My new, super-rare Sebenza

jekostas · **on:** February 22, 2012, 10:46:32 PM

...is not what you think.

A little trip through history, yes?

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Chris Reeve was approached by Columbia River Knife and Tool to produce a lower-cost, mass produced version of his famous large Sebenza. CRKT would have the knives produced in Taiwan with AUS-6, partially serrated blades and zytel handles. When the first production run was done, Mr. Reeve was absolutely aghast at the knives and refused to allow them to be sold. As such, the entire production run was destroyed.

Believe me when I say I don't blame Mr. Reeve for his decision. This knife would've been an utter failure as a production folding knife. More on this later.

HOWEVER, a few hundred of the original knives exist, mostly prototypes and salesman samples that left the factory well before the first production was finished and Mr. Reeve was able to examine them. This makes the CRKT Sebenza one of the rarest Sebenza models in existence and they come up for sale less often then just about any other model known. Since I am a CRKT afficianado when I was offered the chance to purchase one I had to jump on it. $11 and two weeks later, I present to you the Chris Reeve/CRKT Sebenza, model 6513. This knife is not a forgery or a counterfeit, but a legitimate, Chris Reeve designed Sebenza, albeit one that never went to market.

The overall size (but not weight) of this knife is similar to the Large Sebenza from Chris Reeve, with a 3.6" blade and 8.33" overall length.

The blade is a hollow ground, half serrated affair made of AUS 6 steel.

The handle is made of 100% zytel, and as can be seen here has the imprinted CRKT logo. The handle is held together with three large 2mm Hex screws.

Yes, you read that right, 100% zytel. Here is the crux of the problem with this knife.

Namely, how do you make a frame lock out of Zytel? How do you make a pivot?

Taking a look at the back scale, we see some of the things CRKT did. The locking bar is kept in place not by internal pressure, but by the external pressure of the pocket clip. In addition, the tip of the locking bar (the mating surface) has a steel inset to prevent abnormal wear against the tang of the blade. Unfortunately, since Zytel/FRN is such a flexible material just about every knife came out of the factory with a 100% lockup with absolutely no way to remedy it.

Compounding this problem is that the blade stop in the handle is also molded zytel.

Last, but certainly not least is that the pivot itself is zytel as well. The "pivot screw" actually goes through a small, molded zytel nub that extends from the back scale and slots in to a small cutout in the front scale.

You can perhaps see why Mr. Reeve didn't want his name associated with this knife.

The stranger thing is that the build quality is actually very, very good. The handles are cleanly molded with no sharp corners or unfinished edges. There is zero blade blade in any direction, and the knife locks up solid on every opening. The laser inscribing of the Sebenza name and model number is clean and very well done.

The model I have is a pre-production prototype, with hand-cut teflon washers and is absolutely unused.

So yeah, there we go. Certainly an oddity in the history of folding knives, and something I've wanted for a very, very long time.

Just a little bit of an odd bird for y'all to see.

Suveges · **Reply #1 on:** February 22, 2012, 10:59:45 PM

I remember being really excited about this when I first heard about it and couldn't afford a real one!

bladechick777 · **Reply #2 on:** February 23, 2012, 08:31:24 AM

Wow, Very Nice, And Very Cool.
I Wouldn't Mind Having One Of Those.
Great Find You Have There.

dks · **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2012, 08:57:55 AM

Interesting; I thought you went ahead and bought an expensive, new sebenza, so as to make fun of our SRM710s.

Looks very similar to a Navy 507 I have:

The composite construction reminds me of a Schrade USA Lake and Walker I have; the plastic lock bar just does not inspire confidence.

bladechick777 · **Reply #4 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:26:38 AM

I Love That Navy.
It's The G-10 Poor Mans Sebenza Lol.

Jmora · **Reply #5 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:29:30 AM

how would Chris Reeve have the power to stop this production? He is a famous knifemaker, but against a big company likt CRKT he would not have much power to stop them from going ahead would he? I suppose they couldn't use his name, he has a right to that.

dks · **Reply #6 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:31:09 AM

Quote from: bladechick777 on February 23, 2012, 10:26:38 AM

I Love That Navy.
It's The G-10 Poor Mans Sebenza Lol.

unfortunately the other side is metal..

bladechick777 · **Reply #7 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:44:28 AM

I Actually Really Like The Frame Lock On That One.
May Have To Look Into It.

jekostas · **Reply #8 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:48:34 AM

Quote from: Jmora on February 23, 2012, 10:29:30 AM

how would Chris Reeve have the power to stop this production? He is a famous knifemaker, but against a big company likt CRKT he would not have much power to stop them from going ahead would he? I suppose they couldn't use his name, he has a right to that.

I would suspect this clause was written in to the design contract.

Secondly, CRKT's business model has always been production models of custom knives - I doubt they'd want to start business by angering one of the most well known designers around (CRKT was only founded in 1994).

MultiMat · **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:24:11 AM

That is a super cool oddball collectable mate

.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #10 on:** February 24, 2012, 03:12:05 AM

I'd heard they existed, but I never thought I'd see one!

I love that kind of stuff!

Def

jds1 · **Reply #11 on:** March 01, 2012, 01:07:57 AM

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Jeff

Gareth · **Reply #12 on:** March 01, 2012, 01:29:23 AM

never even heard of that before, very cool find mate.

asupernothing · **Reply #13 on:** March 01, 2012, 03:43:37 AM

Quote from: Gareth on March 01, 2012, 01:29:23 AM

never even heard of that before, very cool find mate.

This

nuphoria · **Reply #14 on:** March 01, 2012, 03:47:47 AM

Yeah, that!

Iagent · **Reply #15 on:** March 01, 2012, 04:17:00 AM

Not only does that seem bad for Chris Reeve, but even CRKT should have avoided such a design.

jekostas · **Reply #16 on:** March 01, 2012, 10:21:06 AM

Quote from: Iagent on March 01, 2012, 04:17:00 AM

Not only does that seem bad for Chris Reeve, but even CRKT should have avoided such a design.

Best guess? CRKT didn't really know what they were doing. The date most people attribute to these knives is 1996-1997, and as the company only started in 1994 they didn't have a lot of experience with collaborations yet.

Mr. Reeve certainly doesn't like to think about it - he apparently destroys every one he can get his hands on!

MultiMat · **Reply #17 on:** March 01, 2012, 02:55:53 PM

So no Tim Leatherman style engraving signature from Mr. Reeve when these knives are concerned

.

'Sure I will sign that sporn of satan for you , now where is my jack hammer engraver'

Gareth · **Reply #18 on:** March 01, 2012, 06:44:29 PM

Quote from: MultiMat on March 01, 2012, 02:55:53 PM

So no Tim Leatherman style engraving signature from Mr. Reeve when these knives are concerned .

'Sure I will sign that sporn of satan for you , now where is my jack hammer engraver'

Sazabi · **Reply #19 on:** March 01, 2012, 06:46:00 PM

Quote from: Gareth on March 01, 2012, 06:44:29 PM

Quote from: MultiMat on March 01, 2012, 02:55:53 PM
So no Tim Leatherman style engraving signature from Mr. Reeve when these knives are concerned .

'Sure I will sign that sporn of satan for you , now where is my jack hammer engraver'

But he said the scales were super tough to engrave, which is why he went in the back for his stencil and thermite.

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