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

Perhaps the Reate-made Chaves Ultramar Redencion. Albeit thicker and heavier , it’s a high quality Ti frame lock with tight tolerances. The lock bar cutout is especially narrow. Not sure how they pull that off but it looks great.
 
Tsujigiri said:
It was the last true Chris Reeve design and the culmination of decades of small refinements to get to that point. The new versions came after Chris left the company, so they have the brand pedigree but not the designer pedigree.

Also, the 21 had the heat treated titanium lock face, which some prefer the feel and security of (although the ceramic ball has functioned quite well in the field). The new models did away with that, possibly due to the additional cost associated with fitting the old design.

Have to laugh at some of the suggestions in this thread, some of these aren't remotely similar to a Sebenza. Even for the ones that are, nothing is exactly like the Sebenza. There are much cheaper knives that cut just as well and similarly priced knives that use the same materials, but they have advantages in different areas, not the same ones.
Click to expand...
Sorry but you meant to say the Sebenza 25 not 21 correct? It was completely designed by Chris as his final upgrade to the Sebenza. No pivot bushing and the ceramic ball interface instead of the hardened lock bar.

A knife that became the Inkosi ( which last I heard was what Chris carried) only because the 21 was so loved and by then had become greater than the sum of its parts. It had become a legendary standard that other knives were compared to not because it was better.

I’ll take the 25 over the 31 and the 31 over the 21. I own, use and love them all but it is what it is.
 
I've always found the Spartan Harsey tempting, but the grind, especially at the plunge line, always seems off from knife to knife...

Maybe it's just OCD on my part...but it seems like they could address that.
 
When I got into knives heavily you only really had a few options: The Sebenza, the Bradley Alias, the Benchmade Skirmish, the Kershaw Cyclone in titanium and ZDP-189, the Protech Integrity, I'm sure I'm missing some, but you really only had about 2 handfuls TOPS and most were hard to get. Now days the world is your oyster with high end titanium framelocks with premium steel. However I still honestly think that nobody does it, in a production setting, quite like CRK. The Arno Bernard iMamba is about equal in my mind, however they're a much smaller outfit with just a group of brothers making them, and I'd say they're kind of more in the midtech category (without part of the work contracted out, but you know what I mean 🍻 ).
 
Kettleman said:
Sorry but you meant to say the Sebenza 25 not 21 correct? It was completely designed by Chris as his final upgrade to the Sebenza. No pivot bushing and the ceramic ball interface instead of the hardened lock bar.

A knife that became the Inkosi ( which last I heard was what Chris carried) only because the 21 was so loved and by then had become greater than the sum of its parts. It had become a legendary standard that other knives were compared to not because it was better.

I’ll take the 25 over the 31 and the 31 over the 21. I own, use and love them all but it is what it is.
Click to expand...

I meant the 21 but now I see you are correct, the 25 was the last one entirely designed by Chris. That being said, I've seen a lot of people refer to the 21 as the last true Sebenza, I suppose since the 25 was something of a departure and didn't have some of the elements the 21 fans had come to appreciate. I do really like the feel of the 21 lock, and it was available in some inlay materials that the new ones aren't.

On a side note, since you placed the 25 at the top, have you tried the Inkosi, and how would you rank that?
 
After handling hundreds of knives for over 40 years i think for the price,there is nothing that compares to a sebenza/inkosi; there is just an aura and amazing quality about them that i just dont see with anything else; and if one is bought on a secondary market at a lower price, it really makes it unbeatable....
 
Tsujigiri said:
I meant the 21 but now I see you are correct, the 25 was the last one entirely designed by Chris. That being said, I've seen a lot of people refer to the 21 as the last true Sebenza, I suppose since the 25 was something of a departure and didn't have some of the elements the 21 fans had come to appreciate. I do really like the feel of the 21 lock, and it was available in some inlay materials that the new ones aren't.

On a side note, since you placed the 25 at the top, have you tried the Inkosi, and how would you rank that?
Click to expand...
Yes I have and carry an Inkosi. I truly feel it’s the best knife CRK makes. I’ve said before, The inkosi is a knife that if folks bought it first they wouldn’t need any others. View attachment 2306270
And if I came across as anti 21 I am not. I think it is an amazing knife that deserves its following. I just come to the opinion after working with them that I prefer the robustness of the 25 and the advanced ( in my opinion) 31 over the 21. I did however just buy a father daughter set of Sebenzas and chose the 21.
 
Last edited:
I haven’t read the whole thread but I would bet Les George wasn’t mentioned once. Maybe he just has me under some magical spell but he’s certainly worthy of a mention as being in the same league as CRK.

He’s so underrated it’s unbelievable. I know of more than a few members that got there first one and immediately bought more because they had no idea what they had been missing out on.

He’s also a very small maker, he just recently hired his first employee. He does everything himself on a midtech level and is a great guy to support. I may sound like a broken record but I’m also only one of the few ambassadors pushing him on bf.

All I can figure is that he doesn’t put out enough product to get them in more people’s hands but once you do there’s no turning back. Maybe that’s why you don’t see his knives on the exchange daily because people get them and keep them. If you don’t have one yet it should be your next purchase. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Rather you may go broke buying more.

As far as him versus CRK, nothing beats the fit n finish of a reeves and his pivot design is also unbeatable but the action Les gets on pb washers is out of this world. If I told you they were bearings you wouldn’t even question it. They’re also exceptionally well made and beefier than crk. But of course I would never say better than a CRK cause I don’t think I could handle the punishment 😂

But he’s by far my favorite and certainly worthy of a mention to consider other than a crk.
 
mitchnola said:
I haven’t read the whole thread but I would bet Les George wasn’t mentioned once. Maybe he just has me under some magical spell but he’s certainly worthy of a mention as being in the same league as CRK.
Click to expand...
Les has popped up a few times in the thread. I agree with you about the action and build quality of his knives. I do think they suffer a little from spyderco syndrome in that not everyone likes the way they look. I didn’t care for them at all until I handled one and it changed my mind immediately. I’ve also gotten to shoot the breeze with him on multiple occasions and he’s a pretty cool guy. I own several of his knives/designs now.

I’ve been carrying one of my Sebenzas this week. It certainly deserves its reputation as an all time classic design but in my opinion and for my purposes the Mnandi might be better.
 
I've got an Inkosi riding in my pocket as I type. Purchased as a gift to myself for a well earned milestone from Spark's shop back in 2019. I adore this knife as CRK was my grail for 20+ years.

That said, the Spartan knives have my attention. I've not been floored with the CRK line up the last couple of years and was kinda bummed I'm missed the 21 as it just fell out of production as I purchased my Inkosi.

I've bought several $500+ knives since 2019, but I think a Spartan may be my final big purchase for 2023.
 
ScarFoot said:
Les has popped up a few times in the thread. I agree with you about the action and build quality of his knives. I do think they suffer a little from spyderco syndrome in that not everyone likes the way they look. I didn’t care for them at all until I handled one and it changed my mind immediately. I’ve also gotten to shoot the breeze with him on multiple occasions and he’s a pretty cool guy. I own several of his knives/designs now.

I’ve been carrying one of my Sebenzas this week. It certainly deserves its reputation as an all time classic design but in my opinion and for my purposes the Mnandi might be better.
Click to expand...
Well I’m glad to hear his name did pop up. While I do like the aesthetics of his knives they’re not necessarily my favorite either. My one complaint would be that he doesn’t really do different designs and blade shapes. I’d also really like some with a g10 scale.
 
Tsujigiri said:
Also, the 21 had the heat treated titanium lock face, which some prefer the feel and security of (although the ceramic ball has functioned quite well in the field). The new models did away with that, possibly due to the additional cost associated with fitting the old design.
Click to expand...
The ceramic detent /lock face was designed by Chris Reeve. Lock strength is not a category that is dear to me, but Tim Reeve says the ceramic lock on the 31 is much stronger than that of the 21.

You're right about cost, but it's because production has been streamlined. The folders (except for Mnandi and impinda) share common design elements.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
I've got an Inkosi riding in my pocket as I type. Purchased as a gift to myself for a well earned milestone from Spark's shop back in 2019. I adore this knife as CRK was my grail for 20+ years.

That said, the Spartan knives have my attention. I've not been floored with the CRK line up the last couple of years and was kinda bummed I'm missed the 21 as it just fell out of production as I purchased my Inkosi.

I've bought several $500+ knives since 2019, but I think a Spartan may be my final big purchase for 2023.
Click to expand...
Spartan certainly deserves your attention. I have a JOD, a Plague Doctor and a plain handle that are fantastic for fit and finish. I traded a sugar skulls only because I personally prefer the stonewash finish. Get one in hand, and you will understand.
 
Modernflame said:
The ceramic detent /lock face was designed by Chris Reeve. Lock strength is not a category that is dear to me, but Tim Reeve says the ceramic lock on the 31 is much stronger than that of the 21.

You're right about cost, but it's because production has been streamlined. The folders (except for Mnandi and impinda) share common design elements.
Click to expand...

Do you have a link to this? Interested to hear how he worded that. I figured that the failure mode for both would be buckling at the lock relief, not the lock face breaking. One thing that's nice about the 21 version, though, is that titanium galls against steel, making it less likely that the lock will slip after a sudden shock. Whether you're likely to encounter that in regular use is a different matter...

I'm starting to think that I need to add an Inkosi at some point, seems like the missing piece alongside my 21 and Umnumzaan
 
ac3boyz said:
I really like my Spartan Harsey folders but for me, an Inkosi Insingo is tough to beat.
Click to expand...
I think if a fella could only have the one folder it’s the one. I know they aren’t sexy with cool designs and such and collectors find them boring but for the pure utility it was designed for there are just none better. IMO of course.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top