Chris Reeve Umnumzaan: Part 2

I did a post on the Chris Reeve Umnumzaan a few weeks ago.  Since then I have used it fairly extensively for a variety of tasks ranging from kitchen duties to cleaning waterfowl.

Overall, I am as happy with its' performance and design as I was originally.  The blade continues to lock up with no play and, after adjusting the pivot, the action is nice and smooth.

There are, however, some small nitpicks.  First of all, the thumbstuds are too slick. For people who dislike thumbstuds that irritate their thumbs, the Umnumzaan's will be perfect.  For me, they need some sort of traction to ensure solid purchase.  I would like to see Chris Reeve offer replacement ones with some sort of traction on them.

Secondly, when the blade is locked open, the protruding corner of the frame lock cutout is sharp.  Honestly, I have not noticed it irritating me during use but the fact that it is there bothers me.  Sharp edges on the handle of a hand tool are never a good thing.  I plan to round it off with emery paper eventually.

One other minor issue that I have is the edge thickness.  I'd like to see it be a little thinner, more like a Sebenza.  It's a personal issue that will vary depending on intended use, but I find the edge too thick for my taste.  Thankfully, it is a problem that is easy to fix.

To conclude, the Umnumzaan is a great knife but nothing is perfect.  I don't know how receptive Chris Reeve Knives are to design tweaks, but those are some issues I'd like to see addressed.  I feel that it would improve an already outstanding knife.