Spydie Flick your Sebenza???!!!

John Phillips

John Phillips

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So I bought my first small Sebenza about a year ago and while I completely agree with all the usual praise and all the reasoning for best in class quality, fit and finish of a Sebenza, I found it cumbersome to open. Yes, I do enjoy the slow thumb roll deployment of the blade and yes I know this is how it was intended to be opened. Yes, I can thumb flick it out quickly, but it’s not the best experience ever. Moving on… I was at my local knife shop and handed my Sebenza to one the the knife nerds (takes one to know one) behind the counter and he quickly grabbed the knife and spydie flicked the dang thing with ease faster than I could process what just happened. It took a little bit of practice but now it’s the fastest, and most fidget friendly way to open this knife. Not sure if this already well known but thought I’d put it out there for the people like me that LOVE their Sebenza but want to enjoy it more. Also, would this void the warranty?Their website states the following as a way to void the warranty or not covered due to the following
  • Other damage caused by disassembly, accident, abuse, misuse (e.g. use as a screwdriver, pry bar, chisel or punch), or other external cause, including damage caused by excessive and/or aggressive blade flicking (rapid opening and closing of a folding knife);
 
I either slow roll or flick my CRK
I spydie flick my Inkosis from time to time as they have dual thumb studs

I never had an issue with that even if I really enjoy the slow roll better
 
Seems like I remember Chris Reeve himself, saying it was good protocol to flick it open a time or two after cleaning and reassembly...

But I also recall him saying to get a string of rosary beads to fidget with rather than obsessively cycling your Sebenza for no good reason.
 
While I don't hard flick or fidget with my knives, nor think it is the greatest idea-
If you get enjoyment from it I can see no reason to stop(at this time). There is no reason it should damage a Sebenza any more than any other knife. If you develop a problem, send it in. If they decide to charge you(which they very well may not), just pay the bill and decide if you want to continue after that.
CRK doesn't encourage it, but why would they.
 
Alpha556 said:
Flicking is fine and will never cause any problems. What you want to avoid is what non knife people do when opening knives... when they flick their whole wrist into it and slam the blade open.
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That’s what I was thinking! I can flick with ease without any wrist which I thought was pretty cool. I did take it apart, cleaned everything, briefly polished the washers on an 8000 grit stone and then on a strop and re-greased. It’s almost drop shut action now, it’s going to take something special to kick this one out of my pocket.
 
In this age of knives, it is perfectly fine AND expected for users to flick open every other brand of modern folding knives. The only exception AFAIK is the legendary CRK folders.
 
I don't see how flicking it open is really going to hurt it. I know the stop pin on my Inkosi is pretty beefy. I have only been comfortable spydie dropping actual Spyderco knives due to the incredible purchase you can get pinching finger to finger. I can get the Inkosi to snap open with a bitnof thumb and a wrist flick.

Still, there are other knives that I find more easy to flick. Slow rolling it open works just fine for me on a CRK. If I want fast, I'll carry an OTF.
 
I've followed the "flicking Sebenza" threads for years and it seems to me that one of the major issues has been a confusion of the basic definitions. Finger flicking vs wrist flicking, I recall a youtube video with Chris Reeve "flicking" a knife putting a huge amount of wrist and arm movement into it. It seems to me that this is a completely different action then finger flicking the knife open.
 
For me, wrist flicking any knife hard enough to defeat the detent and the mass of the blade rubs me the wrong way just like when someone momentum shuts the cylinder of a revolver.

I know it's probably not hurting the knife, but if you can't get a blade to deploy and lock open using the studs/hole and a mild snap of your thumb, then maybe another action like a AO/Flipper/Automatic makes more sense for you?

To each his or her own though:)
 
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