The Umnumzaan is a folding pocket knife

Pocket knife

A pocket knife is a folding knife with one or more blades that fit inside the handle that can still fit in a pocket. It is also known as a jackknife or jack-knife...

 manufactured by Chris Reeve Knives

Chris Reeve Knives

Chris Reeve Knives is a U.S. corporation with international sales and distribution based in Boise, ID. CRK manufactures folding pocket knives, fixed blade knives, and custom walking sticks...

 of Boise, Idaho

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

, and designed by Chris Reeve

Chris Reeve

Chris Reeve is an American knife maker, recognized as one of the most influential people in knife making history. Reeve founded Chris Reeve Knives , and is co-owner of the company with his wife, Anne Reeve.-Background:...

. The name "Umnumzaan" is derived from the Zulu

Zulu language

Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...

 language, meaning "Head of the family," or "Boss" (colloq.), a tribute to Mr. Reeve's South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 origins.

The Umnumzaan implements a version of the Chris Reeve Integral Lock. The original Integral Lock developed by Reeve in 1987, was first implemented in the Sebenza

Sebenza

The Sebenza is a folding pocket knife manufactured by Chris Reeve Knives of Boise, Idaho. It is constructed with a stainless steel blade and titanium handle. Its handle functions as the lock mechanism similar in concept to the Walker linerlock differing in that the handle itself forms the lock...

 folding pocket knife. This lock employs a titanium lock bar, milled out of the knife's handle material. At lock up, the titanium lock bar comes in direct contact with the back of the blade, thus locking the blade in the open position. The Umnumzaan Integral Lock utilizes a ceramic ball that serves two functions the ball acts as the interface between the blade locking surface and the integral locking arm as the knife assumes the open position. The ball also mates with a detent in the blade in the closed position to secure the blade from opening accidentally.

The Umnumzaan blade pivot is implemented with a pivot screw and pin, and is supported by perforated phosphor bronze thrust washers. The functions of the perforations are to reduce friction due to a reduction in surface area relative to that of a solid washer, and to increase the duration of use between cleanings by housing lubricant in the perforations.

The thumb lug on the Umnumzaan is used for opening the knife blade, as well as serving as the stop pin that contacts the titanium handle slabs upon lockup. Around each lug is a polyurethane o-ring that acts as a shock absorber to cushion the shock of opening, and reduce the audible noise of opening. The use of the shock absorber concept was pioneered by knife designers Grant and Gavin Hawk, and is being implemented in the Umnumzaan with their consent.

The specifications of the Umnumzaan are as follows:

• Blade material: CPM S30V steel
  CPM S30V steel
  CPM S30V is a martensitic powder-made wear and corrosion resistant stainless steel developed by Dick Barber of Crucible Materials Corporation in collaboration with knifemaker Chris Reeve. Its chemistry promotes the formation and even distribution of vanadium carbides, which are harder and more...
  
  
• Blade hardness: 58-59 RC
  Rockwell scale
  The Rockwell scale is a hardness scale based on the indentation hardness of a material. The Rockwell test determines the hardness by measuring the depth of penetration of an indenter under a large load compared to the penetration made by a preload. There are different scales, denoted by a single...
  
  
• Blade finish: Stonewash
• Blade length: 3.675 in (93.3 mm)
• Blade thickness: 0.14 in (3.6 mm)
• Handle length: 4.77 in (121.2 mm)
• Handle material: 6AI4V titanium
  Titanium
  Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
  
  
• Fittings: 303 stainless steel

The Umnumzaan was introduced at the 2008 Blade Show

Blade (magazine)

Blade is a long-running consumer magazine about knife collecting.First published in 1973 under the title American Blade by Southern House Publishing Co. with Blackie Collins as the editor, the magazine's title was changed to Blade in 1982 after its purchase by Jim Parker and Bruce Voyles...

and International Cutlery Fair, and was named the 2008 Blade Show "Overall Knife of the Year."