Ikuchi

[JacksonKnives]

I got mine a week ago, and I encourage anyone who finds it too stiff to stick with it. It took me a while to find the right position, but my finger and thumb now "know how to do it."

I did stab myself in the little finger when putting it in the pocket a few days after it arrived. I think I free-fall shut the knife and it probably bounced out of the closed position before I released the lock bar. I, for one, am very glad of a strong detent on this knife, that tip is terrifying.

[koenigsegg]

I got mine a week ago, and I encourage anyone who finds it too stiff to stick with it. It took me a while to find the right position, but my finger and thumb now "know how to do it."

I did stab myself in the little finger when putting it in the pocket a few days after it arrived. I think I free-fall shut the knife and it probably bounced out of the closed position before I released the lock bar. I, for one, am very glad of a strong detent on this knife, that tip is terrifying.

I've cut myself more on this knife than any other that is for sure but I think it's worth it! I have gen 1, flipper wheel was sharp and that cut me that most but the tip has also bit me a time or two! Part of.......... living on the edge

[steelcity16]

I'm at OutBack Steak House and the Ikuchi is AMAZING at trimming and cutting steak!

I said when they first came out that these looked like an awesome folding steak knife! If we could get a salt version in peel ply G10 with LC200N that would be awesome!

[TkoK83Spy]

I'm at OutBack Steak House and the Ikuchi is AMAZING at trimming and cutting steak!

I said when they first came out that these looked like an awesome folding steak knife! If we could get a salt version in peel ply G10 with LC200N that would be awesome!

You have to have over 500 steel/scales requests for various models on here! :p

[Sharp Guy]

I'm at OutBack Steak House and the Ikuchi is AMAZING at trimming and cutting steak!

I said when they first came out that these looked like an awesome folding steak knife! If we could get a salt version in peel ply G10 with LC200N that would be awesome!

You have to have over 500 steel/scales requests for various models on here! :p

Haha! His requests are plentiful! :)

[steelcity16]

I'm at OutBack Steak House and the Ikuchi is AMAZING at trimming and cutting steak!

I said when they first came out that these looked like an awesome folding steak knife! If we could get a salt version in peel ply G10 with LC200N that would be awesome!

You have to have over 500 steel/scales requests for various models on here! :p

Haha! His requests are plentiful! :)

I literally just requested a run of White FRN TiCN Cruwear Seki models in the Straight Spine Stretch thread before seeing this! :D My theory is throw a bunch of stuff to the wall and see what sticks!

[Lucabrasi]

Between this knife and the Kapara people are pouring it on about LC200n. I don’t get it. There’s a bunch of steels I’d prefer to that (and s30v). People prefer rust resistance to edge holding/taking?

[mb1]

I really like this knife. Sharing here in case others see the same thing(?).

I waited a long time for this CQI Ikuchi to come out. But I went from excited to totally let down in mere minutes. This thing is impossible to flip open. Will not budge. The only way humanly possible to open it without using the compression lock is to put a T-shirt layer between my finger and the wheel. I pressed as hard as possible and my finger just slides off to no effect.

Bad detent perhaps? Pretty shockingly bad if that. Am I missing something? Tried loosening the pivot to no avail, and the blade goes immediately off center doing that.

Ikuchi finger 2.0

Felt like I should follow up here and fall on my sword, er, Ikuchi.

I returned mine to the dealer since it was obviously "flawed." To my complete and utter shock, I was informed that this one is normal and flips open like all of the other stock he had sampled. :confused: :eek: . I mean, I could have made myself bleed trying to flip it, and my finger would just slide off.

This of course makes me feel like a wimp. I can assure you, I am neither small nor weak. I have even trained my grip and have fairly respectable grip strength! I am so baffled it's just...funny. lol

So anyway, there you go. I am sad because I really liked this little thing. Sulking off to lay in a corner and heal my tender office hands now. :rolleyes: :) :spyder:

[JuPaul]

I really like this knife. Sharing here in case others see the same thing(?).

I waited a long time for this CQI Ikuchi to come out. But I went from excited to totally let down in mere minutes. This thing is impossible to flip open. Will not budge. The only way humanly possible to open it without using the compression lock is to put a T-shirt layer between my finger and the wheel. I pressed as hard as possible and my finger just slides off to no effect.

Bad detent perhaps? Pretty shockingly bad if that. Am I missing something? Tried loosening the pivot to no avail, and the blade goes immediately off center doing that.

Ikuchi finger 2.0

Felt like I should follow up here and fall on my sword, er, Ikuchi.

I returned mine to the dealer since it was obviously "flawed." To my complete and utter shock, I was informed that this one is normal and flips open like all of the other stock he had sampled. :confused: :eek: . I mean, I could have made myself bleed trying to flip it, and my finger would just slide off.

This of course makes me feel like a wimp. I can assure you, I am neither small nor weak. I have even trained my grip and have fairly respectable grip strength! I am so baffled it's just...funny. lol

So anyway, there you go. I am sad because I really liked this little thing. Sulking off to lay in a corner and heal my tender office hands now. :rolleyes: :) :spyder:

This is the dent and callus that I still have on my finger from my Ikuchi. I know some people are liking the extra strong detent, but to me this is ridiculous. If I get one back from spyderco that's just as bad, I will not be keeping it.

[DTPrime]

Just my experience but I would recommend sticking with thumb-opening until it breaks in a bit, mine only took a day of flipping to become noticeably easier and after two was totally smooth all ways, including pulling straight back along spine with index finger which was difficult and painful out of the box. Not only is the thumb method now my preferred way to open after getting used to it (works great on the smock too!) but might save you some pain and frustration during the initial break-in.

[JuPaul]

Just my experience but I would recommend sticking with thumb-opening until it breaks in a bit, mine only took a day of flipping to become noticeably easier and after two was totally smooth all ways, including pulling straight back along spine with index finger which was difficult and painful out of the box. Not only is the thumb method now my preferred way to open after getting used to it (works great on the smock too!) but might save you some pain and frustration during the initial break-in.

Maybe more practice with the thumb flick will do it, but with my smaller hands that was super awkward for me, to the point of unsafe. Funny you mention the smock, though, because I kept wishing for that corner flipper on the Ikuchi. It'd be much easier, requires no painful jimping, and would fit perfectly with the lines on the Ikuchi imo.

[DTPrime]

Maybe more practice with the thumb flick will do it, but with my smaller hands that was super awkward for me, to the point of unsafe.

I felt the same at first and the secure grip was what took a little bit to figure out. I also have small hands and I eventually ended up wrapping my pinky around the base and holding it along my knuckle line, for me it's both very secure and easy to open in that position and fingers don't get in the way of the blade.

And like I said it's now easily opening with index pull if that's your preference, just the easiest way I found when it was stiff at first.
Not trying to harp on ya or anything, just think it's an awesome knife and would hate for people to miss out because it's unique and has a bit of a steep learning curve/break-in compared to most spydies I've handled. Cheers!

[ABX2011]

I use the same method as the photos depict. It does look a bit awkward but it's easier than using the index finger.

[JuPaul]

Maybe more practice with the thumb flick will do it, but with my smaller hands that was super awkward for me, to the point of unsafe.

I felt the same at first and the secure grip was what took a little bit to figure out. I also have small hands and I eventually ended up wrapping my pinky around the base and holding it along my knuckle line, for me it's both very secure and easy to open in that position and fingers don't get in the way of the blade.

IMG_6975.jpg IMG_6976.jpg

And like I said it's now easily opening with index pull if that's your preference, just the easiest way I found when it was stiff at first.
Not trying to harp on ya or anything, just think it's an awesome knife and would hate for people to miss out because it's unique and has a bit of a steep learning curve/break-in compared to most spydies I've handled. Cheers!

Thanks for the pics, I do appreciate it! But I actually just got off the phone with Spyderco W&R...man, they're awesome. They said that the one I sent in was within specs, but they've been hearing from a lot of people about the really stiff action. So they offered me a credit, which I took. I'm just not sure I want to destroy my finger through the break-in period (or slice my palm open learning to thumb flip it). But they did note that through CQI it's possible that the next batch could see changes to perfect the action yet again. If that happens, I'll be all over another one. I love Paul Alexander's designs - truly unique and beautiful.

[mb1]

Maybe more practice with the thumb flick will do it, but with my smaller hands that was super awkward for me, to the point of unsafe.

I felt the same at first and the secure grip was what took a little bit to figure out. I also have small hands and I eventually ended up wrapping my pinky around the base and holding it along my knuckle line, for me it's both very secure and easy to open in that position and fingers don't get in the way of the blade.

IMG_6975.jpg IMG_6976.jpg

And like I said it's now easily opening with index pull if that's your preference, just the easiest way I found when it was stiff at first.
Not trying to harp on ya or anything, just think it's an awesome knife and would hate for people to miss out because it's unique and has a bit of a steep learning curve/break-in compared to most spydies I've handled. Cheers!

Thanks for the pics, I do appreciate it! But I actually just got off the phone with Spyderco W&R...man, they're awesome. They said that the one I sent in was within specs, but they've been hearing from a lot of people about the really stiff action. So they offered me a credit, which I took. I'm just not sure I want to destroy my finger through the break-in period (or slice my palm open learning to thumb flip it). But they did note that through CQI it's possible that the next batch could see changes to perfect the action yet again. If that happens, I'll be all over another one. I love Paul Alexander's designs - truly unique and beautiful.

Good tips. And thx for sharing the W&R feedback. Maybe I’ll pick up a used one that someone else has broken in. :)

[cistercian]

I have a new Ikuchi. It was a bit hard to open but I oiled it and exercised it a little and it is easy now. I can
deliberately misfire it too if I operate it very slowly.
It has no discernible blade play...but when closed...it is a tiny bit off center. Releasing the lock pressure
causes the blade to center perfectly. Note...I am being picky here. I think it is a fantastic knife with a great
flipping action and perfect fall shut blade.
I let several people try it today and they had trouble opening it...but they were muggles.
Or...it is my Kung-Fu grip action!

Seriously...it is a great light flipper that makes for a superior box opening/cardboard slicing machine. And an
epic folding steak knife! I love the blade!!!!

[JacksonKnives]

I'm wondering if a bit of jimping on the liners at the bottom of the handle could help make index-finger opening easier, just something to help lock the knife in place and prevent sliding.

IMO it's much more a matter of learning the angles and forces than break-in on the detent that makes the difference after a few days. I can get it reliably with my thumb after a week, but I haven't practiced with my finger enough yet.

[Dazen]

I have a new Ikuchi. It was a bit hard to open but I oiled it and exercised it a little and it is easy now. I can
deliberately misfire it too if I operate it very slowly.
It has no discernible blade play...but when closed...it is a tiny bit off center. Releasing the lock pressure
causes the blade to center perfectly. Note...I am being picky here. I think it is a fantastic knife with a great
flipping action and perfect fall shut blade.
I let several people try it today and they had trouble opening it...but they were muggles.
Or...it is my Kung-Fu grip action!

Seriously...it is a great light flipper that makes for a superior box opening/cardboard slicing machine. And an
epic folding steak knife! I love the blade!!!!

Ditto! Mine is super smooth now as well. I wouldn’t change a thing about it, it’s so snappy!

[Sumdumguy]

I'm at OutBack Steak House and the Ikuchi is AMAZING at trimming and cutting steak!

I said when they first came out that these looked like an awesome folding steak knife! If we could get a salt version in peel ply G10 with LC200N that would be awesome!

You and me both!

[cistercian]

I have a new Ikuchi. It was a bit hard to open but I oiled it and exercised it a little and it is easy now. I can
deliberately misfire it too if I operate it very slowly.
It has no discernible blade play...but when closed...it is a tiny bit off center. Releasing the lock pressure
causes the blade to center perfectly. Note...I am being picky here. I think it is a fantastic knife with a great
flipping action and perfect fall shut blade.
I let several people try it today and they had trouble opening it...but they were muggles.
Or...it is my Kung-Fu grip action!

Seriously...it is a great light flipper that makes for a superior box opening/cardboard slicing machine. And an
epic folding steak knife! I love the blade!!!!

Ditto! Mine is super smooth now as well. I wouldn’t change a thing about it, it’s so snappy!

It fires like lightning...most satisfying Spyderco flipper for me yet. I love my CQI Advocate...
but it has a much softer detent...so you gotta sweep the flipper fast! That being said, the Advocate
is epic in other ways! A must own IMHO. I am never selling mine.

I really like the weight of the Ikuchi too. I like light knives a lot for the versatility they afford.
I am about to go out with my daughter to get a tree and I will be carrying a much bigger flipper
which neither cuts as well as the Ikuchi nor is practical at work. A ZT 0452CF!
And a Para 2 in M390 (blue scales).