User or dust collector???

J

Jwolfe1886

Joined
Jun 6, 2014
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10
Hey everyone, I've had my large sebenza plain for about 6 months and honestly haven't put any real good use on it...been abusing my Emerson's a lot. Anyways I was going to ask you guys out there if you've put any hard use on your sebenza, and share your experience? I consider hard use anything more than opening mail and cutting cardboard. Also let me know if any military guys have had and used a sebenza while serving. Any help, advice, or stories are highly appreciated :) thnx
 
I use my Sebenzas for just about anything. At work I cut zip ties, light wire, cardboard, tape. I have dug out weeds, whittled cut rope,string, etc.. The zip ties seem especially hard on the softer steel but the flipside is easiness to bring back to razor sharp.
 
I carry one of my Sebenzas or my Mnandi every day. I keep all three in a leather tray with my keys, building access badge, Space Pen. I usually just slip the first one that comes to hand into my right pants pocket. Yeah, they get a little knocked around, but they are tools. Magnificent tools, but still tools.
 
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I am a little bit of both. I have some that I carry everyday and some that I do not carry or have never carried at all and just admire. But I would never hesitate to use any of my sebenzas, even that fancy ones. I used to carry multiples, but after losing my large 21 silver dog paws, I cut it down to strictly one at a time. You lose a CRK, it changes your whole world.....lol.
 
No dust collectors for me. I have used mine to cut a clog out of a drain, trim tenons for a mortise and tenon join, cut out caulk, cut wire to open toys, break down boxes, trim glue off a PVC pipe, cut string for my lawn trimmer, etc. I could go on. One time I used my Large Insingo and wish I had not. The blade slipped and hit a granite counter top. Dinged the tip every so slightly. I was mad at myself but luckily was about to clean up the tip with my WE.
 
I use whatever CRK I have in my pocket daily for whatever the day may bring. I never hold back because of the cost of the knife but I don't use it for a chisel either. That said, I use my knife daily for jobs that you shouldn't use a knife for but if it's egregious I go and get the right tool.
Hard use, hmmm.
I've used a small Insingo to chop small pine trees to build a hasty shelter when I was caught out in a nasty snow storm while hunting on unfamiliar state forest( no doubt saved my life ). I've scraped caulking out of seams both inside and outside of the house( against tile and brick ), opened kids toys( seriously hard on a blade these days, no, seriously! ), whittled lumber to size, cut hundreds of zip ties, cut wire, stabbed everything I could find an excuse to stab, and last week I used my large 21 as a prod in my back yard while I was searching for my buried gutter drain, I must've stabbed 400 sq ft of ground a few thousand times before I found it( it was the right tool for the job because I didn't feel like walking to the garage :P )- that required a touch up on the ceramic rod.

The most unmentioned hard use that most of us do is neglect. I went two years of daily carry with my tanto umnum before I took it apart to clean and lube it. There was no obvious or visual wear to any of the parts but it sure felt like a totally different knife once it was bathed. That was one of the things that completely sold me on Chris Reeve Knives.

I'm sure there are lots of people doing worse to their blades than me but I can say that most of mine are true users and it's that daily use that has made me truly appreciate the brand.
 
Thanks for all the info guys :) I love my sebbie and starting to use it more and more. I don't know why but the blade feels like it would snap like glass :\
 
Jwolfe1886 said:
Thanks for all the info guys :) I love my sebbie and starting to use it more and more. I don't know why but the blade feels like it would snap like glass :\
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Funny you say that, they do feel thin. I think it's because of the thin profile of the handles and the precision that basically leaves no gap between them and the blade. I realized after a few days with it that the blade was as thick or thicker than most so called tactical knives( that was years ago, before the mammoth size knives now being made ).
You'll find out through use that it's WAY tougher than it looks and if you compare it to the old slip joints that our dad's and Grandfathers carried it's quite the beast. !
 
Jwolfe1886 said:
Thanks for all the info guys :) I love my sebbie and starting to use it more and more. I don't know why but the blade feels like it would snap like glass :\
Click to expand...

Lowe's sells mini pry bars if that's your intention. Using them to cut as they were intended to be used will yield a lifetime of service.
 
I've used my first CRK (a 25) since the handle got snail trails on it, before that it was just admired, for about 6 months or so.

I've acquired six more since then, mostly 'Zaans of one form or another. All of those have never been used, only admired. I know that's wrong but it is what it is.

However, now that I know even micarta CRKs can have the spa treatment done to them, I'm going to start using more of them.

I've been kinda saving them in case I lost my job and needed to convert them to quick cash to pay bills.

Meanwhile, I couldn't help but want them, as they are such nice pieces of equipment, so beautifully executed in production, and just plain cool to people like us. Others think we are crazy!
 
Chris reeve knives such as the umnumzaan and sebenza's are hard users. The tolerances are so tight and the frame lock is rock solid. There is virtually no wiggle in the open position or closed position. I used mine to cut hard plastics, sharpen pencils, cut pieces of wood for no apparent reason, and hack through frozen bottles of water in the summer to use as ice they hold up well. Free sharpening from chris reeve provided for life. Another reason they are users is because parts are easily replaceable direct from chris reeve from a stripped screw/ washers to a replacement blade. You can also refurbish everything on the knife if you get tired of looking at the scuff marks and scratches on blade finish and edge.
 
I carry my large 21 tanto micarta every day. It's got dings, scuffs, scratches, you name it. I'm the kind of person, if I spend a lot on it, I'd better use it haha.

My 2 day old Hinderer (first one) has already seen hard use.
But today, I will be coming. ING home to a small sebenza, unique graphic with amber inlay, which will see use as well.
 
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I treat my most expensive knives the same as my cheapest. They are all tools deserving respect as such. I don't understand owning a "cheap knife" that you would treat differently from a nice one. It's like abusing your non-dominant hand because you have a better one on the other side.

A tool unworthy of respect is also unworthy of any place on my person.

Conversely, I derive little pleasure from a knife that sees no use. To that end, I carry and enjoy my best knives in use.
 
I use my blasted ones with no hesitation. If I had the polished Sebenzas, I don't know if I would want to scuff them, guess that's why don't have any of the polished variety.
 
I just picked up a polished sebenza. I'm torn. I have yet to buy a knife and not use it, but thus one is just. Amber inlay, gold graphics........ Ahh give it a month and I'll be searching for the inlay under my bench.
 
The large insingo takes the most beating out of my collection. It was perfect for painting our new house weeks ago. I used it to open painted shut paint jars, stir paint, unscrew face plates, scrape putty, cut boxes, decimate hornet mud huts, clean the finger nails, slather peanut butter on bread, etc. I do not use my plain Lg Regular and I've never used the UG Lg Regular I found online a month ago (for $350!!!). Not sure what to do with that one. I don't use my small plain reg either however it was used the most, the longest. Can't imagine a future without a Lg Regular. I've used my 25 some and my Lg 21 the most after the insingo. Ti Lock has only cut string and prepped food. I use my cocobolo mnandi daily and occasionally my first ironwood. The other ironwood and the Lig Vitae stay pouched. My small plain insingo is used every single day. My small no stamp 21 is somewhat retired. All are admired.
 
My best CRK decision was buying two that were used. When I'm not working, the small Tanto is clipped on the right and the Umnumzaan on the left. With the after market care that CRK provides, I have no problem using them.
 
You never really get to fully appreciate a sebenza, or any other of Chris's genius designs, until you carry and use the knives. They are functional art, but heavy on the 'function' side. I have put my large and small Sebenzas through their paces and they do not quit.

I would argue to own a Sebenza makes you a CRK admirer, but to use the knives makes you a CRK lover. Stop making eyes and take that darn knife out on a date. You won't regret it.........OK...........I'm getting cheesy now. :rolleyes:
 
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