Back to a small?

[Dcdavis]

I own one small 21 micarta insingo. Everything else I own is large. Have no intention of buying any more smalls but no real intention of selling the small I have. I carried and used it to work for a couple days maybe. It isn’t necessarily too small but I just prefer the large and are used to them. Also for some reason in my own head, with a small I can’t justify the price when I’m holding it in my hand. At least with the large I feel as if I’ve got something substantial. I sold off my mnandi as well. Not because it’s not a great knife, just it never got carried and I’m never in an office setting. I haven’t carried my small 21 in well over a year but it’s staying in my collection for some unknown reason.

 

[Ajack60]

Over time, I've passed on about six smalls. Currently own two smalls, both regulars. I also prefer the larges and with the Ti Lock and Impinda, the smalls don't get carried much anymore.

 

[BellaBlades]

It isn’t necessarily too small but I just prefer the large and are used to them. Also for some reason in my own head, with a small I can’t justify the price when I’m holding it in my hand. At least with the large I feel as if I’ve got something substantial.

Amen. Couldn't agree more with this statement.

 

[Murphjd25]

The smalls are excellent and just as good, but I just prefer the large. I still wish I wouldn’t have sold my only small I had though.

 

[bart1]

I must be skill-less , because I can cut an orange, an apple, or butter a piece of toast with a large, but have trouble with a small. I open a lot of boxes, and have to cut cardboard to make boxes, and like the leverage of the large there also. I do love the ergos of the small though...

 

[brownshoe]

I like the small and always thought the large was not comfortable. For years I thought the sebenza was a big ugly grey turd that didn't fit. Then I discovered decorated Sebenzas and the smalls. Perfect size for me, and those anodized decorations make the Sebenza pretty

 

[Josh K]

Also for some reason in my own head, with a small I can’t justify the price when I’m holding it in my hand

Everyone associates size with price. There are knives I prefer because their size works for me, but I’d never say a smaller one is worth less than a bigger one because of size.

 

[traumkommode]

I'm in the camp of "I wish CRK made a Medium Sebenza." In my hand, the small is kinda small because the finger cutout placement reduces the useable handle length by about a quarter inch, which goes a long way on a knife handle. The blade length is totally fine though for most, if not all of what I need to do with a knife, even food prep. The Large is really nice, but it's more blade and weight than I need on a regular basis. The weight and pocket real estate of the Small makes it doable for even a dress up knife for me. A medium, though, would make my hand really happy...

Here you can see a Small 21 next to a traditional single blade trapper that I carry, which would be considered on the larger side of knives of this type. Nearly identical cutting edge length, though the functional grip area on the trapper is larger because of that finger cutout on the 21. I cut vegetables with that thing just fine.

 

[Ron Sabbagh]

I also have large hands and find the small Sebbie has a place in my collection. But the Mnandi is too small. Despite similar measurements on paper the small sebenza is more hand filling than the Mnandi.

 

[Josh K]

I'm trying to think of a grip where the lockbar cutout impairs the grip but I can't. traumkommode can you elaborate? Just curious.

I also have large hands and find the small Sebbie has a place in my collection. But the Mnandi is too small. Despite similar measurements on paper the small sebenza is more hand filling than the Mnandi.

The Mnandi does feel smaller. The overall design is slimmer and more tapered which contributes to this. I like the lightness of the Mnandi, it makes an excellent shirt pocket knife.

 

[traumkommode]

I'm trying to think of a grip where the lockbar cutout impairs the grip but I can't. traumkommode can you elaborate? Just curious.

Not the lockbar cutout, but the hump that swoops down in front of it that prevents you from having a further-forward grip on the handle. I wasn't clear in the previous post.

 

[Josh K]

Not the lockbar cutout, but the hump that swoops down in front of it that prevents you from having a further-forward grip on the handle. I wasn't clear in the previous post.

Ah, the front of the handle area? I don't think this is a deliberate cutout for a finger, just how the knife opens naturally.

 

[traumkommode]

Ah, the front of the handle area? I don't think this is a deliberate cutout for a finger, just how the knife opens naturally.

Let's illustrate:

Actual grip, in my hand, functionally 3.5 fingers.

Fancied hand placement, but can't because of handle shape, but would get the other .5 finger all the way on the handle.

 

[mike90240]

My EDC rotation for the last 3 yrs has 1 Lg & 2 Sm Sebbies
Lg Insingo W/C 21 (not factory combo, someones blade swap)
Sm Tanto Micarta 21
Sm Insingo Barry H CF 21

Those smalls are workhorses! Love the Lg also. Each morning I pick for the days (possible) tasks. Heavier cutting, camping/outdoors, M/C Ride gets the Lg.
While the smalls ride along in dressier, lower-key environments.
The other Drop-points (Lg Reg & Damascus 21) get used once in a while. But that Small Micarta feels so great.

YMMV
Mike B

 

[AJ]

Love the small as it's legal to carry in my home state (Michigan) and, I think, in every state. Makes it better (for me) as an EDC knife.

I was looking for a lighter option when it came to a CRK and was initially interested in a CF version although I'm not typically crazy about CF (still may pick one up though) when I ran across a small micarta 21 up for sale. The knife had my birthday which wasn't something that I was looking for but was a nice detail. Would I like a small though? My first CRK was a small 21 but it was moved rather quickly for the large. I should have went with a large to begin with but the lower price of the small sucked me in.

So, the small 21 arrived yesterday and holy crap does it seem tiny. I do not remember the knife being this small. The original I had did not have inlays either so I'm sure it felt even smaller. My first instinct was to sale it. It was smaller than I remembered and I like larger knives but there's a part of me that thinks a small knife in the collection could be a good thing. I don't wear slacks often at all but when I do this knife would probably function much better in that capacity. I'm considering this as more of a "Gent's Knife" in my collection if it's a keeper for me.

Surprisingly the knife is really hand filling/ergonomic for it's size with the inlays. My hands are really large so it looks tiny in them.

What are your thoughts on the Small Sebenza? Why does it have a place in your rotation/collection?

Thanks for your input!

Here's the small next to the large Inkosi.

Ove

 

[BMCGear]

Updated to add - a small was too small.