Strider SNG vs. Sebenza. Your Thoughts?

I first heard of the sebenza in the late 80's when a knife rag featured CRK. I ordered one and got it about 18 months later....at that time they were all handmade by Chris. During the wait I had delightful conversations with Chris and his wife, Ann. I had #16, I think it was. I then had the chance to and did buy #5. When I first handled them, I was amazed...they were state of the art for a working knife. Framelocks were not common nor were ti. slabs and ats 34 was the big deal. Thereafter, I bought one of his early production models.

The handmades were relegated to a drawer for collection. The production model got some use. I called CRK years later to have a clip retrofitted . I explained that I had 2 handmades and the early production model, purchased directly from CRK and I wanted the pro. model updated. NO can do said the rep., buy a new knife she said.:mad:

Now, I am not here to disparage the sebby, but all 3 of mine had vertical and horizontal play from the get go. All 3 were hard to unlock if heavy pressure had been applied to the blade edge. Each time one was opened, its lock did not go to anywhere near the same position. I found the thumb studs "fiddly". The production model wasn't really comfortable to my hand b/c of its rectangular shape. I noticed that heavy cutting caused the knife to rotate in my hand, requiring a tighter grip resulting in quicker fatigue. I sold all 3.

So far I have 2 SnGs' with one more on order. Now, someone said above that the sebby had better craftsmanship. All I can say is the 2 I have reflect exquisite attention to detail...no detectable mis-grinds or asymmetries. Both SnG have ZERO blade play when locked. I mean "0"...it's kinda freaky actually. Because the handle has some scoops and contours and traction notches, slicing heavy stuff does not create a rotational problem...the grip, to my hand, is FAR more secure. The blade is out of the box sharper than anything I have seen. Its shape is obviously multi useful. Exerting pressure while cutting does not cause the locking bar to become more difficult to unlock. No matter how hard or soft I open the blade, the lock snocks into just about the same position. The combo of thumb studs and opening oval makes opening this knife an easy and predictable event...a nice feature with such a sharp blade. The thumb studs do not interfere with the cutting edge as in the sebby. I find that the SnG rides better in the pocket...not nearly as much "print". Also, the G10 side is less slippy than an all ti. knife. That having been said, it was a mo-fo to break in...now that it is, it is really smooth and far less wiggly than my sebbies. EDIT: oh yeah, the lock bar has a stouter presentation..its triangular configuration seems to me to be less likely to deflect under stress.

Time will tell, but I think the SnG shows real innovation and great execution. It may not have gone through the several iterations that the sebbies have, but that does not make it less refined. I do not feel a bit reluctant to use this knife...I prefer it by large margin to the sebby.
 
I get some friends in my gun room that ask which is better, the H&K USP .40 SW or the SIG P229 .40 SW.

Anyone who is lucky enough to have ONE of those firearms is one happy guy. I have both, I'm blessed.

I now have an AR and an SnG, I'm on cloud nine. What I know about a Sebbie, I know from Lynn Little. But trust me, if I could get a Sebbie without getting a divorce and going homeless, I'd jump at the chance.

Right now I need utility; I might ding a knife a bit. I like prompt and competent customer service. At this point, that's Strider.
 
Hi Geoff.

While i certainly dont doubt your experiences with your CR knives, you should know that, at least for the last few years, they arent typical by any stretch, in fact, it is virtually unheard of for a Sebenza to not have perfect lockup and no play. Yours were seemingly older models and CR clearly has worked all of the bugs out, and i stand by my statement that the Sebenza is a more refined knife than the SnG. But, that doesnt mean its a better knife than the SnG, thats a matter of taste, and personally, right now, i think i prefer my SnG's to the Sebenza for various reasons. But, the Sebenza is an extremely well made knife as it is currently produced, despite your getting some lemons some years ago. I love both knives, and would stick up for either if i thought they were getting a bad rap, as i think the Sebenza did in your post. But, of course, that was/is your experience with the Sebenza, and had it been mine, i too would be underwhelmed with them to say the least.

The only other thing i want to reiterate is that CR customer service has always been given glowing reviews, and the single exception, the thread posted above, really shouldnt tarnish that reputation, because if you read the entire thread, which I did, you'll see that the customer had clearly voided the warantee by doing some filework on the locking surfaces, which caused his problem, i cant think of any manufacturer that wouldnt consider this to void their warrantee, with the possible exception of Strider, who by all accounts has a pretty liberal repair policy. So, while Strider's warrantee may very well be better than CR, CR still has an excellent one as well.

Like i said, while i think the Sebenza is the more refined knife, i dont think that neccessarily makes it a better knife, and I do now own a few SnG's and am a big fan of them.
 
Remember this?

"BTW, something interesting about that first thread is that Lenny started it, but his first post is no longer there."

It's obvious to me that that thread has been edited. I also believe Lenny finally gave in to forum peer pressure. Read that how you may.

Remember, I was 'there' at the time. One of the big reasons I'm 'here', is because I was 'there'... IMO, Mick or Duane would have NEVER handled a customer like that. I don't think that constitutes a "liberal repair policy", I think that constitutes superior customer service.

Just my opinions.
 
really wasn't trashing the sebby...more raving about the sng..

we are lucky to have such quality to pick from and luckier to have good people to discuss the stuff we enjoy so much.;)
 
Hi Geoff, I agree completely, we're spoiled with so many great choices, and it's also great to have a forum where we can share the hobby and fascination with others. I didnt really feel you were bashing the Sebenza, but i do think your unfortunate experiences with the ones you had is not typical, or at least, not these days. If you get a chance to examine a current production Sebenza, i think youll be impressed.

LO Little, actually, im pretty sure that Lenny's initial post IS within the thread, but for some reason, its not first, but further down, and i have no idea why that would happen, though occasionally, i have seen that happen before in other threads. Also, i dont think that Lenny would have caved as you suggest, since most of the posts in the thread were squarely on his side. And i agree, from what i have heard, Strider's repair policy is about as good as you get, but i still say CR has an excellent one, despite what is possibly the single known exception, and again, if lenny did in fact file down the lock, can you really blame CR for their response? CR has sold a LOT of knives and 99.9% of customers say they have incredible customer service and i just dont think its appropriate to take a single incident and say that it means CR doesnt have good CS, especially when there is evidence, a confession if you will, that the knife was clearly messed with.
 
I can't wait until I have both these knives side by side so I can decide for myself...:D
 
I cant remember if anyone has done Sng-Sebbie pics, but I just ran a few so here they are.

#1
SnG%26CRK.jpg
 
I have both a large Sebbie and an SnG model 2 and I too prefer the SnG over the Sebbie. Feels better in the hand, has a more solid feel. On another note...yeah, what's up with those holes in the handle in the Sebbie?? Titanium is pretty light stuff, why drill out more material? I hope you don't plan on drilling out some holes in the SnG. :D
 
Well as soon as I can get my hands on a left hand SnG I'll weigh in. Please Mr. Strider, please make a few left hand knives for us less fortunate souls!:D :cool: :eek: ;)
 
Great discussion ... the SnG is the first Strider that caught my attention. I have a question for those of you who have both a Sebenza and SnG: the functional edge on the SnG looks to be about .25" shorter than the Sebenza, to what extent do you miss that .25"? Next question, I gather you normally put your index finger in that front choil ... no worries at all about that finger slipping forward? How easy is that little oval blade hole on the SnG to hit, can you do it quickly? What's the weight difference between the two, is it noticeable in the pocket?

I'm looking to pick up another working framelock (have a BM Pinnacle and a Ralph Apogee), I was looking at the Sebenza but can't stand the newer version's handle or thumb stud. I love blade holes, but the SnG's looks small, it's probably my biggest worry with the SnG.

Joe
 
Please keep in mind that I sold my Sebenza last December. I carried it (true EDC) for 18 months, however.

"to what extent do you miss that .25"?"

Not one bit.

"no worries at all about that finger slipping forward?"

Nope.

"How easy is that little oval blade hole on the SnG to hit, can you do it quickly?"

It's very easy to hit. I can do it quickly. My finger naturally flows from the hole to the stop pin/stud.

"What's the weight difference between the two, is it noticeable in the pocket?"

I believe the SnG is a little lighter. That difference is not noticeable in the pocket.
 
"to what extent do you miss that .25"?"

I usually do "light" cutting, i.e. boxes, rope, tape, etc, and I don't miss it at all. The force is directed easier for me.

"Next question, I gather you normally put your index finger in that front choil ... no worries at all about that finger slipping forward?"

Because the actual blade choil starts in front of the finger choil, and because the thickness is the full 3/16" in front of your finger, as well as being pretty deep, it doesn't ever slide forward. Personally, I wonder about the flat choils on the HT -- I'd be afraid to put a finger there (if that's indeed what it is.)

"How easy is that little oval blade hole on the SnG to hit, can you do it quickly?"

I personally find it a little harder to get it compared to a stud or, best, a disk. The retaining pressure from the bar also makes the blade much less 'smooth' and glidy than a Seb or SERE2k or a Axis lock. I also need to put a pretty strong downward pressure into the hole to get enough purchase to open it. I have to open the SnG in two distinct motions -- down-and-out, and then forward-and-up.

I actually don't know how it is compared to a regular Spydie hole -- never used one before.

-j
 
Makes one wonder how well the zip-tie Wave trick would work ... anyone?

BTW, thanks for the responses so far.
 
I just got my SnG #2 today, so I can't answer many questions on it yet. The combination of hole and stud actually seem to work best when used together. I use the oval to start opening and the stud to finish. It's quite easy and fast to open it this way and using either one by themself seems awkward to me.

Now closing this thing is a b****. I'd been opening and closing it all day, so that when I just opened and closed my Sebenza, I almost lost a thumb:eek:

Joe, I don't know if you're aware of this but next year sometime, Strider is putting out a larger SnG. That may be more to your liking.

Anyone want a Sebenza:)
 
Originally posted by naturalslave


Joe, I don't know if you're aware of this but next year sometime, Strider is putting out a larger SnG. That may be more to your liking.
Click to expand...

Thanks. For my EDC, I'm sizing things by the handle: I'd like around a 4.5" handle, and the biggest blade that can be stuffed into it.

I'll have to handle an SnG, see how I like the hole/stud combo!

Joe
 
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