Junior development?

Peroni1973

Peroni1973

Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Messages
707
So I have a Junior Dialex which I find extremely pocketable. It packs a heap of blade into a small handle & has a great slicing geometry.

Here's my challenge, I find the liners & compression lock a little slim and the 'guard' a little too deep. I'm also not crazy about VG10.

Am I completely alone in hoping for an upgraded/improved/developed Junior?!?

If anyone thinks that an existing knife fits this niche pretty well I'd be happy to hear about it...

Thanks all,

Ben
 
My fiance is on her second Junior (1st was lost in Afghanistan). The lock on it just doesn't feel substantial enough to me.

Than again, my favorite deployment knife was a Manix 2 XL! :D

John
 
With the nature of how the compression lock works, it really is not necessary to have it extremely thick or robust like you might think a frame lock for example need to be. It's strength is actually more in how tall it is, the height of the tab that is between the tang and stop pin. Think of it like you would an I-beam, its strength comes from the height of the I-beam not how thick it is, of course a minimum thickness is required to not show a column buckling type force. I have not done any testing, but I bet the Junior would far exceed your predictions of what that "un-substantial" lock might be able to withstand.

I don't know of any other knife quite like the Junior, and I really doubt we will see a ZDP-189 or Super Blue version of the knife, and coming from Japan that would be the only steel upgrades you would see. I really like VG-10 personally, and put in the same regards as S30V. What exactly do you not like about it? I bought the Junior purely on its uniqueness and am glad I did. Most people know the Junior is a collaboration knife, but most people don't know that the designer is just that, a designer. He does not make knives, he designs them and then sells his designs to others to make and manufacture. The Adventura is another Alexandru Diaconescu designed knife that Spyderco has produced. His designs are quite interesting and unique, I believe he has a web site that shows his designs.
 
Thanks for your input Spectre - I do know what you mean about the feel. It is a slim knife (which I appreciate) and the liners are the thinnest I've ever seen. nccole's point is well made about the differences in the locking mechanism and I thoroughly enjoy the compression lock on my Para 2 but it does feel light. I suspect that it is more than strong enough and I do appreciate that even if the knife were to fold it would crush rather than cut my forefinger.

In answer to your question nccole; I find VG10 has a tendency toward brittleness more than say S30V but it isn't a deal breaker. That said, were the liners to be beefed up and the steel improved I'd by a heap of them and recommend them to everyone I know.

I do understand that comparatively the Junior is a bit of a niche knife but to me it could be even better with minor adjustments...

Don't get me wrong, I still carry my Junior - I just find myself longing for the 'improvements' detailed previously.

Thanks both, for you input...

Ben
 
I decided to carry my Junior today actually. Interesting on your comparison to S30V, I would say the opposite has been my experience, heat treat could be the big factor in our different experiences. Do you know about the Superleaf? It is not anywhere near the handle design of the Junior, but a big beefy leaf shaped blade with a beefier compression lock. It is VG-10 though, and being discontinued, so if you want to try it out, it may be hard to find soon. http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/SP...Knife-3-716-inch-VG10-Plain-Blade-G10-Handles
 
If anything I would just like to see a larger version and/or different blade shapes. If I could get one just a bit larger, with a FFG Manix 2 blade in it...I would be in heaven.
 
nccole, thanks again for your thoughts - that Superleaf has my knife buying button twitching!

I hear you on the possible heat treat differences and my Junior has been fine but I haven't put it through anything like hard use. The knife that I did with VG10 chipped several times. I have to say that aside, the Superleaf looks good!

Thanks for taking the time to post your experiences and thoughts here...

Ben
 
I know my post count is still low but posting just to post seems defeating. So for what it's worth, I really love the Junior. It seems to have a some-what universal fit (among fans) despite a very unique design. Yes, it has its haters, just as most knives do. And some just don't like its ergonomics, including myself when I picked my first one up on impulse a while ago. But after using it for a bit, I realized the deep guard was encouraging me to "choke up" on the grip. After another week of lining it up with the 2nd knuckle of my index finger, it fit like a glove... in MY hand.

I guess I'm trying to say that the guard may be causing you to change your natural grip as it did with me. On a different note, I received my replacement Junior a week or so ago. I don't remember the lock being so... "firm" right out of the box. But I guess it is "thinner", but adequate imho. And VG-10 has never failed me or my work-load/price range. But I'd be all over a new gen. or a Sprint xD
 
If not due to the price, I'll get one to try EDC it. A bit high for me (incl shipping, etc.) to risk it lost or confiscated (vague law here).
 
Just to clarify, by "thinner" I'm referring to the compression lock vs. others.
Among compression locks though, it's the "thickest" and firmest in my experience. The action of the Yojimbo2 and PM2 is even smoother with the same solid lockup, but effortless release... and that scissor-like sound <3

Ugh and I just noticed this. In the last line of my above post #8, I don't know if this blared out at anyone, I meant to say, "but *more than* adequate..."
Compression locks are always more than adequate, imho :D
 
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