when in doubt ask the BF

L

leerehaende

Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Messages
74
today I had a Sebenza in my hand, it was a regular with serrations, the serrations had very deep teeth

the blade was polished and the thumb stud was silver and the concentric rings, were only on 1/4th of the thumbstud

I'll try to get photos but maybe somebody can chime in and it rings a bell

the scales and the lock did look very real, I had my 21 with me to compare

the clip was an old style clip too I guess, it didn't have the bend in the middle of the clip

cheers Maik
 
I sent you an email - but does it have any letters or numbers on the front scale next to the CR symbol? From your description the thumbstud sounds like it predates the "Regular" frame style.
 
no it didn't have a P, if it had, I would have bought it

I forgot to take pictures but should have some in my hands tomorrow and will post them here ASAP
 
Probably an early unique graphic with BG-42 for the blade steel. :)

A very nice find if it is :thumbup:
 
Thinking more about this, it maybe a ats-34, was there a classic logo on the back? Did it have the same shape as your 21? May be a "p" Sebenza that is not marked "p" or a very early run of the Sebenza :cool:

Without pix it's hard to tell, I wonder what CRK could tell you if you emailed them?
 
Its what I call a "P" style sebenza. Its has everything that would make it a "P" sebenza, but it doesnt have the "P". I have a small "P" style sebenza. Its currently in the spa getting blasted over to make it look better as its pretty scuffed up. It has ATS-34 Blade Steel and is more squared off than the current versions. Out of all the sebenza styles I have seen, this is by far my favorite.

I emailed Anne Reeve and sent pics to her and she helped me identify it. Here is her reply. Thanks Anne Reeve,

"Anyway, glad you found an “older member of society”! We never did mark the small original Sebenzas with the P. By that time we had already realized that the P was sometimes being misrepresented as Prototype instead of Production. What you have is an Original Sebenza, not a Classic. I am almost positive it would be ATS34 – our plan had been to switch to BG42 with the introduction of the Regular Sebenza but we were a bit late so some Regular Sebenzas are ATS34 but I don’t think any Original Sebenzas were BG42. The knife was probably made with a clip – it was really the large Original profile Sebenzas that were clip-less. I would guess that the clip has been replaced because I think we were still using the older style “straight” clips then."

I love this style and would love to have a Large "P" or "P" style sebenza as I prefer the large more, but this small "P" is staying with me...sorry guys :D

Here are pics of mine. With your detail description, I am almost positive the one you saw is like this one. This had the newer style clip when I got it which is not original. I traded a clip insert for an old style straight clip with a forum member to make it original. I will be sure to post pics when it returns from the spa.

psebbie4.jpg


psebbie5.jpg


psebbie2.jpg


psebbie3.jpg


psebbie8.jpg


psebbie9.jpg


psebbie8.jpg


psebbie10.jpg


psebbie19.jpg


psebbie18.jpg
 
There was a brief period between 1994 and 1996 when CR dropped the P from the Sebenza face. The are exactly the same as the P's in construction - same blade (ATS-34) and handle. Around this time they also started adding clips that looked like this -

413e99eae9152744d5ba15d3d6ec0af85g.jpg


Tom's clip has been changed from the original to a more recent version.

It sounds like you've handled a knife similar to Tom's - made after the P versions but before the style change to the "Regulars" in 1996. The differences look like this -

The top is the original style and the bottom is the "regular" style started in 1996...
f3e3be03aed98859cdac69acc522b91b5g.jpg
 
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I traded for a straight clip to make it original looking. I love the look and feel of this style of sebenza.

We should also mention that some of the P Sebenzas did not have a clip at all and no recess to put one................ There is more info regarding the P Sebenza in my CRK Timeline, Check it out !!!
 
I used have a clipless numbered "P" Sebenza before and as great as it was, I ended up trading it for another Sebenza with a clip since I use the clip exclusively to carry.

Great knife though:










It was number 138
 
I bought it and will get it monday, then I will post some pictures

no P, Clip like in Post #8 and some very strange serrations
 
pjmaxm said:
I used have a clipless numbered "P" Sebenza before and as great as it was, I ended up trading it for another Sebenza with a clip since I use the clip exclusively to carry.

Great knife though:










It was number 138
Click to expand...

Thats Sweet, Wish I Had One :D
 
Has the thumb lug been replaced on the P138 sebenza? It looks like a current production thumb lug while the thumb lug on nyefmaker's small sebenza is the original old one. I have an old sebenza 1994 just like nyefmaker and it has a full 100% polished blade which I really like. Do all old sebenza's have full polished blades?
 
I’m of the opinion that this is a an original Sebenza from the period after CR stopped putting the “P” on the face slab (sometime in 1994) and before the change to the “Regular” style in 1996. Nyef’s Sebenza above is from the same period. My reasoning is this:

- The thumbstud is the original, hand-sanded version
- The flats on the blade look brushed and not tumbled
- The handle slabs are slightly thicker than later models
- The handle cut-out for accessing the thumbstud is deep and symmetrical. That didn’t show back up until the 21 version in 2008.
- The blade profile is correct, and different from the later Regulars and Classics (my favorite profile, btw ;) )
- The edge bevel around the hand slabs is the same everywhere, including the lock-tab. That changed later as well.

The only incongruity that I can find would be the serrations. I’m not sure when CR started offering them on the Sebenza’s, so that may be an aftermarket modification. Other than that, it looks to be spot-on!

I would call the CR shop or e-mail them and ask about that one item, but I think you made an awesome score nonetheless!
 
DallasSTB said:
I’m of the opinion that this is a an original Sebenza from the period after CR stopped putting the “P” on the face slab (sometime in 1994) and before the change to the “Regular” style in 1996. Nyef’s Sebenza above is from the same period. My reasoning is this:

- The thumbstud is the original, hand-sanded version
- The flats on the blade look brushed and not tumbled
- The handle slabs are slightly thicker than later models
- The handle cut-out for accessing the thumbstud is deep and symmetrical. That didn’t show back up until the 21 version in 2008.
- The blade profile is correct, and different from the later Regulars and Classics (my favorite profile, btw ;) )
- The edge bevel around the hand slabs is the same everywhere, including the lock-tab. That changed later as well.

The only incongruity that I can find would be the serrations. I’m not sure when CR started offering them on the Sebenza’s, so that may be an aftermarket modification. Other than that, it looks to be spot-on!

I would call the CR shop or e-mail them and ask about that one item, but I think you made an awesome score nonetheless!
Click to expand...

Great post, the combo edge blade may be a reblade from CRK? I know that's how they do them, I just don't know if they were offering them way back then?

Great knife BTW! :thumbup:

(I'd trade you a large plain Jain 21 for her :D even up :D:D:D)
 
Very nice find. Looks just like mine except for the serrations. I believe CRK will grind serrations on a knife for a fee, so it could have been sent in and had them done. Or it could have been done on side by someone else. Either way, its a very nice find. These are my favorite sebenzas, just wish there was more of them around.
 
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