Sebenza 25 Micarta

@gmarthur: I'm not sure if the purpose of the micarta inlay is to embelish the knife.
I understand it should improve the grip and that's probably the reason for the 2 piece design and the wider gap.
red mag
 
red mag said:
@gmarthur: I'm not sure if the purpose of the micarta inlay is to embelish the knife.
I understand it should improve the grip and that's probably the reason for the 2 piece design and the wider gap.
red mag
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If this is in fact the case then I'm OK with an ugly functional enhancement. If they make the same design in wood or ivory which are embellishment materials then your theory is invalid. I still say there is a way it can be functional and good looking.
 
I feel like to do the inlay right on the sebenza 25 it needs to be in the style of the annuals. The example shown on the crk website looks "off" to me.
 
I could have swore that someone said they saw one in person at SHOT and it was identical to the photo that appears photoshopped. I can't remember where I saw that.
 
I saw it at SHOT and I believe it was a prototype- having said this I was less interested in how the inlays looked but rather how great the knife felt in my hand- more purchase and that grippy Micarta.

However they turn out in production may or may not appeal to all aesthetically but once you hold it you won't want to put it down.

Neil Ostroff / True North Knives
 
Neil Ostroff said:
I saw it at SHOT and I believe it was a prototype- having said this I was less interested in how the inlays looked but rather how great the knife felt in my hand- more purchase and that grippy Micarta.

However they turn out in production may or may not appeal to all aesthetically but once you hold it you won't want to put it down.

Neil Ostroff / True North Knives
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This is what I was thinking. I never thought they looked too bad but I bet the added space between the inlays adds more traction.
 
If the wood inlays will look like the prototype I will purchase no 25. I was hoping just the micarta was going to look this way.
 
The micarta inlays may be grippy and give more purchase etc, but im sure most will be very interested in how the knife looks if they follow the same inlay pattern for the fancier stuff. Im not sure how two strips of mammoth in this configuration will be appealing. Im hoping im dead wrong.
 
I'm really on the fence with this design. At a glance I really don't like it (still), but wonder if it will creep into everyone's subconscious and we'll all end up being ok with it after some time. I wonder if it's like that machining hole in a 21. Let's face it, it's pretty goofy to have a large hole in the middle of the handle on a Sebenza Regular, or 21, and maybe it's even more goofy to put a sapphire in it? But after years of looking at these knives with that random hole in the slab, most (not all) of us accept it, and maybe even like it and look for it. I can guarantee that if the Sebenza 21 and Regular had no machining hole in the handle, and Chris added a hole in the handle of the new 25, people would be freaking out about it. So I guess what I'm saying is I'm going to give it time to steep in my brain, but won't be rushing out to pre-order it.
 
Another lucid, intelligent, well thought-out post!! :thumbup: However, I think that although the conciseness still seems to be pretty negative mostly because of the ascetics of the inlay's, once they are in the hands of a few eager 25 fans CRK won't be able to keep up with sales. I could be wrong and often am... but that's my take on it. And actually the more I look at the pictures the more I like the design. ;)
ATB, Dave

kidcongo said:
I'm really on the fence with this design. At a glance I really don't like it (still), but wonder if it will creep into everyone's subconscious and we'll all end up being ok with it after some time. I wonder if it's like that machining hole in a 21. Let's face it, it's pretty goofy to have a large hole in the middle of the handle on a Sebenza Regular, or 21, and maybe it's even more goofy to put a sapphire in it? But after years of looking at these knives with that random hole in the slab, most (not all) of us accept it, and maybe even like it and look for it. I can guarantee that if the Sebenza 21 and Regular had no machining hole in the handle, and Chris added a hole in the handle of the new 25, people would be freaking out about it. So I guess what I'm saying is I'm going to give it time to steep in my brain, but won't be rushing out to pre-order it.
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It would have been nice if everyone could have liked it now rather than having to warm up to or get used to it. I don't doubt it feels great in the hand but it could easily have looked as good as it allegedly feels. There is really just no getting away from the reality that the shape and even size of the inlays makes so little difference it could easily have been designed to achieve a win in both the visual and tactile aspects. You just can't feel the differences your eye definitely sees. Do these inlays really feel that much better in hand than the previous style ? To many they do look that much worse. :)
 
I respect most everything that CRK chooses to do, and even remain neutral on the "Idaho Made" controversy.

To put it frankly, the inlaid 25 looks like hell. It looks like the first idea that someone sketched out on a diner napkin, with no refinement or afterthought at all.


If it feels good, great. Though, I agree with Haze. It is absolutely possible to have them be both ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing. So far, they are missing the mark.


All just my humble opinion, of course.
 
Tripton said:
I respect most everything that CRK chooses to do, and even remain neutral on the "Idaho Made" controversy.

To put it frankly, the inlaid 25 looks like hell. It looks like the first idea that someone sketched out on a diner napkin, with no refinement or afterthought at all.


If it feels good, great. Though, I agree with Haze. It is absolutely possible to have them be both ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing. So far, they are missing the mark.


All just my humble opinion, of course.
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I'd expect a functional design on something like a Benchmade or a Spyderco. I expect a functional design that doesn't look terrible from a Chris Reeve knife. Anything less sells the brand short.
 
I have been collecting and using CRK for years and there is no way Chris would let "that" become production. Micarta placed anywhere would give it more traction but those look like they were slapped on by a blind man with velcro. PLEASE please CRK, fix those micarta inlays, and oh how I was looking forward to them. Honestly, regardless how they end up looking I WILL buy at least one just to see how it feels but if that's how its going to look it better feel damn good.
 
Like others have said, I believe a one piece like seen on the annuals would really be awesome on the 25.
 
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