Question for mnandi owners

B

bigjuice

Gold Member
Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
191
I am very close to buying a mnandi. I have thought long and hard and want box elder with s30 or 35V steel, no Damascus on the first one(hopefully meaning more!).

Here is my question/dilemma. The inlay on each knife is unique. Especially with the mammoth bark but also a lot of the wood has a good bit of variation when I have looked at everyone's pics.

I see two ways to approach the purchase. I can buy one now from a dealer. I can see pics of it, ask question if need be, etc. I can have instant gratification and see exactly what the knife looks like.

Or, I can order it from CRK directly. I imagine they get called 100 times a day with "can you hand pick a really great inlay for me" and I don't feel comfortable doing that. But, it is tough to buy such a unique, expensive knife sight unseen.

That's my dilemma. I will probably order direct as I like the anticipation, am leftie and would prefer an even more unique knife by getting it leftie, and want the newer design features.

How have you guys approached this when you bought? Especially on things like mammoth bark and Damascus. Have you called about specifics on your inlay?

One mnandi is a drop in the bucket for them but this is a pretty special purchase for me.
 
Due to the variation in Box Elder and Bark Mammoth I would definitely prefer to see the actual knife prior to purchase. But I don't see many lefties, so I believe in your situation, you would probably be better off ordering from CRK. I would definitely state your preference for the grain pattern and color. Good luck.
 
Its very ironic you posted this because I also want an Box elder mnandi and I'm left handed. I really like the burl style with the swirls in the wood. And rose and thorns damascus would be sweet :biggrin: Left handed mnandi's are very hard to find in stock, unless you post a wanted ad for a used one. Do you think Chris would give a group order discount? :biggrin:
 
Our high volume order of two should turn some heads!!!

I am going to call to ask about woods and see if they have anything out of the ordinary in stock. I really like the black dyed amboyna. I like the box elder burl a lot as well and have been wrestling with that and the regular box elder. I just really like that tiger stripe look and the darker red complexion on the box elder but it has taken me a lot of time and ogling of the pic thread to get there.

I have decided to go direct as I agree makes most sense. Thanks for the feedback and great to hear from another Southpaw.
 
Black dyed amboyna is one of my favorites, I wonder if these were a special run.

P1170036.jpg
 
Given the scarcity of lefties, it would probably be a good idea to order from CRK. It seems like the inner cut mammoth ivory is nice and creamy most of the time, but the high variance is in the mammoth bark. Box Elder seems to vary a lot, but is very nice stuff on pretty much all I have seen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top