First CRK: Sebenza 25 or Umnumzaan?

Norcaldude

Norcaldude

Joined
Dec 19, 2014
Messages
1,983
They appear to be pretty similar to my inexperienced eye. What are the major differences, besides some stylistic differences?
 
Umnumzaan is a bit more robust, the thumbstuds act as the blade stops rather than a stop pin in the Sebenza. Both have a ceramic ball in the lockbar for the detent and final lockup.

Mostly it's about personal taste IMO, I love them both.
 
I like the 25. It looks less tactical. Plus it's the latest and greatest model from CRK.:cool:
 
The 25 has a slightly different grind with the high nearly flat grind compared to the hollow of the Umnumzaan. The 25 has IMO very aggressive jimping that I wasn't a fan of while the Umnumzaan has smoother jimping like the 21.

If sound of lockup is something that bothers you, the 25 lockup is louder and authoritative in how it sounds. The Umnumzaan is the quietest of the 3 large CRKs due to the o-rings.

They both feel great in hand, and my preference here and overall goes to the Umnumzaan. It's something different as a CRK outside of the Sebenza mold. The one thing I give the edge to the 25 is the blade shape and that's just aesthetics. I love that shape more so than the 21 and hope to see it maybe on the 21 someday. This is all my 2 cents and YMMV.
 
Having owned both the Zaan and 25 I can say both are excellent so it's really going to come down to personal taste.

The spine thickness is the same for both, both are very strong and can take some real work. :thumbup:

I like the 25 better, blade shape, finger groves etc. :)
 
Sebenza 25 would get my vote, mostly because of the shallower hollow grind and the option to get it with micarta inlays.
 
I'd go Umnumzaan because you'll probably want a 21 eventually and the 25 is more similar so you'd have better variety this way. Then again the Damascus 25 pics that just got released are really nice...

I never really warmed to the 25, and I always loved that the Zaan has just two points connecting the handle slabs so I am quite biased towards the Zaan.
 
I've sold both my 25 and zann so hopefully other can help clarify

I think the pivots and washers are slightly different. Which one has a flat spot on a standoff close to the pivot?

The zann`s handles are aggressive on jeans.
I personally would get a CRK with micarta; making my vote the 25.
 
I would go for the 25, they are a more refined knife IMO. Also, as mentioned above, they look less tactical and more like a "regular" pocket knife. If you keep you eyes on the exchange, you can get either one for a discount. If you don't like it, sell it and get the other!
 
Personally I like the Umnumzaan better. I just like the way it feels in my hand. It is not black and white though. The Zaan takes a little more getting used to. The 25 is a little easier to open, especially left-handed. If you use a lanyard, I don't like the way the 25's lanyard interferes with my grip. (On all of my other CRKs the lanyards enhance the grip.) Of course all of these points are subjective.....

20150316_220047 by brw713, on Flickr
 
As much as I love the 25, the Umnumzaan is a better work knife IMO because of the top swedge is very useful doing stuff like scraping, opening taped boxes and whatever else may come up. It saves the edge on the blade for me. I use both the 25 and Umnumzaan for work.
 
Man that's tuff. Lol. There both great knives but I like the 25 a lite more. I personally didn't like the top swedge. Just my personal opinion. You might love it.
 
Good luck with that decision. I was too weak. I bought three examples of each so far, so I guess I never could make that decision myself.

Left/right new pivot Zaan, and a right-handed old pivot Zaan. Similar in 25s. Left/right plain 25, and a right-handed micarta 25.

All I need now is an old-pivot Startac and a new WC 25 and I'll be content. After a Gabon Mnandi, of course. :)

So see where you are headed? I thought my right-handed plain 25 (my first-ever CRK) would be my only CRK ever. Yeah, right. :eek:
 
If the Um doesn't say "buy me" them get a large 21 and get a feel for the line.
 
I ended up getting a large 21, mainly due to a good price from the previous owner. I like it so far (got it yesterday). The lock was kind of sticky at first but it has smoothed out.

I did have an issue where I was opening and closing it and noticed something felt odd. Looked at the knife and the pivot screw was halfway out. Tightened it back up, but is that normal?
 
Zann Zaan Zaan. I absolutely love the umnum. Its my favorite knife of all time.
As for the pivot screw loosening, doesnt happen unless it wasnt tightened down properly. I would remove the blade and reset it. Keeping the blade open remove the pivot screw and pivot and pull the blade straight out of the handle. Clean it, grease it and slide it back in at 90° while simultaneously holding the lock bar out of the way. do not loosen the handle screws. Hold the blade by the washers while holding back the lockbar with your other hand, insert the blade until it lines up with the pivot hole and insert the pivot. Then tighten the pivot ALL THE WAY while the blade is still open in the 90° position, then give the blade a firm but not violent flick open to seat it properly. This is the ONLY FLICKING CRK ALLOWS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top