Spyderco Forums

In this corner, we have the Microjimbo...



G10/S30V
Wire clip
3.0oz
6.22" overall length
2.23" edge length
3.7mm FFG blade
Compression Lock
Golden made
$171.50




And in this corner, we have the Lil Native Wharncliffe...




G10/S30V
Wire clip
2.5oz
5.86" overall length
2.02" edge length
3.2mm FFG blade
Compression Lock
Golden made
$154.00



Random observations in no particular order:

The Microjimbo looks like it'll carry deeper, the clip is closer to the end of the handle.

Microjimbo has no 50/50 choil and may be more of a 3 finger knife for most people, the Lil Native has a choil and if your hand is small enough it may give a full or nearly full grip, but at the sacrifice of a bit of edge length. It does look like you could easily grind a finger choil into the Microjimbo with a spindle sander or Dremel if you really wanted one.

Lil Native is 0.5mm thinner blade stock, may equate to better slicing. Will depend on how the blade grinds compare (either one could still be far thicker/thinner behind the bevel).

Looks like a larger, but also somewhat obstructed thumb hole on the Microjimbo. I'd bet that the Lil Native is a little easier to manipulate, which starts to be an issue on small knives if you have big hands or arthritis etc.

Lil Native has a bit of negative blade angle which I find interesting for a wharnie design. It should do far better in pull cuts. I bet it would be pretty nasty with serrations.

Stronger tip on Lil Native, but more acute tip on Microjimbo. Depends on preferences/needs. Microjimbo would likely be far better at self defense (duh) though with the negative blade angle I still wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a slash from the Lil Native.

They both look a bit like pocket hogs for their size.

Lil Native looks to be more hand filling and will probably feel a lot more like a "little big knife".

Kinda hard to say but it looks like the Microjimbo lock access is better? The Yojimbo family has always had smallish lock cutouts vs other Compression Lock models. It looks shorter in front to back length but deeper. Might be a tossup.

The first thing I'd do with the Microjimbo is grind down that spine point at the tip of the pivot, same as I did with my Yojimbo.

The Microjimbo has an additional body screw in the butt end, where on the Lil Native it uses the clip screw as a structural point in that area. The Microjimbo also uses the floating stop pin vs a screwed pin on the Lil Native. It's interesting how similar these designs are but have these small differences in construction.

Overall I feel like the Lil Native is going to provide a more secure grip, especially in a hard pull cut motion.





Well, I don't own and haven't handled either one so I could be totally wrong on any of this. Honestly I feel like I would be more inclined to carry the standard Yojimbo over the Microjimbo, but I also don't have length laws to worry about. What the Lil Native has over the standard Native 5 is a wharnie option, and it also has more negative blade angle than I think any other wharnie Spyderco makes? It seems to offer something more than I can get from it's standard size brother, so to me it feels like less of a redundant purchase. It also seems far more likely that I'd ever see the Lil Native with serrations than any of the 'Jimbo family. I'm also betting there's a CF/S90V Microjimbo in the works or will be, and that one will definitely tempt me more.

I found the standard comp lock Lil Native a little awkward to manipulate with my XL hands, a problem that just isn’t there on the slipjoint version.

I’m wondering whether the Lil Yo’ handle shape will avoid that problem, as well.

Dragonfly Wharncliffe as dark horse bracket buster…

i'm not a fan of how far back the microjimbo grip starts. it looks like it needs an index finger choil for a safe grip.

i'd carry a tuff lite before either of them, but for a spyderco, i've really been enjoying my delica wharncliffe far more than i expected. as big a fan as i am of other knives, i could probably carry a salt 2 wharncliffe in lc200n as my only knife and be perfectly happy.

twinboysdad wrote: ↑

Fri May 26, 2023 5:46 am

Dragonfly Wharncliffe as dark horse bracket buster…

I had to laugh! I vote for this. My K390 version is a slicing piece of art.

You want a real dark horse candidate? Go with the Janlica.



Even in the stock FRN scales, you get a much more comfortable grip. It is not a true wharnie, but it is close enough. I know that we want little knives, but having too small of a handle is a detriment (sorry Drangonfly!).

PS - LynchNW is getting ready to drop another batch of these scales in the May release. I cannot recommend them enough. Sign up for their newsletter for more info.

I already have a lil Native wharncliffe. I'm way way way more happy with that one than I expected to be. I'm a big Delica wharncliffe fan. The thicker blade stock of the lil Native wharncliffe just hasn't been any sort of a perceptible issue for me. I've gotten in the habit of carrying it when I wear pants with a fifth pocket. It's pretty perfect there.

I don't mean the following in any sort of negative way.
I'll probably pick up a microjimbo, though I think it has lost some of its unique character in its downsizing. The Yojimbo 2 is very distinctive in shape with the thumb area on the spine and its high hollow ground. The Yo 2 has a very unique appearance overall. The microjimbo seems to have lost some of that.

p_atrick wrote: ↑

Fri May 26, 2023 8:00 am

...
PS - LynchNW is getting ready to drop another batch of these scales in the May release. I cannot recommend them enough. Sign up for their newsletter for more info.

The May release was Monday, May 22nd, 2023. When I looked again yesterday, there were still some available.

They look a whole lot like a Delica sized Dragonfly.

Why battle? Both is the only obvious solution.

Mushroom wrote: ↑

Fri May 26, 2023 9:59 am

Why battle? Both is the only obvious solution.

Really just because I've been thinking hard about the Lil Native wharnie lately and the Dragonfly wharnie and now the Microjimbo came into play.

Evil D wrote: ↑

Fri May 26, 2023 10:04 am

Mushroom wrote: ↑

Fri May 26, 2023 9:59 am

Why battle? Both is the only obvious solution.

Really just because I've been thinking hard about the Lil Native wharnie lately and the Dragonfly wharnie and now the Microjimbo came into play.

Lol, I suppose the answer is "yes".

I lean heavily towards the Lil Native Wharncliffe. Negative blade angle, more robust tip, fuller grip/more fine control with the 50/50 choil, completely flat spine handle transition, I like the clip positioning (and how it will ride in pocket better). I also like that the butt of the handle is wider, I think it will feel better in hand, and more comfortable in pocket. In general I like the handle and blade shape better.

I have a Yo2 but don’t (yet) understand the argument for making it a micro. I don’t seek one.

I think in my hands, my Lil’Native Wharncliffe would win their face-off.

I think I’ll begin a RBP carry for the unbacked cuts I’m often faced with.

I agree the LNW’s comp-lock asks for a little too much finger-shifting to release the blade. But I’ll adapt.

I could be wrong but I thought the MicroJimbo was designed to still allow for a four finger grip.

I purposefully skipped the warnie Lil’ Native for the MicroJimbo. Which is saying a lot cause I have 4 Lil’ Natives!

Regardless, I’ll prob end up with multiple exclusives of each design

ladybug93 wrote: ↑

Fri May 26, 2023 6:33 am

i'm not a fan of how far back the microjimbo grip starts. it looks like it needs an index finger choil for a safe grip.

i'd carry a tuff lite before either of them, but for a spyderco, i've really been enjoying my delica wharncliffe far more than i expected. as big a fan as i am of other knives, i could probably carry a salt 2 wharncliffe in lc200n as my only knife and be perfectly happy.

The tuff lite is so good

dull&blunt wrote: ↑

Fri May 26, 2023 8:58 pm

I could be wrong but I thought the MicroJimbo was designed to still allow for a four finger grip.

I purposefully skipped the warnie Lil’ Native for the MicroJimbo. Which is saying a lot cause I have 4 Lil’ Natives!

Regardless, I’ll prob end up with multiple exclusives of each design

Hard to put into words, but the Wharnie is just different feeling than the regular Lil' Natives. In a good way since I am a Wharnie fan boy. And I only have 2 Lil' Natives, so take that for what it's worth.

I still haven’t held a Yomjimbo, so the ergonomics escape me a bit. Looking at the two knives in pictures, it seems to me that I would struggle to hold the Microjimbo with more than two fingers and a thumb. The Lil Native looks like I could get three fingers on it, and it’d lock into my hand really well.

I think the Dragonfly would be my choice in this size range, mostly because it comes in at just 1.2oz.

Manbug for the win!

None of them. My SE wharnie Delica is my go to spydie and probably my most carried lately. It’s not a Lil’ “by the book” but it’s Lil’ enough for me and way more comfy and capable. If I had to chose a “by the book” Lil’ wharnie I would go with the Dfly2.

I don't have one, but I am surprised that no one mentioned the DFly wharnie so far (well, wait till Aicolainen comes across this thread;) )

Would most likely be my choice with its thinner blade among the lil wharnies.