Mnandi feedback . . .

[HiltonP]

Chris attended the South African Knifemakers Guild Show last weekend and one of my mates picked up a snakewood inlay "Mnandi" . . . got to see it yesterday . . . WOWWW!!! . . . what a pretty knife. If that doesn't become a record seller then nothing will. If I'd been at the knife show I would have got one too, just would not have been able to resist . . . in fact I'm very tempted to put in an order! . . . here's some "Mnandi" feedback from three SA Guild members . . .

- An excellent partner knife to the Sebenza (i.e. the Sebenza for heavy work, outdoors, camping, hunting, etc . . . and the Mnandi for smart occasions, in the office, to the restaurant, etc). We didn't feel it had to be one or the other, rather that they worked well together.

- Good size, not too small (which might limit it as a woman's knife). Even with big hands (my friend, it's owner, can span 10" with his hand) it's perfectly useable

- Nice slim blade (viewed from the top), elegant

- Good thin cutting edge (nice to see a full height grind instead of the usual sabre grinds)

- Love the dual sided thumb cutout, smart, classy and beautifully done!

- Liked the CR logo on the pivot screw

- Graceful handle design, liked the subtle taperings of the inlay relative to the frame, etc

- In fact lots of subtle bevels, angles, finishes, etc all of which were recognised and appreciated!

- Light coloured woods seen as showing the knife off better than dark inlays

- Brilliant clip, a strong selling point (we like wearing a knife in our top pockets, or between the top buttons of our shirts . . the Mnandi looks like a ballpoint pen, very unobtrusive, brilliant combination of clip & end-spacer screw, can be left-or-right sided or removed completely)

- Of course everything locked up perfectly, unlocked easily, walked like butter, and the blade lined up plumb in the middle when closed!

Just such an outstanding package! . . .

For owners of CRK folders this is a "must have" piece, and it is sure to attract a whole new group of enthusiasts.

Regards, HILTON

 

[Bugs3x]

Thanks, Hilton, for all the feedback/input on the Mnandi. A bit belatedly, am getting more and more excited by this knife.

None of your information included any worries about the strength/weakness of the wood on the lock side, which is unsupported when the lock moves. Do you or any of your cronies think that a "life or death" grip on the knife is going to break the wood at that point?

I love snakewood, but it surely isn't the lightest colored wood out there. If there were examples with lighter colored woods, could you possibly elaborate a bit on them? Naming and giving your response to the lighter contrast? Don't know if you saw it, but back around early August, there was a thread where a picture of a Sebenza -- plain, I think, then the Mnandi in a dark wood, where the grain was easily distinguishable, and then a woody Sebbie, with maple burl, or some other fairly light color. The woody also had damascus steel, so maybe the comparison wasn't fair. But, IMO, the woody drew my eye before the Mnandi did.

Again, thanks for a great post.

 

[HiltonP]

Bugs . . . the wood colour comment is obviously an entirely personal thing. The feeling was however that when a lighter coloured wood Mnandi was placed next to a darker version, the lighter colour looked a more attractive knife. Woods we were thinking of were Wild Olive, Maple, etc.

Re. a death grip and the wood insert . . . well, we're not about to put it to the test, but in all fairness the Mnandi isn't the sort of knife one should be taking a death grip on! You'd have to exert a hell of a lot of pressure on one small spot to damage the insert, and in exerting that pressure you would not be holding the knife in a useable position. IMHO.

Regards, HILTON