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Sooo, this may be a shot in the dark concerning my original style Umnum....

D

David_Parker03

Joined
Oct 1, 2006
Messages
264
Soooo, I recently saw a post concerning the Umnumzaan's frame lock digging into someones thumb, and noticed myself that I have one of the original versions, and despite my EDC with it, and the callous that has built up on my thumb, closing it still pinches. Anyone willing to trade an original style with a new version? Well, scratch that, since I'm not sure if I like the new one. Anyone willing to trade for a day an old for new? (Is this even a good idea?) In the DFW area, its hard to find any knife retailers (let alone ones that carry Chris Reeve Knives).
 
I have no idea how people can have any sort of physical discomfort opening or unlocking the Umnumzaan. It's not like I have the most beaten up, gravelly hands in the world but I have zero issues, never mind the build up of callouses or sore spots. :confused:

And to answer your misplaced question, NO I'll stick with the original Umnumzaan. :)
 
:thumbup: +1 - I have no issues with my original - I never thought that there was a problem.
 
I got one of the 1st generation Umnums when they first came out (october 2008), and I too find it uncomfortable to unlock. The lock bar just doesn`t protrude much from the handle, plus the "relaese nick" is kind of sharp edged. I normally carry a Classic Sebenza or a 21, and the difference between those and the Umnum is quite drastic there.
 
I have never had any issues opening the old umnumzaan or the new style umnumzaan. The knife Opens AND Closes Differently than a sebenza. Anyone that compares it to a sebenza will say its more difficult to open or close. Even though they are both frame locks, the overall design is different.
 
Ok, so should I rather compare it to the Mnandi then, which sports a similar lock release design as the Umnum? I find unlocking the Mnandi easier than the Umnum too. Probably because the Mnandi doesn`t have the sharp-ish nick, but rather smooth edges.

Plus, even if I did not have either a Sebenza or a Mnandi to compare it to, I would still find that unlocking the Umnum is uncomfortable.
 
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Agreed, thanks for the reply again guys. While I agree the locking bar could use improvements (which CRK clearly did), I wish someone in the DFW area stocked them, so that I could try one out and see if I should just buy another or sell my current one to finance a newer edition.
 
I find the new lock bar on the Umnumzaan to be a step back actually, I'm not fond of it at all. It was done to accommodate to opening of the knife left handed as far as I know. The deeper chamfer on the non lockside scale allows for a larger part of the lock to be accessed and therefor "easier" to unlock. I didn't see the original knife as broken so I see no need to have fixed it. There was obviously some reason for it, be it a number of compaints/requests or just a tweak to move things along.

These links might help some of you having trouble with manipulating the knives though......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Palm

http://ironpalmtraining.com/
 
hey david not sure what area of dfw your in, but you might want to sheck out the house of blades over off of quebec st and 820 north on the north side of ft worth. last time i was there they have several chris reeve knives in stock. ranging from sebenzas to the one piece fixed blades. its worth a shot.
 
or baby steps, and start using chopsticks to toughen up those fingers.

Haze said:
I find the new lock bar on the Umnumzaan to be a step back actually, I'm not fond of it at all. It was done to accommodate to opening of the knife left handed as far as I know. The deeper chamfer on the non lockside scale allows for a larger part of the lock to be accessed and therefor "easier" to unlock. I didn't see the original knife as broken so I see no need to have fixed it. There was obviously some reason for it, be it a number of compaints/requests or just a tweak to move things along.

These links might help some of you having trouble with manipulating the knives though......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Palm

http://ironpalmtraining.com/
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