M4 Yojumbo

[Buddafucco]

Mod update. I made the added forward finger choil larger and made the area larger/rounded where at the compression lock access and I must say that this is the hyperbolic “Game changer” for me. My fat hands can now manipulate and use the knife as I would have hoped. I can depress the lock and the blade clacks open and closed without even a bump on the finger. This pair of mods allows for a new type of draw/opening that was not viable before. I did some edge breaking and smoothing on the edges of the scales and it’s made for a big comfort jump which translates into more hard use without hotspots.

I hope we get pics.

[Fireman]

Hard to see but the scales were rounded and opened up a bit and this lets me get much better access to the compression lock tab. With the added choil, no more interference with the blade.



A better view of the added choil


More force and control towards the tip in this grip


Added comfort and safety when closing this method

[Fireman]

I obviously understand that in massacring the knife it only has value to me but this has transformed the knife to better suit my personal use of the knife as an EDC utility/self defense knife that is meant to be used and fidgeted to bring myself greater value to the purchase through comfort, fun and utility. Many will be appalled at this but perhaps if you compare the two in hand you might agree in the merits of the mods. Obviously the designer, MJ has made an incredible knife for the sole purpose of a self defense knife and I am not in any way criticizing his design or ethos, this is just me having fun and making it more useful for my purposes. I am so happy that MJ and Spyderco had made a jumbo version in premium materials for knife nerds who can appreciate these beautiful knives. I am still on the fence on doing any mods to my “Bat Knife” in CF and M4. I have been carrying the CF M4 in my waistband and the butchered version in my front pocket simultaneously, One for utility and one for SHTF

[Bolster]

^ The preceding mod is Bolster Approved. Strong work there, Fire.

[Michael Janich]

Nice work, Fireman!

I hope it serves you well!

Stay safe,

Mike

[Manixguy@1994]

I like it , nice mod and well executed. Most Noble ! Dan

[Fireman]

Nice work, Fireman!

I hope it serves you well!

Stay safe,

Mike

Thanks MJ! I would love your thoughts on my high on the spine grip shown above. I feel like I can put lots of controllable force on the edge of this larger than average knife. I love that you are not ashamed to make such a beautiful form/function knife. My adaptation is just because my fat hands are too jumbo for the beautiful Yojumbo. I obviously love the knife because I bought two of these pinnacles of pockieness. I am a fan of pure high speed, low drag knives of yours. MJ is in my hall of fame for scary knives that strike fear upon opening. I absolutely love how easy they carry for a large knife especially with the deep carry clip. God speed.

[Fireman]

Mr Janich, what are your thoughts on a “Micro Jumbo”? This is obviously the Mcbee but I believe a MJ spin on this Wolverine knife would be amazing. This is the most effective micro self defense knife I have and I love it but can’t help but think you can make it even more high speed, low drag. Respect, FM.

Wolverine grip…

[Michael Janich]

Dear Fireman:

For my purposes, the only downside I see to your mod and the forward grip is that it positions your index finger very close to the heel of the edge. Although I am a firm believer that a proper grip is the secret to keeping your hand from sliding forward during a thrust, I designed the YoJumbo with the lower guard to provide an extra margin of safety.

I also tried to design it with as much input from my MBC students with different hand sizes as possible. I model the knife in wood and then pass it around to my private training group to get feedback on ergonomics. That group includes a wide range of folks, including some big biscuit-eating boys with large paws. No knife with any degree of complexity to its handle design will ever fit all hand sizes, but I tried my best. If your mod works for you, it works.

As for a "MicroJumbo," I'm not really a fan of the idea. The reason is that tiny folders with tiny handles are difficult to open one handed. MBC focuses very heavily on high-speed weapon deployment, and tiny folders don't lend themselves well to that. Also, once the blade length gets down below 2.5 inches, it's really not capable of cutting fight-stopping targets and becomes more of a distraction tool than a self-defense tool.

Having had the privilege of being mentored by the late Col. Rex Applegate, I am a huge fan of "spy weapons" like classic thumb daggers and other hideout blades. For covert carry by mission-driven intelligence officers, they make sense. As self-defense tools for the average person, not so much. I would place a McBee-sized folder in this category.

For more on my "take" on spy weapons, here's a link to an article I wrote for the Knives & Gear website: https://www.knife-gear.com/spy-steel/.

Thank you for the kind words and your passion for my designs. I truly appreciate both.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Stas]

Mr Janich, what are your thoughts on a “Micro Jumbo”? This is obviously the Mcbee but I believe a MJ spin on this Wolverine knife would be amazing. This is the most effective micro self defense knife I have and I love it but can’t help but think you can make it even more high speed, low drag. Respect, FM.

Sorry to interrupt, but as I always read and trying to learn from Michel Janich comments, need to clarify for myself. Do you mean incoming MicroJimbo model or something else here?

[Buddafucco]

Mr Janich, what are your thoughts on a “Micro Jumbo”? This is obviously the Mcbee but I believe a MJ spin on this Wolverine knife would be amazing. This is the most effective micro self defense knife I have and I love it but can’t help but think you can make it even more high speed, low drag. Respect, FM.

Sorry to interrupt, but as I always read and trying to learn from Michel Janich comments, need to clarify for myself. Do you mean incoming MicroJimbo model or something else here?

In Fireman's post (above Mr Janich's post) he pitched the idea of a MicroJumbo. Which was then gracefully shot down by Mike.

[Fireman]

Dear Fireman:

For my purposes, the only downside I see to your mod and the forward grip is that it positions your index finger very close to the heel of the edge. Although I am a firm believer that a proper grip is the secret to keeping your hand from sliding forward during a thrust, I designed the YoJumbo with the lower guard to provide an extra margin of safety.

I also tried to design it with as much input from my MBC students with different hand sizes as possible. I model the knife in wood and then pass it around to my private training group to get feedback on ergonomics. That group includes a wide range of folks, including some big biscuit-eating boys with large paws. No knife with any degree of complexity to its handle design will ever fit all hand sizes, but I tried my best. If your mod works for you, it works.

As for a "MicroJumbo," I'm not really a fan of the idea. The reason is that tiny folders with tiny handles are difficult to open one handed. MBC focuses very heavily on high-speed weapon deployment, and tiny folders don't lend themselves well to that. Also, once the blade length gets down below 2.5 inches, it's really not capable of cutting fight-stopping targets and becomes more of a distraction tool than a self-defense tool.

Having had the privilege of being mentored by the late Col. Rex Applegate, I am a huge fan of "spy weapons" like classic thumb daggers and other hideout blades. For covert carry by mission-driven intelligence officers, they make sense. As self-defense tools for the average person, not so much. I would place a McBee-sized folder in this category.

For more on my "take" on spy weapons, here's a link to an article I wrote for the Knives & Gear website: https://www.knife-gear.com/spy-steel/.

Thank you for the kind words and your passion for my designs. I truly appreciate both.

Stay safe,

Mike

The Colonel was a master. I would have loved to have been in your shoes to soak up his expertise. It’s impossible to have a “one size fits all” glove and the same for knife handles. You have done a great job marrying ergonomics to blades. The neutral handle portion of the knife mod was just for my individual needs and in no way detracts from what a great knife you have produced here. I concur that there is some added risk to that choke up grip but it is offset by the ability to grip the knife with more force and thus more of a cemented position in my individual hand. The choil can be made larger and thus increased safety factor but I wanted to keep the maximum edge length and that was a personal choice. I use the knife as a glorified utility knife and so I don’t do any forceful stabbing with it but your observation is obviously spot on. I see the responsible need to err on the side of safety as a production knife and your choice to emphasize the guard was the right one imho. I am just a guy who can’t leave well enough alone and can’t help but look for excuses to mod and personalize my knives. It’s a sickness thank you for responding and being so great with your interaction with your admirers. I wish there were 100 more people like you in this business

[Stas]

Mr Janich, what are your thoughts on a “Micro Jumbo”? This is obviously the Mcbee but I believe a MJ spin on this Wolverine knife would be amazing. This is the most effective micro self defense knife I have and I love it but can’t help but think you can make it even more high speed, low drag. Respect, FM.

Sorry to interrupt, but as I always read and trying to learn from Michel Janich comments, need to clarify for myself. Do you mean incoming MicroJimbo model or something else here?

In Fireman's post (above Mr Janich's post) he pitched the idea of a MicroJumbo. Which was then gracefully shot down by Mike.

Thanks for the explanation. Was confused by the choice of the naming for this idea :)
In my logic MicroJumbo would be a bigger MicroJimbo, which is actually a Yojimbo ;D

[Michael Janich]

Dear Fireman:

Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate your respectful and insightful participation on this forum as well.

Stay safe,

Mike

[RamZar]

YoJumbo CPM-M4 Black DLC Blade Natural G-10 C253GM4PBK BladeHQ (USA) - NOV 2023

It was $199.95 on November 1, 2023 but it’s on sale now for $169.99! For comparison, the regular production YoJumbo S30V DLC & Black G-10 is $233.80.

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco- ... on--190154

[SAF-1]

WTF ???? I thought for sure that would move fast

[Rinzler]

WTF ???? I thought for sure that would move fast

This is entirely unsurprising.

People are broke, overextended, and/or scared of the economy. Knives definitely don’t move as fast as they used to and the constant price increases have buyer sentiment low. I interact with a lot of knife/gun leo people with solid recession proof jobs and they’re feeling the same: pricing is high and the economy is on the precipice of a crash.