I just got my first Sebenza, a new small 21, and so far I’m very pleased. I was afraid of an overly stiff opening, especially compared to my previous EDC fave, the Benchmade 707 Sequel, which has to be the easiest-opening and -closing non-assisted folder of all time, but even dry out of the box I like the action. The Sequel, which had always felt like a little jewel, now seems like a toy.
It occurs to me after just a couple of days that the Sebenza is a lot like a Rolex – one of the classic models like a Datejust or Submariner. Indeed, the more I thought about it, the more uncanny similarities occurred to me. So I thought I’d list and share them here.
Ten Reasons Why the Sebenza is the Rolex of Folding Knives
1. They’re both expensive, especially in the eyes of non-enthusiasts, but they’re not TOO expensive. There are folks who like to crow that their $40 Casio keeps better time than a $4,000 Rolex, or that their $800 Marcello C provides 95% the goodness of a Submariner. Likewise, people who buy Chinese-made knives at Sports Authority can’t fathom paying $350 for a Sebenza, and Sage 2 or Alias owners see themselves as smart value shoppers compared to Seb buyers.
On the other hand, a Sebenza is not a $1000+ custom, just as a Rolex is not a Breguet or Patek Phillipe. Both Rolex and Sebenza appear to some people to be the absolute height of costliness, but in fact they’re just gateways to much more absurd price points.
2. They’re considered fine dress items by some, but their design is really all about function. Most Rolexes, like the Sebenza, are simple and straightforward in design (though you can get diamond-encrusted Rollies or computer-graphic Damascus Sebs too). In both cases there’s a beauty to their simplicity, and a real, if somewhat hard to specify, look and feel of high quality in their finish.
3. Their design changes over the years have been minor, incremental, and evolutionary, and haven’t strayed from the function-first mentality. An endemic conservatism in company philosophy.
4. Partly as a result of #3, they both hold their value extremely well over time.
5. They both have characteristics that some would consider flaws, which have carried on without being changed for many years. Until very recently, Rolex bracelets had hollow center links and stamped clasps, long after less-expensive brands had surpassed them in quality. They continue with flip-lock clasps even as other manufacturers perfect sophisticated push-button designs. Their cases have sharp lugs, and some think their movements, although in-house, are relatively crude. Sebenzas have that pointy thumb stud, and ergonomics that, though not without defenders, seem under-developed compared to some other makes.
6. They’re both (relatively) high-volume “production” items, considered the best of their kind in that category.
7. Their owners view them as heirloom-type products, to be owned long-term, maintained and refurbished, and perhaps passed down.
8. They’re both considered by some to be status symbols, and are purchased by some based on that reputation. And yet both are functional workhorses by design. Rolex built its reputation in the fifties as a go-anywhere sports watch, and of course any Seb owner will tell you that “Sebenza” means “work” in Zulu.
9. Both have zealous fans and ardent detractors. Every time I hear a Sebenza owner bubbling about how wonderful it is that CRK includes a 10-cent Allen wrench in the knife box, I think of the new Sub owner who proudly told me that his watch was made of the same steel used in the space shuttle (stainless?). Conversely there is no shortage of Rolex-haters in the watch world, or Spydie or Benchmade fans all too willing to bash the Seb.
10. They are both aspirational products. People save, trade, consolidate their resources to buy a Seb or a Rolex. They give and receive them as extra-super-thoughtful gifts. Although neither would be a Holy Grail to a really sophisticated collector, they both are to the masses.
It occurs to me after just a couple of days that the Sebenza is a lot like a Rolex – one of the classic models like a Datejust or Submariner. Indeed, the more I thought about it, the more uncanny similarities occurred to me. So I thought I’d list and share them here.
Ten Reasons Why the Sebenza is the Rolex of Folding Knives
1. They’re both expensive, especially in the eyes of non-enthusiasts, but they’re not TOO expensive. There are folks who like to crow that their $40 Casio keeps better time than a $4,000 Rolex, or that their $800 Marcello C provides 95% the goodness of a Submariner. Likewise, people who buy Chinese-made knives at Sports Authority can’t fathom paying $350 for a Sebenza, and Sage 2 or Alias owners see themselves as smart value shoppers compared to Seb buyers.
On the other hand, a Sebenza is not a $1000+ custom, just as a Rolex is not a Breguet or Patek Phillipe. Both Rolex and Sebenza appear to some people to be the absolute height of costliness, but in fact they’re just gateways to much more absurd price points.
2. They’re considered fine dress items by some, but their design is really all about function. Most Rolexes, like the Sebenza, are simple and straightforward in design (though you can get diamond-encrusted Rollies or computer-graphic Damascus Sebs too). In both cases there’s a beauty to their simplicity, and a real, if somewhat hard to specify, look and feel of high quality in their finish.
3. Their design changes over the years have been minor, incremental, and evolutionary, and haven’t strayed from the function-first mentality. An endemic conservatism in company philosophy.
4. Partly as a result of #3, they both hold their value extremely well over time.
5. They both have characteristics that some would consider flaws, which have carried on without being changed for many years. Until very recently, Rolex bracelets had hollow center links and stamped clasps, long after less-expensive brands had surpassed them in quality. They continue with flip-lock clasps even as other manufacturers perfect sophisticated push-button designs. Their cases have sharp lugs, and some think their movements, although in-house, are relatively crude. Sebenzas have that pointy thumb stud, and ergonomics that, though not without defenders, seem under-developed compared to some other makes.
6. They’re both (relatively) high-volume “production” items, considered the best of their kind in that category.
7. Their owners view them as heirloom-type products, to be owned long-term, maintained and refurbished, and perhaps passed down.
8. They’re both considered by some to be status symbols, and are purchased by some based on that reputation. And yet both are functional workhorses by design. Rolex built its reputation in the fifties as a go-anywhere sports watch, and of course any Seb owner will tell you that “Sebenza” means “work” in Zulu.
9. Both have zealous fans and ardent detractors. Every time I hear a Sebenza owner bubbling about how wonderful it is that CRK includes a 10-cent Allen wrench in the knife box, I think of the new Sub owner who proudly told me that his watch was made of the same steel used in the space shuttle (stainless?). Conversely there is no shortage of Rolex-haters in the watch world, or Spydie or Benchmade fans all too willing to bash the Seb.
10. They are both aspirational products. People save, trade, consolidate their resources to buy a Seb or a Rolex. They give and receive them as extra-super-thoughtful gifts. Although neither would be a Holy Grail to a really sophisticated collector, they both are to the masses.
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