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What is so special about the sebenza?

I have carried many, many different knives in my life time from SAK classics and Opinels to delux high end customs and alot of things inbetween. Ever since I first got a CRK folder I have had big problems finding anything that could keep it out my pocket for any real amount of time. Other companies that do Ti frame locks just don't match the Sebenza, some are close IMO but they are just not as well fitted or finished.
I have had problems with other peoples frame locks (3 knives actually) from two particular well regarded companies. Two knives locks ran out past 100% in less than a year and one developed paly in the lock after about a year of use (my cousin has also had problems with frame locks from the same two companies). My CRKs are still as solid as the day they were perchased. I have carried an Umnumzaan for the last year or two and there is nothing I have seen to even touch that knife so far.

I actually had a discussion a couple of weeks ago with a friend of mine about this very thing. He has been interested in CRK for a while but was just a bit hesitant to put the cash down. After talking him around the Sebenza and Umnumzaan, pointing out the nice little detailes in finish. As well as breaking them both down and building them back up next to the Ti frame lock he carried. He was quite taken with CRKs fit and finish, ease of maintenace as well as style and bought him self an Umnumzaan a few days later. :):thumbup:
 
Well I'm not super qualified since I just bought my second CRK tonight, and I've had my first one for about 1.5 weeks, but here are my thoughts...

My first impression when I got my first CR (Small Starbenza) was, "This is it?". I was a bit let down. I guess I expected glorious fanfare and blinding light upon opening my box. I took the knife home (I had it mailed to work) and couldn't put it down. I admired it constantly, turned it over in my hands, opened and closed it, etc. I realized this was one quality tool! I fell in love. Now I've got my second one on the way that I'm thrilled to actually carry.

I would equate it (somewhat) to cars. You can purchase an extremely well made luxury sedan (BMW, Mercedes, whatever) or get a Hyundai "luxury" sedan that costs half the price. The Hyundai is also well-made and has a great warranty. Does it do the same thing? Yes. Does it perform similarly? Yes. Do they equal in fit and finish, quality of materials, or in reputation? That's a big fat no. I think a "plain old" sebenza sort of compares in that way to other factory/production knives. Just my 2 cents.
 
It's a cliché, but if you gotta ask, you ain't never gonna know.

It's a nice knife, spoiled a bit by the Idaho Made, but well designed and nicely made.

If you appreciate good design and nice machining, you will like a Sebenza.
If you just want a good knife you will like a Sebenza.

If buying one will keep food from your kid's mouths, don't buy one.
Get a Spyderco or a Dough Ritter Griptilian or whatever.

Otherwise get one, life is short, and since you could easily have it for a very long time (for life even) it really isn't expensive at all.
It may not be cheap, but it is good value.

Ironically my Sage II has a far superior action to my Sebenza, but the Sebenza has a nicer blade and a classier design.
 
Another person who is trolling! If you want to make a point go ahead, but making blanket statements and running away is childish. Way to have a discussion, but thats not what you were looking for was it.
 
four_shore said:
they're a secret . . .
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It's not that the knives are a secret...it's just that they're all stored in philwar's private asylum...lol

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to come in and make statements without backing them up is pretty weak. And as it's been stated, Chris Reeve isn't telling everyone his knives are the best in terms of F&F, his peers vote that way. If CRK isn't doing it for you, that's no problem, but why even bother coming into the conversation just to stir the pot?

I've carried a CRK folder in one flavour or another for over 5 years now and am comfortable saying they're the best folders out there for my uses. And I've owned enough knives from other highly sought-after makers like Rick Hinderer and Kevin Wilkins to know they aren't better made than CRK folders. Mr. Reeve has never claimed to be making knives for the "stab car door crowd", so if someone is looking for that, there are plenty of knives out there. If you're looking for a very well made knife that can and will handle any normal task one could expect of a folder this side of zombie killing, a CRK is a good bet.
 
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It's not the Grail for me. It's the starting point. I've owned plenty of customs that were not as well thought-out and executed.

It's never let me down, never failed, and beckons my companionship every single day. If only the same could be said of humans...

Prof.
 
Try field dressing and processing 20 to 30 big game animals (deer, boar, a moose or two) per hunting season in addition to the usual letter opening and apple peeling. Do this for five, ten or twenty years.
No other folding knife does this year after year without mechanical problems. No other folder this big and rigid is as slim and convenient to carry in the pocket. No other folder is as easy to clean. No other folder is as easy to bring back to hair-splitting sharpness.

A Sebenza is a well though-out working knife. Nothing more, nothing less. If you don't use it you'll never understand.
 
Sal Glesser said it Spyderco were to build their knives with tolerances as CRK, that Spyderco would charge the same price for their knives as CRK does for theirs. It's a titanium framelock with excellent steel, and probably has better engineering tolerances than any other production folder. I love the Sebenza and I have never owned one, because all of my excess cash goes to tuition.
 
I have many folders, including more than a few customs from some superb makers. And the Sebenza is still an outstanding, solid, beautiful go-to knife.
One of the great things about a Sebbie that doesn't get mentioned much is that, for me, it strikes a great balance between fancy and practical.
It isn't and doesn't pretend to be a tactical super ninja death machine and when you pull a Sebbie out it is obviously just a good solid tool...that in the right hands can be a tactical super ninja death machine ;)
Seriously, it is a very well designed, well executed knife.
Not inexpensive, but, from my perspective, definitely worth the price.
And i would never say any of this if I didn't believe it.
 
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philwar said:
In my case, other people's say-so. I bought one, carried it on-and-off for a year or so and - because expectations were so high - was disappointed by it. It's the only high-end folder I ever sold.
There's nothing wrong with it, but considering its price and reputation, it's nothing special either. The Sebenza is a case of the Emperor's new clothes: there's nothing there that can't be had at half the pricepoint, and some mass-produced factory higher-end folders outdo it performance-wise, spec-wise and F&F-wise.
I know this is gonna offend a lot of people but it's my honest, experience-based opinion.
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I respect philwar and also his opinions, but I disagree with this particular opinion. Reasonable people can disagree and still respect each other.
 
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It was those quotes by Sal Glesser that really sold me on the sebenza. It's just a superior product. The weight is right, the size is right, and the feel is, of course, perfect. The thing I've really come to appreciate with my own small 21 is the visual appeal of it. It has an industrial look on account of the titanium, however the polished silver and anodized blue make it look ultra-refined and classy. It's a knife I feel confident carrying and more confident using.
 
What's so special? Simplicity & precision... they just work!

insingo_pam_c.jpg
 
I find it sad someone on here got mugged and handed over an expensive knife to the thief and didn't use it to stop the mugging...

Very, very sad.
 
Born to Kill said:
I find it sad someone on here got mugged and handed over an expensive knife to the thief and didn't use it to stop the mugging...

Very, very sad.
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Off topic, but perhaps you and MT Damascus should do a little research regarding Martinus' mugging before you archair quarterback what he should have done. You've likely heard the saying "bringing a knife to a gun fight", right? That applies pretty well here.
 
I have three. Have had more in the past, and fully expect to have more in the future

I like them fine.

But, just for information, I don't like them as much as other production pieces I have.

You can be objective about research and tolerances and materials and tooling and everything, but not about liking things.
 
TUF said:
The only people that don't love Sebenzas are the people that can't afford them. Just my experience, I hope I didn't offend anyone.
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I don't love them. Don't hate them either, they're on my "To Buy" list, but pretty low on it. I prefer fixed blades to folders. Is that a valid exception to your rule, or am I just a closet cheapo?
 
For me its simplicity, elegance and quality. Love everything about the design, from handle to blade shape, framelock etc. Easy to take apart and clean. Expensive but after owning one it has cured most of the knife itch and become my reference point, (unknowingly) exactly what I was looking for in a knife. Well.. at least 90%. I still do have the occasional flare-up but now its usually for more Sebs and all the different variations :)
 
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