Chris Reeve Small Sebenza

Reviewed 07/19/2011 by Mike

-Price Paid: $335.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

This is an incredible knife. The tolerances are so tight. The manufacturing is so exceptional. Does it cut better than any other knife out there? Nah. Don't get me wrong. It is a great cutter. But this is for someone who wants a knife like a Swiss watch. Just perfection. Same with the large Sebenza.

Magnificent and groundbreaking designs.

Get one and you won't ever need another knife.

Reviewed 10/30/2010 by Arjun

-Price Paid: $330.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

From my scoring, it would seem odd that I rate this a 10 overall. That's because there are certain things about this blade that make it my favorite EDC knife.

To go over the benefits, build quality is by far the best I have ever seen on a production knife. The tolerances and fit and finish on this knife are at very high levels. The detent is very strong, and the pressure is strong that you know it is there without hindering smoothness.

The utility of design is paramount.Ergonomics are very good. It goes for a more general shape (unlike a spyderco) but I found no hotspots during use. The subtleties of the handle are quite interesting. Approximately a 3 finger grip for large handed folk to a 3.5 finger grip for medium hand sized folk.

The titanium is sand blasted for texture. It does wear but the wear gives it character. Lockup is solid and always maintains just that perfect amount of 'stickiness'. Titanium frame instills confidence.

Blade to handle ratio is about as near to 1:1 that you can get on a folder. This gives you a lot of cutting edge for a smaller package.

The blade is stonewashed,hollow ground S30V at 2.94 inches. Chris Reeve treats his S30V a little softer than other makers. It is a good heat treat that had good edge retention. However to be honest I feel Paul Bos has a better heat treat which is not only tougher, but also harder with better edge retention. Chris reeve S30V runs about 58-59 on the Rockwell index. The blade shape is very utilitarian and works great for light to medium cutting tasks. Don't pry with this tip!

Value is debatable. I have a hard time giving any $330 knife 10/10. It's a $330 knife. However I feel for the price I paid, I got a fantastic knife built to luxury standards. This knife is a high end knife, but don't expect the unreasonable from it. It's not magical or the world's greatest cutter, and is not for anyone. It is a purpose built tool built to exacting standards for knife-folk who appreciate a fantastic tool, but also the amount of care and detail that went into making it.

Reviewed 07/28/2010 by MArthinus

-Price Paid: $400.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I had my Small Sebenza for a year and a half before I was mugged and in that time had great memories of it.

Initially I was a bit disappointing when I received the knife, no golden glow around it or anything screaming this is a great knife. Just a industrial look to a tool.

After some time carrying it on hiking trips from coastal areas to semi arid Savannah areas, office use, hunting and being my EDC for some time the knife started showing its character and I realised just how thoughtful and well designed this knife is.

It is a great EDC size and carries light in the pocket. Ergonomics might seem a bit dull, but there are no groves that constrict your hand into any position or a certain grip. Easy to clean and lockup and fit and finish was everything come to expect from Chris Reeve.

Edge holding for S30V in my use was great, 17* per side with a 20* per side micro bevel finished to a mirror polished edge. The steel lost its shaving sharpness (did use it to shave) in a few days but held a great working edge for 2 weeks of everyday use from cutting water pipes for irrigation to whittling sticks.

The knife is easy to take apart and maintain in perfect working condition. I generally on cleaned it with a hose, compressed air and a drop of fine machine oil.

I would recommend this knife to anyone looking for a high quality knife that will appreciate the fit and finish. Dont think it will knock your socks of from the get go but carrying it for a while you start to realise just how great this little knife is.

I paid a bit more the MSRP from Chris Reeve for this knife but at the end was very very pleased with the knife.

Reviewed 02/16/2010 by SteelSnob

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Well I've had the same Small Regular Seb for a few years now and I figured I would contribute what I think about it. Incredible F&F, best framelock I own and I own a bunch, very easy to maintain because it comes with a tool and you just take it apart and pop it back together and it's perfect with the blade centered no locktite or adjustment required, it's very tough yet light, you can get it refurbed by CRK for a small fee and they have the best CS I've ever experienced, they hold their value well, very pocket friendly yet it packs a punch, out of all the knives I've bought it still get consitantly carried even more than custom knives I've bought. I've been carrying it a long time and it's just as good as the day I bought it for the most part.

The cons are it's not the best slicer in the sub 3" blade cattergory, the ergos aren't the best and they could do better than the 58-59 hrc S30V. But all in all IMO beats the competion by far.

Reviewed 08/25/2009 by Brandon

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I have a small classic and unless something insane came out, will not carry a different folder. I have and have had a lot of nice folders but this is the best hands down. It is S30V has great wear resistance, and the blade pivot is the best part, except for maybe the quality. The quality is truely unmatched. Weighs close to nothing, and closes up perfectly in the handle. That means it fits well in the pocket, out of the way. If you have ever lost a knife due to a crap clip, no worries. The titanium clip has 2 notches to give twice the security.