Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 31 — 2.99 inch drop point blade in CPM MagnaCut

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Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 31 · Drop Point
2.99″ blade · 0.12″ spine · 3 oz · ~0.85″ tall

Spine thickness, same scale

0.12″

Length and spine thickness drawn to true scale from published specs. Outline traced from the maker's side-profile photo.

Chris Reeve

Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 31

EDC FolderFolding

The Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 31 is a 2.99" drop point folder in CPM MagnaCut, hollow ground. The handle is Titanium, secured by a frame lock. At 3 oz it sits 25th-lightest of the 61 EDC folders here, where the median is 3.2 oz.

Blade: 2.99″
Weight: 3 oz
Steel: CPM MagnaCut
Price band: High-End

Best for

Everyday carry in pocket-knife-restricted areas

We don’t have a verified retailer link for this knife yet. We only link products we have confirmed resolve to the right item — here’s why.

Specifications

Manufacturer-published figures, cross-checked against chrisreeve.com, knifeworks.

Blade length: 2.99″
Spine thickness: 0.12″
Blade shape: Drop Point
Grind: Hollow
Steel: CPM MagnaCut
Overall length: 6.98″
Closed length: 3.98″
Weight: 3 oz
Lock: Frame Lock
Deployment: Manual
Handle material: Titanium
Country of origin: USA

Why a drop point

The default hunting and EDC shape, and the safest general answer. The spine curves down to the tip in a convex line, which keeps the point low and strong and leaves plenty of belly for skinning. It is hard to make a drop point bad at anything.

Every drop point here →

About CPM MagnaCut

The current answer to “why must I choose?” — near-tool-steel toughness with better corrosion resistance than S30V. The default recommendation for a hunting fixed blade that lives in a wet sheath.

Edge retention

4/5

Toughness

4/5

Corrosion resistance

5/5

Ease of sharpening

3/5

1-5 is a relative ranking drawn from published composition and hardness, not a lab measurement. Higher is better on every axis, and no steel is a 5 across the board — edge retention and toughness pull against each other. All CPM MagnaCut knives

What owners say

Drawn from 561 owner discussions of the Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 31 since 2024. The opinions are theirs. The specifications above come from the maker.

What owners like

Grows on people once it is actually carried: one owner who had owned a small PJ model for a long while without carrying it carried it for a month, found the action smoothed out quickly and the ergonomics suited them, and slightly preferred it to a Benchmade 940
Sharp MagnaCut edges on arrival: one new owner coming from 12 years with a Kershaw Leek called the blade crazy sharp, and another who replaced a 1997 BG-42 small Sebenza with a glass-blasted MagnaCut 31 was glad to have a really sharp edge again
Chris Reeve's service backs up the price: one owner whose secondhand 31 had side-to-side play measured the parts, sent it in, and had the whole blade replaced as a manufacturing defect at no cost beyond the shipping label, coming back the smoothest CRK they own
A true left-handed version exists; one lefty owner bought a small 31 Lefty in MagnaCut as a dedicated left-hand knife, and another lists a small 31 LH among their MagnaCut folders
Build quality you notice the moment it lands in the palm, in the words of one owner who paid $575, and who kept it despite doubting it was worth that much
The small size works as a dressy or travel knife; one owner calls theirs a go-to for travel, and a secondhand 2020 example had only been carried when its first owner got dressed up
One owner treats it as a buy-once knife: they bought a small MagnaCut 31 to avoid wasting money on knives they would not use and plan to pass it down to their son

What owners flag

One owner's new small PJ in MagnaCut arrived so far off center that the blade audibly ground against the show-side scale when closed, and disassembly and reassembly did not fix it
Comes stiff and needs breaking in; owners of new small 31s describe a stiff action out of the box, with one opening and closing it hundreds of times to speed up the 1 to 2 weeks they had read it takes
One brand-new small 31 had a ceramic detent ball that did not roll at all, giving a horrible action and some play in the pivot when partly open
Too small for larger hands: one owner said the small had everything they wanted except the size and moved to a Large 31 within a month, and another owner of a small is shopping for something bigger for the same reason
One owner who sold their small 31 found screws that rattled no matter how often they reassembled and tightened it, and a blade that sat off center

A go-to travel knife, a once-in-a-lifetime purchase and a grail are how owners describe the Small Sebenza 31. One bought it to stop wasting money on knives and plans to hand it to a son, another keeps it as a go-to travel knife, two call theirs a grail, and one secondhand 2020 example had only been carried when its first owner got dressed up.

Out-of-box quality is where the complaints cluster: separate owners report a blade that ground against the show-side scale, rattling screws with a blade that sat off center, and a stuck detent ball, and home disassembly did not fix them. Chris Reeve's service is the counterweight, with one owner's secondhand 31 getting a free replacement blade after 10 weeks. The action starts stiff and owners expect a break-in, after which one found the ergonomics great. Two new owners found their MagnaCut blades really sharp on arrival.

Benchmade 940 is the rival one owner carried head to head, preferring the Sebenza by a small margin. One owner with bigger hands moved up to the Large 31 within a month and another is shopping for something bigger, and one owner who paid $575 questioned the value against a $135 titanium folder while keeping the Sebenza.

What can I do about an off-center Small Sebenza 31 blade?

Home fixes do not always work: one owner disassembled and reassembled a new small 31 following a well-known video tutorial and shimmed it with paper, and the blade stayed off center, so they took it up with the dealer for a replacement. Another owner sold a small 31 whose blade sat off center no matter how often it was reassembled. Chris Reeve replaced the whole blade of one owner's secondhand Sebenza 31 for free as a manufacturing defect, though it took 10 weeks.

How long does a new Small Sebenza 31 take to break in?

New owners describe the action as stiff out of the box and expect it. One owner read that it takes 1 to 2 weeks and was working it hundreds of times to shorten that. Another found the action smoothed out quickly once they carried a small PJ daily for a month.

Small or Large Sebenza 31?

Hand size decided it for one owner, who bought a small, liked everything but the size, and moved to a Large 31 within a month; another owner of a small finds it too small and is shopping for a bigger knife. One owner who keeps the small calls it a go-to for travel.

Is the Small Sebenza 31 worth the price?

One owner who paid $575 called the build excellent but felt there may be diminishing returns, saying the same about a $135 titanium folder, and kept it anyway. A shopper in late 2025 found a seller offering it for $425, about Chris Reeve's own price, and asked whether that dealer was legit. A third owner uses their Small Sebenza 31 as the yardstick for a worthwhile knife purchase.

How should I sharpen the Small Sebenza 31?

One owner points to Chris Reeve's own guidance: a Sharpmaker at a 40 degree inclusive angle, rolling the blade through the belly toward the tip rather than drawing straight down, so the tip does not thicken over time. Another owner admits to avoiding using theirs because they are afraid to sharpen it.

Is there a left-handed Small Sebenza 31?

Yes. One lefty owner bought a small 31 Lefty in MagnaCut as a dedicated left-hand knife after relying on Benchmade's swappable clips and Axis lock, and another lists a small 31 LH among their MagnaCut knives.