Best jimping comes from Japan

T

TrojanSteel

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Jul 22, 2013
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Hi, looking at some of my knives and noticed that the best jimping definitely appears on my Japanese made knife, followed by Golden, CO, then Taiwan. I don't have a large spyderco collection, but does this observation hold true?

Seen below: Sage 3 (Taiwan), Enuff (Japan), PM2 (USA)

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Jimping preferences are widely varied in my observation. Some like an aggressive jimping some like none at all.
But if you want to see some serious jimping on a Spyderco check out the Chinook.
 
I don't have my whole collection in front of me, but my two EDCs are the s90v blue Millie and Orange Dragonfly and I gotta say I prefer the Millie's jimping. It's got more bite than the DFly. My Tasman Salt has a little more bite than the DFly, but the Millie seriously locks my thumb in when I apply pressure.
 
I agree with nickites. Jimping varies by knife designer/knife, not by country.
 
I' ve got an older Para2(About 3 years) and the jimping on mine is alot sharper than it seems to be on yours:confused:.
 
The jimping on my pm2 is sharper than my domino. But I agree with the poster above; probably dependent on knife more than manufacturing site.
 
nickites said:
I think it's varied per knife, not by country.
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brownshoe said:
I agree with nickites. Jimping varies by knife designer/knife, not by country.
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Well, I disagree. Every factory has their own techniques and uses different methods to make their jimping. So the knives made in one factory share the same jimping unless it's a unique part of the knife design. Nobody really cares how the jimping is done. It's just important if it's there or not. So why would they care to make it different from knife to knife (in the same factory of course)? That makes absolutely no sense.

BTW All US made Spydercos I have share the same jimping.
 
Barman1 said:
Jimping preferences are widely varied in my observation. Some like an aggressive jimping some like none at all.
But if you want to see some serious jimping on a Spyderco check out the Chinook.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I also think that no matter where the knife is made, like all the other aspects of its design, the jimping is done to Spyderco's specifications. Case in point would be the butt-ugly looking "stair tread" style jimping Spyderco used a few years back on some models made in Golden, and some made in Japan. And, speaking of downright fugly jimping, the Native III's has to be a contender for top honors and it was made in Japan.

shawn_ray said:
Well, I disagree. Every factory has their own techniques and uses different methods to make their jimping. So the knives made in one factory share the same jimping unless it's a unique part of the knife design. Nobody really cares how the jimping is done. It's just important if it's there or not. So why would they care to make it different from knife to knife (in the same factory of course)? That makes absolutely no sense.

BTW All US made Spydercos I have share the same jimping.
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Guess you either own only Native Lightweights, or don't own any Native Lightweights or older Golden made knives. Case in point, the three jimping styles used on the Military over the years:

conpare_military_jimping.jpg
 
You say best without stating your criteria for best. I like mellow non sharp jimping for a bunch of reasons, aesthetics aren't really one of them.
 
MC Chan said:
You say best without stating your criteria for best. I like mellow non sharp jimping for a bunch of reasons, aesthetics aren't really one of them.
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True, by my definition: Best = most aggressive; providing the greatest grip.

I now tend to agree that jimping style is probably dictated by the particular knife design, however:
Case in point, the three jimping styles used on the Military over the years
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. The cause of these changes is not clear: are these differences due to changes in the factory's jimping style or due to a knife redesign?
 
^^^ The jimping changes seems like CQI (my assumption anyways). The scale bevel on the right military is different also.
 
Jimping and Jimping styles come and go.
My first fixed blade hunter made by Western of Colorado back in the 1960's had excellent limping on the thumb ramp. It looked to be made by a 1/8" chain saw file?
:grumpy: It grew feet on me many years ago!
 
I really like the jimping on the spine of the Viele I (C42). It's smooth in the pull direction and catches very slightly in the push direction and not too deep.
 
I'm content with all of Spydercos jimping. I appreciate jimping, but not a connoisseur by any means :p
 
TrojanSteel said:
I now tend to agree that jimping style is probably dictated by the particular knife design, however: . The cause of these changes is not clear: are these differences due to changes in the factory's jimping style or due to a knife redesign?
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While I don't have a simple answer for that, here's what I know. The one on the right is the oldest style, and is still used on the Native Lightweight, so it's not a question of all Golden knives of a given era using the same style jimping. The middle style was used on some knives made in Golden, and some made in Japan, but it wasn't terribly popular with users. In addition to looking butt-ugly, it offered little traction. So all the Japanese and Golden models which once used it are now using the fine toothed jimping of the leftmost Military.

IMO, the general trend with Spyderco knives seems to be toward more jimping, and more aggressive jimping, but there are still a few exceptions to that introduced every year. Personally, I favor the more refined style used on the Chaparral and some other models from Taichung. It provides decent traction without looking overly tactical.
 
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