Anyone else love their "R" Nishijin sprint?

[tvenuto]

Been collecting Spydercos for about a year now, all of which was due to falling in love with my FRN Delica 4.

Early on, I ordered an "R" Nishijin sprint run because I thought the handle material was too cool to resist, but when I got it I was a little underwhelmed. The fit and finish was just OK, and the handle material was cool, but didn't make me just want to put the knife in my pocket. The knife looks almost exactly like a Delica, except with the 50/50 choil, so I figured I'd just carry my Delica, and the "R" was put on the shelf and somewhat neglected.

Fast forward a year, and my girlfriend said: "why not just rotate which one you carry, you seem to carry the same ones all the time." This is completely obvious, but women have a way of pointing out those obvious things we ignore sometimes. So I said, what the heck, I'm gonna carry every one of my knives this week. Since that week, the "R" has hogged most of the pocket time, which I clearly didn't expect.

Why has it hogged all the pocket time? As I said earlier, it's pretty much just a larger Delica. While this might seem like a con to some (like it did to me originally)...but I love the Delica, so what's not to like about a larger one? The answer is nothing, if it doesn't carry any larger, which the R doesn't, to me. It carries very small in my opinion, as it's the same thickness, and only marginally taller. It is a good bit longer, of course, but to me, the thickness and height are much more noticeable in pocket than length or weight. While the smooth handles don't offer much "grip," I'm rarely in extreme situations where this would be a problem, and this makes it easy to draw from the pocket. The ergos are very good, just like the Delica, and the choil gives you two grip options. The jimping on the the spine and choil are very "chunky," and while this might feel less refined to some, I like any functional jimping. Also, It's got darn near as much edge as the Manix XL, in a much more carry friendly package. Now the XL is my favorite knife, but it is a beast to carry.

I'll get some comparison pics in here eventually, but I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with this knife. Or did you like it from the get-go? Or do you disagree? Who's out there carrying their "R"?

R Stats (from BHQ):
Overall Length: 8.07"
Blade Length: 3.45"
Cutting Edge: 3.16"
Blade Thickness: 0.118"
Blade Steel: VG-10
Handle Material: Glass Fiber
Closed Length: 4.65"
Weight: 4.2 oz.

Delica Stats (from BHQ):
Overall Length: 7.125" (181 mm)
Blade Length: 2.875" (73 mm)
Cutting Edge: 2.563" (65 mm)
Blade Thickness: 0.093" (2.5 mm)
Blade Steel: VG-10
Hole Diameter: 0.50" (13 mm)
Handle Material: FRN
Closed Length: 4.25" (108 mm)
Handle Thickness: 0.40"
Weight: 2.3 oz. (64 g)

Manix XL Stats (from BHQ):
Overall Length: 8.93" (227 mm)
Blade Length: 3.88" (98 mm)
Cutting Edge: 3.43" (87 mm)
Blade Steel: CPM-S30V
Handle Material: G-10
Closed Length: 5.08" (129 mm)
Weight: 6.2 oz. (176 g)

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

I have to say that when I saw the knife I wanted it. But then I held it, and it just felt totally wrong. The ramp was far too severe for my thumb (which really doesn't bend backwards at all) and I felt that the thin point between the 2 choils was too thin and felt awkward.

But I liked everything else...

[Pneumothorax]

I have to say that when I saw the knife I wanted it. But then I held it, and it just felt totally wrong. The ramp was far too severe for my thumb (which really doesn't bend backwards at all) and I felt that the thin point between the 2 choils was too thin and felt awkward.

But I liked everything else...

I agree! I actually bought one And called my seller to return it after I held it...looked great on paper to me, but not in hand. First time Ive ever returend one immediately...

[kennethsime]

I wonder if someone who's handled both can compare it to the Stretch II?

[The Deacon]

I thought the original R was a good design, right up to the day I got my first Stretch. Since then, not so much. The R's grip area is not as comfortable as the Stretch's. Like the Manix, the R's finger divider always seems to be in just the wrong spot. On top of that, the R's opening motion is not as natural for my thumb. Even tried having STR replace the handle on an R2 to make the grip more like that of the Stretch and Rescue. While it feels a lot better in my hand, my thumb still feels too short to open it smoothly and it still takes up a bit more pocket space than the Stretch, so it's rarely carried. As for the Nishijin Glass, I'm not crazy about either the look or feel of it, but I did purchase a C67GF for the collection.