Ordered an Umnumzaan - Quick Question

A

ajdddyoung

Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Messages
169
Looking forward to getting my new Umnumzaan in a couple days. I am new to this quality of knife so I have a question for some of you who already own the Umnumzaan.

From looking at the knife (never handled one) are you able to open the knife fairly quickly, or is this a slow opening knife? Now before I get lit up here I do understand alot of that has to do with the user. I am use to Axis Locks, and Spydercos. Just didn't know what to expect from this knife.

Thanks for any input.
 
Compared to BM's and Spydercos, it will be a slow opener. That's just the way it is. In my experience, Sebenzas are even slower, so don't fret.

Getting rid of the grease and using a quality light oil will change it dramatically. It will still be smooth and quiet, just a whole lot faster.

I'll never grease my zaan again. But I like folders that open quickly and easily.
 
It is a slow opener. Slower than the sebenza. Spydercos and Strider folders are lightning fast.

why, because it is hard to open.

..this is why i would never carry my Umnumzaan for self defense. In a stressful situation you don't have the time to fumble. It has to be quick AND EASY to open a knife. The Umnumzaan is not easy to open IMO.
 
Part of the mechanics of opening a 'zaan is the geometry of the pivot relative to the lugs. You have to push a little differently and most people find it is slower. YMMV. Still, it is a great knife...
 
Mine opens a tad slower than my axis lock Benchmade 930.

I use T9 lube on the pivots.

When using the meat of the thumb to open it opens slower than using the thumbnail as the pushing surface. When i use the nail to "flick" the blade, it opens very quickly (possibly on par with the 930).

Now the other end of the spectrum is my Boker Trance... that one opens lightning fast. Very thin and light blade helps (intertia is my guess).
 
It's not slower. That's a matter of the user. I can open my 'Zaan as fast as I can open my Seb, and I can open my Seb about as quickly as a waved Emerson. I've heard that they come a little stiff sometimes, in which case adjusting the pivot can make a lot of difference. You also oughta give your hand some time to get used to the specific motion, which is different from knife to knife and not always intuitive.

Trust me, a bit of practice mixed with maybe a bit of pivot adjustment, and you'll be fine.
 
Mine will thumb flick open. It doesn't flick open fast and easy like a Strider or Benchmade, but it is much smoother than my Strider.
 
Speed of opening aside, I just want to make sure you all remember one of the big differences between a Sebenza and and Umnumzaan:

Sebenza - open it with the side of your thumb with a sideways, sweeping motion

Umnumzaan - open it with the top of your thumb, pushing forward

:)

Anne
 
The issue of speed aside. The Umnumzaan is so smooth. I love the feeling of opening mine.
 
For me the Umnum is just as quick if not quicker to open than with my other knives. The key is to slide the thumb down the upper scalloped portion of the handle. Your thumbnail will catch against the thumbstud. Once it catches, give a hard flick. This is idea for self-defense because when you pull the knife from your pocket your thumb will be on the checkered portion of the handle. It's a fairly gross motor movement to catch the thumbnail against the thumbstud versus, say finding the push button of a side-opening auto.
 
I open my zaan with a flicking motion of my thumb just as if i were flicking a marble....my zaans are as fast and slick or slicker as any other knives i own or have owned....BTW, this method is how i open all my thumb stud knives.

My sebs are pretty slick also, but the zaan is smooth in a league of it's own....i attribute this to the large pivot...i know most will say that the seb has the pivot bushing but i believe that the bushing just adds more clearance to the stacking.
 
bigmark408 said:
I open my zaan with a flicking motion of my thumb just as if i were flicking a marble.....
Click to expand...

Me too. I had it for months and thought it was a slow opener until I figured this out. Now I'm all :D

I don't feel bad about flicking either, it's not the same as a wrist flick. By the time the lock engages, I don't think it is going any faster than if I just pushed it open.
 
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