Small Sebenza substitute ?

P

Pathfinder26

Joined
Jul 27, 2001
Messages
16
OK,fellas I am new here, so cut me some slack. What I am going to ask may be blasphemy.

The small Sebenza is the best looking folder have have seen. I am still working through my issues on spending $300 on a knife.

Is there any decent (cheaper) substitute that has the same thick bellied drop point blade ?

I await your replies !
 
There is always a cheaper substitute, but only one Sebenza.

If you buy something else "cheaper"....You'll be upset at the waste of time and money AFTER you get the Sebenza!

It is hard to spend $300+ on a knife the first time, but it does get easier ;)
 
If you can find the discontinued Spyderco Wegner Jr. it had a very similar blade profile, excusing the hole and hump. They're still out there, just not easy to find.
 
The small Sebenza is the stoutest, highest precision, perhaps best heat-treated BG-42 bladed product you'll find. The small one is a great daily carry piece...lightweight, small enough to carry easily in dress pants, big enough for substantial cutting chores.

You can find the small regular versions used for ~$250. I have a small Solar Wind computer graphic model up for grabs at $300 shipped.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The William Henry products are fine quality, not nearly so stoutly built as sebbies, but are well built for their size/intent, and more elegant designs. They aren't inexpensive, but are well built and good quality for the money.

I personally like the spear point models. Here are some links to check out for pics/prices:

http://www.williamhenryknives.com/catalog.html
http://www.nordicknives.com/front.html
http://www.knifeart.com/williamhenry.html

(both of those dealers are great guys to work with also, BTW).
 
It's a lot easier to spend $300 for a knife once you realize it's actually worth $300. You won't find anything comparable at that price, and you'll have a work of art too boot. :) :)
 
Pathfinder26,

1.) Welcome to BFC

2.) This is Chris Reeve's Forum

3.) You should not ask him about a substitute; it's not polite.

4.) The plain Sebenza is not the best looking knife.

5.) Why spend money on a substitute only to eventually buy a Sebenza?
 
Pathfinder . . . I would like to echo stjames comment that the Wegner, Jr is a worthy substitute for the small Sebenza. And there's nothing wrong with asking that question, either here or elsewhere. After all, the forum is here to provide information and that's what you're after. :)

Welcome . . . and you've plenty of time to go the Sebenza route . . . few of us go the $Sebenza$ route early in our collection anyway.
 
Ditto's on the Wegner, Jr. Got a plain and partially serated . . . plus a large Wegner.

If you do some searches you'll find plenty of discussion along the lines of your topic. Enjoy the reading.

. . . but when you're ready for the Sebenza, there is no substitute.

Frank
 
You will probably only find support for "buying" a Sebenza and not getting a substitute, but hey......you said you were new, so we will be nice :D

I think what you will find in your knife buying is an eventual progression towards higher quality blades. You might start with a $60 blade, then get the nerve up to carry a $150 blade....and so forth.
There are certainly other good knives out there to use and there will always be an argument as to what is the best and what is actually worth the extra money..... I can only say that a Sebenza might be the last knife you will need after you get it! The simplicity and solidness of the Seb are spectacular. Are the plain Sebs the most gorgeous.....perhaps not..the most functional...........YES
Not to mention, once you have used it and beat it up,scratched it up, bent the clip..blah, blah blah...Send it back for a refurb..it will cost you around $40 total by time you ship it and get it back, but you will literally have a NEW KNIFE.

Last nite, forumite FeverDoc came over to my place because he wanted to see all my Wood Inlays I just received...we laid them out on the table..the Small & Large Box Elders & Black Ebony, along with a Maple Burl, and then a Refurb Seb that just came back, then we threw his used Sebbie on the table with them, then some Unique Graphics.......it was an AWESOME moment.......$3K worth of Sebs before us :) No other knife impresses me like a Chris Reeve Product.

Stick around this forum, and in due time you will realize our passion for these blades and why we feel there is no other substitute.
 
Technically speaking, any knife small that cuts will be a substitute. However, there are few peers to the small sebenza that:

0. That are made of such good materials, with such incredible
precision.
1. Have a blade geometry that makes it a cutting machine.
2. Are as rugged and have such a solid lock up.
3. That feel close to a one-piece knife when deployed.
4. Have the simplicity of design, and have a maker that encourages
taking them apart for cleaning. Even gives you the tool.
5. Are as easy to carry.
6. Have the resale value of a sebenza.
7. Are backed with such superior customer service, and post-sale
services, including free sharpening, reasonable prices for total
reconditioning, and replacement parts.

In summary, down to the clip itself, the small sebenza excels in many categories of performance appraisal. It is not an inexpensive knife, but the market for them would indicate that the price point is correct.

I recently acquired the small seb, and for the first time in a long time, I feel that I have enough pocket knife to meet my needs. This does not, however, satiate my wants.

If your finances allow, buy the seb. If not, listen to what the other folks have to say. The most important thing is to have a tool YOU are happy with.

Geode.
 
uh...mike.....yes that was a special moment when we had all of those sebs laid out on the chamois covered table!!!....one correction though....the one you are calling maple burl was actually a madrone inlay.....the refurbed large seb you had just received for fellow forum member cuffitup (barry) looked like it was a new/mint large seb and if it was laid next to one that was literally just out of the wrapping tissue i seriously doubt anyone including chris reeve himself could tell you which one was the refurb and which one was the new one....certainly an amazing service regardless of cost

the nice part was knowing that my well used small seb may not have had the same eye appeal with all of those wood inlayed ones and the unique graphics but it functions just as well and can look like new for only about 40 bucks...its my everyday carry and i havent regretted forking out the cash for such a fine cutting instrument with an even better customer service base to back it up
 
Pathfinder26 -- only one knife I've seen in any real way reminds me of the Sebenza, particularly the small. It is vastly different, except that it is a frame lock. That knife is the Outdoor Edge Paragee.

The blade shape is completely different. The blade is a moderate recurve. The handle is quite a bit slimmer. It has steel handles, not titanium.

The ways in which it reminds me of the Sebenza are the easiness and smoothness of the pivot when opening and closing the blade. The lock is very quiet, not a loud snap like some of the other pretenders. The lock is very easy to disengage, unlike other framelocks. The blade, though of inferior steel -- AUS8 -- is stone washed, so has the smae sort of appearance.

The price is around $40 or less, depending upon where you get it. Dexter Ewing has been critical of the Paragee because one can get the lock part of the handle to flex a bit, if one places the index finger right on the locking bar and squeezes hard. David Block, company president responded that the flex only makes the lockup stronger. When I normally grip the knife, my index finger is farther forward, so I cannot get the locking bar to flex in my normal grip.

IMHO, for $40 you can get a taste of what the Sebenza has to offer. In one sense there is no real comparison. But, the Paragee is an inexpensive frame lock that feels pretty smooth, compared to the others I've seen, in particular the EDC by Camillus. I like that knife, but it has an incredibly strong detente ball, and the lock is often fairly difficult to engage. And, the lock snaps into place audibly. The shape of the EDC is closer to that of the Sebenza. It costs a bit more than the Paragee, particularly if you buy the model with the 154CM blade.

Neither of those knives has the bank vault feel only a Sebenza can provide.
 
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