WH Kestrel, Persian or CRK Umfann?

Architect

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I just bought a William Henry Carbon Fiber Spearpoint as part of my EDC rotation. However, I generally prefer a smaller knife for carry at the office.

I am looking for opinons on the two smaller WH knives - the Kestrel and the Persian. Is there anything that you don't like between either of those two? How does the Chris Reeve Umfann compare to these two knives?
 
I have owned the Umfaan and held/played with both of the WH's.

Personally I would take the Umfaan based on the lock alone. Although I have no doubt WH makes a fine knife I have lost faith in liner locks.

The Umfaan was a little small for my hand so I sold it. I recently picked up a Mnandi and I think it would merit a look. List is less than the Umfaan and it is really a magnificent little knife. Bigger than the Umfaan but smaller than a Small Sebenza.

I bought a WH clip case to carry mine in so it's very secure and comfortable.
 
I have a Kestral and it doesn't get much pocket time. I find it small and a challenge to open -- and my hands are not especially large. I like the Umfann very much. I would go with the WH Lancet before the Kestral. I also find that the Kestral has a tendency to fall out of the clip-case when I sit.
 
I carry an Umfaan or a slip joint around the office every day. They would croak if they saw what was in my briefcase and car though :).

Cpirtle had some great thoughts. After messing with a Mnandi a couple of months ago, it will be replacing my Umfaan as a daily office carry (D.O.C.) pretty soon. If you are looking for a fine small knife, it would be a good idea to consider the Mnandi.
 
Thanks for the posts.

I looked for the Mnandi on the CRK website, but I see that they do not appear to post info or direct sell the Mnandi themselves. Anyone know why? I do like the fact that the Mnandi blade is not overly beefy. Factory designs seem to be going toward small blades for BIG cutting jobs. I like the idea of more of a slipjoint trapper with modern locking design.

I am still interested in hearing from anyone who has used the WH Persian. I had never used a trailing point blade until I used my Spyderco Chinook. I very much like the cutting geometry with the trailing point.
 
Chris Reeve has not updated their page on the Mnandi because they are still filling orders to dealers and running quite a backlog from what I understand.

If you are just looking for info their page is not the best anyway, I would reccomend the CRK forum.

If you're looking for one to buy check with Phil at 2thehilt in the dealer section. When I got mine he still had one left, I think #95.

You can't go wrong here, you'd be impressed with the Mnandi.
 
I have a WH Black & Tan Persian, which I carry with me to work (along with a CF Lancet). It's a great little knife, although I'm not completely sold on the practical value of an upswept blade that small. I find the Persian easy to open and close.

I've never handled an Umfaan, so I can't offer any comparison.
 
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