How to disassemble and maintain the Chris Reeve Knives Sebenza 25 Pocketknife

Today, we do some disassembly and maintenance on the Chris Reeve Knives Sebenza 25 (which has been modified slightly and is now called the "Large Inkosi"). I also take a few moments to directly compare the internal mechanism of the Sebenza 25 with the Sebenza 21.

[@semperfortisjiujitsu]

Great video! I have had my Sebenza 25 for about 10 years and had never cleaned and greased my Sebenza other than spraying some Ballistol into the knife. Decided to disassemble, clean and lube my Sebenza 25 today and went step by step watching, stopping and rewinding your video. Thanks for the great instruction and now my Sebenza 25 works like new again. You earned a new subscriber in me.

[@NickShabazz]

BONUS VIDEO! :D Trying to clear through some backlog, and because I 💖 you all, I figured I'd drop this review Sunday.

[@no1fibersplicer525]

Thanks Nick, just too my 25 apart for the first time. Not pretty, but it is now thanks to you. 2014 til dec of 21. Hard use. And now it’s ready for another 7. Thanks again

[@chazfromtheburg]

Thanks for the video and great job as always! I actually love my 25. I have the micarta inlay version, and it simply feels like it was made to fit my hands. The action is very different than the 21, but it's a good difference in my opinion. I have never owned the Inkosi. I know they made a few changes to it over the 25. I couldn't see that those changes were significant enough to make me want to buy it. The 25 will always be my quintessential CRK. Thanks again for what you do, Nick!

[@hooper4581]

Always a pleasure to see the guts of a knife. Can you do a review of that bathrobe your wearing in future ?

[@f22shift]

I sold all my sebenza except for my seb 25 cf. that ceramic ball makes a huge difference in the action of the knife to make it feel that extra bit smoother.

[@frzh0626]

Really love the ceramic ball/lock face feather.

[@OnTheEdge5950]

Good observation on the need of some grease as well as a little nano oil. I tried my 25 with just nano oil and it flipped well for a couple of days then it would start misfiring. I then used grease and it works much better.

[@tacticalcenter8658]

try using nano and then wipe it off so it doesnt look like you have any on anymore. i just use a q tip and just lightly wipe it all up. now it will still be on the blade and washers, but it should work much much better because it now has less friction from all that lube. do the same for the detent, very very light lube. it should last much longer too, but that depends on the lube used. for the most part crk grease is far better as it dries and rides on the teflon and keeps out dust and debris. where as oil of most types attracts and fills up with dust. another reason why less lube is also better, less gunk to attract.

[@OnTheEdge5950]

Tactical Center Thank you!!!

[@blitzbbffl]

Great comparo video. I do have one question: On the 25 you mentioned the importance of stop pin orientation...is that stop pin free spinning?

[@anthonymiller3926]

I just purchased a Sabenza 21, I have been wanting this knife for a while now and saved up my money to get it. I am embarrassed to show the knife to my friends for a number of reasons. 1. no one I know has even heard of Chris Reeve let alone the word "Sabenza" they cant appreciate the knife like I do and the sacrifices to get it. I have shown it to a few coworkers who like knives and they Say "Nice Knife, its a Big one" 2. The cost! people would look at me like I was stupid for paying that much for a knife. are they right? even though it brings me Joy :). I have a bunch of "Nice knives" but I am still chasing the knife that will end my search.

[@roningraves6563]

1. If they don’t know what it is, let them think what they want. 2. You don’t even need to tell people what you spent. If people like it without knowing the price, good on them. If they know what it is and what it costs, they should appreciate it. I finally bought my first Chris Reeve yesterday. I went with a large Sebenza 21 with Insigno blade and black micarta inlays. So far I love it, but if all one cares about is the price or the ego of having one, they’re going to be disappointed. You should only buy one because you enjoy it.

[@tacticalcenter8658]

The CRK grease is suppose to be dry. you can think of it as basically a teflon washer. the liquid thats in the CRK bottle is a carrier that evaporates after application. thats why you have to mush the CRK grease bottle. so the dry grease is perfectly normal as its just like a teflon washer. the blade moves on the dry crk grease, because its teflon it glides on it. CRK does this because you can get the knife dirty and it wont get into the washers because the grease keeps it out. then you can wash the knife in the sink to get the gunk out and the teflon grease still stays in place. you only have to tear it down once a year in most cases. this is why grease is great for other pivot styles like bearings also. keeps gunk out for the most part. because its teflon its plenty slick and everything just glides on the dried grease.

Do you ever put that grease in your eyes instead of contacts ever so often Nick?

[@NickShabazz]

+StoråsStudio Lol. Not yet.

[@ZechsAznable]

I'm curious about something? How does 85 weight Nano-Oil perform as a lubricant for washer knives like this and the Slysz Bowie? It seems like it would be a good middle ground between a too runny oil and a too gummy grease.

[@NickShabazz]

It's OK. Not quite viscous enough for my taste, though.

[@joshuayu3590]

in your slysz bowie disassembly, you use 10 weight nano oil. change or heart? can you (or anyone) recommend a good grease for washer knives? i have the tiny tube that came with my CRK, but need something a little cheaper that i can use more liberally on non-knife stuff around the house

[@tacticalcenter8658]

for the most part PB washers are self lubricating, you dont really need lube. if you are incline to try, put a drop of lube on and wipe it all around with a qtip. you will notice its on the blade and washers but you dont notice it unless you put your finger print in it. the action is more or less dictated by the detent tho. and you should do the same for the detent track and detent. very minimal its been proven to improve action in a few tests. www.bladeforums.com/threads/has-anyone-done-a-any-lubrication-friction-testing.1510135/ for the most part grease is a better lube for pivots because it keeps gunk out of the pivot. where as oil attracts gunk. but oil is better for detent when used sparingly.

[@tacticalcenter8658]

The CRK grease is the best for pivots. you can get away with Finishline grease tho, it works rather well. not as great as the CRK (which is CHRISTO LUBE if you google it, there are two formulations, i forget the version that crk uses). www.amazon.com/Finish-Line-Extreme-Fluoro-Syringe/dp/B002L5UL92/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1503294011&sr=1-3-fkmr3&keywords=finish+line+ptfe+grease

[@fatihcakmakci822]

Thank you Nick

[@thomasrindahlsteiro6000]

Hey nick. Have you seen the fallkniven U2?

[@tacticalcenter8658]

Thats a great little knife with some amazing steel on it!

[@loganowens7461]

Hey Nick wanted too know if maby u could find a large sebenza 21 for 300 forsale thanks.

[@thecentralavenuegunslinger7861]

Didn't they change that name to the large insoki

[@NickShabazz]

Yep, it's now the "Large Inkosi" with a few small tweaks. I've titled the review Sebenza 25 because the Large Inkosi does have some changes, and I don't want people to open up their inkosi and be scared and confused.

[@jcb6713]

...wonder why the lock side washer on the 21 has rectangular holes...most I've seen are round holes...just wondered...don't see any improvement...looks like the rectangular design has less surface area for blade to handle strength...

[@tacticalcenter8658]

this is only due to the lockbar. if it was wider and didn't interrupt the lockbar, it could have round washers.

[@rabbivj]

The inkosi stop pin is different from the 25...

[@THEMAX00000]

I love My Sebenza 21. That being said I hate taking it down for cleaning. No one seems to have an easy time putting these things back together

[@Gregg0112]

I use less grease packing wheel bearings

[@rogerlyonsjr9302]

IWORKYOUWATCH If there wasn't any dirt, that much grease would last a century, especially the nano. I don't use that much on my whole collection. I really like N.S., but had to stop watching his reworks. Over lubing is a pet peeve. Don't like my knives leaking all over everything

[@bradleffert9016]

Hey Nick are you gonna pick up a gm3

[@NickShabazz]

Yep, I'll give it a shot.

[@TomMD]

I don't know why, but I was under the impression that you got rid of your 21

[@NickShabazz]

I did! This was filmed in February :)

[@TomMD]

Nick Shabazz oh ok. By the way, Chris Reeve is no longer at CRK. Also, as far as the "flicking" my understanding is that thumb flicking is fine but violent wrist flicking is a no-no. It won't void your warranty, but if the blade stop is damaged they will charge to replace that part only.

[@sarge1231]

I love your reviews even though many of the knives you review are too rich for my blood. Usually the only thing in my pocket that folds and is worth hundreds of dollars is made of paper and has the image of dead presidents or Ben Franklin. Wish you could review more well made budget folders.

[@mike7958]

This is definitely one unusual knife internally. Seems a little more over-complicated than it needs to be.

[@Anson120]

"He gets triggered by that" that is soooo funny.

[@jskrawz4611]

Man I really want to love the Chris Reeve's knives... But for some reason, they just don't do it for me... Especially for the price...

[@tacticalcenter8658]

i thought the same. then i got a large sebenza 21 in carbon fiber from knife art. and BAM im blown away. i have knives ranging up to $600 and its a keeper. this is an amazing knife. it may just do it for you, and you dont know it yet, just like me. i cant say that about every CRK, i only have one model, but daymn, im glad i have it and ill likely keep it and use it forever.

[@jtscustomcutlery317]

7:10 nice robe, lol 😝

[@jamesmuzzillo9994]

You need to work at least 1-2 third person references of yourself in each video.

[@mr.edmiston6725]

Second!

[@thomasrindahlsteiro6000]

First

[@petehorn6705]

greasy.