut it but not very smoothly...
Will have to redo the edge with the Lanksy...

Put it in my pocket...went okay, but the pocket clip on the sebenza and chamfering on the handle makes the sebenza more pocket clipable.


So Comparison Value.

Sebenza wins over Alias in:

Fit&Finish
Bankvault
Blade Shape
Handle Shape
Pocket Clip
Sharpness out of box
Pivot Bushing
Ergonomics

The only thing better about the alias is that it flys open as fast as an automatic. But after you get it open it all goes down hill. Well that and the price $165 vs $330

After initial impressions...if you are on the fence about a Bradley Alias over a Sebenza...save your money and get the Sebenza...you will NOT be disappointed...It is twice as much in price, but more than twice in quality.

And if you already own a Sebenza do not buy an Alias...you WILL be disappointed.

All that said and down, I will still use the piss out of the Alias....it will be my new work knife and I will carry the Sebenza when I'm not working.

And to the pictures!
 
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LOL, why would you buy an Alias when you already have a Sebenza? There are cheaper and more functional beaters than the Alias, out there.
 
I believe that for the price the Alias is an excellent knife. Very durable and mine has no issues whatsoever. I think its more just that you're spoiled with your sebenza already and nothing will compare anymore. I mean really what were you expecting for almost half the price? Granted the blade should not be off center that is a manufacture defect and if it really bothers you send it to benchmade and they will fix it for you. No the Alias is not a Sebenza but compare it to other ti framelocks in the same price range and I think you'll find that it rates pretty well.
 
I agree with you.
If you own an XM-18, do not buy a Sebenza, you WILL be dissapointed!

Oh wait, well, anyway, you get the idea...

BTW, I have an Alias and I like it very much.
 
There's no way I'd mess with the lock bar face, grinding it like you did with a diamond hone. You may ruin the knife and the warranty that way. I'm not sure how Benchmade does their lockbar faces, but IIRC, Sebenzas are hardened and the XM-18 for example has something specific done to it (some kind of rough surface is applied to it intentionally). Often when a lockbar face is sticking to the tang and making the knife difficult to disengage, the knife simply needs time to break in. From what I've read, this occurs at times even in "high quality" customs. Typically, what would be recommended is you shade the tang of the blade in with a pencil and continually engage/disengage the lock until it starts to smooth out. And simply repeat that until you're happy. If it takes too long, you might send it in. Benchmade is known for having excellent customer service generally speaking. Thanks for the review.
 
Well day 1 of using the Alias @ work is almost over...

Cut open some boxes, stripped jacket of of soow cord and ripped through some cardboard.


Works well after I got it sharpened to my liking this morning and it feels solid in the hand.

Begining to like this Sebenza alternative. Exactly what I wanted.

I wanted something like the Sebenza...since I've used it and thought...jeez maybe I shouldn't be doing this, and now that I have the Alias I will just use it and don't worry about it, even though the Sebenza should and could handle anything you could throw at it, just didn't feel right.

Now only if A.G. Russel could make a smaller version of his Sebenza alternative....:cool:
 
bearcut said:
I agree with you.
If you own an XM-18, do not buy a Sebenza, you WILL be dissapointed!

Oh wait, well, anyway, you get the idea...

BTW, I have an Alias and I like it very much.
Click to expand...

I have a XM and a Seb and I prefer the Seb. I don't know how I feel about the Alias because I don't have one.
 
SteelSnob said:
I have a XM and a Seb and I prefer the Seb. I don't know how I feel about the Alias because I don't have one.
Click to expand...

I've handled a Sebenza on several occasions but I'd take my XM-18 over it. But my liking the XM-18 isn't any objective statement about the quality of the Sebenza, it seems like a very nice knife. Hell, I still get excited to get any lower priced knives from a plain vanilla Kershaw Leek to a Spyderco Endura Wave. Getting the XM-18 hasn't changed my love for knives in all price ranges. The XM-18 is one of my all time favorites however.
 
effer said:
I think OP had a bit of bad luck. All the Aliases I've seen were very good.
Click to expand...

I dunno. I received an Alias II last week and the lock stuck badly. I used graphite and locked and unlocked it over and over again. It didn't loosen at all, but it did make my thumb hurt like a mother for a couple of days.

Sent it back and swapped for a small Sebenza 21 and I couldn't be happier despite the cost difference. My Alias had a fairly well-centered blade that opened lightening fast, but the Seb is in a different league for sure.

My $.02
 
Nice post. Thanks for the great info.

I have a Lg. Seb. No Alias. Thought about trying one out but will proabably pass now. A dud or not, those shouldn't be slipping through the cracks.

My 3.5" XM-18 flipper would have been delivered today if I wasn't at work. I'll be picking it up in the a.m......maybe I'll post more tomorrow.
 
My Alias II was good from the get-go ... I think you might have gotten a "rough" one.
You might be feeling better after a couple months use, as it smooths out, breaks in, and you get the pivot tightness set more to your liking.
IMHO
 
My A1 user is quite different. Smooth as silk opening, spot on centered blade, no blade play in any direction.

It is well used, and well broken in. The lock bar does not stick, as most Ti lock bars will break in nicely over time and not stick.

The lock bar surface of the Bradley A1 does not have your usual smooth face. It has a raised edge toward the clip side. Or a notch if you will. Used to help extend the life of the lock bar and aid in continued lock up with no play. I`m guessing the AII`s lock face will be similar.

Taking a diamond stone to the face to remove that notch is not recommended. If it improves performance for you though, that is good. I`ll leave it alone. But then again, this one is working, and has worked well for sometime now.
 
I have owned an Alias 1 for about a year now and love it. It opens smooth as glass is perfectly centered and locks up very solid. I have a custom ranger green g10 scale on the non-lockbar side of mine and it really adds some good grip and gets rid of the thumbstud cutout. Some people love thumbstud cutouts because it ofcoarse makes it easier to open but they never seem to feel good in my hand when using the knife. The new scale made it all the same thickness and I really like it. All in all I highly recommend the Alias to anyone wanting a quality framelock but that doesn't want to drop 3-400 bones. Sure its not at quite the level of a sebbie but its also half the price.
 
I own a couple sebenza's but still like my benchmades and carry them off and on. Maybe I'll
buy an alias sometime in the future it's probably a good in between knife
 
Thanks for the honest review. Think what needed to be said was said. Getting what you pay for minus the off centered blade.

Own a Large and Small Sebenza...I have to appreciate other knives a different way now.
 
Did anyone compare the Sage 2 with the Alias? From what the OP mentioned, I have the impression that the Sage 2 would be more convinving than the Alias.
 
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