Chris Reeve Umnumzaan - Could be Perfection

BRO said:
The best folder I have every purchased and used thus far. Carry it where ever I go and is legal to do so. I really like my Zaan's! Great pictures...
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Just ordered my Zaan tonight. It's the third CRK knife I've purchased in the past two weeks. My prior two knives were a small Sebenza 21 and a Mnandi, and this is (I swear to God) the last knife I will buy until at least September.

I mean it!
 
Would you say this is a different enough animal than the Sebenza? The two things I didn't like about mine was the pointed thumbstuds and the easily scuffed titanium, though I was willing to put up with that so long as I can send it in for a reblast, which later became impossible due to the engraving and cabochan I had put in. My XM-18 sacrifices some cutting ability for better prying tip strength, only I don't do any prying with my knives.

I've heard people say the lock is difficult to disengage due to the lack of a relief cutout. The tight tolerances is something I can appreciate, though I also want something relatively easy to open and close with one hand while blindfolded(call it "tactical deployment" if you wish). I like smooth opening and closing, as I haven't carried my ZT 0551 because I have to quite literally pry the lockbar open in order to close the knife, and at first even normal opening was difficult because the detent seemed to be glued to the blade. I'm wondering if I might encounter the same issues with the Umnummzaan.

That said, my Sebenza was "almost perfect". I didn't much care for plain jane handles, though decorated handle scales should never be on a user knife unless it lasts(like dual color G10), so I figure 3D machined handles would be an improvement. The jimping is perfect and it feels like a dream in a firm grip in your hand when cutting. Also hurts my thumb to use that pointed thumbstud.
 
Noctis3880 said:
Would you say this is a different enough animal than the Sebenza? The two things I didn't like about mine was the pointed thumbstuds and the easily scuffed titanium, though I was willing to put up with that so long as I can send it in for a reblast, which later became impossible due to the engraving and cabochan I had put in. My XM-18 sacrifices some cutting ability for better prying tip strength, only I don't do any prying with my knives.

I've heard people say the lock is difficult to disengage due to the lack of a relief cutout. The tight tolerances is something I can appreciate, though I also want something relatively easy to open and close with one hand while blindfolded(call it "tactical deployment" if you wish). I like smooth opening and closing, as I haven't carried my ZT 0551 because I have to quite literally pry the lockbar open in order to close the knife, and at first even normal opening was difficult because the detent seemed to be glued to the blade. I'm wondering if I might encounter the same issues with the Umnummzaan.

That said, my Sebenza was "almost perfect". I didn't much care for plain jane handles, though decorated handle scales should never be on a user knife unless it lasts(like dual color G10), so I figure 3D machined handles would be an improvement. The jimping is perfect and it feels like a dream in a firm grip in your hand when cutting. Also hurts my thumb to use that pointed thumbstud.
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Yes, it's very different from the Sebenza.
 
And the opening and closing? Is that relatively smooth compared to your Strider? Not sure how I feel about the studs being seated so close to the handle, kinda makes me think opening might be an adventure in itself:D.

Also curious about how well it slices, particularly on cardboard(is that part of your EDC test?). I find cardboard to be a relatively good indicator of how a knife will cut through thick materials, and by extension how well said knife will cut my apple for a snack:thumbup:.
 
Noctis3880 said:
And the opening and closing? Is that relatively smooth compared to your Strider? Not sure how I feel about the studs being seated so close to the handle, kinda makes me think opening might be an adventure in itself:D.

Also curious about how well it slices, particularly on cardboard(is that part of your EDC test?). I find cardboard to be a relatively good indicator of how a knife will cut through thick materials, and by extension how well said knife will cut my apple for a snack:thumbup:.
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If you use the thumb studs on a Strider to open it it's comparable to most SmF's that I have handled.

Stiff to close still, but I am sure that will get easier with time, doesn't stick at all, very smooth to open and close.

Will know more today on cutting cardboard after I do the Video and start the testing.

The tolerances are VERY tight on this knife.
 
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Very nice photos. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Mine smoothed out quickly.. within about 2 days of using it. Look forward to your testing videos.
 
Thanks, Jim... I now have something else to worry about! I never saw that lockbar end mounted ball... but, as you show - and a strong magnifier shows on mine - it's there. Also, a small 'rut' was machined in the blade to accept it, permitting further engagement as the knife 'ages'. My problem is simply the Ti/ball engagement area - it's undoubtedly less than a Ti-only lockbar would present to the blade - certainly the pressure is higher. The rubbing 'wear' is less as that is ceramic ball vs S30V. I won't worry about it - my son or grandson can test CRK's warranty then...

One is never too old to learn... I still love/hate this knife... super-great knife - it just sets the bar too high for others!

Stainz
 
For those asking for a hard use test it was already done on a russian forum......it failed ,Mr. Reeve actually directlly responded to it. Some say the guy over travled the lockbar when showing the ceramic ,some say that's not the case. To me the correct answer is this....if you want to go all lumberjack survivalist in the woods grab a fixed in 3v or infi. If you want a dam sexy superb slicer grab a crk (still wish they offered us something not in s30 or s35 but that's another topic). If you want to go all aqua man saving whales from the Japanese grab a blade in h1. My point is if you have had a knife addiction for a couple months you realize there is diffrent knives for diiffrent task and they should be used that way.
 
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spydusse said:
For those asking for a hard use test it wwas already done on a russian forum......it failed ,chris actually directlly responded to it. That's not a problem for me though as I see this knife as a slicer .
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Are you talking about that test from Poland were the guy spine whacked it hard enough to dent the spine?

It takes a lot of force to do that, believe me I know with some of the testing I have done in the past, extremely hard spine whacks and I never dented the spine on any folder, even from over head swings.

If that lock held enough so the spine was dented it's more than strong enough....
 
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Was the one where the guy would throw it in mudd then rinsed it off again and again .I think he cut some tires to. Towards the end it failed extremly light spine wacks. Could have been a Polska video .
 
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spydusse said:
Was the one where the guy would throw it in mudd then rinsed it off again and again .I think he cut some tires to. Towards the end it failed extremly light spine wacks. Could have been a Polska video .
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Yeah that's the one, there is a thread over on the CR forum after Chris Reeve got the knife back to check.

What the video did show was the hard Spine whacks that put the lock out of spec.
 
Finished up all the testing this morning.

It did very well, the EDC video will be up today.

Didn't rank the blade in the steel thread because I didn't want to reprofile it to 30 inclusive, I like it the way it is at 40 Inclusive and IMO it works great just the way it is.

I did do the rope straight to cardboard testing and that will be a thread over in the Testing section.

Didn't notice any difference between this and the last few S30V blades I tested for edge retention and I didn't get any edge damage with either CRK's edge or mine.
 
Moar Pictures:
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Thanks ;)

I'll be sharpening it this afternoon. Interesting to note too that since you found that it was exactly 40 degrees inclusive many people without sharpening skills or Edge Pro tools can sharpen these on the Sharpmaker or other Croc Stix set up and get a great edge.
 
RevDevil said:
Thanks ;)

I'll be sharpening it this afternoon. Interesting to note too that since you found that it was exactly 40 degrees inclusive many people without sharpening skills or Edge Pro tools can sharpen these on the Sharpmaker or other Croc Stix set up and get a great edge.
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Yeah, very easy to sharpen. :)
 
Nice video Jim. I could see the knife transition from "out of the box" sharp to a solid working edge in the last 1/4th or so of the video. Great job. I enjoy your videos. :thumbup:

I have a couple of S35VN Sebenzas and don't use them much - one just arrived as a gift and hasn't seen any use. I wish I'd have asked my daughter for the Umni, it's starting to grow on me.

Do you think the S35VN will perform as good as the S30V in the same kind of cutting tests?

Are you going to put a 40* edge on it or lay it back and put a mirror edge?
 
cziv said:
Nice video Jim. I could see the knife transition from "out of the box" sharp to a solid working edge in the last 1/4th or so of the video. Great job. I enjoy your videos. :thumbup:

I have a couple of S35VN Sebenzas and don't use them much - one just arrived as a gift and hasn't seen any use. I wish I'd have asked my daughter for the Umni, it's starting to grow on me.

Do you think the S35VN will perform as good as the S30V in the same kind of cutting tests?

Are you going to put a 40* edge on it or lay it back and put a mirror edge?
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I put a standard 40 degee edge on it before I did the rope to cardboard testing, it's over in the testing section.

S35VN will be the same, I did some cutting with S35VN and it acts the same way.
 
Sorry I missed that Jim. The video said "Testing the Chris Reeve Umnumzaan with the Out of box edge." I assumed you hadn't touched it. :)
 
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