- Joined
- Mar 7, 2000
- Messages
- 458
I first heard of the sebenza in the late 80's when a knife rag featured CRK. I ordered one and got it about 18 months later....at that time they were all handmade by Chris. During the wait I had delightful conversations with Chris and his wife, Ann. I had #16, I think it was. I then had the chance to and did buy #5. When I first handled them, I was amazed...they were state of the art for a working knife. Framelocks were not common nor were ti. slabs and ats 34 was the big deal. Thereafter, I bought one of his early production models.
The handmades were relegated to a drawer for collection. The production model got some use. I called CRK years later to have a clip retrofitted . I explained that I had 2 handmades and the early production model, purchased directly from CRK and I wanted the pro. model updated. NO can do said the rep., buy a new knife she said.
Now, I am not here to disparage the sebby, but all 3 of mine had vertical and horizontal play from the get go. All 3 were hard to unlock if heavy pressure had been applied to the blade edge. Each time one was opened, its lock did not go to anywhere near the same position. I found the thumb studs "fiddly". The production model wasn't really comfortable to my hand b/c of its rectangular shape. I noticed that heavy cutting caused the knife to rotate in my hand, requiring a tighter grip resulting in quicker fatigue. I sold all 3.
So far I have 2 SnGs' with one more on order. Now, someone said above that the sebby had better craftsmanship. All I can say is the 2 I have reflect exquisite attention to detail...no detectable mis-grinds or asymmetries. Both SnG have ZERO blade play when locked. I mean "0"...it's kinda freaky actually. Because the handle has some scoops and contours and traction notches, slicing heavy stuff does not create a rotational problem...the grip, to my hand, is FAR more secure. The blade is out of the box sharper than anything I have seen. Its shape is obviously multi useful. Exerting pressure while cutting does not cause the locking bar to become more difficult to unlock. No matter how hard or soft I open the blade, the lock snocks into just about the same position. The combo of thumb studs and opening oval makes opening this knife an easy and predictable event...a nice feature with such a sharp blade. The thumb studs do not interfere with the cutting edge as in the sebby. I find that the SnG rides better in the pocket...not nearly as much "print". Also, the G10 side is less slippy than an all ti. knife. That having been said, it was a mo-fo to break in...now that it is, it is really smooth and far less wiggly than my sebbies. EDIT: oh yeah, the lock bar has a stouter presentation..its triangular configuration seems to me to be less likely to deflect under stress.
Time will tell, but I think the SnG shows real innovation and great execution. It may not have gone through the several iterations that the sebbies have, but that does not make it less refined. I do not feel a bit reluctant to use this knife...I prefer it by large margin to the sebby.
The handmades were relegated to a drawer for collection. The production model got some use. I called CRK years later to have a clip retrofitted . I explained that I had 2 handmades and the early production model, purchased directly from CRK and I wanted the pro. model updated. NO can do said the rep., buy a new knife she said.
Now, I am not here to disparage the sebby, but all 3 of mine had vertical and horizontal play from the get go. All 3 were hard to unlock if heavy pressure had been applied to the blade edge. Each time one was opened, its lock did not go to anywhere near the same position. I found the thumb studs "fiddly". The production model wasn't really comfortable to my hand b/c of its rectangular shape. I noticed that heavy cutting caused the knife to rotate in my hand, requiring a tighter grip resulting in quicker fatigue. I sold all 3.
So far I have 2 SnGs' with one more on order. Now, someone said above that the sebby had better craftsmanship. All I can say is the 2 I have reflect exquisite attention to detail...no detectable mis-grinds or asymmetries. Both SnG have ZERO blade play when locked. I mean "0"...it's kinda freaky actually. Because the handle has some scoops and contours and traction notches, slicing heavy stuff does not create a rotational problem...the grip, to my hand, is FAR more secure. The blade is out of the box sharper than anything I have seen. Its shape is obviously multi useful. Exerting pressure while cutting does not cause the locking bar to become more difficult to unlock. No matter how hard or soft I open the blade, the lock snocks into just about the same position. The combo of thumb studs and opening oval makes opening this knife an easy and predictable event...a nice feature with such a sharp blade. The thumb studs do not interfere with the cutting edge as in the sebby. I find that the SnG rides better in the pocket...not nearly as much "print". Also, the G10 side is less slippy than an all ti. knife. That having been said, it was a mo-fo to break in...now that it is, it is really smooth and far less wiggly than my sebbies. EDIT: oh yeah, the lock bar has a stouter presentation..its triangular configuration seems to me to be less likely to deflect under stress.
Time will tell, but I think the SnG shows real innovation and great execution. It may not have gone through the several iterations that the sebbies have, but that does not make it less refined. I do not feel a bit reluctant to use this knife...I prefer it by large margin to the sebby.