some odd Umnumzaan/Sebenza questions

M

misterjuiceman

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Sep 19, 2009
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sorry for all of the threads lately. I posted some of these questions in another thread, but they went unanswered. once I buy one of these knives, I'll stop with all of the questions, I swear!

I'm trying to decide between the Umnumzaan and the Sebenza (and I guess some other knives too, but the CRKs are the front-runners), and I have a few questions.

1. how does the Umnumzaan's thumb stud location compare to the Sebenza in terms of deployment speed?
2. how do the thumb studs compare in terms of accessibility (is it easy for your thumb to slip off of them?), and is there sufficent room to acesss the stud using the "off-hand" w.r.t. the knife?
3. how is closed blade retention on each knife?
4. is the pivot on the sebenza considered a weak link, that is, is the upgraded pivot on the Umnumzaan necessary? has anyone ever broken their Sebenza at the pivot?
5. how do the ergonomics compare?
 
I will try to answer your questions:

1. Never measured the speed of opening a knife.

2. Accessing the thumb stud from the "strong" side is easy. I have had my thumb slip off on both models (Umnum and Seb) when not paying attention. Opening with the off hand on either can be done but much easier with a double studded (payed option) Sebenza IMO.

3. All of my sebbies have better blade retention than my Umnumzaan.

4. I do not think the pivot of a Sebenza was considered a weak point. In fact I know that the bushing pivot system is considered a selling point for most people. I have not read of anyone breaking one at the pivot. As I am not an engineer I could not say if the beefier pivot was necessary. I am sure that Chris did it for a reason even if he never shares that reason with the general public.

5. I like them both. Egros are always a personal peference.
 
I'll take #4 and say you would have to beat the knives to death with a hammer before the pivot on either knife lets go. the diff between the 2 is the seb uses a bearing & the um does not...and there is no bad choice for a CRK.
 
you are over thinking this.

pick one and try it.

if you don't like it, sell it and get the other one.

you will not lose.

if you ask me, start wuth the sebenza. its still the standard to compare against. did you notce that? "i want to get knife xyz, but i am not sure how it comapres to a sebenza". that a good hint, i think. :)

i got a small 21 as my first reve knife and i LOVE it. i got an umnum later and i LIKE it. i will keep both. :)
 
ipm said:
you are over thinking this.

pick one and try it.

if you don't like it, sell it and get the other one.

you will not lose.

if you ask me, start wuth the sebenza. its still the standard to compare against. did you notce that? "i want to get knife xyz, but i am not sure how it comapres to a sebenza". that a good hint, i think. :)

i got a small 21 as my first reve knife and i LOVE it. i got an umnum later and i LIKE it. i will keep both. :)
Click to expand...

yeah, it's just that on paper, the Umnumzaan seems better, but I prefer the look of the Sebenza. also, as a lefty, I've heard it's harder to sell the blades later on, so I might be stuck with what I get.
 
tf8s said:
...I'm trying to decide between the Umnumzaan and the Sebenza (and I guess some other knives too, but the CRKs are the front-runners), and I have a few questions.

1. how does the Umnumzaan's thumb stud location compare to the Sebenza in terms of deployment speed?
2. how do the thumb studs compare in terms of accessibility (is it easy for your thumb to slip off of them?), and is there sufficent room to acesss the stud using the "off-hand" w.r.t. the knife?
3. how is closed blade retention on each knife?
4. is the pivot on the sebenza considered a weak link, that is, is the upgraded pivot on the Umnumzaan necessary? has anyone ever broken their Sebenza at the pivot?
5. how do the ergonomics compare?...
Click to expand...

1. Both knives can be quick if you practice. In my hand, the Umnumzaan felt like it opened with less resistance (once past the detent) versus the Sebenza (small).

2. I think this one is mostly personal preference. The Umnum's thumb studs are larger but more slippery. With gloves, I would say the Umnum would be easier to open vs. a small Sebenza. (I'm sorry, I don't have enough experience with the large Seb to comment.) I can open either knife with either hand provided the Sebenza has dual thumb studs. With practice, I'm sure just about anyone could as well.

3. Blade retention seems to be about the same to me.

4. A. If the Sebenza had a weak link, I would say (imo) it's the clip. Excellent clip for what it is; I'm just spoiled Emerson's clips. They are much stiffer which is to be expected since they are much wider than the Sebenza's clip. Again, it may go back to personal preference. Not everyone wants a super stiff clip.

B. I don't know if the upgraded pivot on the Umnumzaan is neccessary, but it's definitely cool :cool:.

C. I have never heard of anyone breaking their Sebenza at the pivot. Keep in mind, the Sebenza actually has two screws very close to each other near the front of the knife. I'm not an engineer, but this setup seems like it would resist lateral stress quite well (Well, better than one screw anyway). I would recommend against prying with either knife if you can avoid it.

5. Egros: Probably personal preference. I will say that the Umnum has excellent ergos, but it's a tad on the large size for me. I would try to handle both before making any purchases. Or, you could buy both and keep the one that feels best. ;)

Hope that helps and good luck!
 
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it sounds like you have made a choice already. the sebenza.

as for selling them, how bad could the market be?
 
ipm said:
it sounds like you have made a choice already. the sebenza.

as for selling them, how bad could the market be?
Click to expand...

right now I'm looking for a lefty 21 plain sebenza with double thumb lugs. I guess I'll have to get it straight from CRK.

edit: also I was thinking about it, and it seems that the only force that would act on the pivot directly would be pulling the blade away from the handle, so I guess if the blade got stick in something, and you pulled the handle toward you, the stress would be on the pivot.
 
tf8s said:
right now I'm looking for a lefty 21 plain sebenza with double thumb lugs. I guess I'll have to get it straight from CRK.

edit: also I was thinking about it, and it seems that the only force that would act on the pivot directly would be pulling the blade away from the handle, so I guess if the blade got stick in something, and you pulled the handle toward you, the stress would be on the pivot.
Click to expand...

you could try ebay. I've seen a few lefties there, also new graham or true north
 
mollyssurvival.com said:
you could try ebay. I've seen a few lefties there, also new graham or true north
Click to expand...

the lefty knives aren't hard to find, it's the ones with the leftys with a double thumb lug. I know I can send it in and have it put on, but I'd rather just get it like that in the first place if I can. TNK had a regular large lefty with doulbe silver thumb lugs, but they're sold out, and I was kind of leaning toward getting a 21.
 
tf8s said:
edit: also I was thinking about it, and it seems that the only force that would act on the pivot directly would be pulling the blade away from the handle, so I guess if the blade got stick in something, and you pulled the handle toward you, the stress would be on the pivot.
Click to expand...

The pivot is stronger than you are. If the blade got so stuck in something you needed power tools to pull it out, you might stress the pivot slightly. :)

The Umnumzaan pivot was upgraded to remain self-lubricated, and not need regular maintenance. It should be as strong as the Sebenza, though.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The pivot is stronger than you are. If the blade got so stuck in something you needed power tools to pull it out, you might stress the pivot slightly. :)

The Umnumzaan pivot was upgraded to remain self-lubricated, and not need regular maintenance. It should be as strong as the Sebenza, though.
Click to expand...

yeah, I was kind of justifying to my self that I wouldn't need a stronger pivot.
 
i don't get this. i don't see a problem.

i orderd my sebenza with double thumb lugs from CRK directly. i waited a bit and it shipped. all was and is well.

so getting one you like to your specifications is not really a problem.

no big deal.

so, you picked one? :)
 
"deployment speed" Please tell us what you plan on using your knife for.

every knife i carry opens fast enough....i have broken blades but never a pivot.
 
The thing I like about the umnum is the ceramic ball that allows the knife to lock without contacting the blade. If you slam open a seb it will be hard to unlock due to galling. Flick open the um and it easy to disengage. I've been doing the thumb push wrist snap to open my um and its cool. Opens like an automatic. Can't do that with the seb.
 
Scott Dog said:
The thing I like about the umnum is the ceramic ball that allows the knife to lock without contacting the blade. If you slam open a seb it will be hard to unlock due to galling. Flick open the um and it easy to disengage. I've been doing the thumb push wrist snap to open my um and its cool. Opens like an automatic. Can't do that with the seb.
Click to expand...

so opening the sebenza hard will wear down the lock interface? I've never had a framelock knife before, are all framelocks like that (besides the umnumzaan)?
 
It won't wear down the lock face. The problem is galling: titanium on titanium is "sticky" and hard openings on liner locks and frame locks will jam the lock open as far over as it can go. Add galling to that, and it can make them hard to unlock. Not a major inconvenience, and not significant damage to the lock face, but it's another reason not to use a hard kinetic opening on a precision instrument.
 
you literally will not go wrong with either one.

a plain sebenza is very good.

tell us when you get the umnum as well, later. lol.

i swear i told my self i would only get one, my sebenza. its not possible.

you will get more than one CRK.

:)
 
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