This groundbreaking folding knife brings fixed blade strength right into your pocket thanks to modifications made to its Integral Lock and perforated phosphor bronze washers that reduce friction while holding onto lubrication for longer.
The CRK features an innovative ceramic ball detent, which extends lock life over standard titanium frame locks, as well as ambidextrous thumb studs that double up as blade stops when deployed and a lanyard pivot joint that reduces friction wear caused by paracord lanyards.
High Pivot Strength
The umnumzaan, or “The Boss” in Zulu, is an overbuilt folding knife designed for everyday tactical tasks and featuring an extensive frame lock and aerospace-grade titanium handles. Its 3.675″ blade extends out for a full-size feel while remaining light at 5.0 oz despite this fact. Available with drop point or tanto blade options. Plus, the CRK Umnumzaan comes equipped with glass-breaking capabilities, which makes this piece an invaluable tactical asset!
The Umnumzaan is an outstanding example of the engineering that goes into CRK products. For instance, its pivot is supported by perforated phosphor bronze thrust washers, which reduce friction by decreasing surface area while simultaneously housing lubricant to prolong its service life over its lifespan.
Umnumzaan’s deep hollow grind is another key strength. This allows it to push through materials like cardboard that other grinds cannot without binding and becoming stuck. Furthermore, its fragile edge enables long-term sharpening with minimal strokes.
The Umnumzaan was the first CRK model to feature a pivot joint for its lanyard that significantly reduces friction wear over time, which wears down paracord lanyards over time. This innovation has since been replicated across other CRK models.
CRK knives are well known for their superb fit and finish, along with extremely tight tolerances. The Umnumzaan is no exception – one reason it justifies its price tag over similar models from other manufacturers.
The umnumzaan competes against similar CRK offerings by Rick Hinderer’s XM-18 and Mick Strider’s SnG that provide more options in terms of blade shapes, grinds, and handle designs, but none come close to matching CRK’s level of detail and design.
Lock Bar Stabilizer
The Umnumzaan frame-lock knife offers fixed blade strength in a folding knife form factor. Introduced at Blade Show 2008 (and winning its Overall Knife of the Year award that year), its design incorporates an oversized pivot and titanium frame lock – with Reeve’s famed Integral Lock system – along with a frame lock design incorporating his most notable innovation for knife design – an oversized pivot.
Although at first glance, the Umnumzaan may resemble its more well-known sibling, Sebenza, the Umnumzaan stands out in every respect from this traditional model. First of all, instead of employing Sebenza’s bushing system to secure its blade to its handle, the Umnumzaan uses a ball detent with dual thumb studs as stop pins for opening/closing; this provides for smoother and faster blade space/closing action and makes this knife feel much lighter to use overall.
This new frame lock design represents a significant advancement over previous frame lock designs that used a stop pin that couldn’t act as a thumb stud, as well as double thumb studs, to increase gripping power and ensure secure holding in your hand.
There’s also a ceramic lock bar interface, which reduces wear and tear caused by metal-on-metal contact. This is not to say the locking mechanism is any less solid or durable; instead, it has proven more resilient.
Umnumzaan stands out from other frame locks by featuring superior pivot and lock tolerances; an oversized pivot provides more excellent durability, and it is equipped with an integral glass breaker when closing its blade.
The Umnumzaan is an excellent option for anyone seeking a heavy-duty folder with great blade strength and durability. Crafted from CPM S45VN steel heat treated for flexibility and edge retention, its 3.675″ tanto blade makes an impressionful first impression when opened or closed multiple times. Plus, with Hawk’s innovation of adding O rings around stop pins to absorb shock absorption during flicking opens and closures various times, it comes equipped with shock absorption capabilities that ensure professional-grade quality performance every time!
Ceramic Lock Bar Interface
Chris Reeve Knives Umnumzaan takes its name from the Zulu word for “The Boss,” making this pocket knife an imposing force of business. A reliable worker, it features a CPM S45VN tanto blade heat treated to 60 RC for flexibility and edge retention, with ceramic bearing lock cylinders to facilitate a more effortless opening/closing experience while helping reduce friction/wear on the titanium lock bar over time.
Ceramic balls serve both as an interface and detent between the lock bar and integral locking arm, improving lock-up reliability, while the ceramic material’s softness helps extend pivot life while protecting blade locking surfaces from damage. They also decrease lock stick incidents – something seen with some knives. CRK Inkosi replaced Sebenza 25 in 2016 using this similar system.
Thrust washers made of perforated phosphor bronze are utilized to reduce friction and retain lubrication for extended use, as well as increase the overall strength of the Integral Lock by more evenly dispersing force across its blade and handle. Additionally, this system serves to increase overall strength by decreasing hot spots through uniform force distribution across the blade and handle.
Umnumzaan’s innovations do not end there; the blade also boasts an innovative lanyard pivot joint that effectively reduces friction and wears that, over time, erodes paracord lanyards, thanks to a groundbreaking locking feature designed with this in mind. Other notable features of the knife include its large titanium spacer, large titanium thumb studs & extended lock bar to aid operation while wearing gloves, as well as its glass-breaker tip located directly within its blade.
The Umnumzaan’s large 3.675″ blade can handle most tasks easily and provides a solid grip for comfortable cutting. Jimping on its spine adds additional grip where necessary while still being subtle enough for discreet carry. Plus, its deep hollow grind has the unique property of sharpening faster each time and maintaining a more vital edge for longer with each sharpening session.
Shock Absorber
The Umnumzaan Heavy-Duty Folder was built for heavy use. Whether cutting through apples, wood, cardboard, wire, cucumbers, styrofoam, or anything else it might come across; its deep hollow grind allows its edge to penetrate materials more readily than would bind if using scandi or complete flat grinding techniques, resulting in an excellent cutting blade with near fixed blade strength tip strength and near fixed edge strength tip strength.
The umnumzaan features a ceramic ball that serves as a stop pin between its integral locking arm and blade lock surface and serves as an interface between the integral locking arm and thumb lug – this feature was taken from Grant and Gavin Hawk’s innovative designs, and we thank them for permitting us to incorporate it in ours. Additionally, its polyurethane o-ring acts as a shock absorber, another fantastic innovation from these brothers that we borrowed.
Umnumzaan’s strength can be further increased using a unique pivot that utilizes perforated phosphor bronze thrust washers with perforations for reduced friction and long-term lubrication, making its pivot much more robust under torsional tension while simultaneously decreasing wear on contact areas. This system is similar to Sebenza’s but modified for increased strength; additionally, it is constructed to be easy to disassemble and reassemble using its large takedown bolt that doesn’t require the tool for dismantling and reassembling down the device needed by Sebenza’s take-down tool system.
The Umnumzaan knife is designed for everyday carry and will quickly become your go-to knife! Available with different handles, blade steels, and colors, as well as an ergonomic hard carry sheath, this rugged workhorse offers smooth handling while remaining comfortable to carry in pockets despite its solid construction. Plus, it includes free shipping in the U.S. as well as a complimentary tube of Loctite, microfiber cloth, and an information packet with every purchase! Don’t delay; get your own today and enjoy free shipping within this country – your first purchase comes complete with everything included – plus a free Loctite tube, microfiber cloth & information packet! Order today and start benefiting from our free shipping offers, as well as receiving our complimentary Loctite tube, microfiber cloth, and information packet included with every purchase; order today and take advantage of free shipping in this country and be ready to go right away as soon as you return!
