Pocket Knife/EDC decision...

M

monk71

Joined
Mar 14, 2002
Messages
32
Hello all,

I had made up my mind to get a Spyderco Tim Wegner Mouse as my EDC until I started reading about the Chris Reeve Umfaan.

Now I am leaning towards the CR because if I don't get it now I will probably get it eventually. It is a great looking knife. Also, it seems to have a slimmer profile compared to the Mouse.

I know the Mouse is good enough for every day carry, but I don't want to spend $75+ on it only to get the CR at a later date.

Any thoughts on these two knives? Has anyone here justified spending a lot of $$$ on a single knife because it will save him from spending $$$ on a bunch of other knives?

Thanks!

monk71
 
Get both. They are two cool small knives that fit slightly different niches. The Mouse is incredibly sturdy and cheaper than the Umfaan. Sometimes you may want to carry a cheaper knife. The Mouse's clip also gives you some nice carry options. The Umfaan is thinner and more clearly a gents type of knife. It's only money.:D You won't regret having two quality small knives.
 
Well, sorry, but no experience with the CR, but I would not like to live without my Mouse. I have bought 4 so far (traded 2 of those away to friends that fell in love with them). Ir is a supremely sturdy and functional little knife.
 
I don't have an Umfaan, but I do have a small Sebenza and a Mouse. They do not compare. The Seb. (same shape, just a little larger than the Umfaan) is a more practical blade shape over-all, and the straighter handle is much more comfortable to work with. Nothing is more sturdy than a Seb., even a small one, but I can't vouch for the over-all strength of the Umfaan as it is smaller (and presumably thinner)

By contrast the Mouse, while very sturdy thanks to its relative thickness (blade and handle) for its size is not very comfortable to use (IMHO of course). The curve of the handle fits 3 fingers which isn't uncommon in a small knife, but its not very comfortable to use hard like that - and I have small hands. You have to drop to two fingers and move toward the back of the handle to be comfortable. In part I think this is the idea behind the design as it extends the blade (reach) forward another 1/2 inch, but in tradeoff, you only have 2 fingers to control the knife which I don't much like either.

On the plus side, the mouse is built like a mini-rhino, is a great conversation piece, and easy to manipulate one-handed dispite its small size. I think the Mouse is a great addition to the Spyderco line up, but the CR is in a different class...
 
I know that these choices haven't been mentioned here, but for what it is worth, my EDC has been my Dozier straight personal either on my belt or in my pocket, and one of three stockmans. The stockmans seem to be sheeple friendly, and the Dozier is just about the darn nicest best cutting knife for it's size that I own.
 
I think you will find the Mouse easier to open than the Umfaan. You can also get a firmer grip on the M than the U. I found the thumbstud on the U plus its very small size relative to my hand size made it a less than ideal one-hander.

The Umfaan is a better slicer for things like box cutting due to thinner blade stock and the high hollow grind.

You could punch a hole though the side of the building with the Mouse, it is a very powerful design.

The Umfaan is small and light enough to drop into your pocket without noticing it. I can't say the same for the Mouse. It is rather thick for its size, hence the strong gripping ability.

The Umfaan is elegant.
The Mouse is fun.

If you get the Mouse, you will eventually getwant the Umfaan. If you get the Umfaan, you may find you aren't interested in the Mouse.

So in that sense, your best purchase would be to go ahead and get the Umfaan. My .02 cents.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top