Tactical Box-Cutter: A Long-Term Review of the Yojimbo 2 as a Warehouse Knife

[Michael Janich]

Hey, All:

I just returned from working the Enforce Tac and IWA trade shows in Germany back to back. Vojto, the gentleman who posted the photos, visited me at the IWA booth. He gave me a small portfolio with photos of my knives that he had modified to include a Wave feature and suggested that I consider proposing that idea to Spyderco. The modified knives are his work, not mine.

Although I have modified a few Yojimbo 2s over the years to include a Wave feature for friends and MBC students, I have several reservations about including it as an "official" feature.

First, historically, the Yojimbo 2 came into being before Ernie Emerson's patent expired. Spyderco officially licenses the Wave from Ernie and pays him royalties on all its use. That adds an additional element of cost to every model that includes it.

My preferred location for a Wave modification on Yojimbo models is at the "crest" of the blade adjacent to the handle, versus in front of the Round Hole. In that location, the Wave looks very much like Emerson's trademarked Wave shape. Out of respect for Ernie and his IP, I wouldn't include that aesthetic element in a production folder of my design.

As noted, 5X5 makes excellent Pickpocket accessories for all the Yojimbo Family models. 5X5's founder is a great guy and a longtime friend, so I prefer to support his business rather than incorporating the Wave directly into my production models.

Finally, all product decisions lie with Eric, Sal, and Spyderco's Management Team. Although they welcome my suggestions, those decisions are all above my pay grade.

Stay safe,

Mike

[outdoorman vojto]

Great answer. Thank you for your attention. I look forward to the next meeting. Vojto

[Evil D]

Sounds like a waved wharncliffe Delica needs to happen, a model that's currently using the wave hook and can be ground in a wharnie.

[Michael Janich]

Sounds like a waved wharncliffe Delica needs to happen, a model that's currently using the wave hook and can be ground in a wharnie.

Again, 5X5 already has an answer. Use the dropdown menu to look for the Delica 4 Wharncliffe only:

https://5x5combatsolutions.com/shop/ols ... o-ccessory

Stay safe,

Mike

[Evil D]

Sounds like a waved wharncliffe Delica needs to happen, a model that's currently using the wave hook and can be ground in a wharnie.

Again, 5X5 already has an answer. Use the dropdown menu to look for the Delica 4 Wharncliffe only:

https://5x5combatsolutions.com/shop/ols ... o-ccessory

Stay safe,

Mike

I wouldn't be much of an enabler if I took the easy path to what people want

[Fireman]

I modded my yojumbo and it’s one of my favorite carries.

[Red Leader]

Sounds like a waved wharncliffe Delica needs to happen, a model that's currently using the wave hook and can be ground in a wharnie.

Again, 5X5 already has an answer. Use the dropdown menu to look for the Delica 4 Wharncliffe only:

https://5x5combatsolutions.com/shop/ols ... o-ccessory

Stay safe,

Mike

I wouldn't be much of an enabler if I took the easy path to what people want

I've also thought about the 3rd party add ons for a wave feature, but the big detractor is that it increases the width of the blade, which could hamper the slicing ability. One would have to weigh the pros and cons.

Emersons are enough of a different design to me that I see no issue, if both parties are mutual, with using this design on several Spydercos, paying the royalties, and having another great option. Spyderco has also found a way to incorporate their own unique take on it, and avoid it being an exact emulation, although I see no issue with that either. If anything, I think it pays homage to Emerson and keeps the design alive. To me it's two ways to win, no ways to lose. My perspective as a consumer/user is limited, but that is how I see it.

I will continue to look for blades w/ enough meat on them to add them myself if we don't get a factory option.

[PeaceInOurTime]

I'm curious why the removable rod on the P'Kal isn't used on other models.

[PeaceInOurTime]

I modded my yojumbo and it’s one of my favorite carries.

That looks great!

[Fireman]

I modded my yojumbo and it’s one of my favorite carries.

That looks great!

180 grit belt on a sander does wonders. What’s great is the new ways you can hold and use it. Better ergonomically for me.

[Evil D]

I'm curious why the removable rod on the P'Kal isn't used on other models.

I imagine because it's probably a major pain in the butt to manufacture, probably similarly to the Cobra hood. They have to drill and tap threads either before the blades are hardened or afterwards, it's extra steps in production and added cost.

I always thought the Cobra hood could perform triple duty and work as a thumb ramp, a thumb opening assist, and also be positioned in a way that it created a Wave hook.

[PeaceInOurTime]

I'm curious why the removable rod on the P'Kal isn't used on other models.

I imagine because it's probably a major pain in the butt to manufacture, probably similarly to the Cobra hood. They have to drill and tap threads either before the blades are hardened or afterwards, it's extra steps in production and added cost.

I always thought the Cobra hood could perform triple duty and work as a thumb ramp, a thumb opening assist, and also be positioned in a way that it created a Wave hook.

I like that idea for the Cobra Hood! I'd try it out.

I've not tried the P'Kal, but I am interested in the rod. I wonder if it would be more feasible after the factory expansion to try it out on another model, more common than the P'Kal. It does look like it would tear up pocket hems more than a typical wave

[Mad Mac]

Randall Chaney featured the Yojimbo
for his number one most useful EDC in an article in today's
The Armory Life, The Debrief:
Top Practical Everyday Carry Items You Need.



Though initially off putting, my Yojimbo 2
is now one of my most prized possessions.

[Naperville]

I think this style of knife is good for some self defense. I think it is good for cutting boxes too, but warehouses have rules.

I've worked for Amazon in their warehouses twice and it is illegal to have a knife on you for any reason. Not sure how smaller warehouse operations work, only worked in Amazon's warehouses.

This is an Amazon warehouse knife and it is given for FREE to all employees whenever they need one.

KLEVER EXCEL, XD is what I was given and this is just a tad different:

[zuludelta]

I like doing these long-term updates of the knives I use extensively for work. It has been over 7 years since I started using the Yojimbo 2 as my primary work knife, 5 years since I posted my original review, and a year since I last posted an update in this thread. And yes, I'm still using the first Yojimbo 2 I bought for work, though I have since purchased a DLC model for EDC/off-work carry, as well as the Ronin 2, YoJumbo, and MicroJimbo.

How has the Yojimbo 2 held up to warehouse work thus far? Pretty well, especially for a knife originally intended for self-defence use. My cutting tasks at work have changed some over the years as my responsibilities have evolved. I still do a lot of cutting at work, though, make no mistake about that. It's what I cut that has changed: I don't cut nearly as much 250 lb.-test cardboard as I used to. I used to cut, at minimum, about 60 linear feet of it per shift, and easily double that on very busy days. These days, I average about a fifth of that. Still a lot, but I'm no longer pushing S30V to the limits of its working edge retention on a weekly basis.

Currently, I find myself cutting more polypropylene pallet straps and using the tip to slice through clear plastic pallet wrap. Polypropylene pallet straps can potentially be more damaging to a knife edge than cardboard, but by the nature of the motion needed to cut them and the physical dimensions of a pallet strap, I put that abrasive stress on only a small portion of the edge compared to the full-length stress I used to subject the Yojimbo 2's edge to when cutting cardboard panels and boxes. On the whole, the Yojimbo 2's geometry has also helped it perform superlatively in this task.

It is actually using the tip of the Yojimbo 2 blade to slice through pallet wrap that has contributed more visually apparent wear to the knife. The pallet wrap itself is very easy to slice through—it is what is underneath it that can damage the blade. Sometimes, it's just cardboard or wood composite, which is no big deal. But every now and then it will be hard plastic, porcelain, aluminum, steel, or even plate glass. I've put a lot of wear on the Yojimbo 2's tip over the past 3 years, and it shows: It is still pokey and will still pierce "organic materials" (to use a euphemism), but I've worn away about half a millimetre from the tip just from use.

From my experience however, the biggest potential damaging factor to a knife in an industrial setting is still accidental impacts, whether from dropping the knife from a height onto concrete or unintentionally hitting the blade against hard surfaces. I've broken off the tips of three knives (a Bastinelli Pika karambit and two different PM2s) at work over the course of my career, and they all happened from one of those two situations. Just yesterday, I accidentally struck the metal fairing of my forklift with the Yojimbo 2's blade while trying to cut some cardboard that had gotten caught in the forklift's mast. I rolled about a 2 centimetre section of the edge near the tip, but that still left me with a lot of usable edge to work with to finish out my shift.

I was able to repair the edge damage quickly when I got home with a Work Sharp Professional Precision Adjust. Maybe it's because I've been using and maintaining S30V knives for so long, but I found it easy to repair, though of course having the right abrasives helps a lot. Do I sometimes wish that the standard Yojimbo 2 came in a tougher steel with similar or even better edge retention? Sure, but maybe not at the expense of cost. I might finally retire my old Yojimbo 2 when the SPY27 version eventually comes out, but really, S30V is still a fine, fine steel for real-world work use, even in a time when MagnaCut and MagnaMax exist.

Ultimately, what makes the Yojimbo 2 such a great work folder for me are still its design and ergonomics. Replace the S30V with AUS-8, change the handle scales from G10 to GFN, and I would still probably carry the Yojimbo 2 as my primary work knife. The combination of the knife's size and weight, its handle shape, the blade's opening arc, the angle the Wharncliffe blade projects from the handle, even the Compression Lock—it all just complements how I prefer to deploy, hold, and use a folding knife. I do realize that ergonomics can be a very individual and personal thing, and to many people, the location of the grooves and scallops in the Yojimbo 2 handle makes it a non-starter. To those folks, I say: I hope you find a folder that works as well for you as the Yojimbo 2 does for me. Being able to use a tool daily that perfectly fits with how one moves is no small joy every working person should experience.

[Mad Mac]

Thank you for the follow up review.
Your original review spurred me to buy a Yojimbo 2,
a few years ago, a decision which I do not regret.

It is too dear to me to EDC and risk losing or abusing,
but is mounted proudly in my wall display of knives and firearms.
This review, however, forces me to add it to my rotation.

Thank you again, warehouse wordsmith, and kindest regards.

[zuludelta]

Thank you for the follow up review.
Your original review spurred me to buy a Yojimbo 2,
a few years ago, a decision which I do not regret.

It is too dear to me to EDC and risk losing or abusing,
but is mounted proudly in my wall display of knives and firearms.
This review, however, forces me to add it to my rotation.

Thank you again, warehouse wordsmith, and kindest regards.

You're welcome, and thank you very much for reading.

Holding off on regularly using a knife because of its material or sentimental value is perfectly valid, within reason. I own knives that I rarely use for fear of breaking or losing them, precisely because they are either very expensive (like my Native 5 in S90V & fluted Carbon Fiber) or are irreplacable (such as the beaten-to-heck, curb-sharpened, pawn shop special my late father used as his work knife). That said, I do have difficult-to-replace knives that I use and beat on most thoroughly without much worry of breaking or losing them (the discontinued Schempp Rock being the first to come to mind), so I guess it depends on the knife. It's complicated, I guess, is what I'm trying to say.

I felt that hesitation when I first got a Yojimbo 2. It was a fairly expensive knife, even back then, and reading & hearing about the supposed fragility of the tip on various places in the Internet had me reserving it as purely an SD tool. And for a time, I was satisfied with just using the trainer model in FMA training sessions (I purchased the Yojimbo 2 trainer right around the same time I got the live blade version). But after a while, I just wanted to actually use the real thing, as doing drills with the trainer made me realize just how well the design fit my hand & movement. And of course, I wasn't going to start getting into fights just to have an excuse to use it so I decided to start using it as my primary work cutter

[Michael Janich]

Dear zuludelta:

Thank you very much for your thorough reviews of the Yojimbo 2 and the most recent update. I'm very glad to hear that your Yo 2 is serving you well and really appreciate your detailed insights into how your use of it has evolved over the years.

Just curious, how has the "grippiness" of the G-10's peel-ply texture held up? I practice a lot of draws and my scales tend to lose their texture over time.

Again, thank you.

Stay safe,

Mike

[zuludelta]

Dear zuludelta:

Thank you very much for your thorough reviews of the Yojimbo 2 and the most recent update. I'm very glad to hear that your Yo 2 is serving you well and really appreciate your detailed insights into how your use of it has evolved over the years.

Just curious, how has the "grippiness" of the G-10's peel-ply texture held up? I practice a lot of draws and my scales tend to lose their texture over time.

Again, thank you.

Stay safe,

Mike

You're welcome, the Yojimbo 2 is a great design & it's been a joy to use it over the past several years.

The texturing on the handle scales of my work Yojimbo 2 has worn away noticeably on the clip side of the handle, especially in the area where the clip comes into contact with the scale. Presumably, this is because of the friction from repeating rubbing against the fabric of my trousers. I haven't really noticed if this has affected the retention of the knife in the pocket, as the strength of the spring tension on the hourglass clip has remained pretty close to what it was when I first bought the Yojimbo 2.

The G10 has also smoothed out on the show-side scale, but to a lesser degree. I don't think it has affected my ability to securely draw the knife quickly or keep it in hand in use to any practical extent, but that may be due to my familiarity with the model.

[James Y]

This is one of my all-time favorite threads.

I find it interesting that I've heard of more tips being chipped or broken on PM2's than on Yojimbo 2's. Then again, I'm sure that the PM2 is far more commonly carried and used as a tool on a regular basis.

Jim