CRK has owned up to the fact that the first 31’s were wrong. So the lockflex on the earlier ones was terrible. First hand experience here.
So not quite like the Glock 5 situation.
Apparently it was on FB? that they moved the ceramic lockball so the new ones didnt have the flex. That is heresay from near the end of this thread. However, when I sent my early one in, they changed the entire lockside.
IIRC...
First it was, “There is nothing wrong, it’s a feature.”
To “We have new employee’s who are making mistakes.”
Then “We moved the ceramic lockball to rid the 31 of the lockflex.”
Honestly, I think it was released too early, and PR was not handled the best. I still love my Sebs though.
So here is what i see...I will be talking about this gap here that Ive circled in the photo.
View attachment 1319361
Framelocks are strong because they have three points of contact, the stop pin, the pivot, and the lockface. The reason that framelocks work is because the whole face does not contact the blade...just a single point. So when pushing the blade spine on the 21, it takes up the microscopic “gap” in the lockbar to full lockbar flat on blade flat contact.
On the 31, instead of shortening the lockbar length, to add the ceramic ball, they shortened the blade. This ceramic ball now protrudes out from the end of the lockbar 1mm to 2mm changing the shape of our “lockup triangle.” It also creates one point of contact but leaves a larger “gap” between the nonexistent flat area of the lockbar. See this photo...
View attachment 1319360
So now, when you put pressure on the spine of the 31, there is no “flat” area to contact the blade, and you get serious flex which allows the blade to come off the stop pin, even more so than the 21. This troubles me.
Just to be clear...this is the direction of lockbar flex shown here...it flexes left, and springs back to right.
View attachment 1319363
Now i do also have an inkosi here...the lockbar is thicker, and it does not have noticable flex.
However, the placement of the ceramic ball is different. As shown here...
View attachment 1319362
On my particular 31 the ceramic ball should be closer to the blade edge(when knife is open) of the lockbar. So moved to the right of the arrow in the above picture like the inkosi.
This would negate a lot of the flex. As it would be opening up our triangle.
For me, the jury is still out regarding lock failure. Im hoping not to find out during use, and im not willing to push my new “expensive” 31 to failure in a test. Haha.
I just always relate “bank vault” lockup to the CRK sebenza...and this is anything but that. I think that disappoints me more than anything.
Since Chris was pushed out, they have managed to mess up the first 100 or so Impinda’s, and now have a non “bank vault” Sebenza 31.
Honestly, if it was any other company, and I wasnt so curious to how the 31 will hold up, I woulda returned it and posted a very unhappy post.
It is different than “lockrock” that is for sure. Because lockrock is when the lockbar wont fully engage leaving gap between the “point” and the blade tang, or when the “point” contacts the tang but slips outward easily, creating audible clicks when wiggling the blade up and down. The sound is from the blade hitting the lockbar and then hitting the stop pin.
Lockflex is when the “point” of the lockbar (the ceramic ball in this case) never leaves the blade tang (always has contact), but flexes with lockbar. The lockflex rock on the 31 is so severe that the blade comes away from the stop pin. That is what worries me.
If I have any of my lock geometry fundamentals wrong, and someone with experience building framelocks can correct me. I am open to that.
I feel the same way, can't wait to get my hands on a set of CRK folders, but have to wait until they get all the kinks out and the steel switchover.Apparently it was on FB? that they moved the ceramic lockball so the new ones didnt have the flex. That is heresay from near the end of this thread. However, when I sent my early one in, they changed the entire lockside.
IIRC...
First it was, “There is nothing wrong, it’s a feature.”
To “We have new employee’s who are making mistakes.”
Then “We moved the ceramic lockball to rid the 31 of the lockflex.”
Honestly, I think it was released too early, and PR was not handled the best. I still love my Sebs though.
I know for a fact that they moved the cut outs
I stand corrected, it looks like there are Gen 1 & 2 Sebenza 31s! Good find, thank you for sharing.
I'm a CRK fanboy too. I've owned lots of inkosi and 21's. None with lock rock. Real or perceived. Bought my first small 31 from.a dealer 22 days ago. Received it 18 days ago. 5 minutes after takig it out of the box the thumbstud fell out. I'm also an internet tough guy and only use my knives as they are intended and you didnt need to be dumb to feel the amount of movement in the blade on the knife I sent back 15 minutes after takin it out of the box. Bottom line is the issue is really an issue. Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it's not an issue. If you get a dud I guarantee you'll change your tune regardless of how practical you tell us you are with your knives. I'm still a fan boy but I'm not gonna sit around and make excuses for them either. And I'm certainly not happy that it's been 18 days and counting that I haven't been able to enjoy my new $400 knife, that also is not a wives tale. It's a fact. My point is, it's ok to be a fan boy. I am one myself but you don't have to be dumb about it.
I too was initially skeptical, maybe in a bit of denial. Had to send one back myself and have a new 31 on the way....stumbled across the s45vn version. Hopefully this one is better...we shall see on Monday. Still thinking of picking up a new 21 while I they are available. I really wish that I would have found this was a fake issue, but it is def real. I hate the feeling that I may have paid $500 for a dud. I'm glad I found this thread.
