Help me Decide! Southard Flipper or Umnumzaan?

Tim616 said:
How sickening is it that we have people complaining that much about 58-59 RC....

Wanna know the hardness levels of the old slip joints and military fixed blades that have been kicking ass for the last OH IDK century? I'll give you a hint... A LOT less than 58-59

I'm talkin knives people actually used until the blade was a sliver, blades that fought wars, NONE of them were usually higher than 56-57 at the best LOL.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the 21st century where we can get blades 60+ RC without problems.
 
Tim616 said:
How sickening is it that we have people complaining that much about 58-59 RC....

Wanna know the hardness levels of the old slip joints and military fixed blades that have been kicking ass for the last OH IDK century? I'll give you a hint... A LOT less than 58-59

I'm talkin knives people actually used until the blade was a sliver, blades that fought wars, NONE of them were usually higher than 56-57 at the best LOL.
Click to expand...

You'd think I kicked someone's favorite dog. I keep saying that I like my 'Zaan a lot, and it's a perfectly built knife. I just wish they treated the steel right, as much money as they go for.
 
I'd say UM and then by time you have money for Southard the hype may die, and you may end up not wanting it
 
I say the Zaan, It will last you forever and the CRK's warranty alone is worth the price. The spa treatment offered will keep you're knife looking brand new no matter how long it's been carried.

Also cleaning the Zaan yourself is easy to do, and won't void any warranty.

PS: You can find a Zaan on the secondary market for not that much more than the Southard, and if you end up not wanting it you can sell it for close to, or exactly what you paid.
 
Chris Reeve should design a flipper. They truly are my favorite kind of knives. You have nice deployment, and a nice guard. Perfect design, IMO.
 
Jaiofspam said:
potential? thats subjective and i believe chris reeve himself has addressed this with his valid reasoning... with that being said, i respect your opinion but to call it pedestrian is a bit unfair.
Click to expand...

Interesting because I have 2 very late S30V ZAAN's, both perform extremely well, sent one blade off to be HRC tested and it's 59.5 HRC........ NOT 58-59 HRC.....

And no I am not selling them. ;)

Not sure what he is doing with S35VN...
 
Tim616 said:
How sickening is it that we have people complaining that much about 58-59 RC....

Wanna know the hardness levels of the old slip joints and military fixed blades that have been kicking ass for the last OH IDK century? I'll give you a hint... A LOT less than 58-59

I'm talkin knives people actually used until the blade was a sliver, blades that fought wars, NONE of them were usually higher than 56-57 at the best LOL.
Click to expand...

If people want to live in the past then that's fine..... Maybe they can get some bronze or iron knives and use those too.... ;)

Reality is the steels today are much different then they were 50 to 100+ years ago...

Heck, while we are at it why not take Society all the way back to the stone age when people beat the meat off of the bones with sticks.....:rolleyes:

Sometimes people's logic just makes no since at all...

Taking that same logic things worked just fine as humans survived long before fire, Electricity, the wheel and all of the other advancements for the past Million years so lets all just go back to living in caves because there is no need for all of that modern stuff......

See how stupid and ignorant that sounds once one uses that same logic towards everything..... ;)
 
Last edited:
Wow. Lotsa votes for the Southard... And controversies as far as steel goes
I personally handled the Southard, and had a Zaan which I sold. The size of the Zaan ended up not appealing to ne, and I really hate brown G10 and flippers, so I currently don't own either one.
Since you are planning to get both, eventually, I'd say get whatever!

As far as steel goes, I enjoy sharpening and find S35VN a pleasure to use and sharpen. Itisa greatEDC steel. I don'tseewhyanybody would complain. Just my 2 cents.
 
Ok so I am going to get a Southard first then get an Umnumzaan in a couple months. That will be good for me. I have handled the Southard and I love it. Can't wait to get one.
 
Ankerson said:
If people want to live in the past then that's fine..... Maybe they can get some bronze or iron knives and use those too.... ;)

Reality is the steels today are much different then they were 50 to 100+ years ago...

Heck, while we are at it why not take Society all the way back to the stone age when people beat the meat off of the bones with sticks.....:rolleyes:

Sometimes people's logic just makes no since at all...

Taking that same logic things worked just fine as humans survived long before fire, Electricity, the wheel and all of the other advancements for the past Million years so lets all just go back to living in caves because there is no need for all of that modern stuff......

See how stupid and ignorant that sounds once one uses that same logic towards everything..... ;)
Click to expand...

Right because comparing knives staying sharper for small amounts of time longer than they use to, is the exact same thing as no electricity and human advances V. the previous. Got ya.
 
Razorsharp1986 said:
Wow. Lotsa votes for the Southard... And controversies as far as steel goes
I personally handled the Southard, and had a Zaan which I sold. The size of the Zaan ended up not appealing to ne, and I really hate brown G10 and flippers, so I currently don't own either one.
Since you are planning to get both, eventually, I'd say get whatever!

As far as steel goes, I enjoy sharpening and find S35VN a pleasure to use and sharpen. Itisa greatEDC steel. I don'tseewhyanybody would complain. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

For people who don't know how to sharpen a knife.... I can see why they wouldn't like it. The great thing about S35vn is that with literally 30 seconds on a sharpmaker or sharpening stone you could get it from completely dull to paper slicing sharp.

There is a reason why CRK, strider, and Hinderer uses this steel on their knives.... it's a great "user" steel because of how easy it is to sharpen.
 
Tim616 said:
Right because comparing knives staying sharper for small amounts of time longer than they use to, is the exact same thing as no electricity and human advances V. the previous. Got ya.
Click to expand...

Go buy a Walmart special with 440 surgical stainless and let the rest of us who recognize the difference discuss higher end steels.

In case you didn't notice, this forum is the kind of place where people care about a single point of difference in hardness.
 
Tim616 said:
Right because comparing knives staying sharper for small amounts of time longer than they use to, is the exact same thing as no electricity and human advances V. the previous. Got ya.
Click to expand...

I was just using YOUR logic...... And applying it to a broader scope.... ;)

YOU are the one that said and made references of going back in the past so I just took that logic and applied it to show if everyone had that same logic over time we would still be living in caves....

Why advance at all because we don't need all of that fancy stuff? ;)

Things worked just fine back in the Caveman days......

And yes using your Logic it is exactly the same thing. ;)
 
Last edited:
Ankerson said:
Interesting because I have 2 very late S30V ZAAN's, both perform extremely well, sent one blade off to be HRC tested and it's 59.5 HRC........ NOT 58-59 HRC.....

And no I am not selling them. ;)

Not sure what he is doing with S35VN...
Click to expand...

That's probably Chris's big joke. The card says 58-59 but they are all probably closer to 60. :D

Lets face it. The man knows what he's doing.
 
100eyes said:
Go buy a Walmart special with 440 surgical stainless and let the rest of us who recognize the difference discuss higher end steels.

In case you didn't notice, this forum is the kind of place where people care about a single point of difference in hardness.
Click to expand...

nope I'm fine with my 12 CRKs thanks.
 
Ankerson said:
I was just using YOUR logic...... And applying it to a broader scope.... ;)

YOU are the one that said and made references of going back in the past so I just took that logic and applied it to show if everyone had that same logic over time we would still be living in caves....

Why advance at all because we don't need all of that fancy stuff? ;)

Things worked just fine back in the Caveman days......

And yes using your Logic it is exactly the same thing. ;)
Click to expand...

Angry answer I expect from someone who thinks they're an internet steel master, you and crimsontideshooter should partner up. Get mad.
 
2095074294_1bd82c3aa5.jpg
 
The funny thing is that everyone agrees that they're very nice knives, why argue over small differences in opinion? Some people think the steel is perfect the way it is, some wish it were just a bit harder, but in the end what does it matter?
 
If you can have one or the other and price is not a factor you better believe I'm grabbing the Zaan. Sure the southard is an exceptional knife but its not a CRK.
 
If you can appreciate CRK's tolerances to buy and collect them to that amount, surely you can understand why others appreciate differing steel tolerances in a knife forum. It's a sub hobby to some.

S30/s35 is Chris' steel, he helped develop it, PM in bladesteels he helped innovate. That's what's he's gonna use even though there has been advances since. Im with it 100% and as far as my experience with his blades, it performs as a premium steel is supposed to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top