Now value can be a subjective thing.
Like say if you value your time you might skip this video.
Oh ok.
And I like to think I understand the value of things Like my Voigtlander lens that is
wide and fast enough to allow me to shoot in natural light and tight spaces that no
other lens for my cameras do- so I can make dumb Youtube videos.
That was $1100 and made in a country with Labor standards.
Ok so lets see if we can understand the value of knives.
How about the $240 Benchmade 940-1which is a great USA made knife, fast deployment light
and the Spyderco Para Military 2 another fine made in the USA knife.
Both of those are my two favorite pocket knives or folding knives as theyre known today.
Both of those knives are in the natural progression of knife buying for people who want the perfect
every day carry.
So whas next?
A week ago I would have said the Sebanza, but since now I am in the possession of one,
let me pronounce it correctly The Say Ben Za.
Or more specifically the Large Sebenza 21 carbon fiber variant from Knife Art.
So lets go over dimensions before I make anyone mad.
Like the overall length and weight- note the weight is about an ounce lighter than the
full titanium handled sebenza 21.
The blade length and cutting edge.
The handle size and grip area, remember one side of the handle is a slab of carbon fiber.
The spine thickness and handle thickness.
And per subscriber Job Bobs request the tallness of it closed.
Lets get into the blade.
The Sebenza 21 features a drop point blade with a hollow grind.
I recommend watching Blade HQs video where Reeve talks about how hollow his grind is.
The blade has a light stonewashed finish which is great for hiding scratches- when you take
your knife to the beach.
And then theres the infamous softness.
The knife uses S35VN steel, that was developed for this knife to maintain a premium MSRP.
Mr. Reeve and all of the internet says its soft, with an HRC of 59-60.
So Ill just repeat it too- even though 59-60 doesnt seem too soft.
S35VN is said to add niobium to made the edge resistant to chipping over standard s30v.
The top of the blade is rounded off, so when youre off in the bush with your $450 knife
you might find it harder to strike a ferro rod.
But thats what the edge is for right.
Someones like unsubscribe!
Remember this is not the proper channel for how to treat a knife- check out cold steels
channel for that where they should you the proper way to stab a car hood.
The handle on the Knife Art edition of the Sebenza 21 is half made from a solid slab
of liner-less carbon fiber and the lock side is bead blasted titanium.
Its held together by some standoffs- meaning it has an open backed design.
Ones anodized blue titanium the other aint.
The handle is a nice size with a finger groove up front, and only the nice tight jimping
on the blade spine.
No finger crowding for me, and no major hot spots.
Its close to a spyderco jimping in texture- think an Endura- so its frictiony but not
hotspotty.
The titanium lock covers quite a bit of the tang, so its solid and strong and as you can
see in a bit- it is able to take many hard spine whacks.
And again since half is made out of bead blasted titanium it will pick up pocket wear quick
and appear similarly to my Benchmade 765 with a 2 piece titanium handle.
The handle has bevels all the way around and the screws at the standoffs do have a tad
of extra meat around the ones close to the edge.
MMm meat.
Deployment.
Now Ive heard the word Sebenza smooth before.
And maybe if a Sebenza is your first knife- you might say that.
But its an ok smooth the pivot has oversized phosphor bronze washed on either side, and
it is smooth through the deployment- but I have many other knives that are just as smooth
and easy or smoother.
It isnt a fast deployment either- while its true you could loosen up the pivots, that
just tends to make them loose enough to get looser- if you have a tendency to fidget deploy
your knives when youre not working at work.
I found its best to keep them tight from the factory- where deployment is done deliberately
with your thumb.
It is possible to hit the thumb stud hard enough to deploy it- but not consistently
every time.
The knife can be ordered with two thumb studs or left handed- but that costs more.
The thumb stud is blue anodized too.
If youre looking for a fast deployer this aint it.
This is a pocket knife.
The pocket clip is what it is its has a milled out section where the clip mounts pretty flush
to the handle it is also bead blasted titanium and has that Spyderco springiness to it.
I found some of my higher end blades like my southern grind Spider monkey has clips
that are way too tight, or like my Benchmade 765 where it has no give.
Chris Reeve didnt overthink the clip.
Mine came tip up blade forward in my right pocket.
So great pocket clip- but not a deep carry.
Ok so lets do a quick comparison.
Ive said before my Spyderco Para Military 2 and my Benchmade 940-1 are my favorite knives.
That did not change with the Sebenza 21.
Many people say its the tolerances and the things you dont notice that makes the Sebenza
great- I dont think I can argue with it- thats just what they say.
My Para military 2 is probably my most fun to deploy and the thumb ramp and nice comfortable
handle are all nice touches.
Its a great knife to hold.
The pocket clip isnt deep carry either, but you can change it around to suit your needs.
Now the 940-1 fun to deploy a nice long cutting edge in the mid three inch range long enough
handle but mainly because its over an ounce lighter and pretty slim in the pocket.
Both are fine utilitarian blades.
The Sebenza while an equally well made knife doesnt deploy quite as fast- which aint really
a big deal because I used to carry an endure 4- and you know it sort of deploys about as
fast as that one.
Theyre kind of similar in that regard.
Its made from all pretty high end materials- and looks nice.
I bought it mainly to see where I cease to find value in a production knife- as this
knife is discussed endlessly on the internet- and often mentioned as the best production
knife.
And I think Ive finally found my limit as to how much Ive paid for a knife versus what
I perceive its worth to be.
Also as a bonus its lighter than my PM2 with a slightly longer blade and cutting edge.
Alright lets beat it up.
Now I know with 100% certainty this knife is not designed to do what Im about to do-
which is why Im going to do it.
Otherwise known as how to kill the resale of a Chris Reeve knife I know- fixed blade,
axe got it.
You can still tell me in the comments if you feel like I just dont get it.
Lets see how strong the lock is, and baton through this piece of wood like its something
I need to do.
I do, for the clicks yo.
Now I will say before this test the detent was strong- you couldnt flick it open by flinging
it downward now you can kind of- its not bad--- and I can do this with most of my medium end
knives anyway.
I will say this is now my third favorite knife to carry.
Its light and well made fits in the pocket slightly and I actually like the paracord
and bead hanging out the back, as it makes it an easier pull out
of the pocket.
Remember Luke asked Yoda whats in the cave- and Yoda said only what you take with you.
Well the 21 isnt exactly like that for me but close.
It wasnt the ultimate knife for me- but it was more of- whats up with a Sebenza.
And now I know.
Its a nice knife, but if I could place a price on it- it would be like $300?
Im not saying that like Im an expert on its margins or how much it costs- but more as
in comparing it to how much I like my other made in usa knives.
It doesnt offer me durability, finer materials or significantly better ergonomics or deployment.
The KnifeArt.com version is more expensive than the standard large 21, because of the
carbon fiber- and since I prefer the lightness of the carbon fiber version saving an ounce
for a $40 upgrade was worth it.
I also watched a video where Sal from Spyderco talked about the tight tolerances of Sebenza
knives versus just about anyone else.
So theres that too.
So after all the beating the pivot loosened up, so I had to go get an Allen key to tighten
up the pivot so I could smack the blade out.
After the beating the edge was pretty much as perfect as it was earlier.
I could still easily shave the hair off my arm- which is the standard test for Youtube
videos on sharpness.
It didnt damage the carbon fiber or any of the screws either although where the lock
meets the tang had a very slight dent from all of the hard smacking.
Something I only noticed on disassembly.
And I feel like my Para Military 2 and 940-1 would have fared much worse in this test because
the Sebenza is more overbuilt.
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Thanks for watching.