Spyderco Forums

I like unique looking knives so I'm about to pull the trigger on a Yojimbo2,
I like everything about it except...the deployment hole seems to be obstructed a liitle by the handle.
Anybody who has one can you put this concern to rest for me or will I have a real issue with it.

The G10 is a little in the way, enough so that using the pad of my thumb to open the knife slowly is slightly more challenging than other knives.

But for flick-deployment, either with thumb or middle finger, the hole is more than adequately exposed.

Honestly, I think the hole placement simply looks worse in pictures than it actually is in practice.

You won't have any problem. Many of spydercos knives have the hope a little obstructed. Don't worry one bit.

That's what I wanted to hear...thanks :D

Yeah not a problem at all.

I have no problems opening it. The part that I find a tiny bit awkward is how low the hole is, not that it is obstructed. The hole has to be a little low (moved towards the tip of the blade) so that it can clear the finger guard while opening. In the end the Yojimbo is all about ergonomics and the compromises in deployment that were made are well worth it when you feel this thing in your hand opened up. I am still amazed at how well the handle fits my hand. Like other have said, there are many Spydies with obstructed holes that open just fine.

I would get it. It is an amazing knife that works well as an EDC for me. I also thing it looks awesome.

Darby nailed it! When this knife is in your hand, it feels like it was made for it! Such an amazing knife!
The hole is absolutely no problem at all. Flies open with thumb or middle finger.
You are going to love this one!
Joe

I had no problems deploying it, but I modded mine anyway. You can just about get it completely uncovered before you hit the liners.

Flicks open as good or better than any other in my experience.

Odds are pretty decent that you'll be happy with it. I know I am.

Dear RobDigi:

Thank you for your interest in the Yo2. The topic of the hole design has come up a number of times. Rather than reinventing the wheel, here's a post I made shortly after the knife was released that explains more detail about the logic of the design process:

Hey, Guys:

Thank you all for your comments and enthusiasm regarding the Yo2. I am very pleased to have it in production and I'm thrilled at the way it turned out.

I wanted to share a couple of fine points regarding the design. Like everything else I do, I like to explain why. You are free to agree or disagree, like or not like, but at least you'll have the information to make a decision.

With regard to the not-fully-exposed Spyderco hole, I wrestled with various options on this during the design. I did not want to do the large index-finger choil of the original Yo because it narrows the grip too much in that area and starts to force the hand into a saber grip. The goal was to keep the closed knife as narrow as possible to preserve access to the pocket.

I had a similar challenge when I designed the Be-Wharned. One thing that I learned during that process was that the natural hand position for a thumb opening is typically not with the plane of the handle completely flat. Most people naturally hold the knife palm up, but with the knuckles at about a 45-60-degree angle to vertical. That means that your thumb also indexes the hole (or stud) at an angle, not flat on top of it. With the Be-Wharned, holding the knife at this natural angle and driving the thumb straight along the chamfer of the handle produces the most positive, reliable, and comfortable opening.

With that experience as a guide, I focused on the functional part of the Spyderco hole. When the closed knife is viewed with the edge down, tip to the left, this section is from 12 to 3 o'clock. That's where the thumb actually bites and drives. That part of the hole is completely unobstructed.

As for the lock release cutout, I purposely made it smaller than that of the Para2. There are two reasons for this: First, some users--especially those who grip the handle tightly with their index fingers during opening--get a slight pinch from Compression Locks as the blade is opened. This is caused by the liner moving into the G-10 scale as the blade clears the detent ball. To mitigate this effect, I asked that the top of the Compression Lock tab be recessed slightly below the top edge of the G-10 scale and purposely made the recess smaller.

Second, speed closing of the knife is not high on my priority list. I close the knife by pinching the lock between my thumb (on the G-10 scale) and the nail of my index finger (on the lock tab). I can do this (and have done it) all day long without soreness or fatigue. For me, it's perfect the way it is. Most importantly, the knife closes exactly when I want it to and I still enjoy both the extreme strength and the I-don't-need-to-put-my-fingers-in-the-path-of-the-edge safety of one-handed closing.

I chose the standard hourglass clip for the Yo2 because it has been refined and perfected over the years. It works great, so why reinvent the wheel? Also, savvy Spyderco fans know that the same basic clip design used on the Yo2 is used on the Endura and Delica, but in black (and with the addition of the lanyard hole that matches the holes in those knives). Don't like the shiny clip on the Yo2? Buy a replacement clip for an Endura for a few bucks and you've got an instant subdued clip. How easy is that?

As far as clip position goes, most folks know I prefer tip-up carry. The key to getting a personal defense knife into action quickly is being able to draw it and immediately open it without having to change grip position. The key to that is making sure that the overall size of the closed knife, the position of the Spyderco hole, and the height of carry are all proportionate to the average hand size. If you have a big knife with a deep-pocket clip, it may carry discreetly, but when you draw it you're holding it by the butt end with your thumb a long way from the hole. Unless you can magically Viagra your thumb into growing, you have to change your grip to get the knife open.

The clip placement on the Yo2 makes the knife ride high enough so that, with a proper draw, your thumb is automatically on the opening hole when the knife clears the pocket.

If you prefer discretion and a low profile over deployment speed, I purposely added tip-down carry to the Yo2. The clip holes at the pivot-pin end of the handle are as close to the front edge of the handle as physically possible to support deep-pocket carry. Yes, it's tip down, which is slower. So is deep pocket carry in general. If you need deep-pocket carry and speed, carry tip down and use a Spyder-Drop opening. You'll find that although a small portion of the Spyder Hole is obscured, there's still plenty of surface area to grab onto. As you pinch the hole with your thumb and index finger, you'll also find that your fingertips start to push the handle away from the blade, "cheating" your start on the opening.

As for a lanyard hole, I'm not a fan of fobs, so I opted for the additional strength of a screw post at the butt instead of a lanyard tube. However, if you are a lanyard fan, there is still enough room between the blade edge and the screw post to wrap a thin lanyard around the post with a cow hitch. That keeps the lanyard centered in the handle instead of wrapping around it and makes for a sleeker package. Think of a typical flashlight lanyard where the loop that attaches to the light is thin and strong and the rest of it is 550 cord sized. If you must use 550 cord for the whole lanyard, pull the guts out of it so it wraps flat around the screw post.

I hope this helps you better understand why the Yo2 is the way it is. A lot of thought went into it and it is truly a reflection of more than 35 years of experience, training, and daily carry of personal defense knives.

Stay safe,

Mike

P.S. As far as meat cutting tests go, yes, that was a big part of my personal R&D of the prototypes. Simple answer: It has more blade length than the original Yojimbo. It therefore cuts even deeper.

I hope this helps.

Stay safe,

Mike

Oh yeah....that helps Mike!! I noticed the portion of the hole that my thumb comes into contact with is NOT obstructed on the Yoji.
When mine arrived, bout 3 months ago, I wasn't expecting it to be one of my favorites.....my 2 reasons for getting one were the comp lock and that bad a$$ looking blade!!
I got way more than I expected!! It might've been designed as a SD blade, but it has proven to be so much more! Excellent utility blade that I use constantly!!
Great design and a great build!!!
One more question for you Mr J.......what about a really pretty blurple one with s110v???????
This particular question is keeping us Yoji fans up at night!!
:D
Joe

Michael Janich wrote:.....

Hey Michael,

I've read that big post a bunch of times, I was just wondering though if it would be possible to move the hole upwards some towards the spine...not raise the spine itself, just move the placement of the hole? I've compared it to a lot of other knives like the Para 2 for example and there's much less steel above the hole than the Yojimbo 2 has. Is there a reason for this? I'm assuming overall strength, but it seems the hole could almost be moved enough to uncover it without making any changes at all to the handle.

Looks like nearly twice as much meat on the Yo 2...couldn't that be thinned out a bit for better hole placement?

Could someone show a pic of a Yojimbo next to some other Spydercos for a size reference ?
I'm interested in buying one , but I'm not sure how big it really is .
My knife requirements have shrunk in size over time and I wonder if it would be to big for me to happily carry .
How big is it in comparison to a Delica or GB 1 ?

Ken

I miss my Yojimbo.

harronek wrote:Could someone show a pic of a Yojimbo next to some other Spydercos for a size reference ?
I'm interested in buying one , but I'm not sure how big it really is .
My knife requirements have shrunk in size over time and I wonder if it would be to big for me to happily carry .
How big is it in comparison to a Delica or GB 1 ?

Ken

I don't have a Delica or GB1 anymore but I can compare it to any of the following..

Para 1
Para 2
Native Lightweight (the original not the new one)
Stretch
Caly 3
Southard
Centofante 4
Sage 3
Kiwi 4
Rock Lobster
Military
Nilakka
Dragonfly
Ladybug

Or I also have a ZT0303, a VIC Huntsman, Opinel #10, Svord Peasant (the larger one), or a Higonokami XL.

harronek wrote:Could someone show a pic of a Yojimbo next to some other Spydercos for a size reference ?
I'm interested in buying one , but I'm not sure how big it really is .
My knife requirements have shrunk in size over time and I wonder if it would be to big for me to happily carry .
How big is it in comparison to a Delica or GB 1 ?

Ken

Thank you all for the continued discussion and your enthusiasm for the Yo2.

With regard to the questions...

The hole placement was also purposeful, to keep the web of the blade above the hole thicker and stronger. Apparently, the logic was sound. My office is about 20 feet from warranty repair. While we get a very occasional broken tip on a Yo, I've never seen a blade break at the hole.

Blurple S110V? That decision is above my pay grade, but I've got my fingers crossed as well.

With regard to size, one of the other design parameters that I used for the Yo2 was that its overall closed length be comparable to a Delica. Closed a Delica 4 is 4.25 inches. The Yo2 is 0.24 inches longer, at 4.49. However, it offers 0.30 inches more blade length--3.20 inches versus the Delica 4's 2.9. At first glance, it seems significantly larger, but it's really not.

I hope this helps.

Stay safe,

Mike

Thanks for your help Mike!!
I know there are quite a few Yo fans holding out hope for the blurple!!
Joe

I asked a question about the hole on the Yojimbo2 and got a response from Michael Janich himself...thanks very cool.
I received my Yo2 in the mail today.
Very first flick open with the thumb smooth and easy,
second flick with middle finger smooth and easy.
This might be the easiest Spyderco knife to open out of the box that I've had!
My original concern about the hole being obstructed is a non issue.

I love this knife...
the blade is a beauty and it appears to be a practical design that will be very FUNctional,
as well as a great self defense weapon...the handle ergonomics are just like I expected...perfect!

One question I have for the community is about the compression lock on this knife.
I have no problem with the cutout to disengage... my index finger fits in there fine but,
the lock feels sticky...very sticky...you really have to give it a good hard push,
and you can feel the metal on metal it even makes a pretty loud scraping sound and pop when disengaging the lock to close the knife.
Its not really that much of a problem just nowhere near as smooth and enjoyable as the compression lock on my PM2.
If I had to live with it I would because I like everything else about the Yojombo2 so much.

I just would like to know if this is the way the lock is suppose to act on this design,
or is this one a defect and I should send it back for another.
Because I would most definitely get another...Loooove this knife its a keeper!!