Why you shouldn't mess with perfection and the need for help.

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rickacp

Gold Member
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Jun 16, 2002
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231
Hi Guys,
Let me tell you everything about my knife so you have everything in context and then I need to ask for some help. Not wanting to spend the money on a brand new small Sebenza I bought a used one from a fellow that bought it from the original owner, I am the third owner. The original owner had CRK engrave it with the title of fantastic book, which I have, about big game hunting in Africa entitled "Death in the Long Grass". The original owner then took a scotch brite and polished the handle. I wanted to have the knife restored to the original sandblasted finish so it looked as new as possible. I sent the Sebenza back to CRK to have it sharpened and re-sandblasted. The great people at CRK called me and said that the scotch brite polish had rounded some corners and had actually sloped the surface and the knife was not in specs and they could not re-sandblast the knife. That is commitment to quality. Soooo, my question is, does anybody know anybody that could re-sandblast this knife so it has the same finish it did when it came from CRK. Thanks in advance.
 
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Home depot was selling some little cheapo sandblasters for about 11 bucks a week ago, check out your local store they might have some. The blaster most likely won't last long but will be more than eough for this project, good luck!
 
rickacp said:
Hi Guys,
Let me tell you everything about my knife so you have everything in context and then I need to ask for some help. Not wanting to spend the money on a brand new small Sebenza I bought a used one from a fellow that bought it from the original owner, I am the third owner. The original owner had CRK engrave it with the title of fantastic book, which I have, about big game hunting in Africa entitled "Death in the Long Grass". The original owner then took a scotch brite and polished the handle. I wanted to have the knife restored to the original sandblasted finish so it looked as new as possible. I sent the Sebenza back to CRK to have it sharpened and re-sandblasted. The great people at CRK called me and said that the scotch brite polish had rounded some corners and had actually sloped the surface and the knife was not in specs and they could not re-sandblast the knife. That is commitment to quality. Soooo, my question is, does anybody know anybody that could re-sandblast this knife so it has the same finish it did when it came from CRK. Thanks in advance.
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First time I have heard of scotch brite being a problem - I don't scotch brite my things since I don't like the look nor do I purchase scotch brited knives...but at least now I know it can be an issue. I always wondered if they could be polished too much (some people just have at it and brush it all day).

Thanks for the info, sorry you have to deal with this.

Props to CRK for having such high standards!
 
Seeing as I am the individual who messed with perfection, this is what I did.

I had taken it to a mirror finish, didn't enjoy the smudges it attracted, had it reblasted, and then scotchbrited it again.

I'm sure a simple scotchbrite done well would be a non issue, however it is always a risk.

Had I planned on selling this knife at the time I would not have done it, but for the reasons above, when I did sell it I priced it accordingly and disclosed in the for sale thread that it had been polished.
 
Thanks for all the help guys. atony told me he uses beadblasting and that I really need sandblasting to make it look factory new. Waiting to hear from So-lo.
 
That sucks. I was going to buy this little guy several times, but kept passing because I am just not a scotchbright fan. I bought a heavily scuffed/scratched large regular a long while ago and did the scotchbright finish. The knife was far too slippery during use, so later sold it. The finish does not look bad, but its just not for me.
I hope a forum member can help you out with it.
 
The great people at CRK called me and said that the scotch brite polish had rounded some corners and had actually sloped the surface and the knife was not in specs and they could not re-sandblast the knife. That is commitment to quality.
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It sounds to me like they won't sandblast the knife because it was modified, not that they can't, if they wanted to they could sandblast handles of any shape, it would make no difference if the outside corners were rounded and the scale was sloped. It doesn't sound like a commitment of quality, it sounds like poor customer service.
 
diracismyhero said:
It sounds to me like they won't sandblast the knife because it was modified, not that they can't, if they wanted to they could sandblast handles of any shape, it would make no difference if the outside corners were rounded and the scale was sloped. It doesn't sound like a commitment of quality, it sounds like poor customer service.
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CRK clearly states in their warranty though that they will not work on modded knives. The blade pivot bushing is set up to just tighten and go, since "x" amount of the scales were removed during the do it yourself polishing, it could lead to lockup issues, etc. The fact that they will not redo it and send it out with less than their industry leading tight specs, IS good customer service.
 
nyefmaker said:
CRK clearly states in their warranty though that they will not work on modded knives. The blade pivot bushing is set up to just tighten and go, since "x" amount of the scales were removed during the do it yourself polishing, it could lead to lockup issues, etc. The fact that they will not redo it and send it out with less than their industry leading tight specs, IS good customer service.
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That's why I specifically mentioned the outside of the scale. As I am writing this I have my Sebenza 25 that I scotchbrighted, I never came anywhere near the inside of my knife, only the outside is scotchbrighted, even the sides were left sandblasted. If the inside of the scales were messed with, all of this would make more sense.
 
diracismyhero said:
That's why I specifically mentioned the outside of the scale. As I am writing this I have my Sebenza 25 that I scotchbrighted, I never came anywhere near the inside of my knife, only the outside is scotchbrighted, even the sides were left sandblasted. If the inside of the scales were messed with, all of this would make more sense.
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I think they are concerned that if they reblast the scales how are they or anyone else who gets the knife not going to think that it is a defect from CRK. It will look stock with the reblast except the edges are going to be rounded, future owner might think it needs to be sent in for CRK's mess up?
 
diracismyhero said:
That's why I specifically mentioned the outside of the scale. As I am writing this I have my Sebenza 25 that I scotchbrighted, I never came anywhere near the inside of my knife, only the outside is scotchbrighted, even the sides were left sandblasted. If the inside of the scales were messed with, all of this would make more sense.
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From what I understand, the inside of the scales were never messed with, there was just too much metal taken off the outer scales to where it affected the overall thickness of the sebenza over all ( meaning the ti slab,bronze bushing, blade bronze bushing, ti slab ). This makes perfect sense as the pivot screws, just as the other screws all for a minimum thickness, meaning the screw and the screw stud. With this mod, even though it was just sanding down the scales, it took too much off. We are only talking probably thousandths here ( sandblasting would remove even a little more ), so its not like its 1/16" thinner than normal. I hope not at least....!!! If it were a sebenza 25 with the adjustable pivot, it might not be an issue, but it is for the design of the sebenza.
 
To clarify what I was told by CRK. There were two main reasons CRK didn't want/couldn't re-sandblast. 1. The handle, on the outside, has a slope to it and would not fit in their machines. 2. They didn't want to put a CRK out there that was not within factory specs as guys will measure their knives with calipers and if they aren't within factory tolerances they might claim a warranty issue and want a new knife.
 
Hearing the exact explanation from CRK is a big "ADD" to this thread. CRK works in such minute specs that any modification could throw it out of whack pretty easily. That being said, that is what we pay for.. minute precision.
 
I stated this in my OP: "The great people at CRK called me and said that the scotch brite polish had rounded some corners and had actually sloped the surface and the knife was not in specs and they could not re-sandblast the knife. Still trying to find someone to re-sandblast the handles.
 
Solo does what he calls a nuke job, which is like a heavy stonewash. Looks really good and shows no marks. It would be another option if you can't get it sandblasted.

rickacp said:
I stated this in my OP: "The great people at CRK called me and said that the scotch brite polish had rounded some corners and had actually sloped the surface and the knife was not in specs and they could not re-sandblast the knife. Still trying to find someone to re-sandblast the handles.
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