Small Sebenza....Huh?

my sebbies that dont get used much are very stiff to open, my edc sebbie can almost be too loose and open in my pocket...

taking it apart and apply some fluorinated grease my help smooth it out.

I think it just gives you a reason to use it...break it in :D

It will be your fav in no time
 
I got a new Sebenza about a month ago and it was really stiff at first. It definitely gave me a case of "Sebenza thumb". :p After a couple of weeks though, it broke in nicely. It's always been smooth, but now it's a lot easier to open.

Degreasing it and relubing with a thinner oil can help reduce friction. If you just have patience though, the parts will eventually wear in. :)
 
I got my first Sebbie, a large one, about two weeks ago. It was a real toughie to open and close safely at first, but the advice here is correct.
Just open and close it. Repeat about one thousand times. It's realy smoothing out now, but like you, I had my doubts in the beginning.

One problem I had was psycological. It is hella sharp, and forcing a heavy razor blade to do what it doesn't want to do is a little un-nerving.

Once you have it smoothed out, you'll rarely carry any other.
 
Well, I hit 1000!

So, here is what I did. I drove up the San Francisco today to a shop that carried CRK. I handled 2 smalls and 3 large. All of them were more difficult to open than my knife...so, I can safely say that mine is normal. That was my original quest, not to complain, simply to determine if this was acceptable friction.

So, that said, I appreciate all of the advice and will not take any steps to reduce the drag other than using it. It is my EDC with the WHs in the drawer. I will stick to this knife until March 1st, at which time I will make a decision on an EDC. I love my WHs and hope the sebbie fairs well as I feel more comfortable with Ti scales rather tham MOP during daily use.


Well, another satisfied owner....

By the way, the blade is already much better than yesterday...


AC
 
My oldest Sebenza opens with very little drag, but even it has that Sebenza tightness: although it's smooth enough that I could flick it open with one hard push on the thumbstud, normally I snap it open and the friction damps out the blade movement about 2/3 open, at which point I thumb it the rest of the way. But there is no longer any stiffness to make anyone's thumb sore. :D
 
I got a small Sebenza recently too and it's pretty much my EDC. But, I have the same gripes: it's too tight for me and the thumb stud is pretty poor (in functioning).

I replaced the thumb stud with an aftermarket one and it helped a lot. I've also taken the knife apart and tried a bunch of different lubricants but, I still don't think it's easy to open at all.

I'm thinking about going back to my fully serrated Spyderco Delica for EDC.

Joe Mamma
 
i have a std seb, and though i agree its a good one its not the end all greatest imho, my son loves it though, he gets it for his 16th b-day (next yr!). i guess thats why we have vanilla and pistachio almond lol. i have never got into the seb and all the mystique, i just got a good deal on it 2-3 yrs ago on a swap. certainly a perfectly funtional well designed/made knife though, just not my #1 pick of all.
 
G'day,
Let me recommend that you clean and lube it.
When I got my Sebenza I found it very smooth but quite stiff. I took it apart and "polished" the washers on an old tea-towel. There were some small slivers of bronze on the rag afterwards. I re-lubed with Militec-1, put it all together and then heated it with the hairdryer.
The next day it was noticeably easier to open/close and has stayed that way for many months.
Hope it loosens up enough for you.
Greg
 
Well, I made the committment to carry until March 1st...but, I just had a heart to heart with myself. Why should I force myself to carry a knife that is causing me problems.

I am going to sell the knife...thank you all for the advice.

AC
 
I just want to throw a quick comment in here before this thread sinks to the depths......

No knife is one size fits all and it sounds like you gave the Sebbie a pretty fair shake. If I had a drawer of WHs I would be hard pressed to give them up as well.

The main thing though is the fact that this thread went two pages and nobody got into a name-calling "if you don't like this knife then you should get your head examined" type of rant. That stuff happens so often that it's nice to see a decent conversation with differing opinions and a lot of useful advice exchanged.

Well played by all :)


Back to your regularly scheduled program.
 
WT351...excellent observation!!!! I am impressed with this forum and the content provided by it's members.

I trust my sebbie will find a good home...it is a well crafted knife, just not for me.
 
As a former Sebenza owner (regular and classic small), I found the Mnandi suited me more. That said, the Sebenza is one HELL of a knife. It's just not for everyone.

Paul
 
Hate to bring up the automobile comparison example, but here goes. I have a Wlliam Henry and a small Classic sibbie. Comparing the two is like comparing a porche (WH) to a Range Rover (Sibbie). I love them both. The WH is more of a out Saturday night, going to church Sunday evening choice. The Sebbie goes to work, cuts open cable ties, goes hiking, cuts cheese, and I don't have to worry about it getting gunked up.

I do respect your choice. Not all cars suit everyone and all knives won't work for everyone. I also love my Sere 2000 but the thumb stud will give me owie thumb if I use it too much. With gloves, it opens better than any folder I have used. :cool:
 
I clean my Sebenza about every 3 months depending on usage. I use a white grease to set up a base amount of lubricity. Then after my knife is assembled, I spray it with a teflon gun oil. SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTH as butta!
Matt
 
I love the car analogy...! The Sebenza is the Rover...refined yet sturdy!

To be clear, my blade is as smooth as silk. When I pull back on the lock bar, the blade moves freely, almost like it is on ball bearings!

The issue is with the friction of the lick bar against the side of the blade pivot, like others mentioned...

One of the benefits also is a weakness...

The lock is wonderful on the sebbie and like others have said, 'SNAPS' into place when the blade opens fully. Of course, to get the 'snap' there must be pressure exerted by the lock bar to the blade pivot. Once the pivot clears, the lock bar snaps into place. Well, it is this pressure that caused the friction, not the pivot. I did use pencil lead to smooth it out a bit, but the pressure is still cause resistance.

BUT, I have to mention another cool piece of engineering. The actual pressure point of the lock bar to the pivot actually a tiny little nub. The folks at CRK identified the problem described above and mitigated the effects of the frictions by reducing the surface area of the pressure point. Pretty coo....but it also confirms my concern that one of the benefits is also a weakness...But, the benefit of a strong lock outweigh the benefits of a friction free glide...

More musing...

I hope the above makes sense...
 
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