Arno Bernard iMamba praise

Anyone else get the email about skeletonisation?

I was expecting to see pics of knives with holes all over like olamic acid rain… but assume it’s all internal.

Do they really need it? I kinda like knives without holes all over the inside …
 
matt009au said:
Anyone else get the email about skeletonisation?

I was expecting to see pics of knives with holes all over like olamic acid rain… but assume it’s all internal.

Do they really need it? I kinda like knives without holes all over the inside …
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The skeletonization is on the fuller on the blade. They just wont be offering blades without holes in them any longer. Although I spoke with them about the running of a fuller-less blade with studs. They said they prob won’t run that until blade show next year. I’m in for one though!
 
Mustacheben said:
The skeletonization is on the fuller on the blade. They just wont be offering blades without holes in them any longer. Although I spoke with them about the running of a fuller-less blade with studs. They said they prob won’t run that until blade show next year. I’m in for one though!
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Didn’t even see that! Looks gross to me… cost cutting…
hopefully the order I placed a few weeks back will still be the old style.
 
matt009au said:
Didn’t even see that! Looks gross to me… cost cutting…
hopefully the order I placed a few weeks back will still be the old style.
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I don’t think it was a cost cutting measure. This was requested by customers and they tend to listen to what people want. I’m guessing the switch did not come lightly. likely a ton of people asked for it. You can prob email them and ask for the older style. They are pretty accommodating when they can be!
 
matt009au said:
Didn’t even see that! Looks gross to me… cost cutting…
hopefully the order I placed a few weeks back will still be the old style.
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I have some with the skeletonized blades, and some without. To me they look good either way.

I do not know about "gross" though. Absolutely a matter of personal taste.

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Do people really like the cut out more? Sometimes the customer isn’t right… look at the old CRK, they were better for not listening. To me they took a classy, unique looking knife and made it look like a maxace..:

Hopefully they keep RWL34, with its keen edge and ease of sharpening, and don’t upgrade to something horrible like magnacut…
 
matt009au said:
Do people really like the cut out more? Sometimes the customer isn’t right… look at the old CRK, they were better for not listening. To me they took a classy, unique looking knife and made it look like a maxace..:

Hopefully they keep RWL34, with its keen edge and ease of sharpening, and don’t upgrade to something horrible like magnacut…
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I would like the option either way if I was ordering direct, but they both look good to me
 
matt009au said:
Do people really like the cut out more? Sometimes the customer isn’t right… look at the old CRK, they were better for not listening. To me they took a classy, unique looking knife and made it look like a maxace..:

Hopefully they keep RWL34, with its keen edge and ease of sharpening, and don’t upgrade to something horrible like magnacut…
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I believe they are just making that the standard option. They have had the option for both for a bit I don’t know that they are doing away with it. Considering they have made some fuller-less in the past and plan to make some again in the future it sounds like they are still giving customers the option if you order directly from them like norcalAF norcalAF said.
 
I also hope they keep both options as far as the fuller, and slotted hole. The fuller is actually what first made me really take a close look at it when I saw one. It's always reminded me of a Mnandi/Sebenza with it's own twist. However I suppose Mnandis don't come with the fuller anymore either. Well, if they change to the slotted hole permanently, at least we'll be the OGs that people look at in years to come and think "Dang... Those guys have been sporting Arno Bernards since way back when they had the old school Mnandi fullers!" It's going to take a lot to convince myself that I don't need a thumbstud version when those come out.
 
I carried my iMamba for a couple days to start the week and had a couple pics left over after posting in the EDC thread, so I figured I'd drop by again, look around a bit, and post a couple here too. I've still just got the one PJ with the IKBS style pivot, but have lusted some after a Desert Ironwood model. Maybe now, with the new bearings and skeletonized blade, there's enough diff to justify another, though I'd probably want to sell off something first unless a fat sheetmetal side job comes along for this retired guy.

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unwisefool said:
iMamba? Why the lower case "i" in front? Does it get cell reception or have onboard wifi? Looks like a nice knife though, enjoy! And I think that inlay looks great
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Sorry for the necro. It's a lower case "i" because it's a Zulu construct. Mamba is the name of the snake and putting an "i" in front makes it "the Mamba". In the Zulu syntax, as represented in English, the prefix is lower case.
 
daelm said:
Sorry for the necro. It's a lower case "i" because it's a Zulu construct. Mamba is the name of the snake and putting an "i" in front makes it "the Mamba". In the Zulu syntax, as represented in English, the prefix is lower case.
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Apparently, the use of "i" as the prefix is because "mamba" is a borrowed word. Snake in general is "inyoka". This is a little weird because the name mamba for the snake was probably borrowed by settlers from a native word anyway. So if it is borrowed, it's borrowed back.

Putting aside the syntax, the (black) mamba after which the knife is named is distinctive for being one of the world's largest venomous snakes (6 to 8 feet is common), for having an incredibly dangerous neurtoxin and for being one of fastest land snakes alive. Survivors and witnesses to attacks report a very fast, repeated sequence of bites, much like a jackhammer. It's probably just imagination, but I see that in the blade shape.
 
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daelm said:
Sorry for the necro. It's a lower case "i" because it's a Zulu construct. Mamba is the name of the snake and putting an "i" in front makes it "the Mamba". In the Zulu syntax, as represented in English, the prefix is lower case.
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We wanted to name the knife Mamba but the name was already taken and we were not allowed to use it. Then we used iMamba because like you said it was the Zulu name for black mamba.
 
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I have a couple of Arno Bernard knives and they are awesome. The iMamba is honestly a little big for me and I hope they eventually offer an “iMamba Minor”. Mine is a non-flipper without skeletonization on washers with Desert Ironwood.

The Rinkhals has kicked all gentlemen folders out of my pocket, this one in Rose Damasteel and Mammoth Molar.
 
madcap_magician said:
Man, I hope there's a steel upgrade at some point. RWL34 is fine, just at the price point I don't want to compromise. I really want to love these.
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While I only have experience with the analogous CPM-154, I'd say it's a good steel but not really ideal. It also seems that they only run it around 59 HRC. I'd probably be okay with that in a $200 knife but I get increasingly picky as the price goes up. When the entry level is $450, that's a hard sell.

To put it into context, think about the competition in that price range. For instance, CRK is offering S45VN and MagnaCut at 60-62 and 63-64 HRC respectively. Cheburkov is running S90V, M390, and Elmax in the 61-63 range. All of these will offer superior edge retention and for what it's worth, better corrosion resistance too. Sure, RWL34 has a toughness advantage versus all but MagnaCut here and the lower hardness should accentuate that. Still, Elmax and S45VN are tough enough that I don't see it being much of a factor here and MagnaCut is a straight win.

Coincidentally, I just emailed them the other day about this. I was tempted by the change to a skeletonized blade but not enough to overcome the issue here. After some discussion about MagnaCut, Ruan over there said "I will definitely take a closer look and maybe try a piece of steel out and see how it performs." That could be good news. People with similar interests might want to reach out...
 
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