What's so great about the Sebenza?

S

Swedge

Joined
Dec 23, 2008
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334
I frequently see references in posts to the Sebenza in reverential terms. OK, I accept that many believe it's a great knife. But why?

And what about the Mnandi vs. the small Sebenza? I went onto the CRK website, and I like the looks of the Mnandi a lot. Is the Mnandi inferior in some way to the Sebenza? The Mnandi with the same blade steel and similar length is half the weight (and nicer looking). Why don't I see more references to the Mnandi?
 
Why? Why? Why don't people who see so many references to the Sebenza see all the threads on why the Sebenza? :D
 
A tad inefficient, it seems to me, to wade through hundreds of threads. But I'll take a look.
 
OK I went through the threads for the last 100 days, and I didn't see any that by their title seemed to address my question. I guess that if I read all the threads that mentioned the Sebenza, I could come up with some reasons why it's a great knife. But surely there are some Sebenza lovers who want to share their knowledge. Likewise Mnandi lovers!
 
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it is just an awesome precision made tough as hell knife thst you must feel in your own hands to appreciate the sebenza.well worth the money and has a very good resell value if you dont like it.
 
This reminds of someone posting a reply to people who always asks about why should I pay 300$ for a knife. I wish I could find the thread. But anyway it goes about taking a CRK looking at it and feeling it when times are really getting bad, and then just know you are holding something near perfect. Something that has tolerance of 0.0005 or so and just the shear detail of the simplistic design. And then you realize that all will be ok. because (this is for me personally) it represents that if God could give someone the talent to make something so near perfect, what has he given to you so you can make something so perfect?

Anyway. eg. buck is a great company, but buck also has their line of products on the expensive side. and their limited editions? no mention about those being expensive? 548. just a figure I quickly sough on their site. and Spyderco and Benchmade also have limited productions. Sal said that if they had to use the same material and tolerance the knife would cost so much. That coming from him says a lot in its self.

Another thing is the thread about hard use sebenza's shows a crk can stand up to near anything! Myself included thought for a long time about is a seb forth it! R3750 is more then my computer, desk, sound, ups, bed costs together. Thats a lot! But the more I read and educated myself the more I became intrigued.

Some people will never understand paying that much for a knife. Including my dad. When we bought our first truly handmade knife from Burger family my dad has not used his much, but after a year of babying the knife a lot I decided screw this. And started using it, and I am so glad I did. I still edc the knife every day with the seb in my front right pocket, the seb is being babied for now, but does see cutting chores regularly in a week, I just want to make my own sheath for it before I want to start using it.

Anyway. Im done. I just felt like typing tonight! Hope you don't mind.

o. A good reponse fron nyefmaker

I have had knives from Many Companies over the years and I feel they all have there place. I have buck, schrade, benchmade, kershaw, gerber...etc. I am sure I can find many things I like about some of them, and many things I dont. The buck 110 is a legendary knife and rightfully so. For the price, I would say its at the head of its class. For cleaning game, camp chores, food prep, it work wonders. I was always told by my knife dealer friend that the Schrade LB-7 was superior in every way, and it only cost $27. For what I said above, thats all anyone really needs. BUT, there are those of us out there, me included that appreciated special things and when it comes to something you like ( knives ), its nice to have the best you can afford. Now, I will never afford a Roles Royce, or a big fancy Hummer. For me, a CRK is a Roles Royce for me in the knife world. I have many of them and I love each of them in there own way. Look at the people that bang a $600 Busse against cement, if thats what they wanna do, so be it. I like to carry my Sebenza, I use it every chance I get. I do check my pocket a million times to make sure its there.....lol, I am sure I'm not the only one. Those of us that have a sebenza, know the feeling when you saw your first one, its a "WOW". I know I was amazed. I was like, now I KNOW why they cost that much. Purchase the CRK DVD, then you will have an even better appreciation and understanding why they cost that much and why they are indeed so special. I am sure if Buck made a 110 with a BG42 or S30V blade, titanium handles, inlays, mammoth ivory, etc, it would not be $40. You like what you like, what can I say !

O yes. Ps. Use this for searches!

http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra

O and pss. The mnandi is just as good as any seb. It just comes down to personal preferences. I couldn't buy a mnandi because it was just just out of my wallets reach, so I picked up a seb.
 
the mnandi is just as good as he sebenza. the mnandi is almost as long as a small sebenza, cut the blade is not as thick. for a knife of its size, the blade is plenty thick. it can work hard, don't let its good looks fool you.

check out the comparison thread stickied at the top of this forum.
 
There is nothing great about Sebbies. They are a waste of money. Save your money for something nice. I don't know why anyone would waste their hard earned money on such a poor quality product. It just goes to show that most people aren't very smart.:rolleyes::eek::p

Can you spell troll?;)

PS I love all my sebbies!
 
Scott Dog said:
There is nothing great about Sebbies. They are a waste of money. Save your money for something nice. I don't know why anyone would waste their hard earned money on such a poor quality product. It just goes to show that most people aren't very smart.:rolleyes::eek::p

Can you spell troll?;)

PS I love all my sebbies!
Click to expand...

possible, but he seems legit to me...

Many people do not know about the whole Sebenza hype. Personally It is my most favorite knife and I carry it every day. I have never found anything wrong with a Sebenza.:thumbup:
 
I've had a large Sebenza 21 for a while now. I carry it and use it every day. I have taken it apart a few times for cleaning/lubing. I have sharpened it twice with a Sharpmaker and have used it "fairly" hard. It holds up well, cleans easily, takes and holds a good edge and looks even cooler with some character marks, IMO.:D

As to why it's worth the money, here's my take. I have some nice stuff. Surefire flashlights, AR15s and goodies, a few good knives and Leatherman tools, etc. I can't afford expensive cars and other big ticket items, but I can afford some nice gear from time to time. In my experience, the Sebenza is probably the best thing I have in its given class. If something is worth the money, you know it right away. I knew the Sebenza was top notch as soon as I received it. Much like my Surefire M6, the quality is immediately tangible. The M6 is a best-in-class type item too, but the Sebenza you can use every day. I would probably sell off all my other goodies before I sold off the knife. I want to give each of my kids one of these some day.

Buy one, use it, clean it, sharpen it, play with it and decide. In the unlikely event that you don't like it, sell it for nearly what you paid for it.
 
I don't think you can really explain to someone why a Sebenza is so good. You really need to have one, and use it, to understand.
 
My apologies to swedge if I'm wrong. All products put out by CRK are great and that is why they have such a rabid following. I get a lot of people at my work make fun of me because I spend more than $50 on a folder when I can get a perfectly good knife at the Chinese store for a buck. My Mnandi is my go to knife at the hospital where I work. I've had it for seven years and it's perfect for my scrubs shirt pocket. It's there and ready to go into action when shit hits the fan and I need to cut some 02 line or tape that a patient has somehow ended up wrapping around his/her neck. By the way those people who make fun of me are the first to ask to use my knife when their POS one dollar knife isn't doing the job. My supervisor has a $16,000 gold rolex but still makes fun of my knife buying habits. I guess it's just a matter of priorities and what you like to spend money on. To each his own.;):thumbup::cool:
 
ROLEX! someone say ROLEX! to me a sebenza and a rolex go hand in hand. both built like tanks, solid and tuff. also both have that certain look about them, simple but elegant!!
 
Scott Dog said:
I get a lot of people at my work make fun of me because I spend more than $50 on a folder when I can get a perfectly good knife at the Chinese store for a buck.
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That knife may be functional to a certain degree, but I like having fingers. I'm willing to spend more on quality gear so that my fingers are still there at the end of the day, not sliced off by some POS knife with a blade that doesn't lock reliably.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

Marthinus, I appreciate the long post and especially the link to the Google search. I have bookmarked it. If search were available to me, I would have used that before posting. (BTW, I spent five days in Cape Town. Lovely city. I could live there!)

Scott Dog, no apologies needed (but gladly accepted anyway). If you look at my question, I think you will see it was inquisitive, not provocative. Trust me, I can be provocative. Furthermore, if you click on the link for my screen name, you will be able to find all my posts. Although I am new here, if you check them out, you'll see that there is nothing troll-like about them.

BTW, I did not mean to imply anything about the price of the Sebenza. I take it for granted that it's worth what people pay for it. The market is not stupid (though sometimes it goes temporarily insane). The fact that people readily pay the going rate for them and buy more is sufficient evidence to me that they are fairly priced. Obviously, whether the price represents a good value to a particular person depends on that person's circumstances. But by no means was I implying that they were "overpriced" (and in fact said nothing about price in my post).

Bottom line, being new to the knife world, I am going to have to search out a store that carries them, handle one, and see what it is like in person. Though I have to say, that if I were to buy a CRK, it would more likely be a Mnandi than a Sebenza.

Is it fair to say that for anything other than heavy-duty use, the Mnandi will be adequate?

For the guy who posted the pix of the large and small Sebenzas and the Mnandi (now a sticky), thanks. Those were worth more than a 1000 words!

And before I forget, rugershooter16, great picture!
 
swedge,

if you are within driving distance of orange county, check out plaza cutlery. they typically have a real nice selection of sebenzas and mnandis (as well as many other customs and semi-customs). and dan delevan is about as classy as they come.

plazacutlery.com

the sebenza is truly a marvel of simplicity and elegance, and as durable a folder as you will find.
 
Swedge

I hope you can find a mnandi that you like! I have always leened towards the snake wood and the darker wood....the name escapes me now. But will keep my fingers cross and let us know what you decide!
 
The Mnandi is definitely more than adequate for jobs that aren't heavy duty and probably some that are. I think the reason it is not as popular as the sebenza is because its more of a gentleman's knife (the handle is a little small for hard work). That being said, its a wonderful knife and I definitely recommend it, I own more than a few myself!
 
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