Waiting for my 1st CRK Knife - I cant wait

B

buffettdog

Joined
Apr 10, 2013
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When I initially started buying "expensive" knives about 2 years ago, I remembered reading and watching reviews about Sebenza's, but couldn't see spending that much. I ended up with 4 Benchmades (581, 586, 470, 940-1) - all awesome in their own way. Along the way there were many Spyderco's and a couple ZT's that sparked my interest, but never bought any.

Fast forward to last week, I started looking at the 2017 Benchmade Gold class Valet ($600) and I was actually contemplating it....but its a gold class, would i actually use it?, I never bought a knife I wouldnt use, and it gets bad reviews, what was i thinking......then it hit me...what about those fancy knives...what were they called again? of yeah, Sebenza...so I figured to take another look.

I ordered a Knifeart Small Sebenza 21 with SnakeWood Inlays and SS Ladder Damascus.

Now I havent received it yet, but I was so excited to order it that I accidentally chose to pay extra for 2 Business day delivery late thursday afternoon. So yes, I paid extra to wait all weekend while my knife sat at Fedex since friday evening.

Over the weekend, i couldnt wait any longer, so i went to a Chris Reeve dealer. Finally had one in my hand, opened it, and thought....OMG, what have i done ..... smooth, what? stiff is more like it. Is this mass hysteria? How can this many people be wrong? I love the Axis lock, what did I do?

I then went home (hoping mine was made "better") and started watching some more youtube videos. I watched a bunch of them, but a few stood out:

ApostleP told me that it takes a while to learn how to open one properly and explained how. Hmmm, I definitely was trying to open it like a Benchmade.

Then I watched the 2 BladeHQ "Meeting your maker" videos and thought wow - these aren't very expensive after all.

But, even during the "Meeting your maker" videos, it wasn't apparent to me what was so special about the Sebenza (I know, perfect tolerances, quality control, simple elegance - I got all that). It took a disassembly/reassembly video for it to click. The pivot pin is solid, no adjustments, no springs...wait, what? This is a much simpler design than I thought. All of the tight tolerances now made more sense - this is an engineering masterpiece.

At this point, i've only touched one (and i thought it was jacked up), but my buyers remorse has ended and I still haven't even received it yet.
 
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Wow...that's some serious emotional turmoil to go through between ordering a receiving a knife!

CRK knives have some ergonomic quirks. They require a different approach to opening. Personally, I never bonded with the Sebenza. On a whim (and just when I thought I'd give up on CRK), I gave the Umnumzaan a shot. I love it. Didn't expect it to feel so different from a Sebenza 21.

Spend some time with yours before you make a decision. If you don't like it, you can always sell it here on the exchange for minimal loss. Just don't sharpen it or mess it up if you think you might sell it.
 
The exchange here is an ideal place to sell (assuming you have the proper membership).

I never return a knife to the dealer just because it's "not for me". If there's a defect with it then that's another story.

So if your on the fence about a knife buy just keep the exchange in mind.
 
Other than the dumb comment that NutNFancy made I actually thought that review was pretty fair and laid out clearly the reasons someone would want to buy one and all the reasons not to buy one. It just depends on what one person values. It will never open like a Benchmade or even a Rat 2 the same way a bank vault doesn't open like a closet door.
 
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Please keep the titles to threads and comments family friendly.
I changed the title

OP, please replace the word in your original post.
 
It just arrived and I must admit, it is beautiful. Much smaller than I was expecting. I didn't hear any harps or see any doves. Honestly, its almost the exact same dimensions as a 470 Emissary, which is the perfect size edc for an office environment. The Fit and finish, beautiful. Lock up - I now know what the "bank vault" reference means - very distinct sound. Centering is perfect. I haven't cut anything with it yet, but feels razor sharp. It is truly a gorgeous art piece. I'm glad I heard about the thumb stud ergonomics, because I would be upset right now. Yes, my thumb hurts. Now I just need to wait for my thumb to figure out what my knife wants to do.
9nCkL
 
Very nice! :thumbup:
 
buffettdog said:
It just arrived and I must admit, it is beautiful. Much smaller than I was expecting. I didn't hear any harps or see any doves. Honestly, its almost the exact same dimensions as a 470 Emissary, which is the perfect size edc for an office environment. The Fit and finish, beautiful. Lock up - I now know what the "bank vault" reference means - very distinct sound. Centering is perfect. I haven't cut anything with it yet, but feels razor sharp. It is truly a gorgeous art piece. I'm glad I heard about the thumb stud ergonomics, because I would be upset right now. Yes, my thumb hurts. Now I just need to wait for my thumb to figure out what my knife wants to do.
9nCkL
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I feel your pain, so to speak. You've probably already googled several methods of opening a Sebenza but I'll share with you the one that has always worked best for me.

I use my thumbnail to break the detent and then slowly open the knife in what is essentially a continuous motion. I push the SIDE of the thumb stud and never ever push down on the point. My thumbnail only touches the stud briefly.

I'm sure others will weigh in or recommend that you develop a callous on your thumb but that's what works for me for a painless Sebenza deployment.
 
You choose a gorgeous one for your first!! Play with for awhile and it will break in and get smoother, and you will end up with another to keep it company:)
 
Congrats,that's a beauty. Maybe it's just me but I don't have a problem with deployment. I get a similar high cutting with my Sebenza as I do riding my Harley. :D
 
Wolverine666 said:
The exchange here is an ideal place to sell (assuming you have the proper membership).

I never return a knife to the dealer just because it's "not for me". If there's a defect with it then that's another story.

So if your on the fence about a knife buy just keep the exchange in mind.
Click to expand...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who won't do this. My wife is a serial returner of things bought on the internet, and it drives me nuts.
 
Buffettdog,
Wow! She is a beauty! I'm still trying to catch my first wood inlay. It seems they all have a personality and the ones that speak to me always wind up in someone elses mail box.
As far as personality goes, you hit the jackpot!!!
Give it some time and don't rush it. It took me a bit of time to adjust to my small 21; now I couldn't live without it.
Beautiful knife! Congratulations!
 
Very very beautiful knife OP. Particularly with smalls (which I actually prefer so long as they have an inlay for the grip enhancement my paws require) I usually open mine not with the front tip of my thumb, but the "heel" of the first joint. It seems to both give me better leverage and makes the arc the lug travels in opening feel more natural - of course that is for my hand and my hand placement on the handle. I do the exact same thing for the Umnumzaan.
 
marcus52AR said:
That's gorgeous, now the question..to use or not to use?
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That is an excellent question and it did cause some initial turmoil. I decided before I bought it that I would use it. I couldn't justify buying a knife that I wouldn't use. Although, now that I have received it, the turmoil has returned - It is so beautiful. If I can get over the mid-evil torture device that is currently my arch nemesis called the thumb lug, I'd be very happy. I still have yet to cut anything with it - not even paper. I refuse to use it until I'm comfortable opening and closing it.

So I suppose it comes down to this: If I figure out how to open it comfortably, I will have to decide whether to EDC it or just buy a cheaper one to EDC (carbon fiber insingo looks nice). If I cant, then I'll probably make a nice display case for it and hang it in my man cave. Either way, I'll keep it. But if i hang it on the wall, it doesnt cure my itch for a new knife - Oh I can hear my wife now: You just bought one. Yeah, but it hurts my thumb. Well then sell it. I cant, Its too pretty and the engineering is perfection.

I want to love this knife, I really do.
 
buffettdog said:
That is an excellent question and it did cause some initial turmoil. I decided before I bought it that I would use it. I couldn't justify buying a knife that I wouldn't use. Although, now that I have received it, the turmoil has returned - It is so beautiful. If I can get over the mid-evil torture device that is currently my arch nemesis called the thumb lug, I'd be very happy. I still have yet to cut anything with it - not even paper. I refuse to use it until I'm comfortable opening and closing it.

So I suppose it comes down to this: If I figure out how to open it comfortably, I will have to decide whether to EDC it or just buy a cheaper one to EDC (carbon fiber insingo looks nice). If I cant, then I'll probably make a nice display case for it and hang it in my man cave. Either way, I'll keep it. But if i hang it on the wall, it doesnt cure my itch for a new knife - Oh I can hear my wife now: You just bought one. Yeah, but it hurts my thumb. Well then sell it. I cant, Its too pretty and the engineering is perfection.

I want to love this knife, I really do.
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The more you use it, the less the thumb lugs are to bother you.. Especially after it breaks in. Sometimes, taking it down, cleaning it and re-lubing it helps tremendously.
Give it a shot of cycling it using two hands a few dozen times after re-lubing it. You don't have to lock the locbar into place or close all the way..just pivoting the blade helps with break-in.
 
buffettdog said:
If I can get over the mid-evil torture device that is currently my arch nemesis called the thumb lug, I'd be very happy.
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I'm with you on that..

I cut the end of my thumb off when I was 16 and there is no way I can open a small comfortably
 
One other thing - as stunning as the damascus blades are to behold, they do take longer to "smooth out". New, I could easily feel the detent ball riding across the "texture" of the blade tang.
 
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