A question for Sal regarding the Rockjumper

[elena86]

First and foremost congrats for the Rockjumper design, Sal ! It's probably one of your most inspired(smart) designs in years. I allready bought the serrated one and it doesn't want to leave my pocket for weeks now. I use it as my primary edc and it performs like a champ for anything one could imagine. The question is ... when can we expect to see the new RJ batch with a slightly longer blade you promissed ?! The bloody thing is almost perfect(it cut me twice by now) but THAT would be my dream spydie ! I hope and pray the project is still on the table !

[Wartstein]

+1
An a bit longer blade would/will make the Rock/Leafjumper probably my perfect (for me) small Spyderco knife

[Manixguy@1994]

Patiently waiting myself . MG2

[JSumm]

I was going to try and grab 1 of those SNK Chiefs, but decided not to hoping some of these new models would drop this year. The Stretch XL was a nice surprise. Also hoping for a new batch of Rock Jumpers and Leaf Jumpers.

[soulspy]

I got an early SE one too. I can see where people would believe there should be more blade in the handle, but I don't feel it's absolutely necessary. Almost seems like Sal's verbiage in the original description has forced the notion, but at the same time people don't seem concerned about getting more blade in the Sage5 (which has some room in the handle for more steel, just like the RJ).

Regardless, I will probably buy the CQI because the design just feels good in the hand. Nice work Sal!

[vivi]

The XL version is on my radar. I like designs that bring the edge right up to the handle, like my Resilience folders.

[elena86]

They could easily sqeeze five more mm in that handle so why not bring something almost perfect to perfection. This would also mod the spine profile and the entire profile of the blade would appear more slender ... now it looks kinda ''nose down''.

[Wartstein]

I got an early SE one too. I can see where people would believe there should be more blade in the handle, but I don't feel it's absolutely necessary. Almost seems like Sal's verbiage in the original description has forced the notion, but at the same time people don't seem concerned about getting more blade in the Sage5 (which has some room in the handle for more steel, just like the RJ).
...

I think it could be like this (just a guess):

- As some threads and posts have shown: There are at least some people who think a longer blade, filling all of a handle, is a bonus
- On the other hand: I think there are clearly less folks who actually mind an a bit longer blade or even want a shorter blade in a regular EDC folder (not talking about more specialized knives)
I mean, when a knife comes with the blade filling all of the handle, I´ve never heard anyone saying: "Well, I´d like to have the blade a bit shorter"

So: I think lengthening the blade a bit should be a win overall:
Most not following the discussions here will not even notice the longer blade, but the whatever percentage of folks who actually like to see the blade filling all of the handle will be happy.
To be clear: We are talking about just a few millimeters here!
-

[sal]

Hi Marius,

Sorry to disappoint you. Eric and I discussed the modification last week and decided that the new tooling would be very expensive for the very small amount gained. Besides, sales on the Rock Jumper have not been stellar. The Leaf Jumper was just approved and we'll see if the Leaf version does better in the market place. The "handle forward" concept seemed like a good idea, especially for those that like mid-back-locks. The same muscle memory works for those that usually close their mid-lock-backs with a flick to put the kick on the forefinger. It may be that that particular market is too small?

Time will tell.

sal

[elena86]

Hi Marius,

Sorry to disappoint you. Eric and I discussed the modification last week and decided that the new tooling would be very expensive for the very small amount gained. Besides, sales on the Rock Jumper have not been stellar. The Leaf Jumper was just approved and we'll see if the Leaf version does better in the market place. The "handle forward" concept seemed like a good idea, especially for those that like mid-back-locks. The same muscle memory works for those that usually close their mid-lock-backs with a flick to put the kick on the forefinger. It may be that that particular market is too small?

Time will tell.

sal

Thanks Sal for taking time to chime in. I am disappointed but I am glad I have a choice ... the new wharnie Endela. It lacks the smart hidden ricasso and the compact ergonomic handle of the RJ but, at least for me, it compensates with the longer blade and the jimping on the thumb ramp. I only wish that those from Seki factory could step up their backlock tooling tolerances or implement the internal stop pin from the Chaparral. Come on Spyderco...do something about that vertical rock !

[Wartstein]

Hi Marius,

Sorry to disappoint you. Eric and I discussed the modification last week and decided that the new tooling would be very expensive for the very small amount gained........

Hi Sal,

Like Marius I am a bit disappointed too. We all have our preferences, and it happens to be the case that for me that longer edge would have taken the RockJumper from "great" to "perfect". So I was looking forward to this change / cqi indeed.
That being said: Of course I fully understand why you and Eric decided otherwise now.

But may I ask: Is it also to late for the LEAF Jumper to get a more handlefilling blade?

And while I know next to nothing about the knife market compared to you: I could imagine that the RockJumper does not sell so well due to the wharnie blade. I don´t think that the general market appreciates that blade shape enough (yet), and if the Leaf Jumper had come out first, it would have sold better (and hopefully will).
Furthermore I think that currently the leaf shape is much more associated with Spyderco than the wharnie shape

[Evil D]

Hi Marius,

Sorry to disappoint you. Eric and I discussed the modification last week and decided that the new tooling would be very expensive for the very small amount gained. Besides, sales on the Rock Jumper have not been stellar. The Leaf Jumper was just approved and we'll see if the Leaf version does better in the market place. The "handle forward" concept seemed like a good idea, especially for those that like mid-back-locks. The same muscle memory works for those that usually close their mid-lock-backs with a flick to put the kick on the forefinger. It may be that that particular market is too small?

Time will tell.

sal

I think it was a bit of a gamble bringing it out in a wharncliffe blade vs a leaf from the start. Seems like if it were a more direct competitor to a Delica or Stretch with a similar blade shape it may have caught people's attention better. Not everyone appreciates a good wharnie.

[Doc Dan]

Hi Marius,

Sorry to disappoint you. Eric and I discussed the modification last week and decided that the new tooling would be very expensive for the very small amount gained. Besides, sales on the Rock Jumper have not been stellar. The Leaf Jumper was just approved and we'll see if the Leaf version does better in the market place. The "handle forward" concept seemed like a good idea, especially for those that like mid-back-locks. The same muscle memory works for those that usually close their mid-lock-backs with a flick to put the kick on the forefinger. It may be that that particular market is too small?

Time will tell.

sal

I think it was a bit of a gamble bringing it out in a wharncliffe blade vs a leaf from the start. Seems like if it were a more direct competitor to a Delica or Stretch with a similar blade shape it may have caught people's attention better. Not everyone appreciates a good wharnie.

I think this exactly it. It is why I didn't buy it. The LJ I am more excited about. I think this handle forward is the way to go in the future. We could even have a Native like that so we can get our whole hand on the knife and not have something on the blade that catches on what we cut. The handle on that RJ is really an exciting development.

[JRinFL]

Hi Marius,

Sorry to disappoint you. Eric and I discussed the modification last week and decided that the new tooling would be very expensive for the very small amount gained. Besides, sales on the Rock Jumper have not been stellar. The Leaf Jumper was just approved and we'll see if the Leaf version does better in the market place. The "handle forward" concept seemed like a good idea, especially for those that like mid-back-locks. The same muscle memory works for those that usually close their mid-lock-backs with a flick to put the kick on the forefinger. It may be that that particular market is too small?

Time will tell.

sal

I'm sad to hear that this great model is not selling well. I hope it sticks around in some form or another.

[dj moonbat]

This is one of the few designs where Spyderco's tendency toward small blade:grip ratios doesn't bother me.

I'm pretty surprised it's not selling well, although maybe people just don't think they need a mountaineering knife. Given a choice between this and the Endela Wharnie, though, I'd go with this any day--twice on Sunday.

[ladybug93]

i really like the design and don't care about a few mm of blade. in fact, i've made the argument that it should be a tiny bit shorter to get it under 3" for people that live in places where that's the law. the only reason i don't have a rockjumper is because it has a little too much overlap with other knives in my collection to allow me pull the trigger.

[thewoodpecker]

Bummer to hear sales are not so great on the RJ. It is a fantastic design and I look forward to getting another one in a different steel (SE VG10 currently). My guess is the baseline materials are hindering sales rather than the design itself. VG10 is solid but with many other more exciting steels (cough, cough Magnacut & CruWear) I think the dollars rise to the novel.

[PWork]

[/quote] I think it was a bit of a gamble bringing it out in a wharncliffe blade vs a leaf from the start. Seems like if it were a more direct competitor to a Delica or Stretch with a similar blade shape it may have caught people's attention better. Not everyone appreciates a good wharnie.
[/quote]


This is my thought on it. While I'm a big fan of the wharncliffe, it's just not what most people think a knife blade should look like. I think the leaf blade will sell much better to the general public.
As for the size, it's a wee bit bigger than what I like, both in blade and handle. That said, I think it's a great design overall. I hope sales pick up.

[sal]

Hi All,

Thanx much for your comments and support. By way of explanation;

An emergency cut on a rope, in a climbing situation, a fishing situation, or other, requires a one shot cut. handle close to cutting edge seems like a solution that prevented a sharpening choil or finger choil from fouling the cut. Doing this on a mid-lock-back is challenging. "Handle forward" was a solution. A Wharcliffe blade would be more effective on that type of cut than a curved (convex/belly) edge.

We'll watch closely to reaction to the Leaf blade version and I'm oping that you, (our esteemed knowledgeable Afi's) will provide that feedback.

sal

[Evil D]

Hi All,

Thanx much for your comments and support. By way of explanation;

An emergency cut on a rope, in a climbing situation, a fishing situation, or other, requires a one shot cut. handle close to cutting edge seems like a solution that prevented a sharpening choil or finger choil from fouling the cut. Doing this on a mid-lock-back is challenging. "Handle forward" was a solution. A Wharcliffe blade would be more effective on that type of cut than a curved (convex/belly) edge.

We'll watch closely to reaction to the Leaf blade version and I'm oping that you, (our esteemed knowledgeable Afi's) will provide that feedback.

sal

Oh, I think your intentions for the design were spot on and make perfect sense, but maybe the market for that specific use is just small. How strong did you expect "rock climber sales" to be vs what would otherwise be "general everyday carry sales"? If this knife were otherwise just marketed as a general use knife that utilized the handle forward concept with a leaf blade I think it would have made a bigger impact.