Umnumzaan: Bad for Sheeple? How's it Look Beat Up?

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dzlvs8

Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
948
I'm looking to take the plunge into the territory of the forbidden (price point) knives. I really like the profile of the umnum and how it isn't an extremely tall blade. To give you an idea of the type of ?narrow? blade I like, I like the Benchmade Torrent, ZT 0600, Microtech Socom Delta, and the Umnumzaan. At the moment I am very drawn to the Umnum but have two concerns.

1. I purchased a Benchmade 710 a while back and was VERY surprised when I got it that the beautiful swedge and recurve made sheeple freak out. ....I mean, I didn't feel right carrying it. People said that it looked purpose built to be scary. I don't want to carry a knife around that gives off a strong vibe like that. The harpoon tip makes me think that the umnum may surprise me in the same way when I see it in person. So, is the Umnumzaan a very agressive looking knife because of the harpoon tip and cut outs on the top of the blade? Looking at knives online give me a totally different vibe than they do in person sometimes. And half of the time that swedge doesn't show up in pictures. I went about six months before I realized it was there (..when looking at it in videos).

2. If I purchase an Umnum, I play to use the heck out of it. I sort of don't like the idea that the handles get scraped up easily. That's what I don't like about aluminum handled knives. They scratch very easily and look terrible once you scratch them. I know an umnum wont look as bad scratched but does anyone have any pics of their beat up umnum so I can get an idea for what the wear will look like on it. I'd hate to get such a beautiful and expensive knife and then have it look like garbage in a year.

Thanks.
 
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It's big, it's shiny, it's pointy, and you can open it in one hand. Yup... bad for "sheeple". Best ignore them unless you're fine with with SAKs and Case Peanuts.
 
Goosey said:
It's big, it's shiny, it's pointy, and you can open it in one hand. Yup... bad for "sheeple". Best ignore them unless you're fine with with SAKs and Case Peanuts.
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No, I think you are missing my point. I know it's big. I am looking for a big blade and yes that will scare all sheeple. I just don't want a wicked looking knife. I personally don't like wicked looking knives and I dont like sheeple thinking that I am trying to carry a wicked looking knife.

I am a big fan of blades that have the look of a tool to them instead of the look of a stabbin machine. From what I can tell from videos online, the umnum looks like a nice, utility, all around working knife, with some style. I know the sebenza fits this profile perfectly, but I don't like the style of it.
 
dzlvs8 said:
No, I think you are missing my point. I know it's big. I am looking for a big blade and yes that will scare all sheeple. I just don't want a wicked looking knife. I personally don't like wicked looking knives and I dont like sheeple thinking that I am trying to carry a wicked looking knife.

I am a big fan of blades that have the look of a tool to them instead of the look of a stabbin machine. From what I can tell from videos online, the umnum looks like a nice, utility, all around working knife, with some style. I know the sebenza fits this profile perfectly, but I don't like the style of it.
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I don't think non-knife people will be able to tell the difference in scariness between an Umnumzaan and a 710. They will be equally scary to them.

DYaZ6hs.jpg





A year ago I showed a fat, bloated Kershaw One-Ton to someone and they told me it looked like it was specially designed to stab people. Another person said a razor-blade trapper looked like it was designed with evil intentions. You can never tell what they will think: usually if it is large and pointy it looks bad. Only knife people seem to appreciate the subtle differences.

tggc0sB.jpg


Neither the Umnumzaan OR the 710 seem very scary looking to me. They are classy. But that's not what no-knife Joe Average sees when he looks at them. The harpooned Umnumzaan is possible slightly worse if I had to choose...
 
950 rift in two tone.

All I have gotten (Portland Oregon) is people thinking it looks nice.
 
If anybody thinks the 710 is wicked, the Zaan will look like it's evil twin. The Zaan is a great all around knife. Love mine and if someone I'm with thinks it's wicked (in a bad way, NOT wicked good) they shouldn't be looking at it having evil thoughts. But, that's just me.
 
Where the hell do you people live where everyone is scared of knives? I know lots of average people, guys and girls who aren't into knives at ALL, and almost NOBODY ever finds my knives scary. I mean, hell, I've whipped out Cold Steel Voyager XL's with 5.5 inch blades and nobody was scared of them, the worst comment I got was "man that's a big knife".
 
The last thing I care about when I am buying a knife is what other people will think about it.

If you like it, get it. Simple as that.
 
I always enjoy the logic that people who aren't into knives must be "sheep" or "sheeple".
 
dzlvs8 said:
I'm looking to take the plunge into the territory of the forbidden (price point) knives. I really like the profile of the umnum and how it isn't an extremely tall blade. To give you an idea of the type of ?narrow? blade I like, I like the Benchmade Torrent, ZT 0600, Microtech Socom Delta, and the Umnumzaan. At the moment I am very drawn to the Umnum but have two concerns.

1. I purchased a Benchmade 710 a while back and was VERY surprised when I got it that the beautiful swedge and recurve made sheeple freak out. ....I mean, I didn't feel right carrying it. People said that it looked purpose built to be scary. I don't want to carry a knife around that gives off a strong vibe like that. The harpoon tip makes me think that the umnum may surprise me in the same way when I see it in person. So, is the Umnumzaan a very agressive looking knife because of the harpoon tip and cut outs on the top of the blade? Looking at knives online give me a totally different vibe than they do in person sometimes. And half of the time that swedge doesn't show up in pictures. I went about six months before I realized it was there (..when looking at it in videos).

2. If I purchase an Umnum, I play to use the heck out of it. I sort of don't like the idea that the handles get scraped up easily. That's what I don't like about aluminum handled knives. They scratch very easily and look terrible once you scratch them. I know an umnum wont look as bad scratched but does anyone have any pics of their beat up umnum so I can get an idea for what the wear will look like on it. I'd hate to get such a beautiful and expensive knife and then have it look like garbage in a year.

Thanks.
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The handles are titanium, not aluminum. CRK sand blasted handles from the factory are inevitable to get some marks on them. You have to make the decision that you think "character marks" either add to the knife or just kill your experience with it. If you get one, get one that's slightly used with a few small marks on it, and you'll never think twice about if more marks come up on it. If you decide you don't like the used look, send it in for spa treatment and it'll come back minty fresh and you can start over trying to keep it pristine. IMO the Umnum is a very cool knife. I used to love to play with it and admire it, but never really carried it because IMO it's an attention grabber, and I like flying under the radar. Again, the knife is super cool and extremely ergonomic, but I feel the overall blade shape makes it look a little "fantasy-ish" (especially in the Startac configuration). The blade is definitely broader than a 710. The 710 IMO has a very slim blade for 3.9", and I wish it had more of the shape of the 707 but scaled up which would probably make it broader and lose the recurve. For large EDC, I prefer the slightly more subdued look of the Sebenza excluding the 25 as IMO the 25 has an aggressive look. But some people think anything pointy is aggressive looking. I'll say a small Umnum would be interesting.

I have a 710 too, love it, and don't really EDC it not because of what people think, but because a 3.9" isn't as practical for me on a day to day basis as something 3"-3.5" or so. I'd assume people are more scared of the length more than a swedge. IMO what the Umnum lacks in length compared to the 710, it makes up for in breadth...and that's what she said. Just my 2 cents.
 
I don't flash mine around, but I have no problem openly using using whatever I happen to be carrying. Usually people don't notice, or if they do, comment something positive.
 
If you're worried about the sheeple, you need to carry a traditional pen knife. And then make sure you open your packages with a pencil, because even a pen knife would scare some people.

Apparently, all of these sheeple have seen multiple people stabbed to death by knives and are thus scared of them....
 
DShiflet said:
Where the hell do you people live where everyone is scared of knives? I know lots of average people, guys and girls who aren't into knives at ALL, and almost NOBODY ever finds my knives scary. I mean, hell, I've whipped out Cold Steel Voyager XL's with 5.5 inch blades and nobody was scared of them, the worst comment I got was "man that's a big knife".
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I'm in Florida. I worked at a wholesale club and one of the employees reported to my boss that I was carrying a weapon. Turns out someone saw me using my big dangerous black Kershaw Blur to murder some innocent cardboard boxes....
 
I see a lot of threads and comments about people being scared of knives and I've never run into that problem before. My advice; move to the south (though I guess Florida is out). I grew up in Mississippi and can remember being bummed in highschool, in the late 90's, when they finally put in a zero tolerance ban on knives. Before then if you got caught with one, which basically only happened if you pulled it out in front of a teacher, it would be confiscated and you'd get detention. I lost a few cheap small pocket knives in school. Teachers used common sense (imagine that!), if a kid known to get into fights got caught with a knife or if someone brought a big ass hunting knife to school, punishment would be different.
I've traveled all over the south and never been anywhere that I felt worried that my knife might scare someone... except New Orleans and that's only because I'd worry about being hassled by cops. I once had a bad run in with some NOPD after my friend had the audacity to "run" a yellow light. Cops dragged me outta the car and cuffed me cause one of them thought I moved for a weapon. I say "dragged me" not because I was resisting but because I was asleep when he was pulled over and didnt' know what the hell was going on. Luckily we had no weapons, not even knives, in the car at the time.
Whenever I travel up north it's usually by plane so no knives on me then.
 
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I've told this story before, but it's funny.

I few years ago I stopped in a western boot shop in North Carolina with my wife and daughter. Of course they found something to buy and my daughter wanted to wear her new boots.
Being from the north and paranoid about flashing knives, I was struggling with the string holding the hang tags.

The young woman behind the counter handed me a pocket knife and told me " if you were a southern boy , you'd have a pocket knife".
 
1. I would imagine the Umnumzaan along with many other knives will tend to frighten some. If it's legal to carry where you live, you should carry whatever you like. I might suggest a couple things. If someone reacts in this manner to a particular knife take a minute to talk to them. Explain the benefits of carrying a large knife and that it is a tool. I also tend to carry a smaller slipjoint to use in public situations. Sometimes I just don't want to draw any unwanted attention to myself.

2. Sounds like titanium scales might not be for you. They scuff pretty easily so if you want your knife to remain prestine I would go with something like G10. Here is a photo of a knife with similar scales with some use.


Just my thoughts on the subject. Best of luck.
Keith
 
I've never had anyone bat an eye at my Umnumzaan. Everyone of my Spyderco knives elicit a response however. The Superhawk and Matriarch 2 I understand, but even my serrated Endura.
 
FullyTorque said:
I see a lot of threads and comments about people being scared of knives and I've never run into that problem before. My advice; move to the south (though I guess Florida is out). I grew up in Mississippi and can remember being bummed in highschool, in the late 90's, when they finally put in a zero tolerance ban on knives. Before then if you got caught with one, which basically only happened if you pulled it out in front of a teacher, it would be confiscated and you'd get detention. I lost a few cheap small pocket knives in school. Teachers used common sense (imagine that!), if a kid known to get into fights got caught with a knife or if someone brought a big ass hunting knife to school, punishment would be different.
I've traveled all over the south and never been anywhere that I felt worried that my knife might scare someone... except New Orleans and that's only because I'd worry about being hassled by cops. I once had a bad run in with some NOPD after my friend had the audacity to "run" a yellow light. Cops dragged me outta the car and cuffed me cause one of them thought I moved for a weapon. I say "dragged me" not because I was resisting but because I was asleep when he was pulled over and didnt' know what the hell was going on. Luckily we had no weapons, not even knives, in the car at the time.
Whenever I travel up north it's usually by plane so no knives on me then.
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Hello from Birmingham ;)

Never had a blade on me north of the Mason-Dixon either since it's usually by plane. My MIL is from Chicago but lived here 30 years fortunately, and I simply explained to her that down here, we basically learn in order: walking, alphabet, how to fire a gun, how to whittle some wood, how to run a push mower, and that I had achieved those by age 7. Hell, most of us are driving our dad's truck on backroads by age 10 lol.
 
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