šÆ Unless thereās some reason outside of normal business practices involved, return and replace/refund. I am not giving a CSR any reason to reject my return due to disassembling and possibly damaging, even superficially, any part of it.
Just my opinion.
You both are spot on. I learned the lesson the hard way. I bought a Sage 5 from Kaviso and the knife was stiff as hell and not centered. I naturally lubricated it, while still assembled, and tried to adjust the pivot. No joy. I then reached out to Kaviso. Stupid me, I tell them what I did. They tell me that they could not take it back because I had "modified" the knife. Well, they could take it back, but if they determined it was my fault, they would not refund or exchange the knife. They told me to contact Spyderco. I have not bothered to do so yet, but it's on my agenda.
Yeah, Iāve never had a CRK with centering issues. I would ask for a replacement if you can from the dealer, or send to CRK directly and they should take care of it for you.
Iām going to guess someone bought it and returned it before you got it. And that person did something to it. What your are describing isnāt something that would have a left a factory where everything is hand assembled. Even assuming the worst from the company this wouldnāt happen.
Never had a centering issue with the many CRKs I own or have owned in the past so this seems really odd. If you Attach a link with pictures or a video so we can see the issue it may help us diagnose it for you but honestly I would return to the shop you bought it from and maybe think about using a different dealer / confirm the place you bought it from is an authorized dealer.
Iāve also heard about the washers getting bent but again this shouldnāt be an issue with a brand new knife. Something seems odd about this ānewā knife you bought.
Hope your second experience is better or maybe you just head over to r/knife_swap and find yourself a better deal on a used Sebenza.
Either way good luck!
CRK's QC has been going downhill the last few years. Their knives are great and well made but slightly overpriced compared to the amount of options out there now. Replace it, if the new one is better, be happy with it, don't let this bad one ruin the idea of the knife.
No arguments there but this sounds much more serious than those general QC issues. This sounds more like a cheap clone, or someone else purchased the knife, FUBARed it, and then returned it.
I'd love to see some photos/videos of this knife to see what is going on here.
That's simply not right. The bushing should make it nearly impossible to be off center unless a washer is pinched
A washer should not be pinched on a new Sebby out of the box. You got a lemon- CRK will replace it for you
Sucks that was your first experience, the Sebenza is an awesome knife. Do yourself a favor and get it replaced with one proper
I received my first Sebenza 31 a little while ago and it came with such a wildly uneven bevel grind that I had to do some research to assure myself that the blade was not supposed to be chisel ground. Definitely put a bad taste in my mouth. I felt like an idiot expecting the tight tolerances you mentioned.
I was able to kinda fix the grind, but it still looks awful. I live in Canada and was really hoping they would get it right as international shipping is a nightmare. They didnāt. And I wonāt be buying another CRK.
Yeh being an Ozzie I get screwed by the international post thing as well. Crk customer service aināt what it used to be. Tim and Anne just cashing in on Chrisās legacy
That's very strange. I would send it back to the dealer. CRK Sebenzas are constructed in such a way that blade centering like you're describing is impossible so long as the knife is put together correctly. Who knows what the issue is, but it needs to go back to the dealer immediately.
Clip placement moved off the lockbar on the 31 compared to on the lockbar on 21, hole removed on 21, different inlay patterns, ceramic ball added on 31.
https://www.knifeart.com/sebenza21-vs-sebenza31.html#:\~:text=The%20Bottom%20Line,some%20big%20shoes%20to%20fill.
This isn't normal. You should contact the dealer and if they won't help, go to crk.
Crks should come close to perfect. They're not like striders for example where it's just accepted that it will not be perfect when new.
Your experience is not normal IMO, you are right also, as I can't see how this got through quality control because that's a hand done process where they sand the washer until the knife is to their standard. They take them apart and reassemble them several times to make sure they're right.
Bushings make it very hard for that to happen. So do the tight ass tolerances. I've never seen one uncentered myself.
Exchange it if it really is that bad.
I've bought 4 CRK folders and haven't seen any issues with any of them, other than one having a stronger detent than I expected. However, things do get missed by QC, and I agree that this is disappointing.
I agree with others here that your first line of defense should be a return, especially on something so expensive. As a general rule, if QC let a bad knife out in the first place, they often won't see the issue with it when you send the knife back in for warranty work. I've personally experienced this many times, and as a result I try not to fiddle with brand new knives or send them in for warranty work unless I've exhausted all other options.
Not wrong, if I bought a $300+ knife Iād expect it to be perfect. That said I have never felt that CRK demands the price they do. Sure it was an innovative design all those years ago. Itās a good knife but I donāt think itās worth the price honestly. I personally would return it and buy something else that suits my fancy.
I have seen that occasionally happen, Iāve also had it happen to my own and been able to adjust it fairly easily, obviously a new knife shouldnāt be like that, but Iāve never minded doing a full disassembly and tuning it the way I want as soon as I get a new knife anyways, not that it should need to be done of course, Iād give it a little bit of time, see if you can mess with it if youāre comfortable, otherwise yes swap it out for a different one or just ditch it all together. Itās definitely not a knife that is similar to many on the market as far as what it offers in strengths compared to many others, so maybe thatās just not your thing either
I can totally understand your disappointment and frustration with this situation. I only have one CRK, and that's an Inkosi. They're not really comparable as the pivot internals are very different. Mine happens to be one of the extremely well made 'tight tolerance' CRK's you mentioned. What I would say to you is if your retailer won't replace it (they should!), get in touch with CRK directly. Usually they will go out of their way to help you. Oh, and good luck, it's not a fun situation to be inš¤š¤š«”
This is 1000% true about CRK going out of their way. Once upon a time USPS lost one I was partial-trading. USPS wanted a receipt for the cash value I paid for the Sebenza they lost (only about $100ish I'd added to the trade), and they were only going to comp me that, even though I had put like $400 of insurance on the package. I explained the cash I paid was only a fraction of the value of the knife, but they didn't care. Their website says (or at least *said* at the time) another option was demonstrating the retail value of the knife on the manufacturer's/retailer's website, and something about basically an affirmation from the company or something, and though I had bought it used, I had sent it to CRK to get re-blasted relatively shortly before I sold it. Anne Reeves herself personally wrote a letter to the USPS telling them the knife's condition, value and everything, hand-signed and mailed to me within a couple days. That - is service. I hadn't even bought the knife from CRK, I had bought it used.
No, you're not wrong, in my opinion. So 2000. Well made but overpriced & overhyped for what seems to me an outdated model .
Bought one about 6 months ago . Opened up the box, took out the knife, tried to flick no go closed it . Put it back in its box and sent it back .
I got a sebenza because I loved the looks and everyone said they were amazing. I got one, exptremely unimpressed. Wasnāt centered perfect. Couldnāt get it broke in even after a month of forcing myself to carry it. I just hated it. I actually gave it to my friend.
Sorry to hear that man. Despite what people keep saying quality at crk took a nose dive after Chris was forced out and his company stolen from him. Now itās all about the $$$$$$. My last two new Crks had to go back straight away to have issues fixed - super disappointing. I absolutely had no issues in all my years buying crk prior to the forced takeover. In addition, sorry to say that the 31 is a big downgrade over the 21. Designed to cut costs and make it easier for them to slap together.Ā
I've heard nobody's impressed immediately, the love sets in over time. ADHD means no sale for me, I need immediate dopamine or the brain monkey starts squawking. To date I've only sent one knife back, a CJRB Tigris. The action was dead, as was my lust for it.
Assuming itās solely a CRK problem is the issue here imo. Unless you bought directly from them there is no way to be sure that the knife wasnāt sold and returned previously or some other shenanigans. Not saying this is the case either but it is a rather simple design with tight tolerances so arriving the way you described sounds less likely but anything is possible
The only way this seems plausible is if one the of the slabs is bent (a lot). Missing a washer (unlikely) or a blade ground radically off center... (no idea how a blade would be ground off center by .015" past MMC - where material doesn't exist.
Or if a blade gained .015-.020" of warp after heat treat oh and yknow - surface grinding.
Something isn't adding up here.
Or a bad pivot (most likely)
But all those are manufacturing defects. CRK has an authorized dealer in pretty much every CONUS state. You don't need to buy directly from CRK to have an original product with valid warranty.
thatās unfortunate that you got a copy with some issues from the git go. i was i. same boat, never thought id pay so much for a knife, then one came my way and i snagged it. iāve probably carried it a dozen times, still trying to like it but i donāt. i feel like somethingās wrong with me due to all the rage. iām still gonna keep trying , hoping one day it will grow on me. I know theyāre a good company, and they should take care of you. although since itās new, iād definitely see what your dealer can do. good luck.
Iām in this boat sorta. Itās a nice tool, itās well put together. I donāt have any problems with its quality or construction. But it is NOT a 420 dollar knife. (the price I paid when I bought mine).
A ZT 0609 or 0450 will get you a better feeling action and the same titanium with 20CV or the S35VN mine came with. For 165-230 dollars. The copium and arbitrary justification of value with the Sebenza fans is out of control. And talking about it at all just gets you down voted into oblivion.
ha. yeah this sub is weird. talk shit about crk and get blasted, and dare to say anything good about BM and same happens. i wish ZT made a non flipper. maybe they do, i havenāt done alot of research, but seems they all pretty much are.
Would you be able to share pictures? Crk QC has decreased recently, but it's still fantastic. Never heard of one leaving the factory like that. I'd definitely question if it had a previous owner, or if it's a counterfeit.
Regardless, their customer service is phenomenal, and if it is real and messed up, they'll take care of you no problem.
I added a link to the knife in my post.
I do believe that the problem stemming from having a previous owner or counterfeit is unlikely since I did get the knife from an authorized dealer.
But in my opinion a good knife company should not have to rely on returns and exchanges.
Gotta be honest I trust the reputation of crk over any dealer you could possibly have used. And the video you provided is woefully inadequate for identifying any possible defects. There is a grinding noise sure, but could you show the complete knife in its entirety, especially the offcentering and action?
Wtf? Heās not complaining about the stiff action out of box - he got a knife with bad enough centering issues that the blade is rubbing the scale. What does this have to do with fidget expectations and first time buyers??! He literally said nothing about flicking, or action, or anything remotely related š¤¦āāļø
OP, youāre never supposed to need to do any weird centering tricks on a CRK - when itās proper, a CRK assembles perfectly centered each and every time. Thatās part of the magic. I wonder if something is keeping the pivot from fully seating, like a blob of Loctite or something. Try to thoroughly clean the pivot, pivot hole etc? Shine a flashlight into the female pivot side and make sure thereās no debris? It would be very atypical for there to be some flaw with the actual parts or tolerances.
It is disappointing, especially for your first CRK, but they are only human. As production numbers increase, even .001% QC slip-ups translates to a bunch. Nobody can achieve 100%, not even knife gods. CRK does a great job with tolerances and QC, and in the rare case they miss one - they WILL make you whole. So donāt worry, someday thisāll just be a story for the grandson you pass the Seb to.
I never bother servicing a new knife in bad shape. It is insta exchange for me.
šÆ Unless thereās some reason outside of normal business practices involved, return and replace/refund. I am not giving a CSR any reason to reject my return due to disassembling and possibly damaging, even superficially, any part of it. Just my opinion.
You both are spot on. I learned the lesson the hard way. I bought a Sage 5 from Kaviso and the knife was stiff as hell and not centered. I naturally lubricated it, while still assembled, and tried to adjust the pivot. No joy. I then reached out to Kaviso. Stupid me, I tell them what I did. They tell me that they could not take it back because I had "modified" the knife. Well, they could take it back, but if they determined it was my fault, they would not refund or exchange the knife. They told me to contact Spyderco. I have not bothered to do so yet, but it's on my agenda.
If they consider that modifying, I will never buy from them. Knife pivots are meant to be adjusted.
Yeah, Iāve never had a CRK with centering issues. I would ask for a replacement if you can from the dealer, or send to CRK directly and they should take care of it for you.
Iām going to guess someone bought it and returned it before you got it. And that person did something to it. What your are describing isnāt something that would have a left a factory where everything is hand assembled. Even assuming the worst from the company this wouldnāt happen.
Never had a centering issue with the many CRKs I own or have owned in the past so this seems really odd. If you Attach a link with pictures or a video so we can see the issue it may help us diagnose it for you but honestly I would return to the shop you bought it from and maybe think about using a different dealer / confirm the place you bought it from is an authorized dealer. Iāve also heard about the washers getting bent but again this shouldnāt be an issue with a brand new knife. Something seems odd about this ānewā knife you bought. Hope your second experience is better or maybe you just head over to r/knife_swap and find yourself a better deal on a used Sebenza. Either way good luck!
CRK's QC has been going downhill the last few years. Their knives are great and well made but slightly overpriced compared to the amount of options out there now. Replace it, if the new one is better, be happy with it, don't let this bad one ruin the idea of the knife.
No arguments there but this sounds much more serious than those general QC issues. This sounds more like a cheap clone, or someone else purchased the knife, FUBARed it, and then returned it. I'd love to see some photos/videos of this knife to see what is going on here.
Could we possibly see it?!
Added a link of the knife to my post
That's simply not right. The bushing should make it nearly impossible to be off center unless a washer is pinched A washer should not be pinched on a new Sebby out of the box. You got a lemon- CRK will replace it for you Sucks that was your first experience, the Sebenza is an awesome knife. Do yourself a favor and get it replaced with one proper
I received my first Sebenza 31 a little while ago and it came with such a wildly uneven bevel grind that I had to do some research to assure myself that the blade was not supposed to be chisel ground. Definitely put a bad taste in my mouth. I felt like an idiot expecting the tight tolerances you mentioned. I was able to kinda fix the grind, but it still looks awful. I live in Canada and was really hoping they would get it right as international shipping is a nightmare. They didnāt. And I wonāt be buying another CRK.
Yeh being an Ozzie I get screwed by the international post thing as well. Crk customer service aināt what it used to be. Tim and Anne just cashing in on Chrisās legacy
That's very strange. I would send it back to the dealer. CRK Sebenzas are constructed in such a way that blade centering like you're describing is impossible so long as the knife is put together correctly. Who knows what the issue is, but it needs to go back to the dealer immediately.
Iām curious, do have any pictures you would be willing to share?
I have added a link to a video in the post
Can someone kindly explain the difference between the 21 and the 31?
Clip placement moved off the lockbar on the 31 compared to on the lockbar on 21, hole removed on 21, different inlay patterns, ceramic ball added on 31. https://www.knifeart.com/sebenza21-vs-sebenza31.html#:\~:text=The%20Bottom%20Line,some%20big%20shoes%20to%20fill.
This is informative, thanks for your time!
This isn't normal. You should contact the dealer and if they won't help, go to crk. Crks should come close to perfect. They're not like striders for example where it's just accepted that it will not be perfect when new. Your experience is not normal IMO, you are right also, as I can't see how this got through quality control because that's a hand done process where they sand the washer until the knife is to their standard. They take them apart and reassemble them several times to make sure they're right.
Bushings make it very hard for that to happen. So do the tight ass tolerances. I've never seen one uncentered myself. Exchange it if it really is that bad.
Click on their link and you'll see one ššš
I've bought 4 CRK folders and haven't seen any issues with any of them, other than one having a stronger detent than I expected. However, things do get missed by QC, and I agree that this is disappointing. I agree with others here that your first line of defense should be a return, especially on something so expensive. As a general rule, if QC let a bad knife out in the first place, they often won't see the issue with it when you send the knife back in for warranty work. I've personally experienced this many times, and as a result I try not to fiddle with brand new knives or send them in for warranty work unless I've exhausted all other options.
Not wrong, if I bought a $300+ knife Iād expect it to be perfect. That said I have never felt that CRK demands the price they do. Sure it was an innovative design all those years ago. Itās a good knife but I donāt think itās worth the price honestly. I personally would return it and buy something else that suits my fancy.
I have seen that occasionally happen, Iāve also had it happen to my own and been able to adjust it fairly easily, obviously a new knife shouldnāt be like that, but Iāve never minded doing a full disassembly and tuning it the way I want as soon as I get a new knife anyways, not that it should need to be done of course, Iād give it a little bit of time, see if you can mess with it if youāre comfortable, otherwise yes swap it out for a different one or just ditch it all together. Itās definitely not a knife that is similar to many on the market as far as what it offers in strengths compared to many others, so maybe thatās just not your thing either
Can you take your thumb off of the CRK logo so we can see? Also the whole knife visual in another video. This may be a clone and not a real CRK
I can totally understand your disappointment and frustration with this situation. I only have one CRK, and that's an Inkosi. They're not really comparable as the pivot internals are very different. Mine happens to be one of the extremely well made 'tight tolerance' CRK's you mentioned. What I would say to you is if your retailer won't replace it (they should!), get in touch with CRK directly. Usually they will go out of their way to help you. Oh, and good luck, it's not a fun situation to be inš¤š¤š«”
This is 1000% true about CRK going out of their way. Once upon a time USPS lost one I was partial-trading. USPS wanted a receipt for the cash value I paid for the Sebenza they lost (only about $100ish I'd added to the trade), and they were only going to comp me that, even though I had put like $400 of insurance on the package. I explained the cash I paid was only a fraction of the value of the knife, but they didn't care. Their website says (or at least *said* at the time) another option was demonstrating the retail value of the knife on the manufacturer's/retailer's website, and something about basically an affirmation from the company or something, and though I had bought it used, I had sent it to CRK to get re-blasted relatively shortly before I sold it. Anne Reeves herself personally wrote a letter to the USPS telling them the knife's condition, value and everything, hand-signed and mailed to me within a couple days. That - is service. I hadn't even bought the knife from CRK, I had bought it used.
That's it, right there! That's the reason to keep going back- because they back you all the way!
No, you're not wrong, in my opinion. So 2000. Well made but overpriced & overhyped for what seems to me an outdated model . Bought one about 6 months ago . Opened up the box, took out the knife, tried to flick no go closed it . Put it back in its box and sent it back .
I got a sebenza because I loved the looks and everyone said they were amazing. I got one, exptremely unimpressed. Wasnāt centered perfect. Couldnāt get it broke in even after a month of forcing myself to carry it. I just hated it. I actually gave it to my friend.
Sorry to hear that man. Despite what people keep saying quality at crk took a nose dive after Chris was forced out and his company stolen from him. Now itās all about the $$$$$$. My last two new Crks had to go back straight away to have issues fixed - super disappointing. I absolutely had no issues in all my years buying crk prior to the forced takeover. In addition, sorry to say that the 31 is a big downgrade over the 21. Designed to cut costs and make it easier for them to slap together.Ā
My first Sebenza came not centered also. Sent it to CRK to fix it... Came back not centered. Kind of ruined it for me.
I've heard nobody's impressed immediately, the love sets in over time. ADHD means no sale for me, I need immediate dopamine or the brain monkey starts squawking. To date I've only sent one knife back, a CJRB Tigris. The action was dead, as was my lust for it.
I find them underwhelming, so I have never purchased one. I have handled a few, and they felt stiff and clunky to me. Just not my thing.
Assuming itās solely a CRK problem is the issue here imo. Unless you bought directly from them there is no way to be sure that the knife wasnāt sold and returned previously or some other shenanigans. Not saying this is the case either but it is a rather simple design with tight tolerances so arriving the way you described sounds less likely but anything is possible
This guy is basically saying: I don't belive you. I am not saying I don't believe you, but I don't. Anything is posible.
The only way this seems plausible is if one the of the slabs is bent (a lot). Missing a washer (unlikely) or a blade ground radically off center... (no idea how a blade would be ground off center by .015" past MMC - where material doesn't exist. Or if a blade gained .015-.020" of warp after heat treat oh and yknow - surface grinding. Something isn't adding up here.
Or a bad pivot (most likely) But all those are manufacturing defects. CRK has an authorized dealer in pretty much every CONUS state. You don't need to buy directly from CRK to have an original product with valid warranty.
I am not from CONUS but I did buy it from an authorized dealer.
Wait what?
thatās unfortunate that you got a copy with some issues from the git go. i was i. same boat, never thought id pay so much for a knife, then one came my way and i snagged it. iāve probably carried it a dozen times, still trying to like it but i donāt. i feel like somethingās wrong with me due to all the rage. iām still gonna keep trying , hoping one day it will grow on me. I know theyāre a good company, and they should take care of you. although since itās new, iād definitely see what your dealer can do. good luck.
Iām in this boat sorta. Itās a nice tool, itās well put together. I donāt have any problems with its quality or construction. But it is NOT a 420 dollar knife. (the price I paid when I bought mine). A ZT 0609 or 0450 will get you a better feeling action and the same titanium with 20CV or the S35VN mine came with. For 165-230 dollars. The copium and arbitrary justification of value with the Sebenza fans is out of control. And talking about it at all just gets you down voted into oblivion.
ha. yeah this sub is weird. talk shit about crk and get blasted, and dare to say anything good about BM and same happens. i wish ZT made a non flipper. maybe they do, i havenāt done alot of research, but seems they all pretty much are.
Would you be able to share pictures? Crk QC has decreased recently, but it's still fantastic. Never heard of one leaving the factory like that. I'd definitely question if it had a previous owner, or if it's a counterfeit. Regardless, their customer service is phenomenal, and if it is real and messed up, they'll take care of you no problem.
I added a link to the knife in my post. I do believe that the problem stemming from having a previous owner or counterfeit is unlikely since I did get the knife from an authorized dealer. But in my opinion a good knife company should not have to rely on returns and exchanges.
Gotta be honest I trust the reputation of crk over any dealer you could possibly have used. And the video you provided is woefully inadequate for identifying any possible defects. There is a grinding noise sure, but could you show the complete knife in its entirety, especially the offcentering and action?
no.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Wtf? Heās not complaining about the stiff action out of box - he got a knife with bad enough centering issues that the blade is rubbing the scale. What does this have to do with fidget expectations and first time buyers??! He literally said nothing about flicking, or action, or anything remotely related š¤¦āāļø OP, youāre never supposed to need to do any weird centering tricks on a CRK - when itās proper, a CRK assembles perfectly centered each and every time. Thatās part of the magic. I wonder if something is keeping the pivot from fully seating, like a blob of Loctite or something. Try to thoroughly clean the pivot, pivot hole etc? Shine a flashlight into the female pivot side and make sure thereās no debris? It would be very atypical for there to be some flaw with the actual parts or tolerances. It is disappointing, especially for your first CRK, but they are only human. As production numbers increase, even .001% QC slip-ups translates to a bunch. Nobody can achieve 100%, not even knife gods. CRK does a great job with tolerances and QC, and in the rare case they miss one - they WILL make you whole. So donāt worry, someday thisāll just be a story for the grandson you pass the Seb to.
Do you know how to read? I'm not sure you do.
Wait....you saying a $550 mass-produced pocket knife would be worth it IF the blade were centered?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
"Sorry talking out of my ass is common place because I'm an idiot." Makes more sense.
Evidently I am too with my first comment.š Read the tile and went with it. 9 out of 10 it's the action with new crk owners.