Why was the Sebenza 21 discontinued?

Eliteone2383

Eliteone2383

Joined
Jun 26, 2015
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Been away from the site for awhile. New son got married moved states. Im not a huge fan of the sebenza 31 inlays. Is there a reason the 21 was put out to pasture?
 
A tiny little ceramic ball on the lockface

congrats to your son!
 
The ceramic ball interface is the central point of the new design. A secondary functional change to a much lesser degree is the switch to an angled pocket clip so it no longer puts pressure on the lock bar. The jimping is slightly wider on the spine and there are some minor tooling differences in the chamfering and cutaways on and around the lock bar.

Strictly cosmetic changes include the removal of the locating/machining hole on the front scale and the new inlay shape.
 
It has been postulated by some that the move to the ceramic ball lock interface reduces time spent hand-fitting and lowers production cost. I can neither support nor refute that assumption.

Chris Tim Reeve claims the interface has improved lock strength. (I don’t have the reference, but I’m sure others do...probably IG or something.)

Personally, I think the core motivation was “evolution for the sake of evolution,” rather than true improvement, but I have nothing to base that on (other than my own bias).

I like the idea of moving the clip off the lockbar and the switch of inlay design, but I really don’t get the idea of turning the 31 into an “Inkosi with a bushing.” I don’t have anything ideologically against the ceramic ball; I’m an Umnumzaan & Inkosi fan. Nonetheless, not having the old-school Reeve Integral Lock as a differentiating feature between models is something I question.

Oh, and then there’s the scandal about 21’s exploding in people’s pockets.
 
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I would guess when they get knives back for spa or warranty work they track and compile that as market research to ID what to look at next.
 
Just recently got a 21, and while waiting to find one, got impatient and bought an Inkosi. While I really like the adjustable pivot of the Inkosi, I am not convinced about the lock. The engineer in me likes the bigger contact area of the 21 lock, and the roundness of the ball lock on the Inkosi just seems like it could be more easily defeated. In playing with both, putting some pressure on the blade while slowly pushing the lock bar over, the Inkosi definitely "popped" open much earlier. Kept the 21 and sold the Inkosi. If the 21 had the adjustable pivot it would be the best of both worlds!
 
I think they made the change to fasten up production and further on increase income.

They're best selling flagship model can now be made X times faster. Given that CRK has a backlog always, stribe to get the knives out fast enough, this is a smart move.

Releasing a knife(31) not truly tested and tried enough, a bad move though IMO.

I dunno, guess I just prefer the flat on flat lockup more than a ball riding on flat lockup. It's a confidence thing...
 
jlauffer said:
Just recently got a 21, and while waiting to find one, got impatient and bought an Inkosi. While I really like the adjustable pivot of the Inkosi, I am not convinced about the lock. The engineer in me likes the bigger contact area of the 21 lock, and the roundness of the ball lock on the Inkosi just seems like it could be more easily defeated. In playing with both, putting some pressure on the blade while slowly pushing the lock bar over, the Inkosi definitely "popped" open much earlier. Kept the 21 and sold the Inkosi. If the 21 had the adjustable pivot it would be the best of both worlds!
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Well, eventually when that ceramic ball contacts the blade it wears a kind of crater pocket.. I do believe in the grand scheme of things the ball has better longevity. Meaning decades with more "hard use". Also a spine test without some pressure on the lock bar is kind of pointless.
 
jlauffer said:
Just recently got a 21, and while waiting to find one, got impatient and bought an Inkosi. While I really like the adjustable pivot of the Inkosi, I am not convinced about the lock. The engineer in me likes the bigger contact area of the 21 lock, and the roundness of the ball lock on the Inkosi just seems like it could be more easily defeated. In playing with both, putting some pressure on the blade while slowly pushing the lock bar over, the Inkosi definitely "popped" open much earlier. Kept the 21 and sold the Inkosi. If the 21 had the adjustable pivot it would be the best of both worlds!
Click to expand...
Don't have an inkosi, but I do have an Umnumzaan with the ceramic ball and I've used that thing hard over 10 years with no issue.
 
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