Owners of the Yojimbo 2- Poll About Tip Thickness

[DCDesigns]

Hey whats up yall. One model I just got in which initially I wasnt that crazy about is the Yo2. It has since grown on me, and I now think I like it alot. I have just one concern. The tip. What makes this model so awesome is also what I think worries me the most, how thin it gets out toward the tip. It makes it a very effective self defense tool im sure, but Im worried it might be too fine to be used for moderately hard work. I felt like if I were to break down a TON of boxes, It might eventually snap that tip like ive seen hundreds of times on carpet cutters. (i know its s30v, but its a similar thinness). It makes me sort of scared to carry this knife as my only EDC that day, in case I come across something I am scared to do with it... Sitting it up next to my C12 civillian, it seems a similar thickness. And that one came with a warning not to use it...

SO, should I be worried, or do you think my fears are unfounded?
I wanted to just treat it like my PM2, not sure if I should do that tho...

So if it turns out most of you are also concerned with tip breakage, I may reserve it for the "Three P's": Paper, Plastic, and People...

[angusW]

I voted "No" but I think you should re-word the poll to say "Do you think the Yojimbo 2 is too thin for moderate to heavy use?" I say that because most of the time when I put a knife to hard use it's not the tip that is doing the work but the belly of the blade. I cut up a bunch of thick cardboard today with my Military but the tip didn't see a lot of action. Afterwards I tested out the edge on some thin paper and the belly couldn't cut it at all but near the tip it was still able to cut the paper. I suppose if you were cutting cardboard with just the tip of the Yojimbo 2 and cutting curves instead of a straight line there might be a possibility of it snapping.

The tip is pretty thin on the Yojimbo 2 and doesn't look like it could take hard work, like say prying but I find the tip on it is excellent for piercing. Haven't tried it out on a person yet but the other materials didn't show much resistance to the tip.

[Invective]

I'd say that the Yojimbo2 is not really meant to be used for heavy use EDC work. The hollow grind combined with the sharp tip and Wharncliffe shape make it seem to me that it is best used for precise incisions with the tip rather than cutting carpets or any other hard use work. Although it does also seem like should the tip break, it would be fairly easy to have the chip reground without losing much of the cutting edge. I personally wouldn't use this for anything heavy use, especially since I have thicker knives more designed for heavy use. It'd be like using a cleaver or machete to fillet a fish. You can't ask your knife to do something it isn't designed for and expect to do it well.

[DCDesigns]

I'd say that the Yojimbo2 is not really meant to be used for heavy use EDC work. The hollow grind combined with the sharp tip and Wharncliffe shape make it seem to me that it is best used for precise incisions with the tip rather than cutting carpets or any other hard use work. Although it does also seem like should the tip break, it would be fairly easy to have the chip reground without losing much of the cutting edge. I personally wouldn't use this for anything heavy use, especially since I have thicker knives more designed for heavy use. It'd be like using a cleaver or machete to fillet a fish. You can't ask your knife to do something it isn't designed for and expect to do it well.

Oh, Im not talkin about batonning on it or as the other member mentioned, prying (which i consider abuse no matter the knife). Im talking just heavy EDC use, Nothing too extraordinary, just every day task. We all have different definitions of heavy use, mine is any time I have to put signifigant force behind the blade to cut something. Also not talking about when I have time to choose a knife for a task, I bought a Tuff in the same week, so obviously if I knew I was going to need a super strong blade, That'd be the one to grab. Im just talking about when I have one knife, the yo2, and a challenging task presents itself...

[Gerard Breuker]

Voted yes although I only have a Yo1. If the tip of the Yo2 is anything like the tip of the Yo1 I believe you can damage the tip if you're not extra careful.
Tilting it downward a little bit with a little side angle will put a lot of force on the tip and may well damage it.

[Mystro]

I am not worrying about the tip at all. I'd us the Y2 for any tasks I would use my Strider SNG for..... I hope that helps. The Y2 is a hard use knife for general woods use. Batoning any folder is only used in a time of crisis.

[Michael Rigg]

The Yojimbo 2 was designed with one purpose in mind. It was designed for personal defense, and for that purpose the tip is thick enough. The knife punctures with almost no resistance, and cuts with constant, if not increasing pressure when drawn or pressured through a target. You may use yours in any way you see fit. It will still cut well when you break the tip off trying to score linoleum....

[DCDesigns]

I am not worrying about the tip at all. I'd us the Y2 for any tasks I would use my Strider SNG for..... I hope that helps. The Y2 is a hard use knife for general woods use. Batoning any folder is only used in a time of crisis.

Pretty sure you mistyped. The Yo2 is not designed with the woods in mind at all... Perhaps you are thinking of the Puuko or Bushcraft... Im glad you have that much confidence in thin s30v, personally I would hesitate to use it for something the SNG might just shrug off.

The Yojimbo 2 was designed with one purpose in mind. It was designed for personal defense, and for that purpose the tip is thick enough. The knife punctures with almost no resistance, and cuts with constant, if not increasing pressure when drawn or pressured through a target. You may use yours in any way you see fit. It will still cut well when you break the tip off trying to score linoleum....

I dont disagree. I believe if you were to reserve it just for SD it would do just fine, but odds are you would never use it... I already have a civillian (which is more my skill level when it comes to knife fighting. I prefer the long reach, and gross motor movements) And I use it for certain EDC tasks, im just very careful. So I was just wondering how other people intend to use the yojimbo 2, whether or not I should treat it as I do my C12.

When I hold it up next to my Caly 3.5 SB, it is really not that much thinner at the tip. So I guess I could use it as I do my caly. I will have to get out the calipers to see just how thin it is behind the edge. I wouldnt use my Caly to score lino, and I definately would not suggest using the yo2 for that. Besides, my only use for linoleum is for making relief prints:

[PARATOM]

i carry my yo2 as my regular EDC and i have yet to run into a task where i felt the tip could be abused. i have done minor prying with the tip (like removing rubber boarders from a screen porch) and it has performed flawlessly. I feel very comfortable using the tip for EDC tasks. It just feels like a tank in hand too!

[DCDesigns]

i carry my yo2 as my regular EDC and i have yet to run into a task where i felt the tip could be abused. i have done minor prying with the tip (like removing rubber boarders from a screen porch) and it has performed flawlessly. I feel very comfortable using the tip for EDC tasks. It just feels like a tank in hand too!

wow, I would be really scared to pry with that! Good to know it held up tho!

[Soulrack]

I dont pry with my knives. I've carried the Yo 2 for months without issue with any of my EDC tasks.

[Evil D]

I vote no. The reason is because most hard use happens closer to the tang, unless you're prying like you know you shouldn't be doing. There's a point where a knife can be thin and if the grind geometry is good enough It will cut easier, requiring less force, which requires less blade strength, so thinner isn't always necessarily weaker. The only issue you'll have with CUTTING with this knife is if you apply a lot of lateral/twisting force right at the tip, which could break the very tip. Other knives like the Caly 3's and the Centofante 3/4 are just as thin at the tip, or thinner, and i've used all of those to cut miles of corrugated without any problems. Consider how thin a typical razor blade is...they'll snap if you twist with them, but they'll cut even when somewhat dull, because they're so thin. They're weak when applying lateral/twisting forces, but they have plenty strength when cutting. The biggest threat this knife has is premature wear at the tip since a lot of cutting is going to happen right there at the tip. Beyond all that, i'd say the rest of this blade is probably stronger than a Para 2, since there's so much flat area that's a full 4mm thick. I remember reading somewhere that this knife was designed to be able to penetrate a sternum, so cardboard shouldn't be an issue. The other day at work i was doing some stabbing tests into 6 layers of heavy corrugated and it went in effortlessly..the first time i tried i was pretty surprised how easy it went in. The tip geometry is such that the spine pushes against what you're stabbing and causes the blade to cut in the opposite direction.

[Dr. Snubnose]

Angus: I did not vote in the thread, but The point on the Yo and any other pointy thingy are all strong enough to penetrate the human body. It takes only 5 nano ( 1.124 pounds of pressure) to penetrate the human skin, IIRC the average women in Pakal grip with a downward thrust can stab at 1,500 nano and the average male around 3,000 nano.....While a pencil if stabbed into the human body might break after one stab, if you were to put duct tape around the pencil's body, you could use it as an effective stabbing tool without the risk of breaking.....so bottom line is if it as a point (and in this case we are talking steel point) it will penetrate....no problem.........Doc

[Blerv]

I'm with Doc and some of the rest. I dont own one but after playing with my bro's it's quite thick for such a single purpose tool. He uses it for all sorts of tasks similar to what I would do with my Cento4.

It's better to classify jobs to tools than try and make all tools perform all jobs. If you do the latter you end up with horribly inefficient products at specific tasks.

[Michael Janich]

Thanks for the discussion and your continued enthusiasm for the Yo2.

When I designed the blade for the Yo2, I took a lot of inspiration from the Manix2, both because I like the way it cuts and because, as a Golden-made product, its manufacture respresented a known core competency for Spyderco. Combining a partial hollow grind with a thick, strong spine provides a great balance of edge geometry and strength. Moving the point up towards the blade's centerline moves it toward the thicker part of the blade; however, if the hollow grind runs parallel to the edge all the way to the point, the resulting point thickness is functionally the same as what you get with a wharncliffe.

The wharncliffe blade excels at cutting because it cuts with full power all the way to the tip. An acutely angled tip also provides superior penetration with minimal effort.

From a utility standpoint, the Yo2's tip is analogous to an X-Acto knife and is excellent for detail work. The heel of the blade, closer to the handle, is extremely strong and more than capable of tackling most cutting chores for which knives are appropriate tools. In general, if you focus on using the part of the blade that is most appropriate to the task at hand, you can perform a wide range of cutting chores without a problem.

Having designed several wharncliffe blades now, I have also been privy to the warranty repair claims concerning these blades. In all honesty, broken tips are rare. The ones that do come in typically come with a story that begins "I dropped my knife on concrete/a hard tile floor...." or "I know I shouldn't pry with a knife, but..."

Like a box cutter, a wharncliffe cuts with both power and finesse because of its straight edge. If your style of utility knife use actually focuses on cutting, it will serve you well. If your utility knife use focuses on prying, digging, or using your knife as a jack handle, buy a knife that is better suited to that type of use--and don't expect it to cut very well...

I hope this helps.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Evil D]

Well, i dropped mine today at work on a ceramic tile floor. I must have lucked out and it didn't land anywhere near the tip, despite bouncing all over the place, because it didn't chip anywhere. There was a good 2 seconds of absolute terror though.

[MachSchnell]

I don't find it too thin, and actually I would have preferred to see it in a FFG. Or better yet, and to get an even more stable tip I would really like to see a full convex grind model offered; Talk about a super slicer/slasher.

[Mystro]

No, I am a hardcore hunter and my woods use is rope cutting, whittling,gutting, pick out splinters, scraping, etc.... I have done these tasks years ago with a a smaller Wharncliffe/sheepsfoot blade. It works great for my needs in a tree stand and the design gives me more control at the tip. Its not a skinner but a great gutting knife. I use it like a scalpel when gutting large game. Its a utility knife for my needs and that is what the Wharncliffe design was initially intended for. The Wharncliffe was/is a utilitarian/sailing blade design first and foremost.

[Evil D]

I don't see why it can't be done in FFG with little or no distal taper. That would solve the fragile tip issue, and the way a wharncliffe is shaped at the tip would still come down to a fine point. Still, i'm slowing gaining some appreciation for high hollow grinds. This one slices much better than my old Manix 2 did...that grind just didn't work for me.

[PARATOM]

i actually dropped mine on a tile floor in the bathroom but luckily there was a rug in between the tip and the tile. I was playing with it on the crapper (like i always to to pass time in there) and while switching to reverse grip, it dropped out of my hand right in front of the toilet. I literally crapped hahaha There was minimal damage to the tip and i sharpened it straight so you can barely tell (you have to examine it very carefully to see any difference from factory). I was literally terrified to pick it up and see what happened but i was relived when i barely saw any damage.

Im surprised at how well the tip took the impact. I absolutely love this knife. Mr. Janich, i understand where you said that the manix inspired the design. I see the similarities between the knives with just 2 different designed purposes. I actually compared these too knives when i first got the yo2, long before i read your post. You and Spyderco hit it out of the park!