Im tired of people saying a sebenza is to expensive

I agree with AllenC.

Sebenza's are too expensive and they are not the epitomy of folding knife design. More than one person has complained about the ergonomics. You can't flick them open, it voids the warranty and the company won't ever really say why this is acceptable in a "hard use knife." You have to pay extra to get ambidextrous opening or a decent blade finish. There are mulitiple threads about how hard they are to open and the "break in period." The tumbstuds tear up your thumb. Some people have had them open in their pockets. Some people have had warranty repair issues with CRK.

But the crowning reason not to buy a sebenza is they are ugly. And to steal a quote ATBarr, "don't buy no ugly knife." I almost bought a small sebenza, until I found a custom cheaper and much prettier. The finish on the sebenza blade and handle is just down right cheap for a knife >$300.
 
brownshoe said:
I agree with AllenC.

Sebenza's are too expensive and they are not the epitomy of folding knife design. More than one person has complained about the ergonomics. You can't flick them open, it voids the warranty and the company won't ever really say why this is acceptable in a "hard use knife." You have to pay extra to get ambidextrous opening or a decent blade finish. There are mulitiple threads about how hard they are to open and the "break in period." The tumbstuds tear up your thumb. Some people have had them open in their pockets. Some people have had warranty repair issues with CRK.

But the crowning reason not to buy a sebenza is they are ugly. And to steal a quote ATBarr, "don't buy no ugly knife." I almost bought a small sebenza, until I found a custom cheaper and much prettier. The finish on the sebenza blade and handle is just down right cheap for a knife >$300.
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The thumbstuds tear up your thumbs? Huh? Yiikes! Now that is a new compaint for sure!

Pay extra for a different blade finish? Imagine that. Sounds quite typical for any production company that would even offer options.

Break in period? So what?

Ugly, and compaints about ergonomics? Now we are getting in to pure personal taste. I find them a bit too plain looking.

They are not the epitomy of folding knife design? Tell that to Blade Magazine. They gave the awards to CRK 3 out of 4 years. This is about production knives, not custom.

Anyway, not buying a CRK certainly seemed like the right choice for you. Like every other item offered to the public: nothin' is ever perfect. Have you tried a Strider? Oops. Sorry.

Seriously. What did you buy instead of the small Sebenza? I am sure you put much thought into it. Maybe I should look at getting one.
 
Expensive, hmmm had several things to say and decided to not ;)

a quote from Steven Wright will suffice;

When I was little, my grandfather used to make me stand in a closet for five minutes without moving.
He said it was elevator practice.
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;)
G2
 
Let's look at the whole underpriced statement....

If they were underpriced, why do near mint examples routinely sell on various online forum by individuals for well under the retail price?

Yes, expensive is relative. I own and carry knives that cost more then the sebenza. I own and carry knives that cost less.

So to me, a sebenza is not expensive. It's overpriced. Lack of choice in blade shape, blade materials, handle materials, etc... makes it totally unworthy of the price, in my view.

The sebenza is a cookie cutter production knife. What you see is what you get, no matter what you really want.

As far as customer service, what makes them any better then the majority of custom makers out there? The customs I carry on a daily basis come from makers who back their product 100% and will refinish the knife free of charge, return shipping is all it costs. So why is there so much ranting and raving praising people who charge $15-20 for that same service?

The sebenza is a quality knife. If you like it, fine. I don't like it and I never will. There are too many better options for my money.

JR
 
The sebenza is a steal a 300. They are perfect and last a liftime. I dont see how anyone can say they are not worth 300. Most sneakers today cost 75 bucks and only last 6 months. A bogner ski jacket is 800 and is only in style for a couple of years. So a 300.00 sebenza is well worth it. 300.00 for life is a deal.
 
Suddenly I am a bit confused. I am curious as to which "Sebenza" we are actually talking about "for $300.00"? I purchased my large Classic (with leather inlay) new for $345.00. I presume we are all speaking about and comparing a large one.

The reason I ask is because Brownshoe was speaking about a small version and then made reference to $300.00. Personally I would pass rather than buy a small one for $300.00 (personal opinion only of course). However I still find the one I purchsed to be a good value, overall.
 
The Sebenza is not about the money. So let's just set that argument aside once and for all. The Sebbie is a knife that you either "get" or "don't get". It took me holding my first Sebbie for 2 seconds to know I had to have it. I can't tell you why I had to have it I just knew I did. Where others see the Sebbie as being "stark" and "plain" I see it having a utilitarian/minimalist elegance. It's like John Coltrane's music, Picasso's art or preferring the mountains over the beach. Either you get it or you don't. Those who get it are not better or worse than those who don't get it. They are just geared differently. If you want to own 15 knives that are collectively worth $600.00 go for it. But I'm just as right if I want 2 knives that are collectively worth $600.00. Let's just try to live and let live. ;)
 
I think I said this before, but whadahey I'll say it again.

Sure you can pay $305 or $345 for a new plain small and large but you don't have to. As mentioned usually previously "loved" sebenzas are fairly easy to get for $250 - $260. There's one available RIGHT NOW for $270. And the great part is that even used, they're still almost like new!
 
I'd gladly give up MY Sebenza for some stock in Mr. Reeve's company. I can't think of another "factory" knife that gets as much free publicity on a daily basis. :rolleyes:
 
After owning and selling/trading a LOT of customs, i still believe the Sebenza to have most customs beat in precision and consistancy of quality knife to knife.

You can get drunk on a $5 bottle of wine, just as drunk as a $1,000 bottle of Chateau Lafite, does this mean all expensive wines are overpriced? Are automatic watches overpriced since any $10 quartz watch will keep better time? I dont think that the Sebenza performs twice as well as some of the best $150 knives, but i love it for its precision and attention to detail, theyre not pretty, some prefer the ergonomics of other designs, but in terms of consistant quality and precision, they are just very hard to beat, ive been disappointed countless times with customs, and though i have examined more Sebenzas than customs, ive never once seen a significant defect on a Sebenza, frankly, ive never even heard of one, and thats pretty amazing.
 
AllenC , I own four Left hand Sebenza's and they are all left hand friendly. Larry
 
The sad truth, all knives are over priced for what you get. Doen't matter if it's a high end custom or a Sebenza. That being said, market drives the price. If a Sebenza wasn;t worth the money to people, Chris wouldn't be charging what he is. They sell at that price and that's really all that matters. Few people will ever be converted on this type of issue. If you like them, price doesn't matter, if you don't like them, odds are you'll never be convinced.

I have heard it said by more than one maker, Chris Reeve's Sebenza is the mark production knives are judged by. There are many knives that are close and some that actually exceed it based on what is charged.
 
LarryM,
Yeah, you can get a left-hand version, but then that knife is no longer "righty friendly". It's just not an ambidexterous type of knife like Benchmade's Axis-Lock knives or most of Spyderco's Lockback knives.

Some folks believe that since there is a backlog of orders, then the price must be right. The backlog does not matter since Mr. Reeve controls the production numbers.

To illustrate my point:
Four guys order a large Sebenza.
Mr. Reeve decides he's tired and needs to cut back on production to ONE Sebenza a year.
Now you instantly have a backorder of four years.
It has nothing to do with the price.

Also please remember, when I say it is over-priced I'm referring to the MSRP and not second-hand sales.
I think about $180.00 is about right for what you get.

Allen.
 
> It has nothing to do with the price.

Actually it does, if the price was too high demand would fall off. You can't manipulate supply and demand without price.
 
Oh, and actually I don't agree there is a backlog, any number of sebenzas are available right now.
 
allenC said:
....I think about $180.00 is about right for what you get.

Allen.
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Is that in 1998 dollars when the Sebenza was selling for $340 or in 2004 dollars?- the Sebenza is still selling for $340.

From 1998 to 2004, my salary has increased by 37%.

The cost of a new Sebenza during this same period has increased by 0%.

Doesn't that make the Sebenza something of a bargain - at least by my standards?

Cost issues are relative to personal incomes and what else is available on the market. I have had dozens of expensive knives, and the Sebenza quality really is a benchmark, regardless of looks and ordering options.
 
after going thru 3 gators, and upgrading to benchmade and going thru a 970, 750(x2), and a mel pardue design, i upgraded again and got a sebbie. the first 7 knives were done over 6 years as a parachute rigger in the army where i use my knife hard everyday i show up to work cutting nylon cord or webbing, cotton duck, canvas, honeycomb....u name it, i cut it 8-16 hours a day 5-7 days a week. have had the sebbie going on 2 years and it is still as good as new(minus the scuffs). u all can say what u want but i use my knife everyday and i swear buy this 1. my fellow riggers with there gerbers and crkt and bucks and benchmades end up going thru knives every year. i still have my "expensive" knife and the only thing that works better for me is a pair of scissors at times ;)

if all u do is carry your knives, then maybe the price is not right for u, but for me, i find it acceptable and the pride that comes with it is priceless
 
Architect said:
Is that in 1998 dollars when the Sebenza was selling for $340 or in 2004 dollars?- the Sebenza is still selling for $340.

From 1998 to 2004, my salary has increased by 37%.

The cost of a new Sebenza during this same period has increased by 0%.
Click to expand...

In 1998 the list price of a large Sebenza was $325, the lp on a small was $290. I believe the price went up in 2000.
 
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