Rock Jumper comparison thread + general info

[steelcity16]

The whole purpose of the "Handle forward" design is to permit the same method of closing on the Endura+ models without changing muscle memory. Unlike the SpyOpera and Siren, I intentionally kept that feature closing feature the same..

sal

That makes sense now about the handle forward design. Good to know the Rock Jumper can be closed in the same manner as my other Seki models. The SpyOpera was a beautiful knife with an action as smooth as glass, but my muscle memory is what it is from using the Endura and others so much so the SpyOpera just wasn't going to work for me.

[bbturbodad]

Thought I'd add these here for comparison since they're both SE wharnies...

[Evil D]

Ok so here's the breakdown....I took the RJ (no choil/ricasso), a Stretch (for choil comparison) and an Endura (for ricasso only comparison) and I opened them up until their respectives "stops" hit my finger, and then I moved my finger back while closing the blade further and further until the edge hit my finger, which would be the furthest back that a person could position their finger before getting cut (or up to the point of actually getting cut. This distance may vary if your finger is thicker or skinnier than mine but here's what I got:






After doing that with each knife I set them down on the table and lined them up, here's how they compare:



Now I didn't micrometer those but they look pretty dang close to me. What this ultimately means is, if you manage to position your finger back to a point that the RJ cuts you, those other knives would have also cut you.

Looking at the Endura and RJ ricassos, they look to be almost exactly the same length, I'd say the RJ is less than 1/16th of an inch shorter.

Endura/RJ



Bottom line, just close the RJ the same as you would any other back lock without moving your fingers any further back than you would any other back lock and you'll be A-O-K.

[tangent]

Hi Tangent,

Eric's long term plan is to make a Salt version of most popular models.

sal

Just saw this...that's awesome. Looking forward to it...each time I think "Spyderco can't improve on this..." and then Spyderco improves on it. The Rock Jumper feels great in the hand and is smooth as butter. I'm looking forward to the Salts. And I would guess that maybe we won't have to wait as long since LC200N is now in Japan. :D

[araneae]

Got mine today. Initial verdict, very nice, but I miss the jimping and Boye dent as much as I expected. These are features that my hand expects in an FRN Spydie, it feels weird to not have them. The lock up and action is the smoothest Seki FRN model I've had, and I've got a lot of them. I don't understand why they used a lanyard hole clip. It's lighter than expected due to a highly skeletonized liner. I will need to add a swedge.

[grubetown]

I don't understand why they used a lanyard hole clip.

So one can access the pivot screw in the tip down carry position

[grubetown]

Is your cut from dropping the blade closed? I've been wondering if people would have issues with that on the Rockjumper.

Yes, yes it is. This is the first lockback I have used on a regular basis, so may be user error and will share my thoughts.

I have medium sized hands. If my index finger is between the pivot and lock bar screws, the ricasso falls perfectly. If my index finger is further down the scale where the transition of the chamfering is - watch out! :spyder:

With all due respect, but since this is your first lockback I also think (like others here) that this is not due to the particular design of the Rock Jumper, but would be the case with most lockbacks (or most folders generally) if you use that technique while grabbing the handle too far back

/ Anyway, there are several other easy methods of closing a backlock one handed which I personally prefer over the "let the Ricasso drop on your finger"- technique, which seems to be the only one many are aware of.
Since you are pretty new to the forum [EDIT: Sorry, just realized you are actually not that new here - ]allow me to post some short clips I once made showing three of those other ways of closing a backlock (each method shown one time slow, two times regular speed, see links below). Maybe it helps! :)

I can admit the cuts were user error and definitely not the design of the knife. I need to get used to the the backlock. My first "real" knife was a Spyderco Squeak which is why I joined the forum, it go taken by TSA and then I haven't been very active as I discovered other knives. I came back strong as along with the RockJumper, I also purchased my first PM2 and a Sharpmaker.

[Bemo]

Was able to pick up mine today. I put my Endela, Stretch 2, and the RJ next to each other. Seriously it's like the Endela and th Stretch 2 had a baby (with a SE Wharnie blade). There is huge potential with this design. I would love to see the handle forward design with the drop point blade of the Stretch 2, not to mention other steels and colors of FRN. The action is extremely smooth for an FRN backlock. What doesn't get mentioned so far is that the clip (when mounted in the standard position it comes in) sits pretty low in the pocket. I don't think I'll be having to buy an aftermarket for this one. Really a great design.

[sal]

Hi David,

thanx for your understanding of the concept and explanation. It does take some "Peeling back the onion" to see the value of the concept. Some of the concepts I come up with can be "out there" in concept and in value. It's nice to know some see and appreciate the effort.

sal

[Diamondback]

Ok, I'm in. I just ordered one. Very much looking forward to using this after following the thread.

[Wartstein]

Here's all that I have that I thought was comparable.....

David,

what would you say concerning the tip strength of the Rock Jumper? And could you perhaps post a comparison pic of the tips of some knives seen from above (so the spine in the tip area)?

In a climbing knife a not too delicate tip is nice too have, cause there are situations where you have to act quickly, perhaps being in an awkward position and the tip might hit rock or the like.
On the other hand, the tip should be not too obtuse either, cause it gets used for removing splinters, ticks or the like.

Now the Rock Jumper seems to do a good job here: Seen from the side, the tip is not TOO pointy due to that steep wharnie-shape drop of the spine towards the tip.
But it would be interesting to see what amount of tapering "spinewise" is going on towards the tip.

[Evil D]

Here's all that I have that I thought was comparable.....

David,

what would you say concerning the tip strength of the Rock Jumper? And could you perhaps post a comparison pic of the tips of some knives seen from above (so the spine in the tip area)?

In a climbing knife a not too delicate tip is nice too have, cause there are situations where you have to act quickly, perhaps being in an awkward position and the tip might hit rock or the like.
On the other hand, the tip should be not too obtuse either, cause it gets used for removing splinters, ticks or the like.

Now the Rock Jumper seems to do a good job here: Seen from the side, the tip is not TOO pointy due to that steep wharnie-shape drop of the spine towards the tip.
But it would be interesting to see what amount of tapering "spinewise" is going on towards the tip.

It's about on par with most other knives. I'm fairly sure Spyderco doesn't use any distal taper on their wharncliffes because the slope of the spine coming down to the point naturally makes the tip thinner since the tip is all the way down at the bottom of the blade grind where the blade is thinnest. You can easily see this by how the serrations are the same height from the heel of the blade to the tip. By comparison if you look at the SE Stretch you can see that the height of the serrations get shorter as they move towards the tip because the blade is ground thinner towards the tip.


Tip thickness seems about the same to me, even compared to the Stretch that does have distal tapering.

RJ is on the right in all these pics:

Stretch


Shaman


Caribbean leaf


Bug (literally just grabbing whatever knives are on my desk at this point)


Dragonfly Salt


Endura with saber grind and Wave hook



Yojimbo 2, which definitely has a more fragile tip when comparing the width of the blade from spine to edge, but the thickness is pretty similar


Nilakka, just for a comparison with a tip that really is on the thin side

[navin johnson]

The safest way to close any folder is with two hands.

With a LB dropping the ricasso on a finger is next most safe.

Any method that requires multiple movements and /or violent flicking/movement has the potential to loose control and is far more difficult to do under stress.

[Wartstein]

Here's all that I have that I thought was comparable.....

It's about on par with most other knives. I'm fairly sure Spyderco doesn't use any distal taper on their wharncliffes because the slope of the spine coming down to the point naturally makes the tip thinner since the tip is all the way down at the bottom of the blade grind where the blade is thinnest. You can easily see this by how the serrations are the same height from the heel of the blade to the tip. By comparison if you look at the SE Stretch you can see that the height of the serrations get shorter as they move towards the tip because the blade is ground thinner towards the tip.


Tip thickness seems about the same to me, even compared to the Stretch that does have distal tapering.

..........

Thanks a lot David for taking the time and the comparsion pics of the various tips (and again for all the pics and inisights in this thread! :)

The RJ tip seems to be just right for me. Rather fine, but still not too fragile due to the not too poiny profile when looking at it sideways (so not from above on the spine).

One thing that your pics clearly show and people don´t think of sometimes: Tips on SE knives are finer, but also more fragile, than the tips of the PE versions of the same model. This is of course due to the chisel grind and its more acute grind angle which extends out to the very tip.
One of the first things I realized when I got my SE Endela (of course chisel grind): The very acute tip.

/ Unrelated to the RJ, but an illustration for something I said several times already: The high tip strength of the sabre grind Endura. Probably stronger than even a Shaman tip.

[Evil D]

/ Unrelated to the RJ, but an illustration for something I said several times already: The high tip strength of the sabre grind Endura. Probably stronger than even a Shaman tip.

Yeah that thing is a sharpened crowbar. It's easy to think that maybe because the waved blade is so narrow that it might be weaker than the straight spine version but it's a tank. I can see now why they haven't made a FFG/waved knife.

[dj moonbat]

Alright, now I’m counting the days until the mailman gets here. Another victim of the unrelenting Evil D SE hype machine. :)

[Evil D]

Alright, now I’m counting the days until the mailman gets here. Another victim of the unrelenting Evil D SE hype machine. :)

[dj moonbat]

That’s the stuff!

[zuludelta]

The safest way to close any folder is with two hands.

With a LB dropping the ricasso on a finger is next most safe.

Any method that requires multiple movements and /or violent flicking/movement has the potential to loose control and is far more difficult to do under stress.

The safest way I've found for closing Spyderco backlocks using one hand is to put the very tip of my index finger in the Spydie hole while depressing the lockbar, and then using that index finger to close the knife (in a sort of controlled "reverse slow roll"). This way, I have complete control over the blade's closing arc. However, I think that this method may be difficult or may not work for people with very small or very large hands, or those with compromised or limited finger dexterity.

This is my preferred way of closing lockbacks, though, and I can do it just as fast, if not faster, than if I drop the blade's ricasso/kick on my index finger, which requires changing my grip to complete the closing process.

[dj moonbat]

The safest way to close any folder is with two hands.

With a LB dropping the ricasso on a finger is next most safe.

Any method that requires multiple movements and /or violent flicking/movement has the potential to loose control and is far more difficult to do under stress.

The safest way I've found for closing Spyderco backlocks using one hand is to put the very tip of my index finger in the Spydie hole while depressing the lockbar, and then using that index finger to close the knife (in a sort of controlled "reverse slow roll"). This way, I have complete control over the blade's closing arc. However, I think that this method may be difficult or may not work for people with very small or very large hands, or those with compromised or limited finger dexterity.

This is my preferred way of closing lockbacks, though, and I can do it just as fast, if not faster, than if I drop the blade's ricasso/kick on my index finger, which requires changing my grip to complete the closing process.

This is my preferred method, too. Particularly on smaller lockbacks.