Why are people selling their CRKs?

While the sebenza is certainly a good knife, it's also very classic and boring.

Its design is basic, and there is such a variety of interesting designs out there...

" Why not sell my sebenza for a very fair price and try something more interesting/suited to my needs ? " Is probably the question most sebenza owners face at one time or another.
 
Well, a few years ago I sold a sebenza to buy a watch. That was back when I was into spending a lot of money on watches.

Later, I sold a Seb to buy a Strider. After 3-4 striders, I had it out of my system and sold them, and bought a Seb. Then, I sold that Seb because I wanted to try a Hinderer. I bought a couple Hinderers, and then thought "Hey, if I sell these, I can buy some Sebs."

And that's why I have 2 Sebs now.

Strider was OK, but I didn't really like them that much and I had a couple with lock-rock problems. The Hinderers were AWESOME, and since I was able to buy them direct LEO sales I didn't get shafted on the price (there is NO WAY I would pay secondary market prices). But, I just kinda lost interest in them and wanted some more CRK's.

I'll probably get another Hinderer one day, but I don't see any more strider's in my future unless someone gives me one for free.
 
I bought several small fancy sebs a year ago or so cause I'd heard so much about them(I've collected William Henrys for 12 yrs). Ended up trading 2 of them for WH's as I couldn't get over the one-sided nature of the knife with one side totally different from the otherside. Gave a damascus one to my son and kept another damascus cause i don't want to loose money on it yet. The I bought a mnandi which I really liked, I now have around a dozen mnandi's but doubt I'll buy more, maybe another ivory one or decorated pivot somewhere in the future.
I agree with the post that the sebs are basic looking and not really high end knives which I prefer. I suspect folks get sucked into the CRK hype and gradually move on to nicer knives, jmo
Classic case of different strokes for different folks.
 
asdf12345 said:
If you've seen this thread before, does that mean people were always selling their CRKs so frequently? Can you give me some insight as to why this is?
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I've seen this thread several times about CRK.

I've also seen it several times about every other brand that frequents the sale forum.

I also concur that it happens in waves.
 
If CRK's are being sold often...then it's because folks are buying them often. I've had well over twenty, but only have three right now. My daily carry is a Zaan. It's a great knife, built with extremely tight tolerances, and will last forever with great customer service.
Why would anyone knock this great folder?
 
asdf12345 said:
If you've seen this thread before, does that mean people were always selling their CRKs so frequently? Can you give me some insight as to why this is?
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You are sitting on a website with a very active Chris Reeves subforum, of course many CRK collectors are attracted here and choose to trade here. You are going to see a lot of knives traded on these forums which are nearly unknown to the general public. That is part of what makes this site what it is. The Bladeforums is a great market for CRK and many other collectible knives.

n2s
 
A lot get sold in mint condition because people collect them. Yes, they own multiples of CRK's and other brands and sell to make room for the next new knife.

CRK's are easy to move because people buy them. Think about it, a quick sale gets you enough dough for your son's Xbox or to help fund a Tag Heuer for example.

That's just one of many reasons why they are resold. Same can be said with other popular mid techs and production knives.
 
I often hear/read that the Sebenza is boring. Those making these statements cannot be more wrong. The Sebenza's beauty only shows when one studies it properly. The perfection in the small things comes through when studied closely. Feel the blade ... how it gets thicker again just before the cutting edge. Look at how thin the blade becomes behind the cutting edge. Study the jimping on the spine. Study the good finishing around the lock arm where other manufacturers too often don't bother to do any finishing. Take the knife apart and study how well it was thought through ... the bushing in the pivot that keeps the blade perfectly centred.

The Sebenza is for those with a keen eye for quality, finish and good design ... those who put quality above fashion. One can get knives with more interesting eye-catching designs. There are better steels out there. There are knives out there that can work harder (as pry bars). There are knives out there that offers better value for money (PM2 is a good example). But there is no other knife at $450 that ticks as many boxes for me as the Sebenza. It does not score highest marks on most individual scoring elements but it scores the highest average when all elements are considered ... and it scores enough with each element that there are no compromises. It's the whole deal. It is a sure thing.

I believe that a lot of people are tempted to buy a Sebenza for the wrong reasons and then can't see what the fuss is about and sell it again. I've seen guys do this when they weren't ready for a Sebenza and then kick themselves later when they come to appreciate it's strengths. It is a knife for a mature knife buyer that's over the itch in the pants stage of knife collecting and use. A person still in the thrill seeking phases of knife buying/collecting should not buy a Senenza just to say that they've been there done that and got the "Think Twice Cut Once" T-shirt.
 
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Because flipping them open voids warranty.....people can't resist and sell them before they have to say they are considered used. Also if you have an expensive folding knife and you don't want to use it, you end up flipping the blade out and admiring it (not even realizing your doing it) on the couch to get your gratification......then back in the drawer it goes, your not suppose to do this with CRK. This is all IMHO.
 
Nellem said:
I often hear/read that the Sebenza is boring. Those making these statements cannot be more wrong. The Sebenza's beauty only shows when one studies it properly. The perfection in the small things comes through when studied closely. Feel the blade ... how it gets thicker again just before the cutting edge. Look at how thin the blade becomes behind the cutting edge. Study the jimping on the spine. Study the good finishing around the lock arm where other manufacturers too often don't bother to do any finishing. Take the knife apart and study how well it was thought through ... the bushing in the pivot that keeps the blade perfectly centred.

The Sebenza is for those with a keen eye for quality, finish and good design ... those who put quality above fashion. One can get knives with more interesting eye-catching designs. There are better steels out there. There are knives out there that can work harder (as pry bars). There are knives out there that offers better value for money (PM2 is a good example). But there is no other knife at $450 that ticks as many boxes for me as the Sebenza. It does not score highest marks on most individual scoring elements but it scores the highest average when all elements are considered ... and it scores enough with each element that there are no compromises. It's the whole deal. It is a sure thing.

I believe that a lot of people are tempted to buy a Sebenza for the wrong reasons and then can't see what the fuss is about and sell it again. I've seen guys do this when they weren't ready for a Sebenza and then kick themselves later when they come to appreciate it's strengths. It is a knife for a mature knife buyer that's over the itch in the pants stage of knife collecting and use. A person still in the thrill seeking phases of knife buying/collecting should not buy a Senenza just to say that they've been there done that and got the "Think Twice Cut Once" T-shirt.
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I have to call BS. I appreciate finely crafted knives, and the Sebenza I purchased new was still incredibly unimpressive to me.

It wasn't a bad knife--it was clearly well made--but there was nothing particularly compelling about it beyond that.

Folks seem to have a purchase justification motive when they resort to suggesting that anyone who doesn't appreciate the Sebenza must just be immature or lacking in the requisite level of sophistication. I'm educated, middle-aged, under no particular budgetary pressure and I own other expensive, finely crafted knives yet the Sebenza does nothing for me.

The CRK crowd needs to give up the "appreciation for the finer things" style humble brag, it's silly.
 
I never noticed how many knives, put the maker here. . . . . . Untill I was looking for them. Then they were all over the place. On the exchange, pop ups, dreams, browsing the internment.

I wanted to buy a red car, then I noticed all the red cars around.:D
 
My belief is that there are a lot of Sebenzas for sale because they often sell for a only a small loss relative to their new price. I suspect there might be fewer sold on the exchange if they typically sold for half of their new price. People are fickle creatures and subject to whims and ever changing likes and dislikes.

For those that do not own one or have never owned one, the resale option is appealing and provides internal justification for the cost.... I can always sell it.....
 
I sold the 4 I had because I got to thinking why would anybody need to have about $1,600 tied up in 4 Knives that were only still just another Knife in a world of well made Knives that cost a lot less that you can trade or buy real easy ! That comes up to about 18 Spyderco's or about 16 GEC's ~~ ""Gee a no brainer there -- huh..??
 
I've owned my stainless steel Rolex for over 25 years. At the time I bought it there were certainly cheaper watches that could tell you the time just as well. Hell, I could have bought four or five perfectly good watches for what I paid for the Rolex. But I bought it because of its reputation for superior craftsmanship and because I knew it would hold its value over time.

That's kind of how I look at my CRKs. Sure, there is a hype factor just as there is with the Rolex. But they're extremely well-crafted and 25 years from now, in the unlikely event that I'm still around, I know that they'll almost certainly be functioning just as well as they do today and they'll still be worth at least what I paid for them.
 
asdf12345 said:
I don't see Hinderers for sale as commonly as I do CRKs either.
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There are usually, at the very least, a couple of Hinderers for sale on the first few pages in the Production Folder for Sale at this very forum. And re-sellers like Fort Henry Customs and Arizona Custom Knives also have them for sale quite often.
 
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Some people constantly trade knives. Sell a few to buy a few. Some people buy a Crk expecting magic and find out it is a knife and won't change their life. Some people buy a CRK, only to find out it is not the knife for them.
 
One thing that has been touched on is impulse buyers. They jump on something, then decide they don't like it. Or they buy one and then wonder how the hell they are going to pay their electric bill. Not a big percentage, but a bump up for the resale.
 
I've had a few Sebenzas, all lightly used and decided to sell. Mainly because I get really into knives, then I get into something else and sell the high end ones to pay for whatever else I'm into. Nobody NEEDS a Sebenza in their pocket, it's a luxury item any way you look at it.

Also, slightly unrelated, but has anyone noticed the resale price of plain Sebenzas creeping down over the last couple years? I swear in early 2013 you could sell a pristine large 21 for $385+, now you're lucky if you can get $340.
 
Sweet, another Sebenza hater's thread! Always love when these roll around. :thumbup:

It's like a drinking game. Every time some goon uses the word "hype", TAKE A SHOT!
 
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