Large Sebenza25 vs Umnumzaan

Officer's Match said:
I had a 25 and sold it to get a second Umnumzaan. I MUCH prefer the Zaan to the 25. In fact, I much prefer the 21 to the 25. I frankly HATE the finger grooves which dictate my hand position, and I think they are ugly. Overall, the Umnumzaan is my favorite ever CRK design, especially in old lug configuration.









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I didn't care for the Zaan. It's a lot stiffer to open and the lockbar is much harder to disengage. At least on the old pivot/no lbs version I had...
 
The Zaan is a diffucult "FIRST TIME" CRK for newbies(i was once one) but when you learn to open and close it correctly, its mechanics do not impede the user anymore...it becomes natural. Nice pics officers match!
 
lemmuhj said:
The Zaan is a diffucult "FIRST TIME" CRK for newbies(i was once one) but when you learn to open and close it correctly, its mechanics do not impede the user anymore...it becomes natural. Nice pics officers match!
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Is the Umnumzaan really that much more difficult to open and close than a Sebenza25 ?
 
It's more difficult, yes. Sharper contact point on a smaller surface than what you find on the 25.

For your first one, I'd say the 25. It was my first, and it is a SOLID knife.

I now own three Zaans, but for an all-around solid knife, the 25 is hard to beat.
 
jmclfrsh said:
It's more difficult, yes. Sharper contact point on a smaller surface than what you find on the 25.

For your first one, I'd say the 25. It was my first, and it is a SOLID knife.

I now own three Zaans, but for an all-around solid knife, the 25 is hard to beat.
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Smaller surface ? How so ?
 
Wolverine666 said:
Is the Umnumzaan really that much more difficult to open and close than a Sebenza25 ?
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Yes, much more difficult. Not as smooth as the 25 in opening and when closing the Zaan has almost no area to access the lockbar. There isn't a cutout like on the 25 so there's very little area to make contact.
 
My 25 is considerably more difficult to close than my 2009 original Umnumzaan.

Either one of them could be operated by a competent 5 year old, so it is kind of a moot point.
 
Tripton said:
My 25 is considerably more difficult to close than my 2009 original Umnumzaan.

Either one of them could be operated by a competent 5 year old, so it is kind of a moot point.
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A 5 yr old would have an easier time I bet. A lot smaller fingers...
 
scsu74 said:
A 5 yr old would have an easier time I bet. A lot smaller fingers...
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Guess that's part of the great things about the design. Comfortable for an average 5 year old's hands, and comfortable for my XXXL glove sized hands...
 
Has anyone noticed if the dual thumb lugs on the Umnumzaan leave much marring on the titanium handle from contact ?
 
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I've had a few of both.

I do not like closing (the sharp edge on the lock bar) the um.

I like the 25 way way more.
 
I love the 25's design but cannot stand the free-floating stop pin design. I think the change in blade grind on the 25 gives the 25 a very useful multi-tasking edge. For those wanting pure slicing power tho, the 25 is inferior to the 21's deep hollow grind.

The finger cutouts are really love or hate. But the blade is excellent, the spine serrations are among the best on any knife ever, the pivot, washer, and detent design make some major operational advancements, and I think the knife is as easy or easier to open/close than the 21. The perforated washers on all models gives Reeve folders a functional advantage in that this hugely boosts service intervals by retaining lubrication longer, and this also dramatically reduces friction wear.

Both knives hold up to hard usage. For that matter, so do both size 21's. As the blade is thinner than some other knives made and the tip more needled out, these knives are not made for things such as lateral stress (e.g., prying and other abuse), but the gain is a blade that performs better for general, non-abusive usage and a tip that is great for fine cutting work, which is what a folding knife will see 99% of the the time and is what it is made for (pry with an ESEE, not a folder!). For general folding knife usage, the robustness is IMO a moot point as all models can see hard usage and maintain factory-level tolerances (ex: hard usage will not cause blade play, uncentered lockup, or rubbing).

I do find that the hollow grinds don't give as much of a durable edge, but they slice unlike anything else. So your usage may dictate which CRK folder is going to best suit your usage.

Two big differences between the two are the thumb studs and the lock bar. Neither is better but most users find they like one over the other. Because of this, handling both is ideal if possible.
 
Suddenly I'm rubbed the wrong way about the whole Loctite thing. I don't want a knife that I have to "glue". Although some people claim that the Seb25 and Umnum work fine without using any Loctite.

Also , since the Seb21 doesn't require the use of any Loctite , I have been looking at the large Starbenza (21).
 
Wolverine666 said:
Suddenly I'm rubbed the wrong way about the whole Loctite thing. I don't want a knife that I have to "glue". Although some people claim that the Seb25 and Umnum work fine without using any Loctite.

Also , since the Seb21 doesn't require the use of any Loctite , I have been looking at the large Starbenza (21).
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Pretty much every knife aside from Sebenzas have loctite on them. It's in your car, in race cars, in motorcycles, and in rockets. It isn't glue, it is threadlocker, and it is very commonplace in all kinds of high tolerance items.

Loctite is great stuff, and there is not a single reason to not use it on a 25/Umnumzaan. I can't carry one a day without it, because the pivot loosens. How all these people keep their pivots tight using only magic, I do not know. I do know that Chris Reeve himself says that the precision threads were chosen and designed to be used with the loctite, and that is how they work best. Why anyone would want to spend $500 on a pocket knife and not listen to the manufacturers recommendations is beyond me.
 
Tripton said:
Pretty much every knife aside from Sebenzas have loctite on them. It's in your car, in race cars, in motorcycles, and in rockets. It isn't glue, it is threadlocker, and it is very commonplace in all kinds of high tolerance items.

Loctite is great stuff, and there is not a single reason to not use it on a 25/Umnumzaan. I can't carry one a day without it, because the pivot loosens. How all these people keep their pivots tight using only magic, I do not know. I do know that Chris Reeve himself says that the precision threads were chosen and designed to be used with the loctite, and that is how they work best. Why anyone would want to spend $500 on a pocket knife and not listen to the manufacturers recommendations is beyond me.
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I would also add that Loctite is a premium product and not cheap. They have numerous products for specific applications. I understand going with a different model if the use of a thread locker is too much of a hassle, but the recommended use of it does not mean a non-superior product. And like Tipton said "Why anyone would want to spend $500 on a pocket knife and not listen to the manufacturers recommendations is beyond me."
 
Vaporstang said:
I would also add that Loctite is a premium product and not cheap. They have numerous products for specific applications. I understand going with a different model if the use of a thread locker is too much of a hassle, but the recommended use of it does not mean a non-superior product. And like Tipton said "Why anyone would want to spend $500 on a pocket knife and not listen to the manufacturers recommendations is beyond me."
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100% agree. The use of Loctite, IMHO, has nothing to do with the quality of the product.
 
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