What are the Competitors to the Chris Reeve SEBENZA? Are there any?

I found a lightly used Sebenza 10 years ago (or so).

It’s a fine knife. Really “feels” as good as it’s price reflects. Beautifully made. Smooth. Highly functional.

But, honestly, I carry a Spyderco Delica all day every day. I can open it easier. It holds an outstanding edge. And, I don’t cringe if I abuse it a little.

Would I buy a Sebenza if I didn’t own one? Yes. It’s a fantastic knife. When open, it feels like a fixed blade.

I really am not up to speed on all the beautiful custom and semi custom knives on the market. I’m sure there’s some spectacular knives out there. But, I know, the Sebenza is a truly outstanding knife.
 
There isn't anything that's exactly comparable. Hinderer and, I'm sorry to say it, Reate are probably the closest in terms of build quality and price point. Yes, there is Shirogorov and CKF and Koenig and Millit. But they're all now substantially higher than CRK, while CRK prices have held steady.
 
I have two Sebenza 31s its a really hard knife to beat especially if you factor in the warrenty and the fact you can just replace the blade if you ever manage to wear it out. I have a CRK Inkosi too. You might consider that if you havent already. The Inkosi is an amazing knife but I probably like the Sebenza just a little more.
 
Nalapombu said:
Hey all.

Since reading more and watching more videos on knives I have grown to appreciate more those knives that before I would’ve never looked a second time at.

One of these knives is the Chris Reeve Knives SEBENZA in the LARGE size. I don’t own any expensive knives, but I do own and carry some nice folders, all factory stuff though.

I am saving a bit here and there to one day soon buy one of these “grail” knives. What I am wanting to know is what other folders out there would be considered competitors to the large SEBENZA. Folders of the same quality and workmanship, size and price. I like bigger blades. Maybe competitors is the wrong word. I guess a better way to phrase it would be knives that are thought of and looked at like the SEBENZA is.

Right now the ones I have on my list are:

1. Chris Reeve Knives large SEBENZA
2. Chris Reeve Knives UMNUMZAAN
3. Microtech SOCOM BRAVO
4. Freeman 451


So far those are all I have. I would like to keep the price at $500. I simply cannot afford to spend the money it takes to get one of these incredible customs.
I haven’t decided yet on whether to add autos to my list. Maybe I’ll work on the folder/flipper first and after I get that, I can start a new one for autos.

What other folder/flipper knives should be on my list? What knives do you consider to be equal to or maybe better than the SEBENZA?

My plan is to get a list of possibles, visit some shops and handle each one and then decide on which one to buy. The one I pick will go in my pocket immediately and will be carried and used prolly the rest of my time here.



Any suggestions or info you care to share is appreciated.
Thank you for your help and time.

MUHerd
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I've got or had all of the knives on the list and my favorite would be the Umnumzaan hands down. Next would be Sebenza, then Microtech followed by the 451. All of them are good, just be aware that the 451 is a very thick blade so it won't slice nearly as fine as the others. Fun to play with though.
 
Another thing is I think that CRK went from being the top production knives to the gateway to the top production knives. It's funny now, because having owned a bunch of Koenigs and similar knives, now I think a plain-Jane CRK might be the ultimate user, which is a whole world away from when I started with a Spyderco Centofante 3 for the princely sum of $58 back in 2004... 😂
 
madcap_magician said:
Another thing is I think that CRK went from being the top production knives to the gateway to the top production knives. It's funny now, because having owned a bunch of Koenigs and similar knives, now I think a plain-Jane CRK might be the ultimate user, which is a whole world away from when I started with a Spyderco Centofante 3 for the princely sum of $58 back in 2004... 😂
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A CRK can also be your only knife, including hard use. Once you get above the CRK price point, many of those knives are tacticool sharpened prybars or some sort of art object.
 
DMG said:
This morning I was holding a large Inkosi and a GB2 for a couple of minutes deciding which to put in my pocket before leaving for a long weekend. The GB2 won. I still love my Inkos, though. (If the Inkosi was an Insingo, it would have won)
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I love my GB2. So classy, and so functional. Lockbar is a little tough to get to but once you get the technique it's no harder than any other liner lock.

I really want to try a CRK, see what it's all about, but I have so many knives...maybe one day.
 
I was thinking hard about this last night. CRKs have severe limitations for me, thumbstud only, very limited steel selection, limited size, etc. Never needed warranty on any of my several hundred knives either.

There are many knives that I'd prefer over a CRK, like my fluted Military, my liner-less Ti Cruwear Manix 2, my Spyderco Tuff, or any of my Hinderers. And Skinnies can run on PB washers very smoothly too, have a good geometry, thicker pivot, and if I decide to use them with MRCB, I can do that, too. All of these knives have perfect action, however you define that. And if I want best of class bearing performance, I'll take one of my Cheburkovs, that also were in the CRK price range.

So no, CRKs are not the above all, I'd take even a "lowly" Spyderco GB1 over any Sebenza, any day.

Comparing a similar sized knife, in the lower CRK price range (< $350), this one, for instance, is better all around:

i-Fc26C2r-X3.jpg


I do respect CR's contribution to the knife industry, of course, the RIL, S35VN, etc., that doesn't mean there is no competition. In fact, there is more than I can list.

Would be cool if he would broaden his spectrum a little, instead of doing more variation of inlays, engravings, etc.
 
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The newer runs of the Toor Merchant 2.0 are pretty nice. Similar titanium handled design as the sebenza, good tolerances and entirely made in the u.s.a.
 
DMG said:
A CRK can also be your only knife, including hard use. Once you get above the CRK price point, many of those knives are tacticool sharpened prybars or some sort of art object.
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In some ways nobody is like CRK as well because CRK doesn't change much. 20 years ago when I first got into knives, a thumb stud-opening titanium framelock was the pinnacle of 'tactical' or 'high-end' production knives. IKBS was the only bearing system in town and was just starting to come into Flavio Ikoma and the Lala brothers' minds. Phosphor bronze or Teflon washers were normal, we were still figuring out if assisted-opening was going to be a Thing or not, and flipper opening hadn't been invented, and nobody cared or thought much about titanium lock face wear. And CRK had the Sebenza 21, which was very recognizable from earlier iterations and remains minimally changed and still fundamentally recognizable in its current version as the Sebenza 31.

So nobody is like CRK because nobody has been doing their thing as long or consistently as CRK has. Plenty of small manufacturers are doing the same or even better quality, but they don't have the longevity or the insistence on continuing to do their own one thing.

Except I guess Randall. Randall is pretty similar, just very different knives. Randall changes even less than CRK.
 
madcap_magician said:
In some ways nobody is like CRK as well because CRK doesn't change much. 20 years ago when I first got into knives, a thumb stud-opening titanium framelock was the pinnacle of 'tactical' or 'high-end' production knives. IKBS was the only bearing system in town and was just starting to come into Flavio Ikoma and the Lala brothers' minds. Phosphor bronze or Teflon washers were normal, we were still figuring out if assisted-opening was going to be a Thing or not, and flipper opening hadn't been invented, and nobody cared or thought much about titanium lock face wear. And CRK had the Sebenza 21, which was very recognizable from earlier iterations and remains minimally changed and still fundamentally recognizable in its current version as the Sebenza 31.

So nobody is like CRK because nobody has been doing their thing as long or consistently as CRK has. Plenty of small manufacturers are doing the same or even better quality, but they don't have the longevity or the insistence on continuing to do their own one thing.

Except I guess Randall. Randall is pretty similar, just very different knives. Randall changes even less than CRK.
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Unfortunately I think Randall relies on their name alone at this point. CRK at least updates their steel and comes out with new products.
 
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