Strongest folder?

I

IH-Antonio

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Mar 30, 2008
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Your thoughts...?

Sebenza Large 21? Large 21 with Carbon Fiber? 25? Umnumzaan?

Pics are very, very welcome ;):D:p
 
I think it would have to be the Umnumzaan and 25 as they are a bit stouter and have a different lock set up than the 21 or Regular. That said you should really have a hard time breaking any of the folders during normal and intended use. :)

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Arguably the 25. But with that said, the lock on the Small 21 is ridiculously strong and the blade itself would probably break before the lock would fail...all the Reeve folders use ridiculously strong locks! Titanium grade 5 alloy is such an awesome material for handling the sort of stress that locks see, as well as giving continuous usage wear levels much lower than other materials.

In that sense, I think the real test of strength could be when comparing 20+ year old knives that have been used daily, in which the Sebenza is going to shine bright not unlike that of a USP that is two decades old and has a 6 figure round count but is still perfect in reliability and has function that identical to the day it was produced. Producing a strong lock seems to be pretty easy. Producing a strong lock that will be equally strong and operating within precise tolerances after decades of usage and hundreds of thousands of cycles of usage on the other hand...I think that is where the Sebenza owns the lock strength and where it's excellent design is really going to set it apart.

Beyond destruction tests that intentionally set out to destroy a knife by abuse, if we tried to test the lock strength using heavy duty knife usage, I think we would lose interest because it would be a test spanning over years of even decades to get the lock to fail in a fashion we would need to quantify.
 
All are strong enough if used properly. All also can be broken through abuse, just a matter of how much abuse it takes(even full tang fixed blades can be broken ). A thicker blade should give you some extra strength but will also loose a bit of slicing ability. Everything is a trade off. The blade will break before the lock or handle, but only if abused and even then it is unlikely unless you use poor technique.
 
I'd say the Zaan and the 25. I have both and they are stout to say the least.
 
Yep, the 25, then Zaan, then the 21. But the 25 and Zaan are very similar material-wise.

They all have attributes, the 25 just seems to me the stoutest from appearance and holding them all constantly.
 
The 25 or the Zaan.
Interesting question about the 21.
I'd say the Ti front scale before the CF - that is my feeling.
red mag
 
The answer is probably the 25 or umnumzaan because they are more stout

But I have more confidence in the 21 because the full titanium lockbar rests against the blade where on the 25/umnumzaan the ceramic ball detent rests agaisnt the blade. I know it is COMPLETELY in my head but I just have more confidence it it. Less parts to fail.
 
I believe the Zaan to be the strongest CRK folder in the market simply due to its design which uses the lugs as the stop pin. This should increase the ability of the Zaan to sustain lateral pressure (you know.... when you absolutely have to pry something :p) compared to the 21/25 design where lateral force goes straight to the pivot.

 
delkhouri said:
....But I have more confidence in the 21 because the full titanium lockbar rests against the blade where on the 25/umnumzaan the ceramic ball detent rests agaisnt the blade. I know it is COMPLETELY in my head but I just have more confidence it it. Less parts to fail.
Click to expand...

You are not alone. In my very non-technical, non-engineer's perspective, the full contact lock tab (at 50% to 75% lockup) would seem superior to the point contact of the incremental ceramic ball lock-up in withstanding stress. The pivot on the Umnumzaan and 25 are more robust, so maybe it's a trade off?? I don't think either is going to ever fail you during normal usage.
 
Good Question and tough one at that. There are so many variables that go into this question. Are we talking about just the toughest design overall....??? The one least likely to break under use....??? The toughest Lock....??? etc...???

The blades. The thicker blade would be tougher to fail than a thinner one in my opinion. Some may argue that a thinner blade will flex more before failure, while a thicker one would not. I believe the high RC of these steels, any flex would be a recipe for breakage, thicker or thinner. The thicker blade of the 25 is pretty impressive. The grind on the zaan would also add in its strength. If any of the blades would be prone to failure, I would imagine the 21 blade because its thinner near the point and has a thinner edge.

The blade pivot: I realize that all of these have slightly different blade pivot screws. The regular, classic, 21 are the same, while the zaan and 25 are beefier. In all fairness to them all, I would rate them as equal because with the blade being sandwiched between the scales, all of the design should be at equal strength. It is possible that the zaan and 25 would fair better because you have more of a head or cap on the heads of the screws, so if there is an edge, I would give it to them.

Blade Lock: My belief is that the older design would be the strongest. That being the traditional lockup of the regular, the 21, insingo, etc. On these, you have the flat blade tang mating up with the flar lockbar end...You have a large flat on flat contact area, no blade play. Its about as strong and perfect fit as one could ask for. The 25 and the zaan have a ceramic ball lockup which basically locks up on a point contact area. It has proven to be super strong tough. But in theory, I would go with the older versions.

Overall: I own and have owned many CRK. I have had regulars and zaans that I have put through some pretty extensive paces with no issues. The 25 get carried lots now, but its still relatively new to me. I have yet to get an insingo, but it is indeed on my list to buy.

In the end, I find it hard to imagine you would damage any of these under normal use and used for what they were designed for. Folding knives are designed to CUT. Not to be used as a prybar, as a hatchet, and God knows what else some throw at them.

If I had to pick some that I would feel more confident in than others, I would have to go with the 25, the zaan, and the regular as I have had the most experience with em. But I must say that I would take any of em with me any time any where on any adventure....!!!
 
Well, being that the Umnumzaan and 25 are so similar, I'd have to edge it to the 25. The blade grind is thicker than the Umnumzaan, and the tip should be slightly stronger. Of course, with the difference in stop pins, there would be a slight deviation there as well.


I guess it depends on what you mean by "stronger".
 
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