Umnumzaan, Strider SNG or Mercworx Lachesis?

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Mar 19, 2009
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I am trying to decide between these three, if the Umnumzaan is as strong as the others please let me know, also how is Chris Reeve's warranty? Is the SNG a comfortable knife to carry, and how is the black oxide blade finish? As for the MercWorx Lachesis I have found out that this knife has been discontinued, but they still have one left in black micarta. Is this a good knife and how does it compare to the others?

Could owners of any of these knives please post pics?:D
 
I would go for the strider. I prefer it to the umnumzaan, though I prefer the sebenza to the sng. Cant speak to the mercworx, although I can say I prefer frame locks because when you squeeze the handle hard you cant disengage the lock.

what kind of sng are you looking at? there are a ton of different designs, although I think the basic one is probably my favorite.
 
Is the SNG a comfortable knife to carry, and how is the black oxide blade finish

I cannot speak for the other two as I do not own them yet, but I do have a Strider SnG with the tiger stripe blade. It is very comfortable to carry, both in pocket and on pocket.

As far as the stripes and the black oxide - I understand the stripes are the result of bead blasting the black oxide coating away in spots leaving the stripes. My only advice - watch for rusting on the bead blasted portion of the blade where the knife touches your leg.

Apparently my sweat is toxic and just the one side gets rust spots. I wax the blade weekly to help deter that.

The more you use the knife the more character it gives the stripes and the tougher it looks. These are not designed to sit in boxes or safes.

Good luck with your decision...:)
 
"what kind of sng are you looking at?"
A SNG CC with or without the black oxide finish. I like the SMF CC Tanto Black Oxide and Ranger Green G-10, but I don't know if I want a knife that big and heavy.
 
My only advice - watch for rusting where the blade touches your leg

If were talking about spots to watch for, the area around the hole (on a strider) or studs (on most other knives) will get your fingerprints on them no matter how hard you try.

A SNG CC with or without the black oxide finish.

sounds good to me. personally, I like a satin blade, but thats got to be up to your preference.
 
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Strider. :thumbup:

The Umnumzaan will take you a while to get as they seem to be sold out everywhere. Can't comment on the Mercworx, but I've got two SMF's and I love them. SnG's are basically a downsized model.
 
Neil at TNK has them (Umnums that is) and so does Plaza Cutlery in Costa Mesa. Most knife companies have very good warranty service. Mick doesn't make many left hand folders so they are off my list. I have no experience with Merkworx. My umnum carries very similar to a large Sebenza, I even clip it to my pajamas at night (I know it's nuts, please don't throw rocks at me:eek:!).
The "as tough as" arguement has been beaten to death here. I would bet that all the knives you are considering will stand up to just about any reasonable task you can expect a folder to do. Are striders tougher than umnums? I don't know. I am partial to CRK so I can't offer you an unbiased opinion. Mostly it comes down to personal prefference. My only complaint about the umnum is that it is somewhat of a pocket eater.:cool:;):p
 
The Umnumzaan will take you a while to get as they seem to be sold out everywhere.

The Umnum can easily be found. They're are probably more readily available than a Strider. Especially if decides to get a CC, DGG, satin blade, etc.

In my opinion the Mercworx shouldn't be compared to the Umnum and the Strider, I just don't think it's in the same ball park. You really can't go wrong with either one (CRK or Strider), I seriously doubt one will prove more reliable than the other. It just comes down to which one you like better and that's not something some guy on the internet can answer for you.
 
The Umnum can easily be found. They're are probably more readily available than a Strider. Especially if decides to get a CC, DGG, satin blade, etc.

:foot: There was another thread concerning the Umnumzaan and the impression I got was that there is a large demand leading to a longer wait time.
 
:foot: There was another thread concerning the Umnumzaan and the impression I got was that there is a large demand leading to a longer wait time.

Nope in fact you could hope on evilBay right now and pick up any of the 6 that are available. All for the same price that most dealers are selling it for. New Graham has about 4 in stock as well.

When it first came out there was a very large demand and they were hard to find. It seems like most people stock them now, with the exception of a couple dealers that are still sold out.
 
I would go for the strider. I prefer it to the umnumzaan, though I prefer the sebenza to the sng. Cant speak to the mercworx, although I can say I prefer frame locks because when you squeeze the handle hard you cant disengage the lock.

Agree.

There's no question that the SnG is stouter than the Sebenza, but the Sebenza functions better as a folding knife. IOW, it folds better and it cuts better.

In my world, the Sebenza is as structurally strong as a folder needs to be. In my world, it does not make sense to add structural strength to the Sebenza at the expense of cutting utility. Of course, YMMV.

I have plenty of small fixed blades that are just as easy to carry as a Large Sebenza, and way structurally stronger than any folder Strider (or anyone else) is ever going to produce.
 
There's no question that the SnG is stouter than the Sebenza.

There is a question in my mind. The Sebenza has a thinner blade and a stronger handle than the SnG. (I doubt anyone believes that 2 x Ti Slabs is weaker than 1 Ti slab and 1 G10 slab?)

Can anyone say that one is stouter all around though... I doubt it. Just depends on what scenario someone cooks up to make their choice the winner.
 
Just depends on what scenario someone cooks up to make their choice the winner.

There are really only two structural scenarios: Considering the knife locked open as a cantilever beam in the axial position, and similarly in the lateral position.

If the knife is supported close to the tip, the SnG wins owing to its blade's greater section modulus. If the knife is supported further along the blade, the SnG wins on the merit of its stronger pivot and stop.

Same is true with the cutting edge. There is just simply more material behind the SnG's edge to act as a buttress.

So, if you want a foldable poking and prying implement with superior integrity, the SnG bests the Sebenza. If you want a folding cutting tool, the Sebenza bests the SnG. I use folding knives to cut with, so I'm a Sebenza guy.

If you can't figure this out intuitively, just take a Sebenza and an SnG, stick them both in a crack somewhere, and stomp on them. Worst case, it'll cost you three quarters of a grand to see what's obvious to anyone with basic structural sense.
 
since they are all relatively strongly-built knives, what is going to matter most to you is comparing how each feels in the hand. Most folks have had the experience of buying a knife off the net without having held it, thinking it is great, and then when it arrives they find it's not really right for them.
 
I agree with tsiloics, I had an SMF, and just preferred the Seb. The Seb is a perfect cutting tool, while being stout enough to perform any KNIFE duty with ease. The Ti slabs on the SMF and the Seb were exactly the same thickness (to the naked eye at least), and the only difference of "stoutness" is the thickness of the blades. The Umnum has a thicker blade than the Seb (not thicker than the SMF/SNG), thicker slabs of Ti, and a bull pivot as well.

I have been tempted to upgrade to a Umnum, but for now my Seb will stay firmly in my pocket.

As for MW, I have no idea........ I cant recall a recent reveiw of any of their knives.
 
i've had sebs, SnG's and SMF's and of those 3 i like the SnG, i am not one of the legion of seb fans lol, they just never grabbed me, nice knives though with really good F&F,the MW folders i have seen varied some in F&F, some really nice others just average, really nice grinds though, i thought the MW folders i saw were a bit high for what ya got, if i did want one of them i would look for a deal on one vs retail.
 
There are really only two structural scenarios: Considering the knife locked open as a cantilever beam in the axial position, and similarly in the lateral position.

Wrong! There is a third axis, as well as impact strength in all 3 axis as well for the blade and handle. Then there is the blades ability to stand up to chopping and batoning from a proper heat treat. Plus the ability to stand up to violent impacts from being dropped while closed and open, and still usable. How "stout" is a knife that if dropped will not open if the handle has deformed? What if the knife's locking mechanism relies on an exposed thumbstud which was deformed on the impact? What if I had to use my knife closed as an improvised hammer? Do you think a G-10 slab will hammer or survive impacts better than solid titanium slab? Are these not things that a stout knife might see in the course of use?

From seeing hundreds of blades returned for warranty repair I can guarantee you that knives do encounter these things, and in my opinion a stout knife can and will be designed to encounter these things and remain functional.


If the knife is supported close to the tip, the SnG wins owing to its blade's greater section modulus. If the knife is supported further along the blade, the SnG wins on the merit of its stronger pivot and stop.

Wrong! What good is a stronger pivot supported by weaker G10 handle slab? Do you not think that the realtively brittle G10 will fracture and the pivot will tear out of it before the Ti of the Sebenza? This is why I say that no one can say which is stronger, only which is stronger in the scenario they cook up to make their choice come out the winner. Just as you have done! FYI you will not be able to break the pivot of a Sebenza without at least a 3ft cheater bar. I know because I have performed this type of testing on many knives including Sebenza "Bushing" style pivots.

Same is true with the cutting edge. There is just simply more material behind the SnG's edge to act as a buttress.

Depends on heat treat too. A brittle heat treat will chip out despite a thicker edge. I have personally heat treated a few thousand blades and can guarantee you with 100% certainty that heat treat varies from knife to knife and 2 samples from either company can vary widely in performance.

So, if you want a foldable poking and prying implement with superior integrity, the SnG bests the Sebenza. If you want a folding cutting tool, the Sebenza bests the SnG. I use folding knives to cut with, so I'm a Sebenza guy.

I want to agree but what exactly is "superior integrity" of the SnG? Likely some performance characteristics defined by you to make your choice the winner. I'm sorry, but comparing these knives you just can't make exact statements that apply to all scenarios with so many variables to each scenario. All we can say for certain is that they are both high quality, hard use knives designed for rugged use.

If you can't figure this out intuitively, just take a Sebenza and an SnG, stick them both in a crack somewhere, and stomp on them. Worst case, it'll cost you three quarters of a grand to see what's obvious to anyone with basic structural sense.

Sorry, but I'll take my real world experience over your "intuition" when it comes to these matters.

I have destructive tested many knives as part of my former career as Special Projects Manager at a major knife manufacturer. There are more considerations than the 2 criteria you have selected of blade thickness and pivot strength. Grinds, Choil Shape, Choil Plunge Grind Geometry, Blade Profiles, Blade Pivot Design, Handle Materials, Heat Treats, and many other factors play into it as well.

It's foolishness to sit behind a computer and say for 100% certainty that a SNG bests a Sebenza in such a vague tyerm as "Stoutness". One is better in some areas, one is better in others. That's all there is to it!

BTW, for the OP I prefer the SNG. I find them safer to use since they have a stronger detent to keep the blade closed. I have had sebenza's open in my pocket and cut me but the SNG's I have owned have had a much stronger detent and never opened unintentionally. Plus the lighter weight makes the SNG a dream to carry.
 
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I have both ( SnG & Umnumzaan) , you will need to try both before you can make a choice.
They're both great knives , the CR is built like a swiss watch while the SnG is a little less detail orientated.

If I had to sell one it would be equally hard to pick.

You didn't mention the Srider AR, but you might want to check one of those out, if you don't mind a huge folder it too is a great knife.
 
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