My Umnum Experience

This thread was forwarded to us by a couple of our friends on Bladeforum and I want to address what happened here. You all know we work very hard to give exceptional customer service; Heather is a wonderful employee who does everything she can to help customers. She, too, is human. Our thanks to all of you who wrote posts of support!

“Beyond You” (Eric) obviously feels he has received less that fantastic service from us and for that I am sorry. I have read the string of emails between Eric and Heather and feel it is only fair to present Heather's side of the story. Eric was having trouble with opening an Umnumzaan that he purchased from one of our dealers. Heather explained the difference in the way the Umnumzaan and Sebenza open, and she gave some pointers. She also asked if he would care to give us his phone number, she would arrange for Chris to call him and talk him through the issue.

Eric chose not to talk with Chris, but asked if we would exchange the Umnumzaan for a Sebenza 21. Our policy is that if a customer purchased a knife from a dealer, he should return/exchange it with that dealer. (Pure economics – we sell a knife to a dealer at $X. The dealer sells it to a customer for $X plus $Y which is his profit. If the customer wants to return it directly to us, he wants credit for the amount he paid. If we give that, we lose money.)

Eric advised that the dealer’s return by date had probably passed (the dealer told us this morning he did not receive a request from Eric for a return) – which is why Heather suggested he try to sell the knife in the secondary market. Certainly Heather could have suggested he send the knife in to us to check there was inherently nothing wrong with the knife. However, she was under the impression his only problem was his difficulty with opening the knife. He said he felt the thumb lugs were in the wrong place – that is nothing we could change so her suggesting sending the knife in would have been a waste of his time and money. Additionally, [hopefully] everyone knows you can send a knife back at any time for us to check the technical aspects of it.

It appeared that there was nothing she could say that would appease Eric and, as she said to me, “perhaps I was a bit curt and I could have worded things differently but I feel I followed our policy.” I support Heather as my employee and I respect Eric as a customer. I would like to resolve the issue.

Please note, there was no mention in their conversation of there being anything wrong with the lockup to which he refers in the opening post of this thread. Eric, if you genuinely believe there is something wrong with your knife, please send it to us so we can check it over. The offer to call Chris remains open – you are welcome to talk through any issues you might have.

Anne
 
Thanks sounds like you guys do care, I never contacted the dealer about returning it cause I bought it to keep and thought I could work thru the opening which is a lil easier now, I might purchase a take down tool, heard some say cleaning it might help.
 
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This thread was forwarded to us by a couple of our friends on Bladeforum and I want to address what happened here. You all know we work very hard to give exceptional customer service; Heather is a wonderful employee who does everything she can to help customers. She, too, is human. Our thanks to all of you who wrote posts of support!

“Beyond You” (Eric) obviously feels he has received less that fantastic service from us and for that I am sorry. I have read the string of emails between Eric and Heather and feel it is only fair to present Heather's side of the story. Eric was having trouble with opening an Umnumzaan that he purchased from one of our dealers. Heather explained the difference in the way the Umnumzaan and Sebenza open, and she gave some pointers. She also asked if he would care to give us his phone number, she would arrange for Chris to call him and talk him through the issue.

Eric chose not to talk with Chris, but asked if we would exchange the Umnumzaan for a Sebenza 21. Our policy is that if a customer purchased a knife from a dealer, he should return/exchange it with that dealer. (Pure economics – we sell a knife to a dealer at $X. The dealer sells it to a customer for $X plus $Y which is his profit. If the customer wants to return it directly to us, he wants credit for the amount he paid. If we give that, we lose money.)

Eric advised that the dealer’s return by date had probably passed (the dealer told us this morning he did not receive a request from Eric for a return) – which is why Heather suggested he try to sell the knife in the secondary market. Certainly Heather could have suggested he send the knife in to us to check there was inherently nothing wrong with the knife. However, she was under the impression his only problem was his difficulty with opening the knife. He said he felt the thumb lugs were in the wrong place – that is nothing we could change so her suggesting sending the knife in would have been a waste of his time and money. Additionally, [hopefully] everyone knows you can send a knife back at any time for us to check the technical aspects of it.

It appeared that there was nothing she could say that would appease Eric and, as she said to me, “perhaps I was a bit curt and I could have worded things differently but I feel I followed our policy.” I support Heather as my employee and I respect Eric as a customer. I would like to resolve the issue.

Please note, there was no mention in their conversation of there being anything wrong with the lockup to which he refers in the opening post of this thread. Eric, if you genuinely believe there is something wrong with your knife, please send it to us so we can check it over. The offer to call Chris remains open – you are welcome to talk through any issues you might have.

Anne

This is an excellent example of why I do & will continue to spend my money with Chris & Anne Reeve. They are both very fortunate to have employee's like Heather. The standard 5 star rating system is not high enough for Chris, Anne, & Heather.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Thats my 2 cents worth, Rickster :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
This is an excellent example of why I do & will continue to spend my money with Chris & Anne Reeve. They are both very fortunate to have employee's like Heather. The standard 5 star rating system is not high enough for Chris, Anne, & Heather.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Thats my 2 cents worth, Rickster :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Preach on, brother man!:thumbup: I've worn them out with questions, and Heather & Charmaine have always been professional, polite, and accommodating.

Macassar Ebony Mnandi inbound!
 
A short update on my Umnum, Thanks for response from CRK, In my defense I never said anything bad about the convo's I had with Heather, I said she was kind and helpful myself, and I wasnt rude, ive just never heard "sell it" from a company, which was explained by Anne why she did, I get that, as im new to Crk I had no idea I could get it inpsected, most companys ive dealt with you had to have RA numbers and etc...I cleaned the umnum with q-tips and put a small amount of lube on it and its much better, but it belongs to a friend was offered a good amount and couldnt turn it down, I informed him of the warranty and customer service so if he needs to get it looked at he can. So im left with only a small seb which fits my needs better in all honesty, so im glad this is cleared up and im already looking for a large seb 21, ill ask this here if anyone can chime in id appreciate it, on the CRK website, im wanting to pick up a raindrop damascus regular handle large seb 21, can I call and purchase one or are these a special order kind of deal.
 
This is an excellent example of why I do & will continue to spend my money with Chris & Anne Reeve. They are both very fortunate to have employee's like Heather. The standard 5 star rating system is not high enough for Chris, Anne, & Heather.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Thats my 2 cents worth, Rickster :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

My Thoughts Exactly Rickster !!! Great Post !!!
 
A short update on my Umnum, Thanks for response from CRK, In my defense I never said anything bad about the convo's I had with Heather, I said she was kind and helpful myself, and I wasnt rude, ive just never heard "sell it" from a company, which was explained by Anne why she did, I get that, as im new to Crk I had no idea I could get it inpsected, most companys ive dealt with you had to have RA numbers and etc...I cleaned the umnum with q-tips and put a small amount of lube on it and its much better, but it belongs to a friend was offered a good amount and couldnt turn it down, I informed him of the warranty and customer service so if he needs to get it looked at he can. So im left with only a small seb which fits my needs better in all honesty, so im glad this is cleared up and im already looking for a large seb 21, ill ask this here if anyone can chime in id appreciate it, on the CRK website, im wanting to pick up a raindrop damascus regular handle large seb 21, can I call and purchase one or are these a special order kind of deal.

I imagined that this would get worked out. You can always order any of the current production knives directly from CR, but the "Regular" version is discontinued and can only be purchased in the aftermarket or, if you are lucky, in a dealer's old stock. However, if by the term "regular" you mean plain and without decoration, then they can help you.

There are a few great online dealers that may have what you are looking for in stock - newgraham, knivesshipfree, onlyfineknives,gpknives, truenorthknives, etc. to name a few. Browse around and you might find something you like. Or worse....find several things that you like.
 
I push the thumb studs up instead of out or angled. I can flip it quiet quick and it's very smooth.
 
I don't own a Umnumzaan, would like to get one but not sure if it'll clear customs to bring one in because of the sharpened swedge being interpreted as restricted "double edged". I do however own a large reg and a Small 21, the 21 is the most recent purchase a month ago, loving it!

Back to the point, I stripped it down and cleaned it recently, relubing the washers etc and it was smooth opening, couple of hours of pocket carry later it wasn't smooth and I could feel and hear it squeal a little.

Did a little test, to isolate the problem, opened it disengaged the lock and let gravity work on the pivot point (mind your fingers) no resistance -silky smooth.

What had happened is that the lock bar ball bearing had picked up a little lint and that was causing friction on contact with the blade pivot track (dunno if I'm using the right terminology but it's where the ball bearing rides on the blade). Cleaned that up and it's as good as new, didn't even have to take the knife apart.

Hope that helps!
 
I don't own a Umnumzaan, would like to get one but not sure if it'll clear customs to bring one in because of the sharpened swedge being interpreted as restricted "double edged". I do however own a large reg and a Small 21, the 21 is the most recent purchase a month ago, loving it!

Back to the point, I stripped it down and cleaned it recently, relubing the washers etc and it was smooth opening, couple of hours of pocket carry later it wasn't smooth and I could feel and hear it squeal a little.

Did a little test, to isolate the problem, opened it disengaged the lock and let gravity work on the pivot point (mind your fingers) no resistance -silky smooth.

What had happened is that the lock bar ball bearing had picked up a little lint and that was causing friction on contact with the blade pivot track (dunno if I'm using the right terminology but it's where the ball bearing rides on the blade). Cleaned that up and it's as good as new, didn't even have to take the knife apart.

Hope that helps!

What country are you in?
 
Hi Neil,

What country are you in?

I'm in Melbourne, Victoria Australia, present knife laws here have taken a turn for the ridiculous so I can't really carry a folder any more as an EDC, but I do use my blades around my own private property and when I'm out camping or hiking.

Heh, on a side note I've actually been checking out TNK recently looking at the Tanto 'Zaan and the Strider SNG. I think the blade geometry on a regular Umnum would be more useful to me then a Tanto tip. As for the Strider, well I'm curious about the hype around it. I can't justify the price though, I'd rather have an Umnum then a Strider cos I know CRK makes a very refined product; comparing my 2008 reg to the 2009 Small 21, the changes are subtle yet show a lot of thought and attention to detail. My own experience tells me CRK quality and consistency is top notch based on the sebs I own, hence my interest in the Umnumzaan.

Cheers!
 
Heather answered a whole bunch of my newbie questions both through email and on the phone. Had a not real shiny screw on the clip and they sent out a new one....sent the wrong part and immediately sent the right one. I work in customer service and Heather is an AAA+ customer service person. She helped me out a lot with how to open the knife and was just amazing in her patience.

My small Sebenza 21 is an amazing knife from a great company. I am not a collector and wanted to get the best folder I could even though it was 3 times more than any knife I had previously bought. Now all I have is it and a Ritter Grip.....and I only have that just in case I have to send in my Sebenza for anything.
 
I have both a Sebbie and a Umnumzaan, and they are different knives for sure. I love the Sebenza and I think it is the perfect knife. The Ummi is still new and I am still getting used to it, it opens different, it feels different. Its not the love at first sight like with the Sebbie - buy its growing on me for sure.
 
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