What's the big deal with the nub?

[vivi]

Last night I was browsing Yojumbo reviews.

I've been carrying mine the past few days and enjoyed putting it to use. Wanted to see some other peoples opinions about it.

Came across an interesting post where the reviewer ended up doing a lot of mods.

It's an interesting read seeing the mods the OP does. But I can't help but notice the dramatic emphasis he places on the comp lock nub.

I'll quote the parts I'm talking about:

But there is a problem. The Yojumbo from the factory has a completely senseless tang design that needlessly enters into the lock bar cutout, getting in the way of lock function.



Spyderco has received and acknowledged criticism about about this "feature", and yet they keep doing it. Why? The shape of the tang there serves no actual purpose to the design of the knife, and actively reduces its user friendliness. It makes it more difficult to get your finger in there to actuate the lock and open the knife, if that's how you like to open your compression lock knives. Also, like the Shaman, it requires you to move your finger out of the way at the last microsecond if you want the knife to close all the way.

If this is something that annoyed you about the Shaman, get ready to be annoyed with the Yojumbo. If it didn't bother you on the Shaman, it won't bother you here either because it is not as bad as on the Shaman. But come on, this is a design flaw, pure and simple. I knew about it in advance from looking at the pictures, and I also knew I would be fixing it on my own knife. And if I were not the type to do such a thing, I would certainly have given this knife a miss.

A multi-paragraph rant early in the review claiming it gets in the way of lock function. Funny, the lock on mine works perfectly, best compression lock I've owned in fact. Smooth but with a stiff detent.

He goes on to grind the nub off:

I ground the tang to remove the metal corner that intruded upon the lock bar cutout. I can still feel it touch my finger when I close the knife, but at least now the knife closes all the way without my having to move my finger out of the way. I can also use the compression lock more easily to open the knife, if I want to (but this isn't something I do often with my compression lock knives - I'm a Spydie hole thumb and index finger flicker

Like I said, his mods are interesting and I enjoyed looking at them.

But I can't fathom how anyone gets so annoyed at the nub.

https://vidsli.com/watch/CkvyXjcrLq

That's me with a stock yojumbo. I never open or close it that way yet it's still perfectly intuitive for me despite the nub.

I just don't see the big deal. At all.

[JRinFL]

Neither do I, but some people are very less adaptable.

[Fly Fishing Rick]

I kinda wish I had ground the kick down on my CruCarta PM2 before acid etching the blade because it gets in the way of the blade dropping shut if I have my finger on the whole lock tab. I have gotten used to it and it rarely happens anymore, it's just a minor inconvenience.

[TkoK83Spy]

Same with all the cry babies about the Shaman and Watu as well. Just takes a little practice and muscle memory. Why modify the knife when it doesn't even need it and actually aids in protecting you!

[Blerv]

I think the disconnect is some not understanding these are performance-first production tools. I have a number of custom and semi-custom knives that can’t perform anywhere near the level of a Delica. I keep coming back for that and the Burton’esque world of knives that Sal has built for us (I like weird and wonderful things).

That isn’t an excuse for sloppy work but if it isn’t an performance or safety issue frankly it’s probably just not as high on the list of priorities. Especially for a knife that was primarily designed for martial uses and had mainly been adapted to cutting open bags of chips and mail boxes.

[jwbnyc]

I happen to like having the nub. It lets me know when I’m right up on the blade and keeps me from cutting myself. That’s more important than being bothered by having to get a finger out of the way when closing it.

[Mushroom]

I would love to hear their reasoning for calling it a “design flaw.” I have a feeling it would come do “well, I don’t like it.”

[Cheddarnut]

I feel the general “suck it up” sentiment here about tip up or down carry. Adapt. Its part of the design, and part of the joy of having different knifes. Not everybody likes adapting though, so some people dislike the nub. Don’t have a shaman or yojumbo to speak to those models, but the small nub on my lil native CLs keep me from being able to depress the lock and flick the knife closed, adding time and annoyance to an otherwise beautiful design. Maybe there is a functional reason for it on Spydercos side, but on the users end the impediment it creates is the thing that stands out.

[sal]

Easier to take it off than to put it on. Our knives are very sharp. Anything that adds to safety, Eric and I will generally add to the design. There are many knives and many designers and all have their reasons for what they do. I don't know that they would consider their designs to have design flaws. An example of a design flaw, in my opinion would be a tip down model with an Emerson opener (wave), but to the designer, it might make perfect sense.

sal

[Fireman]

How I learned to stop worrying and love the nub.
I have three Shamans and the first one I took the nub off and that worked great. I actually use the nub to push the blade out of the detent to aid opening them on the other ones. With my Yojumbo, I have no nub issues because the blade is so heavy I don’t need to keep the lock bar depressed and it swings closed. The lock bar spring is pretty strong on the Shaman and with my nub delete one, I took out enough spring tension so it is a fidget machine now.

[ladybug93]

i personally don't like it. i've read lots of comments and seen reviews both justifying it and hating on it. none of that matters to me. when i look at it, it seems like a compromise, which in turn makes it an unfinished design in my mind. i realize it's not a big deal functionally, but it still seems less refined, which makes those designs less interesting to me.

[JSumm]

I never really understood this issue. If you leave your finger on the lock too long, the blade is going to bounce back open off the lock bar. Nub or no nub, you have to move your finger so the lock sucks in the blade when closing to avoid the "dreaded" bounce. And that is the beauty of the compression lock.


**Edit - I can see the looking off issue. I think it may just be a compromise on some designs to get a compression lock. I think on some designs to keep the ergos the designer wants you would need a different lock type to avoid this.

[Manixguy@1994]

I’ve never really thought about it , I adapted and moved on . Dan

[makawakaroni]

I get the complaint about the Shaman because the nub on that is quite prominent, but the blade of the Yojumbo looks completely flat on the edge side, without any protrusion.

[yablanowitz]

Personally, I think it boils down to "is it a knife or a fidget toy?" Things that make it safer to use as a knife tend to interfere with toy function. You only have to snag the tip on something and slide your hand down onto a razor-sharp edge once to learn to appreciate a guard of any size.

[Brock O Lee]

I don’t have nub anxiety

[ZrowsN1s]

The only plus I see to a lack of nub is the ability to get the blade flush with a flat surface.

As far as opening/closing or aesthetic issues, I don't have any.

I think it makes a lot of sense to have it for safety on the Shaman with it's finger choil. On the Yojumbo I could live without it.

[Fireman]

Personally, I think it boils down to "is it a knife or a fidget toy?" Things that make it safer to use as a knife tend to interfere with toy function. You only have to snag the tip on something and slide your hand down onto a razor-sharp edge once to learn to appreciate a guard of any size.

It’s obviously an adult fidget toy. The Shaman is a great workhorse and serious tool that just happens to be fun as well.

[TkoK83Spy]

Ugghhh, hate to think of the Shaman, a bad a$$ working knife, built for toughness...referred to as an adult toy. I bet Sal sighs at things like that.

[troutinCO]

I do not have an issue with "the nub."