Umnum, open/close?

gull wing

gull wing

Joined
May 4, 2002
Messages
2,536
I've never had an Umnumzaan in my hand. Always liked the blade, especially the belly, but the weight held me back from trying one. Plus the ball locking system led me to questions as well.

So now I ask, how difficult is it to open and close? Keep in mind, I have small skinny hands that have some age on them.:)
NOTE - I have no problem opening and closing my Small Micarta Insingo with one hand.
If it requires Herculean strength I'm out.
 
The Umnumzaan is engineered to open differently than the Sebenza. The force of motion is parallel to the handle. You slide your thumb up the beveled cutout in a sweeping motion and take the thumbstud on an arcing, natural journey around the pivot. All my Umnumzaans open super easy and are silky-smooth to operate.
 
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I've never had any problems with opening and closing my Zaan. It's so simple and easy. You don't have to use any strength. Just click and that's it! Smoothly and silently. Just perfectly :)
 
In my opinion, the Umnum is the easiest of all CRKs to open. Requires no special strength or calloused thumbs, just the knowledge to push forward, not outwards, on the generous-sized studs. Way easier that figuring out the sebenza, in my opinion.
 
The above posts are correct about the way to open it, but from my (limited to 3) experience the detent can vary quite a lot! I had two that were similar to a sebenza in terms of overcoming the detent, but another that had a very stiff detent that I opened with two hands.
 
The great thing about the Umnumzaan and the 25 is that you can adjust the tension with the pivot screw without fear of getting the blade off center. So, you can cheat on the break in time by adjusting the pivot. Mine did come with grease and locktite.
I did adjust mine when I first got it.
 
It has been a number of years since I gave mine away, but in the time I had it (about 6 months) I recall nothing of a break in period. The use of a ceramic ball as the bearing (detent, and lock) surface seems to dictate that there is no break in or change over time.

That said, I did develop a bit of a callouse on my thumb from unlocking it. I played with it a lot, and by design the lock bar is (or was) largely obscured to prevent accidental release of the lock. The combination lead to my thumb getting a bit rougher...so you might call that a break in, but honestly, that seems like a stretch.
 
I guess I'm the odd man out. I bought my first Zaan , also my first CRK, in 11/09'.

The blade of my Zaan was very stiff. I opened it several hundred times, but it still wasn't easy to open. I opened and closed it more and
 
I can open the Zaan with my right hand no problem. Just took a little to find the correct angle, which is parallel to the grooves on the scale. Thanks to Haze (I can't find the post right now), I can open it left handed also. This took a little practice, but once I mastered it, it is easy. This involves using your thumb on one side and forefinger on the other side. Additionally, you can open it with either hand by using your thumb on the glass-breaker protrusion to start it.
 
The very first Umnumzaan I ever had in my possession was very hard to open with a very stiff detent. It was very slightly used so I don't know how much opening and closing it had previously. It was smooth so pivot tightness wasn't the issue.The brand new one I got in January was much better. Just the right amount of detent and silky smooth. Unlocking the Umnumzaan isn't as pleasant as a Sebenza however due to the pointy lockbar.
 
Just got mine back from the spa for a re-blade..The bevels were a bit too wide for my tastes..
Anyway, it was pretty smooth with no opening issues before..Now, it's a bit tough to open and I know how to open them.
Looking at the blade, the detent hole goes all the way through on the new blade,..The old one was more of a sphearical divot.

I think this may make it a bit harder to open.
 
Out of all my CRK's the zaan is without a doubt the smoothest & easiest opener! This thread needs a pic!
 
rexromic said:
Zaan rules :).
attachment.php
Click to expand...

I need to get an old style pivot.....
 
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