Sebenza 31 Lock Rock?!

NYP said:
So I bought a small sebenza 31 and did the lock rock test and it failed so luckily I was able to return it. Now I'm thinking I still want one so should I try to find another one and ask the seller beforehand if it suffers from lock rock or should I be patient and try to find a 21 on the secondary market. How confident should I be that the 21's don't have that problem? Should I ask the seller? Also, any advice on how to avoid a knockoff? I'll likely stay away from eBay but it is also a problem on the knife exchange here? TIA
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There will not be any lock rock in a 21. Like I said, if you want a small with ceramic interface that doesn't flex (it really isn't "lock rock"), an older (small) Inkosi with ball groove will have minimal/no flex.
 
NYP said:
So I bought a small sebenza 31 and did the lock rock test and it failed so luckily I was able to return it. Now I'm thinking I still want one so should I try to find another one and ask the seller beforehand if it suffers from lock rock or should I be patient and try to find a 21 on the secondary market. How confident should I be that the 21's don't have that problem? Should I ask the seller? Also, any advice on how to avoid a knockoff? I'll likely stay away from eBay but it is also a problem on the knife exchange here? TIA
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There is not likely to be a problem with buying fakes in the exchange. Many eyes are on the knife, and if you have any doubts you can always ask on this forum.
While I willingly take back knives and certainly don't want to sell anyone a defective knife, I would have a problem if you did this test then wanted to return the knife. This is beyond inspection, and could be considered use and the way some do it abuse.
 
Well heck, I was in on page 1 of this thread so I might as well chime in now that I’ve been carrying a small 31 almost daily for 2-1/2 months….

Sample size = 1, so take it FWIW.

My knife has some lock flex.. It doesn’t feel like the lock going to slip or fail, at all, but it’s more noticeable than my other CRK’s when I’m bending it over a table.

So I don’t bend it over a table and I don’t worry about it. I suppose following this thread since inception has tempered my opinion, but there it is.

My biggest gripe is a blade that’s a bit off center, not my expectation for a CRK, but it’s centered enough for Benchmade or Spyderco standards, so I decided to roll with it.

It does sound like there have been some lemons gone out over the course of this thread. I won’t deny that.

 
Wild Willie said:
I still fail to see how it's an issue at all. Been carrying a small pj31 for just over a year now and haven't needed to cut anything with the spine
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Going by your logic, you could have just bought a Ontario Rat 2. You wouldn’t have had to cut anything with the spine on it either. You probably could have saved yourself $425 dollars also. The issue is about the quality expected from a Sebenza. A major selling point for the Sebenza is the reputation is tight tolerances.
 
Pennlu said:
Going by your logic, you could have just bought a Ontario Rat 2. You wouldn’t have had to cut anything with the spine on it either. You probably could have saved yourself $425 dollars also. The issue is about the quality expected from a Sebenza. A major selling point for the Sebenza is the reputation is tight tolerances.
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Very true, I can and have gotten by with more affordable knives. Obviously I'm not alone in finding this phenomena an absolutely useless metric in judging quality. This, at least to me, seems more about people just looking for something to complain about. I've heard the same thing coming from older hands whenever stihl or Husqvarna come out with an upgrade to an existing model of power saw, absolutely nothing wrong with any of them, but they're "different", and people seem to be resistant to changing anything. While I'll admit new isn't always better, it isn't always worse either, just different.

Edited for spelling
 
Chris Reeve Knives said:
· Any manufactured item can be destroyed. Testing products in outrageous and unrealistic circumstances provides no useful result. The knee-jerk reaction from many viewers is usually inflammatory and results in unrealistic negative assumption of the abilities of the product. Before accepting such testing as gospel, please think about it.
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BD_01 said:
Well heck, I was in on page 1 of this thread so I might as well chime in now that I’ve been carrying a small 31 almost daily for 2-1/2 months….

Sample size = 1, so take it FWIW.

My knife has some lock flex.. It doesn’t feel like the lock going to slip or fail, at all, but it’s more noticeable than my other CRK’s when I’m bending it over a table.

So I don’t bend it over a table and I don’t worry about it. I suppose following this thread since inception has tempered my opinion, but there it is.

My biggest gripe is a blade that’s a bit off center, not my expectation for a CRK, but it’s centered enough for Benchmade or Spyderco standards, so I decided to roll with it.

It does sound like there have been some lemons gone out over the course of this thread. I won’t deny that.

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My small 31 is perfectly centered. Even more remarkable is it seems to be perfectly spaced between both scales down the entire length of the blade. Something I’ve never seen on any liner/frame lock and would never expect to. Some day I’d like to take some .001” thickness feeler gauges to really see how close it is
 
BD_01 said:
My biggest gripe is a blade that’s a bit off center, not my expectation for a CRK, but it’s centered enough for Benchmade or Spyderco standards, so I decided to roll with it.
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Is this your first CRK? Off center blade usually means a pinched washer.
 
Being the owner of a 2016 Small Inkosi and a 2022 Small Sebenza I guess I should throw my two cents in, so I performed the silly table top-push down on the spine test. The small Sebenza did have a little of what we are calling Lock Rock. If I push real hard and release I can hear the slight audible click of the blade tang hitting the stop pin. Not so with the Inkosi. My 2022 large Inkosi passes the “test” also.

The test has just about zero significance to me, but I performed it just for fun. Both of my Inkosi‘s have a smoother action and open easier than my Sebenza. Anyone who loves his Sebenza is going to really like the Inkosi.
 
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