Weak Sebenza detent or just fine?

Z

Zasky

Joined
May 16, 2015
Messages
17
This is my first post after years of reading and benefiting from these forums, so let me start by saying a big thanks to RevDevil, Esav Benyamin, nyfemaker, kidcongo, unit, Haze, bhyde, Lone_Wolfe, lisantica, Ken44, 1AbominAble1, MostMenAreRuthless, RiverRat84, Zeta33, T. Erdelyi, HwangJino, MatthewSB, JNewell, gull wing, Officer's Match, and many, many others who generously give of their time, expertise, and good cheer to anyone who happens by. I'm not a collector or even an enthusiast by BF standards--I buy quality knives and use them. But sometimes I think I enjoy following the discussions about knives that go on in here as much as I enjoy knives themselves.

I have a month-old small insingo, purchased new, that had a very strong detent when I first got it. I could barely open it one-handed. I wasn't pressing on the pocket clip or any of that. It was just hard to get the blade started. So I did the usual routine of opening and closing, taking it apart and greasing the detent-ball path, and just using it. And in time, it broke in beautifully. It's now as smooth and glassy as a hydraulic bank vault sliding on a buttered banana peel in a pool of Crisco.

But...now, oddly, I wonder whether the detent may have become too weak. If I give the closed knife a good hard shake--not just a jiggle, but with some muscle behind it--the blade will come out. If I hold the closed knife so the blade is pointed at the ceiling and shake it hard and fast toward the floor, it will sometimes open all the way. Now, there's no reason I would do either of those things in real life use, and it never opens on its own. Just wondering if this is a normal detent for a broken-in Sebenza. If so, I won't give it another thought.

I don't think the lock bar itself is lightly sprung. The knife locks up with authority at about 65 percent and closes with a nice clink. When I remove the blade for maintenance the lock bar travels all the way to the other scale. And the knife isn't all loosey goosey in operation; there's still satisfying resistance on the blade when opening and closing and it doesn't easily flick open unless I put a lot of tension on the thumb lug--which I don't do, because flicking ain't my thing. I should say that I can also shake open the blade of my Mnandi in this way. Anything to be concerned about?

I appreciate everyone's thoughts.
 
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Most folders will open with enough force. The standard, in my opinion, is that the blade remain closed if you need to run, jump, roll, dance, etc. Therefore, mimic the amount of force applied to the blade during your daily activities.

Alternately, you could use the CRK pocket sheath.
 
Welcome to BF and the CRK subforum, and I appreciate the kind reference. This place is a form of knife higher education (for me, I'm still learning daily) and is a lot of fun to boot.

Sounds to me like your Small Insingo is good to go. When you have it apart, how does the ceramic detent ball look? (my eyes would require magnification to really check it out) Sounds like yours no longer would need lube on the ball-track of the blade.
 
Welcome to BF!

I think you are probably good..Doesn't sound like the blade falls without some forceful persuasion..If you get too concerned about it,..don't hesitate to call CRK..great people to talk to :)
 
bhyde said:
Welcome to BF!

I think you are probably good..Doesn't sound like the blade falls without some forceful persuasion..If you get too concerned about it,..don't hesitate to call CRK..great people to talk to :)
Click to expand...

This is essentially what I was going to say.

Welcome, Zasky. I sincerely appreciate you including me into the list of members who've helped inform you in some way or another, or encourage you to join up. That genuinely put a smile on my face, and today, that was a smile I needed more than I'd usually admit. Thank you very much! In regards to your Insingo, I believe that it is perfectly normal based on your description. My Insingo broke in very similarly.

Regards,
 
Is the pivot tightened all the way down? With the bushing you don't really have to worry about over tightening. (Don't crank with all your might, but just make sure it's snug.) It probably is, but something to check.
 
One thing to keep in mind is that the blade contacts the stop pin an the exact same time as the detention ball falls in its hole. If you have lint or gunk built up on the stop pin, it can prevent the detention ball from falling all the way into the hole. Possibly a good cleaning will resolve this issue if it truly is a problem.

Also, thanks for the mention, and welcome to the land of thread-starters!
 
Some of mine are like that, the others are still quite stiff. What I feel for is when the blade is almost closed, I can feel/hear the detent ball click into the detent hole. If it does that, then I don't worry about it opening under normal conditions. Now, I have dropped a few Sebenza's and no matter the detent strength, they all have partially opened up. It's the ones that don't settle into the detent hole that bother me the most which are other brands.
One way to guarantee it will never open is to carry in a pocket/belt sheath.
 
Welcome Zasky and congrats on a great choice of knives.
I can't add to what has been said already, just run those check lists just to be sure. You should be ok.
Mine loosened up after a couple of months, but still remains tight.
 
Since you already took it apart, you might want to check if you have some grease in the detent or on the ball. That will change the feel of the detent releasing quite a bit. Also, make sure to follow CRKs assembly instructions and do the final flick open to properly seat it. The instructions are stickied above, I think.

Welcome to CRK my good man.
 
I have a large insingo that came with blade ever so slightly off center and a ridiculously strong detent. I used it for 3 days and then decided it needed to go back to CRK to center the blade. They kept it for about 7 weeks and then sent it back with a perfectly centered blade and a completely different detent feel. If it's not perfect I would send it back and let them know it's too loose. They'll fix it right up. My .02...Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the responses, guys. Glad to know this isn't out of the ordinary. I checked everything you all suggested: The detent ball looks perfect, the hole and stop pin are clean, the pivot screw is cranked down, and the blade makes a nice clink when the ball pulls it closed. So I think all is well. I took the advice several people mentioned and removed the grease from the ball, hole, and track, which did firm things up a bit.

Looking forward to using the heck out of this knife. Nice to know the good folks at CRK will make things right if needed down the road.
 
Welcome to BF !
Your knife sounds fine, and just right(IMO) if you're getting that "clink" when closing. I don't like a heavy detent, but many do.
All of the older Regulars I've had(or have) have a much lighter detent than the newer knives, and I like them that way myself.
I have one 97 model that I can flip the blade out as you describe. It doesn't even have a good "clink" when closing, but I don't see any way the knife could open unless I was wanting it to, or maybe dropped it.
Congrats on your new knife !
 
Zasky said:
Thanks for all the responses, guys. Glad to know this isn't out of the ordinary. I checked everything you all suggested: The detent ball looks perfect, the hole and stop pin are clean, the pivot screw is cranked down, and the blade makes a nice clink when the ball pulls it closed. So I think all is well. I took the advice several people mentioned and removed the grease from the ball, hole, and track, which did firm things up a bit.

Looking forward to using the heck out of this knife. Nice to know the good folks at CRK will make things right if needed down the road.
Click to expand...

Welcome! To me it sounds sounds like you have a nicely broken in CRK, and need to start cutting things. Besides your fingers, that is! :D
 
Thank you very much for the kind mention and welcome to the CRK sub forum.

After reading your post I thought that it sounded like the knife was fine, although I was going to suggest that you clean the grease off of the detent ball and track but somebody beat me to it 😉

I've only had about 25 CRK's which is nothing compared to a lot of other members here but I can say that some come with slightly weaker detents and some are quite stiff- seems like the part that varies most on what is otherwise a very "standard" knife.
I have a large Insingo that opens much easier than the knife you described and after about a year of carrying it I never had it open unless I wanted it to; on the other end of the spectrum my good friend "Blackend here on the forum" has a Small CF inlaid Insingo that has such a strong detent that I don't like to open the knife.

Out of all the Senenza's I've owned and fondled over the last 10 years or so I believe that the detents have become much crisper and better as of the last 2 1/2 years.

Yours sounds fine but if you're at all unsatisfied just give CRK a call and ask them what they think.

Most of all, I hope that you're enjoying the knife.
 
Thanks for the nice words in the OP and I agree there are a big number of great members here..... you may have me confused with someone else though ? I'm just a big grumpy old troll, so I hear. :p

I find the detent on CRKs to have a good uniform standard in tension and I have yet to see one that actually has an issue. There is a difference between the dimple Vs through hole for the detent but that is a mild one. The detent will hold the blade in position through most motions but if there is a jolt or sudden stop it is normal for the blade to move, but you do usually have to be pretty purposful about it. It can't open when carried in a front right pocket anyway being tip up.
I find that it's largly the angle of attack on the thumb stud that is the real issue peopel have "at first" and not actually the detent. I have friends that just could not open my Sebenzas or Umnumzaans, not without making it look obvious and clumsy anyway. They all said "goodness me, that knife is very stiff/hard to open".... When they changed the angle that there were trying to open the knife at it was of course easy, it was just not what they were used to. :)
 
Thanks for the mention, and welcome to BF.

It sounds like you got things sorted out, enjoy your Sebenza!
 
Detents are a personal thing. If you are happy with your detent, then it is fine. If you are not happy with your detent, then it is not fine. Personally I like mine just tight enough that the knife doesn't pop open if I accidently drop it drop it.
 
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