Just got my brand new Sm Sebenza 31 PJ DL!!!

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Jason Ritchie - Ritchie Handmade Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Apr 3, 2009
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.....and it has miserable blade movement and what I'm hoping isn't another new "design feature"??? Seriously man, I've always loved CRK and still do but this is just terrible. You can make excuses about the lock rock BS all you want but it's a dang flaw and shouldn't be accepted much less a loose thumb stud. I've owned a handful of sm inkosi's since 2015 and still carry one daily today and none had this sloppy blade movement. None of the 21's I ever owned did either. I'm gonna get in contact with them for warranty but if the sloppy blade play can't be resolved I'm out on the 31 no question. Unacceptable!
20210319_120527.jpg
 
I mean...I cant believe that it would...how would it...I mean, if you...Maybe, but still not though...unless it maybe was...still though, not...could it have been...you'd have had to...but if so, then...

^^^ my brain trying to make any sense of how that made it past QC. And failing. Miserably.
 
Bummer man. so the studs are press fit? Anyway, I can imagine how disappointing it must be to eagerly await something only for it to be subpar. I wonder if how many units CRK make per month? Really is no excuse for this to make it out the door. Hope they make you whole in a timely fashion.
 
Immediately upon delivery, just like ever new CRK I ever bought I took the lanyard off. Put it back together and flicked it open. I heard a little rattle when I closed it and I'm like, wtf was that. I look at the thumbstud and there is a gap in it. I shook it and it literally fell out! And of course CRK is not available on Fridays.
 
Of course this happens to me this week of all weeks. I lost my small inkosi at my sons baseball practice facility wed. Luckily it was found but I'm not driving 45 minutes up there to get it until practice next week so I'm without my primary locking knife until then. Wasn't too worried about it with this one arriving today. Good thing I have my trusty slippie to rely on until then. The one I friggin made!!! Lol
 
I heard a little rattle when I closed it and I'm like, wtf was that...
The metallic sound you heard was their Blade show manufacturing award for 2020 hitting the bottom of the dumpster maybe? ;)

***edit*** this knife was still better constructed than most of my sentences or spelling
 
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The sound metallic sound you heard was their Blade show manufacturing award for 2020 hitting the bottom of the dumspter maybe? ;)
You know....now that I think of it it was kind of a thud sound. Lol
 
Ouch! I guess CRK will help you out. I'm sticking with the 21 and that is all. Some love their 31's, glad it worked out for them. I kind of want a small inksoi, but I grabbed a Rockstead Hizen instead. Good luck I hope they repair it and dial it in for you.
 
Hope it's not a common problem with the dual lug cause that's on all my carry sebenzas and the configuration I was looking to get on the 31.
 
I received a new small sebeza 31 a few weeks ago and it works perfectly. No issues. I am sorry to hear about this given how much stock we put in the brand. It should not happen. I have small Seb 21 as well and no problems here either. My surmise is that CRK will make your knife good. If they continue making so many defective knives we can simply stop buying them.
 
Aww man, looking at this posting made me take out my 21L & Umnumzaan and did a thorough inspection of them.

OP, hope your 31 gets sorted out by CRK asap.
 
I have no doubt they will take care of the knife. As you can imagine it just royally sucks to get a brand new knife from a company you respect and 10 minutes after taking it out of the box you find it's a dud. The sloppy blade play situation is frustrating too. I talked to the dealer I bought the knife from and he even said that Mary assured him it's not an issue and that the Inkosi's have the same characteristic but I am here to tell you that that is a load of bs. I have owned 6 different inkosi versions since late 2015 and NONE behaved or behave in this way. Even the 2 early ones I had with the tang groove, remember those? Anyway, if I'm lucky I'll get to enjoy my brand new knife a month from now.
 
This is disappointing. I do hope that CRK takes care of you and not tell you that this is a new feature. Very disappointing to see this sort of product go out the door at CRK.
 
I talked to the dealer I bought the knife from and he even said that Mary assured him it's not an issue and that the Inkosi's have the same characteristic...
This is the most disturbing part to me, and the fastest way to destroy a reputation built on an exceptional product and consistent quality. To double down on delivering mediocrity, instead of sucking it up and telling the emperor to get dressed. Still love my 8 year old sebenza 25 :eek:
 
I wanted to include the birthday card in the pic. I'm told this knife is from the most recent batch. So they are still claiming it's a "feature"
 
I wanted to include the birthday card in the pic. I'm told this knife is from the most recent batch. So they are still claiming it's a "feature"
At the end of the day, it cant be. Otherwise why design and (attempt to) manufacture a design to as tight a tolerance as CRK does. You can get sloppy results with a lot less effort!
 
I will say, I do appreciate the new pivot and spacer screws.
 
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