Strider SnG vs. Sebenza

J

Jackal

Joined
Oct 5, 1998
Messages
1,830
Thinking about getting one of these and it might just boil down to build quality. Without starting a shatstorm, how do the Striders compare to the Sebenza as far as quality, lockup, blade play, etc.? Does the clip move around only having that 1 screw? Thanks.
 
the clip is secured with a tab on the clip that fits in the scale. very secure.

id say it is hard to compare these two knives. they typically appeal to different demographics.

the strider is much larger, thicker, and heavier (relative to folders).

both are well built and tough, durable folders. most will say the sebbie is a better slicer due to the blade profile.

ive owned several strider folders (rcc, ar, sng) and all had unnoticeable blade play, and solid lockups. same with the sebenzas. i have a classic and a unique graphic regular.
 
I have several of the early Strider folders and most of them have blade play when locked open. I think if you buy one made more recently they will likely have little or no balde play when open. Other than that the Striders are nicely made. They're very beefy.

On the down side, IMHO, the Striders take up a lot of room when clipped to the front pocket of my jeans. They also have the cutout in the lock bar on the outside (under the clup) and it really catches on the edge of my pocket. If I carried often I'm sure the edge of my picket would be ragged in no time. I wish Strider would make the cutout on the inside of the lock bar.

The Strider SnG feels great in my hand. Very natural. It's a really nice design.

The CR Sebenzas are consistently outstanding in fit and finish from unit to unit. They are a pleasure to use. I carry them often clipped to the front pocket of my jeans.

The SnG and Sebenza are very different designs. I like them both.

Large regular Sebenza
SnG Tanto (no blade play on this one, tight as a drum)
stridersebenzarqk3.jpg

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Thanks guys, I'm more than familiar with the Sebbie's quality. I'm just thinking I want to try something different this time, but don't want to sacrifice much quality. I just may have to try one out. Good point about the cutout...I didn't think of that. Hmmmmm...
 
I have owned or handled 6 different Striders and all of them had some degree of blade play when locked open, I have owned or handled over a dozen different Sebbies and every single one of them has had rock solid lock up! In fact, I have never heard of a sebenza with blade play, but it seems to be a constant niggle with the striders.

I like the design of the striders, and want to love them, but so far I have been disapointed every time.
 
I have had many a Strider, and I had a problem with a brand new PT, but the Strider guys took care of me, and replaced it. They were all excellent knives. Tough as nails. They are more like folding pry bars. They will stand up to all that you can throw at them, and beg for more.
The Sebbenza is a tough, but more refined knife. I feel that the Sebbie is geared for more every day use. Sebenza means work is Chris's native language.
 
Both are great knives, but appeal to different people. I went to BLADE 06 with the intention of getting a Large Micarta Sebenza - I came back with a Coyote Brown SnG. The deciding factor for me was how it felt in my hand. The SnG's ergonomics just felt a bit better for my hand. I also liked how I could choke up on the blade using the forward choil.

Of course now that I have my SnG I'm thinking that I need to get a pretty Sebenza, maybe one of the Classics with wood inlays.
 
The stone washed SnGs are a very nice alternative for those folks who don't like the "painted" look (it's not paint but a very tough oxide coating).
 
Jackal said:
Thinking about getting one of these and it might just boil down to build quality. Without starting a shatstorm, how do the Striders compare to the Sebenza as far as quality, lockup, blade play, etc.? Does the clip move around only having that 1 screw? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Two very different animals. Own SNG, SMF and Sebs, and while they are based on the same materials, same lockup etc, they couldn't be more different. The Sebenza is the office worker, the SMF and SNG are the guys working in the factory. Both are dependable great knives, just geared towards different people, and yes, can work in both environments. I don't think you could go wrong with either.

Also, a plus for the SMF that I didn't originally like, is that the knife, once clipped into your pocket, isn't going anywhere, until you lift up the clip with your thumb or forefinger while removing it from your pocket.
 
I rate both very highly in current production frame locks. I really like the choil the Strider SnG and P/T have going for them. This is a great feature and one worth owning the knife for.

In side by side wear tests the Sebenza lock will wear better long term but both are quite good. Chris simply engineers his contact a little better for a more equal distribution of the stress over a larger surface area than Strider does. Its a tough call. Perhaps the Sebenza is a bit more sheeple friendly and in my opinion it is a more refined and finished out better but Strider is like me a lot in that regard and not too much concerned about looks or fine finish as he is just creating a bare bones get after it user.

I like the blade shape better on the Strider, but the overall quality of the Sebenza so its a tough call and why I ended up with one of each. :D

STR
 
I've owned them both. I got rid of the Sebenza because I don't particularly like a hollow ground blade on a heavy folder (hence the SnG). Additionally I'm not keen on a thumb stud preferring a thumb hole (also hence the SnG). As I had an early model Sebenza it didn't have a pocket clip and I wasn't particularly keen on carrying it in a sheath as that's too conspicuous. So I sold the Sebenza for a song and bought the Strider SnG. I liked the idea of the SnG with a flat grind and a thumb hole. It appeared to be built like the proverbial bank vault. But then I had problems with it. The ball detent started giving me problems as the blade would open in my pocket - not good! (I'm not keen on blade tip 'up' pocket clip configurations just for this reason and the SnG is tip up - at least on the one that I had.) I sent it in with a check for $15 (?) to cover expenses. I wasn't keen on that as I believe that a maker should cover the expense as part of the warranty - might keep that in mind. Got the SnG back and within a month the 'thumb stud' (which it isn't as it has a thumb hole) came out of the blade! It's of course the design of the Strider SnG that the integrity of the thumb stud is paramount to the operation of the knife. No 'thumb stud' no knife - at least one that you would want to use safely. So I sent the thing back in, got the 'thumb stud' repaired (a freebie this time fortunately as it seemed as though I had a lemon) and the knife generally refurbished. I then promptly sold the SnG at a significant loss because I had lost total faith in this knife. (Having unwavering faith in a knife is paramount for me and should be for anyone who actually uses a knife.) So the bottom line in MHO is to get the Sebenza as it is a good, solid, simple knife and don't even consider a Strider SnG which has much more of a following than it rightfully deserves.
 
I had a feeling the Strider crowd was all about the company / brand regardless of a few issues, but still want to find out for myself. What generation was your SnG? My hang up with the SnG is the extremely short cutting edge compared to the overall length. It's nearly 3/4" shorter than a Sebbie which is only like an 1/8" longer OAL. However, I do like the choil on the SnG, as well as the blade hole. I'm also concerned with blade wobble and long term lock durability. I agree that having to pay for a warranty issue is bunk, but I guess $15 isn't terrible. Still though. The ONLY way I'll buy an SnG is with the stonewashed blade I might add. I don't like coated / beadblasted / blackened blades. My only hangup with the Sebenza is the same ol palinish design seeing as how I've owned (I believe) 6 Sebenzas and never hung on to one for whatever reason. If I do go the Sebbie route, I am torch coloring the scales and getting a cf handle scale for the non-locking side so I can change it up / give it some personality. I think I'd be very happy with both...I just can't afford them both right now. ;)
 
Blade wobble is a good concern to have. (My SnG was a Gen IV, BTW) I have an ancient BM that I use daily and it has absolutely NO blade wobble. There is NO excuse for a well engineered knife to have ANY blade wobble at all, especially one that you pay big bucks for. Ditto my thoughts with the tiger-stripped SnG blade! I'm not into mall-ninja stuff myself. My SnG though was plain flat bead-blasted gray which was acceptable. The thing that I did with my Sebbie was to 'soften' the edges so it was more pocketable and easier on the hands. It's possible that newer Sebbies have nicely radiused edges now.
 
Over time the Sebenza with it's pivot bushing design will hold up much better than the simple pivot screw used by all the other manufacturers. This is the primary reason for my affection for the "Sebbie;" I simply got tired of adjusting blade tension.

As for the style and look of the Sebenza versus SnG and others, that is a matter of personal taste. I personally, find the Sebenza to be one of the most refined designs available.

The blade shape may not be "exactly" what I would like but it is more than useable.
 
Jackal said:
I had a feeling the Strider crowd was all about the company / brand regardless of a few issues, but still want to find out for myself. What generation was your SnG? My hang up with the SnG is the extremely short cutting edge compared to the overall length. It's nearly 3/4" shorter than a Sebbie which is only like an 1/8" longer OAL. However, I do like the choil on the SnG, as well as the blade hole. I'm also concerned with blade wobble and long term lock durability. I agree that having to pay for a warranty issue is bunk, but I guess $15 isn't terrible. Still though. The ONLY way I'll buy an SnG is with the stonewashed blade I might add. I don't like coated / beadblasted / blackened blades. My only hangup with the Sebenza is the same ol palinish design seeing as how I've owned (I believe) 6 Sebenzas and never hung on to one for whatever reason. If I do go the Sebbie route, I am torch coloring the scales and getting a cf handle scale for the non-locking side so I can change it up / give it some personality. I think I'd be very happy with both...I just can't afford them both right now. ;)
Click to expand...

The other day I was handling a couple of Striders at a store (indoor range) in my area. The new SnG they had in their showcase had no side to side blade movement The blade locked up nice and tight. The fit and finish was very nice. Much better than Striders made a couple of years ago. The same for a new fixed blade WB. The finish was really nice. Certeinly better than most of my older Striders. It looks like Strider is making more of an effort improve the fit and finsh of their knives.

About a year and a half ago I had two of my SMFs fixed under waranty. Strider made the fix, no charge.

Rich
 
I've been carrying my SnG more recently and I was wrong about the relief cutout for the lock bar hanging up on my pocket. It is just the strong pocket clip.

Rich
 
A Strider was for me an unpleasant discovery: extremely high price in Europe for an average quality, blade play,machining marks.The Sebenza is just perfect and a knife has to cut and slice and here it outperforms the Strider.
 
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