umnum test from poland

+1. All that's happening now is the disparaging of a very well made knife and by consequence the knifemaker. For those of you who seem to live in some fantasy world where you think you'll be fighting and stabbing and spinewhacking each and every day, get a fixed blade. Problem solved.

-Tye
 
TyMathews said:
+1. All that's happening now is the disparaging of a very well made knife and by consequence the knifemaker. For those of you who seem to live in some fantasy world where you think you'll be fighting and stabbing and spinewhacking each and every day, get a fixed blade. Problem solved.

-Tye
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JNewell said:
+1 ^3

Probably should be locked...
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I agree. Mr. Reeve gave a thorough explanation of how and why the lock failed. The failure was due to the user abusing the knife and damaging the lock ( also hype-extending it ) which lead to its failure. I dont know how much more can be said if anything regarding this knife and its design. This thread has become as rediculas as the noss tests that the trolls bring up.
 
nyefmaker said:
I agree. Mr. Reeve gave a thorough explanation of how and why the lock failed. The failure was due to the user abusing the knife and damaging the lock ( also hype-extending it ) which lead to its failure. I dont know how much more can be said if anything regarding this knife and its design. This thread has become as rediculas as the noss tests that the trolls bring up.
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Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't read the whole thread.

Most of you probably aren't going to agree with me for what I'm about to say, and that's fine. For full disclosure I own a Sebenza 21, an Umnum, a Strider SnG and an SMF and a bunch of excellent fixed blades. I switch between carrying the Umnum and SnG as my edc.

There is no doubt about the function of the Umnum for basic cutting tasks. It is beyond excellent. The tanto blade I have on mine is a thing of beauty (and function) and is surprisingly easy to keep razor sharp by using a leather strop. The problem for me is, the Umnum, for all practical purposes, falls into the "harduse" category of knives. These are knives that people (military, law enforcement and SAR) depend on for saving lives. In all honesty, if I had such a life and death occupation, I would probably carry the SnG or the SmF as my first choice.

Every knife has weaknesses and will fail at some threshold of abuse, and I know the SnG has at least one documented weak spot, but for me the ceramic ball design of the Umnum is too much of a tradeoff in favor of "ease of use" and "mechanical bliss" at the expense of outright robustness. While I do not wrist flick my Umnum, I do thumb flick it all the time. It *is* mechanical nirvana. However, given Mr. Reeve's acknowledgement that an even slightly out of tolerance ball will cause the lock to fail, if my life depended on it, I would not opt to carry the Umnum.

I have some other nit-picks with the Umnum, such as how cumbersome it is to open with your left hand -- that would also tend to favor the SnG for use in a life or death occupation. Overall, the Umnum is a fantastic example of engineering and machining (true craftsmanship), but may in fact be over-engineered, at least for certain jobs/scenarios.
 
Goldistheanswer said:
Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't read the whole thread.

Most of you probably aren't going to agree with me for what I'm about to say, and that's fine. For full disclosure I own a Sebenza 21, an Umnum, a Strider SnG and an SMF and a bunch of excellent fixed blades. I switch between carrying the Umnum and SnG as my edc.

There is no doubt about the function of the Umnum for basic cutting tasks. It is beyond excellent. The tanto blade I have on mine is a thing of beauty (and function) and is surprisingly easy to keep razor sharp by using a leather strop. The problem for me is, the Umnum, for all practical purposes, falls into the "harduse" category of knives. These are knives that people (military, law enforcement and SAR) depend on for saving lives. In all honesty, if I had such a life and death occupation, I would probably carry the SnG or the SmF as my first choice.

Every knife has weaknesses and will fail at some threshold of abuse, and I know the SnG has at least one documented weak spot, but for me the ceramic ball design of the Umnum is too much of a tradeoff in favor of "ease of use" and "mechanical bliss" at the expense of outright robustness. While I do not wrist flick my Umnum, I do thumb flick it all the time. It *is* mechanical nirvana. However, given Mr. Reeve's acknowledgement that an even slightly out of tolerance ball will cause the lock to fail, if my life depended on it, I would not opt to carry the Umnum.

I have some other nit-picks with the Umnum, such as how cumbersome it is to open with your left hand -- that would also tend to favor the SnG for use in a life or death occupation. Overall, the Umnum is a fantastic example of engineering and machining (true craftsmanship), but may in fact be over-engineered, at least for certain jobs/scenarios.
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Don't think I would find much to disagree with here, other than in a real "life or death" occupation, I'd opt for a fixed blade. I think the admitted "weakness" of the knife may be of concern for a very very small fraction of the overall user population, and ANY folding knife will have a similar inherent weakness near its middle.
 
Goldistheanswer said:
Overall, the Umnum is a fantastic example of engineering and machining (true craftsmanship), but may in fact be over-engineered, at least for certain jobs/scenarios.
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You have made a great post! A well thought out, non provocative commentary on your opinion of a knife you actually own. After reading this thread in it's entirety this was a refreshing breath of fresh air.

I see your points, but also disagree in that I feel 100% confident in my Umnum.

It is my most carried EDC and that is over my next favorite, a Hinderer XM-18. The Umnum is a knife that has been designed for supreme longevity. A knife that will survive thousands and thousands of cycles with no change in tolerance and lock-up. This is a trait that I feel partially justifies the price, especially compared with say a Strider which will work it's way out of tolerance and develop blade play after extended EDC in a year or 2. In fact, every other frame lock will experience exaggerated wear on the lock compared to the Umnum. So to me they are not worth the asking price compared with the technology in the Umnum.

Not to mention, I know in 10 years time I will fully be able to have my Umnum reconditioned to like new, factory specs due to the longevity of the company itself.

So all in all, the reliability of the Umnum, and all CRK products in my mind justifies the price and my faith in them. I think a lock is more likely to fail from wear and tear over the years and changes in tolerance than from a spine whack occurring. I mean for knives used as intended during the EDC scenarios most of us encounter. (As in scenarios which do not include spine whacks and refridgerator attacks, but do include thousands of opening and closing cycles over 5 years, 10 years, and so on.)

It is my opinion that the Umnumzaan is the most reliable folding knife made to date, and yet also plenty tough for any emergency scenario that I might encounter in my lifetime.
 
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Goldistheanswer said:
There is no doubt about the function of the Umnum for basic cutting tasks. It is beyond excellent. The tanto blade I have on mine is a thing of beauty (and function) and is surprisingly easy to keep razor sharp by using a leather strop. The problem for me is, the Umnum, for all practical purposes, falls into the "harduse" category of knives. These are knives that people (military, law enforcement and SAR) depend on for saving lives. In all honesty, if I had such a life and death occupation, I would probably carry the SnG or the SmF as my first choice.
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I really didn't want to post in this thread, as I feel it needs to die, but I just wanted to point out I feel the Umnum(tanto in particular) is an excellent "hard-use" knife. I carry mine both on duty and off, and trust it completely. In my opinion and experience, the Umnum is a better "all-round" knife than the SnG because of the glass-breaker tip. I've seen guys have difficulty taking car windows out without speciallized tools on numerous incidents. I also know, from experience, the Umnum's glass-breaker will do the job with relative ease. If it takes hydraulic spreaders to a pry car door, nobody's gonna pop that same door with a knife, period. So, while it seems pretty cool to think we're gonna be able to perform something right out of a Stallone movie with nothing more than the folder in our pocket, I don't see that as reality. I think Striders shine due to their excellent warranty, but imagine CRK would take care of someone who had to use their knife in an abusive manner as long as it was justified.

I'm not knocking what Goldistheanswer has stated, as he certainly didn't say anything that offends. It's just that I feel the Umnumzaan is a real-deal hard-use knife and doesn't take the backseat to Striders, in my opinion.:thumbup:
 
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I have long stated that a Umnumzaan with a sebenza lock-bar would be the ultimate folder. But, we do not have this, we have a new design that is similar and we have to get used to it!!! I have used my zaan during extreme "Cutting" operations and it has performed flawlessly. From everything to cutting Tons of cardboard which is an edge killer for any knife, to using it as a wood scraper to cutting through tar paper and shingles. Its my EDC for good reason, because it has excelled in the tasks I need it for and that is "cuting". I have also used my large regular sebenza heavily also and I cant say one performed any better than the other........I have had 3 striders, I still have my smf and it is near perfect in every way, while the 2 sng's were absulutely awful with blade play, uneven grinds, blads rubbing on slabs, etc. Strider might have a good warranty on paper, but try to call them for something !!!After weeks of no reply from emails or calls, I have given up on the company. I will keep the smf, but its the only strider I will ever own.....I dont have an xm-18, so I have no experience with it in any way, though I love the look of it and the flipper is awsome.......Knowing Chris and his knives and knowing how passionate he is about his knives, if you had a well professionally documented case where one of his knives failed during a life threatening situation, I am sure he would make it right and repair or replace it, thats just the kind of guy I know he is................Most knife tests are cool to watch and I did watch this knife test and just shook my head during some of the acts. Any folder, not just the umnumzaan WILL FAIL if you bend the lockbar out of spec, hyper extend it where it will not perform its intended function. Should this happen, it is the knifes fault ??? NO !!!
 
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