Appreciation of the nail tick - old style mnandi

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rishma

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I don't post often but I had the opportunity to handle a new mnandi and wanted to share my thoughts. Nothing earth shattering to say, it's probably all been said before, but here goes anyway.

I carry an old-style mnandi every day during the week. Nothing rare but I am very fond of it. (I'll figure out how to post a picture because everybody likes thread with pictures.)

A friend of mine picked up a beautiful new ebony Mnandi. My thoughts:


  • I like the new clip but no more than the old one. Mnandi clips are excellent in form and function.
    I like the new pivot more than the old one. It is wonderful how it sits flush with the inlays. Nice upgrade.
    I do not like the new nail tick at all. So much so that I won't buy a new style mnandi.

There's nothing wrong with the new style nail tick except it is inferior to the old style nail tick. What I mean is, had I never handled the old-style I would not realize what I was missing. The old style nail tick is perfect for one hand opening of the knife. The mnandi is no superfast one-handed deployment tactical folder (I think I just made that up) but I really appreciate being able to open my knife with one hand easily for every day use. The new nail tick inhibits one-handed opening. It's not impossible but so much more difficult that I won't consider owning the mnandi with new style blade.

I like the old-style nail tick so much I think I'd like a sebenza with a nail tick instead of a thumb stud :).

I know a lot of people tend to prefer a previous version CRK, like preferring the regular versus the 21. I always considered the differences between versions to be subtle, with Preferences often coming down to personal taste. In the case of the Mnandi nail tick, I consider The differences dramatic. I can't imagine someone actually preferred the new nail tick over the old one. Many people say they don't mind, but does anyone actually like it better?

I suspect the high percentage of Mnandis never see any use, so maybe a lot of people don't care. But I use my knife and I like to be able to open it one I handed. That is one of the best aspects of modern folders, and the mnandi took step backwards.

....end rant
 
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I always open mine via the "sandwich tecnique". Basically use your bird finger and thumb and open in unison , while finishing thru with thumb. I never understood why they changed the design of the nail nick? I can use both the same, so no issue for me, but I can see how other would be deterred .
 
I have seen the technique where you pinch the blade. I am sure I could learn to do it that way but I refuse.
 
CRK has never seemed to me to be a very transparent company, at least as far as their reasoning for various changes they make in their knife generations. That being said, I've read multiple reports that, at some point, CRK stated that the change in the Mnandi nail nick design was to make it easier to open the knife. Yet, I have not read a single account of user feedback saying that the new design is easier to open than the old design, and countless accounts saying that the old design is easier. It raises some questions about why the change was made.

Personally, without having handled a new Mnandi, and just recently acquiring an old version, I would say that, while none of the changes are a deal-breaker for me eventually getting a new version Mnandi, I don't like any of them, though I'm indifferent to the pocket clip change. When I'm in the market for a second Mnandi I think I'll just keep my eyes peeled for an older version.

I just realized that I should say that the one change that I'm a fan of is the switch to S35VN. The improvement on S30V is pretty marginal, but it's not a step backwards.
 
I own both old and new mnandis and carry a bark damascus mnandi that is a new model. I quickly learned how to open it one handed using the "pinch" method which did not take long to get the hang of. Now i do it without thinking about it.
No preference to the clip but do like the smaller pivot. I'm also a big william henry fan and hated the large pivots they used to have when they first started making their button lock models. later models all have a smaller pivot which on mine I have engraved so it then disappears.
Love the decorated pivot on my one mnandi that has it(thx Lisa)

love the damascus bark mnandi, anyone got one they want to get rid of?, also looking for a mnandi with a rare blade............
 
I agree with you Rishma, I definitely prefer the old style nail nick. I heard the design change was made because the cutters kept breaking cutting the sharp angles on the old style Mnandi nail nick. I don't know if its possible to go slower with the cutter to prevent breakage, but if that was a viable solution, the extra time to manufacture the knife would possibly raise the price of the mnandi. I would not mind paying more for the mnandi if makes the knife better.
 
I actually just talked to a gentleman that worked at CRK for just under 10 years and was there when they made the switch and he said that they (Chris) decided to switch the nail nicks because it was so hard and time consuming to perfectly polish the flat pattern that made up the nail nick, especially on damascus blades. It is from as a reliable source as can possibly be and he said that many people were and still are upset with the change but it was just too time consuming to polish those flat surfaces perfectly that they decided for a faster and easier alternative.
But, I personally love the old nail nick, but that's just my two cents :)
 
Unfortunately, I find it very believeable that the change was made to simplify machining. I am sure CRK is always trying to find ways to improve machining costs. It is disappointing that, in this case, they removed a very nice feature.

Like I mentioned, since most Mnandi probably dont see any use, many people won't care. Mnandi fans will even work around this by using the two step pinch method to open the knife or simply use 2 hands. If they removed the thumb stud from the Sebenza it would still be a good knife, but not as good.

The old Mnandi nail tick is, in my opinion, the most elegant one-handed opening feature on any knife.
 
Follower of the old nail nick here.
There are some transition models out there, that have the best of both worlds.
It might be fun to track them down.
red mag
 
The first mnandi I ever held had a new clip, new pivot, old nail tick on S35VN blade. It belongs to a friend. I think I need one like that!
 
IMO the difficulty to open the "new style" has more to do with the new detent versus the new nail nick. I have included a photo below. The top blade is from a 2006 Mnandi and the bottom blade is from a late 2012 Mnandi. Compare the two detent holes and notice how much larger the detent hole is on the new style blade. It is actually a thru hole on the new blade. I believe this is the main reason that the newer style is more difficult to open.

Also notice the difference in blade finish between the two.

PS: sorry about the fingerprints.

 
Yeah, it seems pretty clear that these changes were made to reduce machining/time/cost, but was any of that saving passed onto the consumer? I wasn't in the CRK game back then, did the price of the Mnandi change when they made these changes?
 
sk8n said:
IMO the difficulty to open the "new style" has more to do with the new detent versus the new nail nick. I have included a photo below. The top blade is from a 2006 Mnandi and the bottom blade is from a late 2012 Mnandi. Compare the two detent holes and notice how much larger the detent hole is on the new style blade. It is actually a thru hole on the new blade. I believe this is the main reason that the newer style is more difficult to open.

Also notice the difference in blade finish between the two.

PS: sorry about the fingerprints.

Click to expand...

I have both the older & the new Mnandi & imo, the nail nick itself, is the culprit. Notice how more defined (a sharper cut, if you will) & textured the old nail nick is compared to the smoother, more rounded, less defined nail nick on the new Mnandi.

I cherish my older Mnandi's & use my new Mnandi (opening the blade with 2 hands)
 
I am in the minority, but I prefer the newer Mnandi because I like a stiffer detent and the visuals of the new nick. They are both great knives though!
 
derivative666 said:
If you adjust the your wrist when holding the knife, opening new nail nick one handed is very easy.
Click to expand...

I am sure I can learn how to open the the new nail tick one handed, but I dont want to. The fact is most people can one hand open the old nail tick without any special technique or hand position. It is easy an natural. The new one is more difficult, not impossible.
 
Ernie1980 said:
I am in the minority, but I prefer the newer Mnandi because I like a stiffer detent and the visuals of the new nick. They are both great knives though!
Click to expand...

I am indifferent about the stiffer detent...never had a concern with the old one.

I agree both new and old are great knives.
 
Interesting observations here - thanks for the pixs.
When I compare the finish of the blades, I clearly prefer the older style.
I abolutely love the "brushed" finish - for me this is steel!
These days everything get's stonewashed, call me "old-fashioned", but the stonewashed finish doesn't do anything for me.
While I completely understand to streamline the process, I am conviced that a stonewash finish is in no way superior.
If you grind form coarse to fine you have to take care at each and every step, or it will show in the end.
Stonewash makes everything equal - simply drop the steps between. Sorry for the rant.
red mag

PS: About the price question: We seldom see a price decrease, what we get is a slower increase.
 
Prob changed for cost savings reason but there is an alternative possibility. Old Nail Nick let you open blade like a regular framelock with a hole/nail nick type of blade but because the folder is very small and people exerting pressure, over time on the nail nick might theoretically create some side to side play due to pressing towards the lockbar rather than pulling up.

EDIT: found thread tru google images didn't realize how old it was
 
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