Thoughts On The Blade Steels Used In The Sebenza Over The Years..............

Is the 25 an improvement over the 21? If so, what is better/worse?

I am looking to get a Sebbie and wanted to know which one to go after, the 25 or 21. Are they both made in small and large?

Thx.
 
Well the BG 42 is definetly hard to sharpen than s35vn in my experience. It's not impossible just takes more patience. It worth it because it does hold an edge longer. However for hard use it is at a disadvantage because it is more easily damaged. it's why CRK doesn't repaire or refurbish these blades. It's probably why he made the switch.

In my opinion the s35vn at stock hardness losses it's edge a little quick for me, especially compared to the one I had hardened to 60-61hrc. Enjoy the one I had re hardened. However maintence is easier and sharpening is faster. I enjoy sharpening knives so I don't hate I have to sharpen them more but sometimes I wish I didn't haha.

I learned something when I was talking to The guys at Bos. He noticed that the s35vn blades really varied in hardness before he treated them. Somes they we 56.5 and somestimes 59.4. This sounds like not much of a difference but it is the matter a little better retention. I noticed it when my jumped about a point or so on the Rockwell scale. So so my point I am trying to get at here is that the edge retention will vary a bit. It's an interesting fact I learned from talking to them...super nice guy by the way!

I have a bias against s30v. I had one that was only hardened to 55-57 and it was waaaay to soft. After that I decided not to take the chance at s30v again. However I know a lot of people like it best. Just be careful there are some soft ones out there!

Never tried the ATS.

The blade steel and hardening fills a philosophy that is Chris Reeve Knives. Do I wish I had a few that had more exoctic steel yea but I have a lot of sebenza. Would I change it forever...no I have grown to understand and appreciate the steel and hardness choices.
 
Anyone with info for sebenzas with bg-42 blades production start and finish year?
 
Last edited:
MRaymond said:
My dream is to have a CRK with M390 or CTS-204P or similar. My 25 is a slicer, I think it should have a steel that would hold an edge as long as possible along with a high level of corrosion resistance. It is a dream, for now I will "suffer" with s35vn :p
Click to expand...

Sebenza with M390 steel ,well I had the same dream.:)
 
This is the info from my crk timeline that i received from crk several years ago. They were not sure of the exact dates, but this is what i got.

Sebenza Blade Steel Timeline

First knives were ATS-34

Switched to BG-42 October 1996

Switched to S30V January 2002

Switched to S35VN January ( aprox. ) 2011
 
I would love to see the S35VN run a bit harder. Anyone know how much harder it can be run while maintaining toughness equal to S30V? I know at 61-62 its a vicious steel and really becomes a super steel.
 
nyefmaker said:
This is the info from my crk timeline that i received from crk several years ago. They were not sure of the exact dates, but this is what i got.

Sebenza Blade Steel Timeline

First knives were ATS-34

Switched to BG-42 October 1996

Switched to S30V January 2002

Switched to S35VN January ( aprox. ) 2011
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info.
 
I am bumping this up for a forum friend who asked me basically this very same question.....!!!
 
Thanks for the bump nyefmaker I really like the great information. I have a Zaan in S30 and love it, seems to hold up well with heavy use. I just go a Large Sebenza with BG-42 and excited to see how it holds up. Both are very sharp. Your detail information from actual use is what I like. Real world stuff.
 
Birdhunter1220 said:
Thanks for the bump nyefmaker I really like the great information. I have a Zaan in S30 and love it, seems to hold up well with heavy use. I just go a Large Sebenza with BG-42 and excited to see how it holds up. Both are very sharp. Your detail information from actual use is what I like. Real world stuff.
Click to expand...

Your welcome, I had a hard time finding it. I enjoyed reading it again myself.....lol. I sold a large 21 sebenza and after the sale the buyer asked me what I thought of the blade steels and why I like S30V the best...........Well, since this was written, I have had even more sebenzas in S30V and S35VN and I still feel the same. S30V is my favorite and I would even pick BG-42 over S35VN. I have purchased some S35VN's that had flat spots on the edge, which I guess is what some call "rolling". Since I am not the original owner, I do not know what they were subjected to. I will say that I have NEVER had anything like this with S30V. Perhaps "rolling" and "chipping" have more to do with the blade grind than the steel itself. On some of the S35VN that I have had, the blade just has that "thinner" feeling when sharpening. I have not mic'ed them at all, its just a Feel for me. At the end of the day though, its S30V for me....!!!
 
I'm not sure what benchmade runs their S30V at, but I had an Osbourne 940 that was for not noticeably easier for me to sharpen, and the edge retention is about the same, if anything I feel my sebenzas perform better in that aspect for me, but I never did a side by side comparison or anything.....
 
joeC76 said:
I'm not sure what benchmade runs their S30V at, but I had an Osbourne 940 that was for not noticeably easier for me to sharpen, and the edge retention is about the same, if anything I feel my sebenzas perform better in that aspect for me, but I never did a side by side comparison or anything.....
Click to expand...

I never did side by side cutting tests either. All my experience is from real world knife usage. The info I share is from use over time with all the steels. I know there are other good brands out there and I am not dissing them in any way. There is only ONE company that I Will NOT buy from again and that will not change and I will just not take time to mention it here and why I feel why I do, its already been said.......For me, its CRK all the way as they have served me the best, while all others have been ousted by various CRK models. I really like Hinderer XM's also and have owned 14 of them over the years, but with their high price in the secondary market, I can own 2 sebenzas to 1 hinderer. I do have a nice xm-18 user and its a keeper. But all my info posted throughout this forum is from stock CRK's with nothing special done to them, they are just as they came from CRK.
 
nyefmaker said:
I never did side by side cutting tests either. All my experience is from real world knife usage. The info I share is from use over time with all the steels. I know there are other good brands out there and I am not dissing them in any way. There is only ONE company that I Will NOT buy from again and that will not change and I will just not take time to mention it here and why I feel why I do, its already been said.......For me, its CRK all the way as they have served me the best, while all others have been ousted by various CRK models. I really like Hinderer XM's also and have owned 14 of them over the years, but with their high price in the secondary market, I can own 2 sebenzas to 1 hinderer. I do have a nice xm-18 user and its a keeper. But all my info posted throughout this forum is from stock CRK's with nothing special done to them, they are just as they came from CRK.
Click to expand...

Have you just touched up your edges or reprofiled them on the sharpmaker? I am somewhat new to the "high end" knives and I am interested in what people like yourself who have owned several do to care for the blades. Once mine dulled a bit I reprofiled them...
 
joeC76 said:
Have you just touched up your edges or reprofiled them on the sharpmaker? I am somewhat new to the "high end" knives and I am interested in what people like yourself who have owned several do to care for the blades. Once mine dulled a bit I reprofiled them...
Click to expand...

I use the sharpmaker and have 25+ years of using this style of sharpening system. Case, Lansky, Smiths and others have made sharpeners like the sharpmaker. The sharpmaker is the best of them all though in my opinion. CRK recommends the sharpmaker as well. I use the sharpmaker as instructed on the 40 degree setting only ( 20 degrees per side ), which basically just " touches them up " as you said. I rarely use the brown stones and just mostly use the white ones included. That is how I maintain my sebenzas. I also have the ultra fine stones, but rarely use them. I just have a knack for getting the most from my sharpmaker. AS for reprofiling, the sharpmaker works well also, just takes some time on the brown stones is all. I reprofiled a strider smf long ago and it took me a couple hours as S30V is pretty hard. Its a great sharpening system if you know how to use it.........As for CRK though, they have all come in working great at the 40 degree setting. I know CRK's are slightly convexed, but I just sharpen them like I would any other knife.

I said "sharpmaker" enough..........lol..........sorry about that.....lol.
 
As far as upkeep now I just use the fine and ultra fine stones(although just using the fine stones does this too, I like the mirror edge you can get with the ultra fines, I also strop the insingo).. 20 passes on the sets of stones gets the blades arm shaving sharp. I used the diamond, medium, fine, ultra fine, the first time I sharpened them. Maybe it doesn't matter but I felt like if I wanted them really sharp and to hold a consistent edge I would want the angle of the blade to "be"what the sharp maker was set at.
 
joeC76 said:
As far as upkeep now I just use the fine and ultra fine stones(although just using the fine stones does this too, I like the mirror edge you can get with the ultra fines, I also strop the insingo).. 20 passes on the sets of stones gets the blades arm shaving sharp. I used the diamond, medium, fine, ultra fine, the first time I sharpened them. Maybe it doesn't matter but I felt like if I wanted them really sharp and to hold a consistent edge I would want the angle of the blade to "be"what the sharp maker was set at.
Click to expand...

Yes, just like me. I use the fine rods and the ultra fine rods to maintain and sharpen my CRK. I rarely use the brown stones unless something is really dull or there is damage to the edge that I wanna smooth out. I do not have the diamonds rods. Was always going to get them as I heard they are great for reprofiling, but just dont do it that much. They are on the want list, but until I need them, the brown ones will work for me.
 
joeC76 said:
As far as upkeep now I just use the fine and ultra fine stones(although just using the fine stones does this too, I like the mirror edge you can get with the ultra fines, I also strop the insingo).. 20 passes on the sets of stones gets the blades arm shaving sharp. I used the diamond, medium, fine, ultra fine, the first time I sharpened them. Maybe it doesn't matter but I felt like if I wanted them really sharp and to hold a consistent edge I would want the angle of the blade to "be"what the sharp maker was set at.
Click to expand...

Yes, just like me. I use the fine rods and the ultra fine rods to maintain and sharpen my CRK. I rarely use the brown stones unless something is really dull or there is damage to the edge that I wanna smooth out. I do not have the diamonds rods. Was always going to get them as I heard they are great for reprofiling, but just dont do it that much. They are on the want list, but until I need them, the brown ones will work for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top