New umnumzaan very difficult to open

Whilst I can appreciate that some folks are willing to play around, opening a relatively expensive new knife hundreds or even thousands of times to get it working smoothly, or having to tear the thing apart and relubricate it, there is very obviously a serious QC problem.

Especially since at least one poster said it took him all of 10 minutes to achieve the same result.

I expect more for my money.
 
Eh, it is not just knives that are like this merlinus. A $50k dollar race engine has to be broken in, just as the engine in a new Honda does. Anything that has moving mechanical parts needs break in of some sort. Especially if it is a production level piece. Custom folders often are buttery smooth out the box but there is also a catch to this, a lot of the custom makers are not making a living selling custom <$500 folders. It's their hobby and they have a 2nd source of income. Polishing the inside of the scales, polishing the washer area on a blade, etc. All this takes time and time costs money. Strider voids the warranty if you do anything of the sort to smooth out the knife. They are notorious for having to be broken in. Where else are you going to find a knife like the umnumzaan that has the build quality?

On the umnumzaan, the ceramic ball contact area is going to break in, the washers are stamped and they will smooth out over time. I can feel a noticeable difference from one side to the other of the washer. Sal Glesser said in the Spyderco forum something along the lines of if Spyderco where to make a knife on the level of some of the mid-techs like the Xm-18, Sebenza etc that Spyderco would have to charge just as much as they do because of the f&f and such .

Just my opinion but I do feel that it is a valid point. The Sebenza uses a bushing system and is naturally going to feel different than the umnumzaan. It's going to break in different, open different and just generally feel different when pivoting.

David
 
Hi ssblood, and thanks very much for your cogent response.

Even though I would love to purchase another umnumzaan, and find the patience and persistence you and several others did to break it in, I will await a repy from CRK to my email first.

In some ways I definitely gave up too soon on the first one, but the situation was compounded by my inability to loosen the pivot screws. With the information I have gained from the many posters to this thread, I do believe that will be easier next time.

And my right thumb is still unbelievably sore, so much so that I cannot at this time even open my sebenza one-handed!
 
ssblood said:
Eh, it is not just knives that are like this merlinus. A $50k dollar race engine has to be broken in, just as the engine in a new Honda does. Anything that has moving mechanical parts needs break in of some sort. Especially if it is a production level piece. Custom folders often are buttery smooth out the box but there is also a catch to this, a lot of the custom makers are not making a living selling custom <$500 folders. It's their hobby and they have a 2nd source of income. Polishing the inside of the scales, polishing the washer area on a blade, etc. All this takes time and time costs money. Strider voids the warranty if you do anything of the sort to smooth out the knife. They are notorious for having to be broken in. Where else are you going to find a knife like the umnumzaan that has the build quality?

On the umnumzaan, the ceramic ball contact area is going to break in, the washers are stamped and they will smooth out over time. I can feel a noticeable difference from one side to the other of the washer. Sal Glesser said in the Spyderco forum something along the lines of if Spyderco where to make a knife on the level of some of the mid-techs like the Xm-18, Sebenza etc that Spyderco would have to charge just as much as they do because of the f&f and such .

Just my opinion but I do feel that it is a valid point. The Sebenza uses a bushing system and is naturally going to feel different than the umnumzaan. It's going to break in different, open different and just generally feel different when pivoting.

David
Click to expand...

Very Good Points
 
Addendum to my previous post:

If indeed a relatively long break-in period is required -- and clearly this is not always the case! -- then I strongly fault CRK for not making this information available.

If I had known beforehand, then I would still have the umnumzaan, and this thread would not exist!
 
I hate to say it and it pains me to but I do think CRK is slipping in the quality control department.
 
IMHO I think the pivot design is what is raising a lot of the confusion for some.

The Manix 2 and para 2 both share the Sebenza bushing pivot style design. Neither my Manix 2 or para 2 needed break in. The Strider I had was used and still not fully broken in, much like my Umnumzaan.

I have had mine for a little over a week and notice a difference every day. A car engine has to break in, you have to change the oil in 1500-3000 miles to get the stuff out where the rings are seating and the bearings are getting broke in. Much like changing the grease in the Umnumzaan. :) other than this my knife is flawless. It whittled hair out the box. This knife cost me a weeks pay and I feel like I got my moneys worth.

Your mileage may vary.
 
Well when I bought my last Zaan, which I currently still have it was VERY tight and gritty. I took it apart, inspected it, cleaned it ad lubed it. It works great now.
 
If they put in the instructions that this would be needed it would save a lot of grief. They would need to include the tool kit and a tube of grease at this point. I don't much care for the idea that I'm going to have to call CRK to order grease Monday.
 
So.... how to you account for the fact that at least one poster to this thread said it took about 10 minutes (maybe 10 tries?) until opening his knife was buttery smooth????

Clearly something is amiss!!!!

As for strider, with their lack of QC, surly at best CS, and political views, I would not touch any of their products with a one-hundred foot pole!

YMMV indeed, but CRK needs to do something about this situation. Hopefully Anne or Heather will read this thread, and respond accordingly.

And FWIW, even my Ritter MK1 worked perfectly right out-of-the-box, and still does, years later.
 
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You are not considering the human variable. Everyone's idea of smooth is not the same. Your's is different than his, mine is different than yours. Your logic is fail.
 
Aw, c'mon!!! As I wrote in first starting this thread, I could hardly open the knife with two hands from the git-go, and it never got any better with some 100 tries!

As for break-in periods, all of my five Honda Civics, starting in 1978, worked perfectly from the very beginning, even though I had to keep my speed down and avoid quick starts-and-stops for 1000 miles.
 
Don't want to turn this thread into a pissing match. No company is perfect and my knife born on the same day as yours and shipped to the same store in the same box is perfect. CRK wants you to take these knives apart for cleaning and such for a reason.
 
Let's agree to disagree, ok? However, please look again at threads 35 and 36. For those guys, the umnumzaan opened easily almost from from the very beginning.

If that had been the case for me, I would definitely agree that it is perfect!

But perhaps we can agree that better information was needed from CRK about the knife, so purchasers like me would have been forewarned.
 
I agree with that. The knife is also very sensitive to the amount of grease or lube and the type. I figured it out by trial and error and some people are just not willing to do that giving the cost. They should be informed about that for certain.

David.
 
Butter smooth once I got the right lube on it. It takes something with viscosity. It is not a flipper though. Miltec1 on it made me get cut twice. Some teflon grease fixed it right up.
 
I never the had any of the problems you guys have with your umnumzaans. I used to use militec grease in my umnumzaan it made the knife flickable and still smooth then I switched over to krytox that made it smoother except I cant thumb flick anymore
 
As a follow-up, I want to let everyone know that I received two emails from Heather at CRK. She was very compassionate and understanding, and assured me that they would have made everything right if I had returned the umnumzaan to them, even to the extent of refunding the return shipping charges.

So, my faith in CRK has been renewed!!! And I am placing an order for another, but this time with the new S35VN steel, even if it means waiting two months or so.

My heartfelt thanks to all who posted on this thread, and offered suggestions, feedback, and a willingness to share their experiences with the knife.

-merlin
 
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