My own requirements for a knife were somewhat narrow (military service -- although now retired) so here is the decision process I went through that eventually resulted in me buying a Sebenza.
I had carried a bunch of other "one hand opening" folders and always found something wanting in them. My Benchmade AFCK (original large version) came the closest to meeting most of my criteria, but the blade was a bit too shiney. I did carry it for a few years though. The clip screws would loosen over time so I had to remember to tighten them.
The BM Eclipse was not robust enough, and, although it passed the spine whack test, the zytel handle didn't seem strong enough (even though my M16A2 stock was made of the same!).
The Spyderco Military had a liner lock cut-out that exposed too much of the liner, possibly allowing me to inadvertantly release it, allowing the blade to close when I needed it to stay open.
A CRKT M16 (small) blade was too pointy and the clip was so tight, I couldn't extract the knife without adding undo wear to my BDU pockets.
I looked at others but the Sebenza filled the bill. It was just subdued enough to prevent shine -- I hate black coated blades, the coating always wears off anyway. It had a very strong lock that I could trust. I stopped carrying a knife clipped to my pocket since it was subject to be stripped out when moving through the terrain (bushes, vehicle hatches/seats, etc.) so I put it in a belt pouch to be secure. It had great steelm(BG42), staying sharp longer than any others I had carried. The only downside was the cost, but then I didn't look at it as "what will it cost to replace". I don't lose my gear, never lost my weapon, always had my kevlar, my boots were never misplaced, and I've never lost a knife in the field. A soldier can't afford to lose his tools so there are ways we use to prevent that -- we learn what they are and use them, or answer for letting the unit down when we can't accomplish the mission.
Are there other great knives out there? Sure -- but the Sebenza was available, not "one of a kind", and has a great support plan in place.
Oh yeah, I forgot, it can be dissassembled and cleaned by the owner/operator! Soldiers are used to that.
An easy choice.
Bruce
