CRK model differences... Is one enough??

Initialconditions

Initialconditions

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Jan 6, 2021
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I have:
Small Sebenza 31
Small Inkosi
Mnandi
Umnumzaan
Large Sebenza 31

The question:
Are they different enough for it to make sense to own them all?
Or
Does any one of them fit the "does everything" knife.

I'm strongly leaning towards the small sebenza as, given the right variant, it's dressy enough to serve as a gentleman's carry, but still enough blade to do most pocket knife tasks. Also, while the Umnumzaan is beefy, it's not really dressy enough to carry as a gentleman's, and it's a bit big for everyday. That said, I've been unable to convince myself one is enough...
 
Initialconditions said:
I have:
Small Sebenza 31
Small Inkosi
Mnandi
Umnumzaan
Large Sebenza 31

The question:
Are they different enough for it to make sense to own them all?
Or
Does any one of them fit the "does everything" knife.

I'm strongly leaning towards the small sebenza as, given the right variant, it's dressy enough to serve as a gentleman's carry, but still enough blade to do most pocket knife tasks. Also, while the Umnumzaan is beefy, it's not really dressy enough to carry as a gentleman's, and it's a bit big for everyday. That said, I've been unable to convince myself one is enough...
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I own all but the Mnandi and find myself using the 31 most - and the small Inkosi almost never, too small for my large hands. Whatever you decide prepare yourself, if this is your first Reeve it’ll make all your other knives obsolete. Superior in every way.
 
ferider said:
You are asking the wrong audience. Plus, you need a large Inkosi. And how about blade shapes ? :)
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Sorry, but trying to keep it focused to the questions at hand, which boils down to: does one CRK cover the bases of all the others? If so, which is the "does it all" knife? If not, why should someone own multiple models and which do you recommend?
 
mtnshark said:
I own all but the Mnandi and find myself using the 31 most - and the small Inkosi almost never, too small for my large hands. Whatever you decide prepare yourself, if this is your first Reeve it’ll make all your other knives obsolete. Superior in every way.
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So a seb 31 is your vote for the "does it all CRK?"
 
I like the large 21 Insingo and Large Inkosi Insigno. The Large Inkosi is current production and you can get washers sent to you in a bind. It also has the large pivot and the latest features.

It is nice to have additional CRKs in case you send one in for a spa service and it is gone for 8 weeks.
 
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Terry M. said:
Inkosi Insingo does it all. Since you don’t list that I’m going to tell you I’ll trade mine to you for all those you have listed. 🤣
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Ah, you lose. It's the only one of the bunch that doesn't work for me ergonomically. Clip hits my hand in a bad spot
 
In my opinion, all of the larger models are too heavy to wear with dress pants or suits (gentlemen’s carry) so you would want to stick with the smaller models if that’s a deciding factor for you. I don’t wear dress pants hardly ever anymore so that’s not a consideration for me. I’d say the small Seb would be your “do it all” knife for most situations. The small Inkosi felt smaller in hand to me than the small seb.
 
John Phillips said:
In my opinion, all of the larger models are too heavy to wear with dress pants or suits (gentlemen’s carry) so you would want to stick with the smaller models if that’s a deciding factor for you. I don’t wear dress pants hardly ever anymore so that’s not a consideration for me. I’d say the small Seb would be your “do it all” knife for most situations. The small Inkosi felt smaller in hand to me than the small seb.
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I never wear dress pants, but taking a big honkin Zaan to a friend's BBQ seems like overkill to me. Well, perhaps not to me, but to the general public and most non-knife EDC folks. A svelte, under 3" blade is much more "grandpa's pocket knife" and therefore less "pocket sword" that something like a Zaan or other large CRK.
 
Initialconditions said:
I never wear dress pants, but taking a big honkin Zaan to a friend's BBQ seems like overkill to me. Well, perhaps not to me, but to the general public and most non-knife EDC folks. A svelte, under 3" blade is much more "grandpa's pocket knife" and therefore less "pocket sword" that something like a Zaan or other large CRK.
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Yeah, sometimes I forget that most people aren’t knife enthusiasts. I pulled out a 3.3 Sham at a lunch the other day and a woman next to me apparently thought I was about to defeat the entire Mongol army with it based on her audible gasp. No telling what she would’ve done if I unsheathed the Zaan that day. 🤣🤣🤣
 
They all have their charms, but if someone asked me what to get if they could only have one, I'd recommend the large inkosi. It's a bit more robust than the sebenza and a bit more subdued appearing than the umnumzaan. Probably the perfect all-arounder, especially with an insingo blade.
 
For me, it's the large inlay sebbie. Remove the clip and carry in the leather slip. Large enough to do any task, and most folks, when they see the nice inlay, tend to focus on that vs. The size.

In fact, I have carried a large inlay everyday since 2003 in my left front pocket. Jeans, khaki, dress slacks, golf shorts...don't matter. Of course, I also usually carry a beater inkosi clipped to the right front pocket for when I need to cut nasty stuff.
 
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