Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
Knife1
Member
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri May 31, 2019 11:30 pm

Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#1

Post by Knife1 »

A number of years ago Dr.Subnose replicated Michael Janich's pork cutting tests using a number of Spyderco knives. The Yojimbo was the knife with the highest cutting ability surpassing not only all other 3" and less blade knives, but also all of the larger bladed knives. However, it appears that these tests were done a number of years ago with many of the models no longer in production as well as many new models now in po production. Has anyone done pork cutting tests 2.0 with the new models and compared?
Last edited by Knife1 on Fri Feb 12, 2021 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#2

Post by Evil D »

I think the Yojumbo is probably the reigning champion now.
Last edited by Evil D on Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
User avatar
ladybug93
Member
Posts: 8014
Joined: Tue May 15, 2018 11:20 pm

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#3

Post by ladybug93 »

i'm guessing because i've never used one, but the yojumbo would probably beat the yojimbo since it's a similar design with a longer blade.
keep your knife sharp and your focus sharper.
current collection:
C253GBBK, C258GFBL, C101GBBK2, C11GYW, C11FWNB20CV, C101GBN15V2, C101GODFDE2, C60GGY, C149G, C189, C101GBN2, MT35, C211TI, C242CF, C217GSSF, C101BN2, C85G2, C91BBK, C142G, C122GBBK, LBK, LYL3HB, C193, C28YL2, C11ZPGYD, C41YL5, C252G, C130G, PLKIT1
spyderco steels:
CPM 20CV, CPM 15V, CTS 204P, CPM CRUWEAR, CPM S30V, N690Co, M390, CPM MagnaCut, LC200N, CTS XHP, H1, 8Cr13MoV, GIN-1, CTS BD1, VG-10, VG-10/Damascus, 440C
User avatar
JakeXman
Member
Posts: 192
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:15 pm

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#4

Post by JakeXman »

It sure cuts cooked porkchops well.
Tenacious G10 PE, Tasman Salt 2 PE, Tasman Salt 2 SE, Yojimbo 2, KJ Endura 4 D.P.S. 15 VG-10, LadyBug K390, TKJ Jester 20CV, UKPK Salt, Crucarta PM2, 204 Sharpmaker
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#5

Post by Evil D »

ladybug93 wrote:
Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:29 am
i'm guessing because i've never used one, but the yojumbo would probably beat the yojimbo since it's a similar design with a longer blade.

This is what I meant to say, stupid autocorrect. It's everything the Yojimbo 1 and 2 are but bigger, I don't see how it couldn't do more damage.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
User avatar
TenGrainBread
Member
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:52 am

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#6

Post by TenGrainBread »

Don't forget to give Michael Janich credit for the original pork man tests that led to the idea for the Yojimbo.

https://blademag.com/knife-collecting/o ... ical-knife
User avatar
Naperville
Member
Posts: 4412
Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 2:58 am
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#7

Post by Naperville »

I have 2 Yojimbo 2's in CF and 20CV. Here is to hoping we see the same in the Yojumbo!
I support the 2nd Amendment Organizations of GOA, NRA, FPC, SAF, and "Knife Rights"
T2T: https://tunnel2towers.org; Special Operations Wounded Warriors: https://sowwcharity.com/
User avatar
ladybug93
Member
Posts: 8014
Joined: Tue May 15, 2018 11:20 pm

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#8

Post by ladybug93 »

Evil D wrote:
Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:53 am
ladybug93 wrote:
Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:29 am
i'm guessing because i've never used one, but the yojumbo would probably beat the yojimbo since it's a similar design with a longer blade.

This is what I meant to say, stupid autocorrect. It's everything the Yojimbo 1 and 2 are but bigger, I don't see how it couldn't do more damage.
honestly, i was pretty sure that's what happened. ;)
keep your knife sharp and your focus sharper.
current collection:
C253GBBK, C258GFBL, C101GBBK2, C11GYW, C11FWNB20CV, C101GBN15V2, C101GODFDE2, C60GGY, C149G, C189, C101GBN2, MT35, C211TI, C242CF, C217GSSF, C101BN2, C85G2, C91BBK, C142G, C122GBBK, LBK, LYL3HB, C193, C28YL2, C11ZPGYD, C41YL5, C252G, C130G, PLKIT1
spyderco steels:
CPM 20CV, CPM 15V, CTS 204P, CPM CRUWEAR, CPM S30V, N690Co, M390, CPM MagnaCut, LC200N, CTS XHP, H1, 8Cr13MoV, GIN-1, CTS BD1, VG-10, VG-10/Damascus, 440C
User avatar
ZrowsN1s
Member
Posts: 7350
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2016 5:08 pm
Location: San Diego, California USA

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#9

Post by ZrowsN1s »

I'd like to see how the K390 Police 4 rates on pork. When it comes to cardboard it outshines the yo2.
-Matt a.k.a. Lo_Que, loadedquestions135 I ❤ The P'KAL :bug-red

"The world of edges has a small doorway in, but opens into a cavern that is both wide and deep." -sal
"Ghost hunters scope the edge." -sal
JRinFL
Member
Posts: 6147
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2015 10:30 am
Location: Unfashionable West End of the Galaxy (SE USA)

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#10

Post by JRinFL »

I would expect the Endura Wharncliffe to put up a good showing.
"...it costs nothing to be polite." - Winston Churchill
“Maybe the cheese in the mousetrap is an artificially created cheaper price?” -Sal
Friends call me Jim. As do my foes.
M.N.O.S.D. 0001
Knife1
Member
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri May 31, 2019 11:30 pm

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#11

Post by Knife1 »

What about the Delica Warncliffe?
We definitely need new pork man tests 😁.
User avatar
Cl1ff
Member
Posts: 1129
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2019 4:35 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#12

Post by Cl1ff »

I’m sure the Canis and Rockjumpers would do fairly well!
rex121 is the king of steel, but nature’s teeth have been cutting for hundreds of millions of years and counting :cool:
User avatar
desmodue
Member
Posts: 52
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 9:06 am

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#13

Post by desmodue »

The Yojimbo is kind of an oddity. It tends to elicit a love it or hate it response. I was not all that impressed by the photos I saw on line, so I didn't have a deep desire to obtain one. Then I stumbled onto one on a used knife table at a gun show. It was a little beat up, but not trashed standard S30V model.

The vendor was convinced it was rare and valuable even after I showed him it being for sale brand new at BHQ for less than his ask. So, I walked. But my perception was changed, I liked it a lot. A few months passed and BHQ announced their M4 exclusive. I was fortunate enough a snag couple and was talked out of the second one by the first (knife knut) person that saw me carrying it.

I know everyone is batscat crazy over Crucarta-ing everything, and the Yoho would be a good addition to that program, but I'd like to see it in gray G10 and Maxamet.
:bug-red Bow River 8Cr13MoV * Zome Dragonfly VG-10 * Para 3 LW BD1N * Para 3 CPM Rex 45
PM 2 Böhler M390 * PM 2 CPM 20CV * PM 2 CTS 204P * PM 2 CTS Maxamet * Yojimbo CPM M4
Shaman Zapp Z-Wear PM * Spydie Chef Zapp LC200N * Techno 2 CTS XHP * Drunken CPM S90V

Benchmade Griptilian 20CV * Mini Grip S30V * Kershaw Launch 1 CPM 154 * Kershaw Link S35VN
Gerber Applegate Fairbairn Covert ATS 34 * KaBar 1211 AISI 1095 * Cold Steel CS-13QMBIX CPM 3V
James Y
Member
Posts: 8056
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#14

Post by James Y »

I go in and out of wanting to buy a Yo2. If I did, it would just be the most basic model. The main thing that has kept me from pulling the trigger on one is the very delicate-looking tip. Even though I recall Michael Janich himself saying something about in Yo2’s he’s seen that had been extensively carried, tip damage hadn’t been a factor.

Jim
User avatar
demoncase
Member
Posts: 2596
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 9:07 am
Location: England- Wolverhampton
Contact:

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#15

Post by demoncase »

James Y wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:51 am
I go in and out of wanting to buy a Yo2. If I did, it would just be the most basic model. The main thing that has kept me from pulling the trigger on one is the very delicate-looking tip. Even though I recall Michael Janich himself saying something about in Yo2’s he’s seen that had been extensively carried, tip damage hadn’t been a factor.

Jim
I got one when they first came out, have carried it extensively, used it a great deal- and can confirm the tip is still pinsharp.

It's my go-to for scoring pork fat when I do a roast, so the crackling is in neat squares. ;)
Warhammer 40000 is- basically- Lord Of The Rings on a cocktail of every drug known to man and genuine lunar dust, stuck in a blender with Alien, Mechwarrior, Dune, Starship Troopers, Fahrenheit 451 and Star Wars, bathed in blood, turned up to eleventy billion, set on fire, and catapulted off into space screaming "WAAAGH!" and waving a chainsaw sword- without the happy ending.

https://www.instagram.com/commissarcainscoffeecup/
User avatar
JakeXman
Member
Posts: 192
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:15 pm

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#16

Post by JakeXman »

demoncase wrote: [quote="James Y" post_id=<a href="tel:1494178">1494178</a> time=<a href="tel:1613235068">1613235068</a> user_id=1071]
I go in and out of wanting to buy a Yo2. If I did, it would just be the most basic model. The main thing that has kept me from pulling the trigger on one is the very delicate-looking tip. Even though I recall Michael Janich himself saying something about in Yo2’s he’s seen that had been extensively carried, tip damage hadn’t been a factor.

Jim

I broke the needle tip off of mine while cutting open some thicker clamshell packaging :( My fault for lowering the edge angle, and it should sharpen out because it’s barely half a mm lost, but I was definitely bummed. I can’t imagine anyone (barring abuse) breaking the tip off any more than I did.
B4A89640-7D53-4E84-BE29-3B34A6A149A7.jpeg
Tenacious G10 PE, Tasman Salt 2 PE, Tasman Salt 2 SE, Yojimbo 2, KJ Endura 4 D.P.S. 15 VG-10, LadyBug K390, TKJ Jester 20CV, UKPK Salt, Crucarta PM2, 204 Sharpmaker
James Y
Member
Posts: 8056
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#17

Post by James Y »

Thanks, demoncase and JakeXman.

I guess I’m back to wanting one again!...kinda. I don’t buy many knives anymore, but there’s still some on my proposed list...

:)

Jim
User avatar
ChrisinHove
Member
Posts: 4071
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:12 am
Location: 27.2046° N, 77.4977° E

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#18

Post by ChrisinHove »

I reckon the ultra-thin Watu would slice down to the gravy pretty well.
User avatar
Evil D
Member
Posts: 27147
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:48 pm
Location: Northern KY

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#19

Post by Evil D »

James Y wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:35 pm
Thanks, demoncase and JakeXman.

I guess I’m back to wanting one again!...kinda. I don’t buy many knives anymore, but there’s still some on my proposed list...

:)

Jim


It just depends on how you use it, or if you're the kind of guy that drops their knife a lot. I used my first Yo 2 as a box knife for a good year and never had an issue, but then my S90V version somehow chipped the tip and I have no idea how or when (I suspect my son did it lol). The good news is if/when it happens you can just profile the spine down a bit to fix it and then the top will be stronger and less likely to chip again.

Before
Image
After
Image
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
James Y
Member
Posts: 8056
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Yojimbo 2 Best Pork Cutter?

#20

Post by James Y »

Evil D wrote:
Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:06 am
James Y wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:35 pm
Thanks, demoncase and JakeXman.

I guess I’m back to wanting one again!...kinda. I don’t buy many knives anymore, but there’s still some on my proposed list...

:)

Jim


It just depends on how you use it, or if you're the kind of guy that drops their knife a lot. I used my first Yo 2 as a box knife for a good year and never had an issue, but then my S90V version somehow chipped the tip and I have no idea how or when (I suspect my son did it lol). The good news is if/when it happens you can just profile the spine down a bit to fix it and then the top will be stronger and less likely to chip again.

Before
Image
After
Image

Thanks!

On second thought, I’m not sure that the Yo2’s tip is any different, in terms of being needle-pointy, from the Military’s, or the PM2’s and PM3’s tips (except its blade is HG), and I carry and use those all the time.

OTOH, I could be wrong. I’ve never handled a Yo2. Are they about the same in terms of the strength/fragility ratio?

Jim
Post Reply