Short Review: Exceptional value for someone seeking a large, rugged knife.
Long Review: The Kershaw JYD2 has become one of my favorite knives after only a few days time. Here's what I like about it...
-Flipper works so well I don't even need to move my wrist when opening the knife. Very smooth action.
-The flat grind is well done, bringing the blade to a thin edge for a folder this size. The edge bevel is much less obtuse than other Kershaws I've used like the Storm and Mini Cyclone. I love the bladeshape, it works well on cutting boards and whittling wood or peeling foods.
-High out of box sharpness like all my recent Kershaws have been.
-The texture and color of the G10 is some of the best I've experienced.
-The grip is extremely secure and fairly comfortable. The index cut-out and flared handle ends reduce the chance of your hand slipping and the thickness of the handle adds comfort.
-Well constructed with thick liners, an innovative stop-pin placement, screw construction and very even lines all across the knife.
-I thought the clip was pretty comfortable compared to other clips I've used. It's not as tight as other clips when clipped to the pocket, so with such a heavy knife it seems like it might be easy for it to slide out, especially clipped to the back pocket. I removed mine like I do with all my knives and have been carrying it in the front pocket since. The clip is drilled for tip down right hand carry only.
A few things I dislike...
-The thumb-ramp is too far back to be comfortable for me and I find my thumb naturally going to the point on the top of it or just past it. If I adjust my grip so my thumb sits where the thumbramp is positioned it feels awkward and makes my thumb soar. I have this issues with most of Kershaws knives and was a little dissapointed to see it happen with the JYD2, but I like the knife so much that I'll either work on my grip or dremel the handle some.
-The flare at the end of the handle where the pinky sits could of been a more gentle curve so you have more room to grip the knife. If this were the case I could scoot my hand back a little and grip it in the thumb ramp, so I might do this to the handle myself.
-The G10 scales could of used a little more rounding, the scales combined with the thickness of the knife makes everything feel slightly squared and blocky, but this is another thing that will be easy to fix.
Overall it's an exceptional knife, especially for the price. The liner lock is one of the most solid feeling ones I've ever handled. It's very thick at the lock-up point. No blade play whatsoever. As mentioned above the opening is very smooth and easy to operate. The flipper works well enough that if you push it in the right direction you can easily open the knife without any wrist flick at all. The handle is extremely secure and rugged feeling overall. Flared handle ends and rough G10 make for excellent grip. The G10 scales are rougher than my Spydercos (G10 Byrd and 440V Milli) and I really like the gray color, just something different than black. Also enjoy Spydercos blue G10. The liners are over 1/16th inch thick with the handle being about 1/2 inch thick overall.
The blade is a hair under 1/8th inch by my measurements and has 3 and 3/8 inch cutting edge. The edge is a gentle sloping curve without as much belly as most folders, but more than something like a Leek. The blade shape works really well for me. I've used it in the kitchen cutting up veggies and meats and it excelled. The edge came ground at a more acute angle than Kershaws I've purchased in the past, but I still ended up thinning it out a bit to really take advantadge of the wonderful geometry behind the cutting edge.
My only issue with the knife is the ergonomics. Most Kershaw knives feel designed for someone elses hands when I hold them. with this knife the thumb ramp is too far back for me to comfortably utilize and the flare at the butt of the handle keeps me from being able to adjust my grip as much as I'd like. If the flare was taken down slightly, maybe an eigth to a quarter of an inch from where the vertical line in the G10 is, I think the extra handle room would add a lot to the comfort of the knife. If you look at the photos you can see the 3 other knives pictured allow more room for you thumb to rest on the spine of the knife, which is one of the reasons those knives have stayed in my collection. Makes them comfortable to use.
I plan to grind the top of the thumbramp down some and possibly the end of the handle to help shape the handle more to my hand. There were also some users who put a choil int he knife, something that is entirerly possible looking at the extra metal behind the cutting edge. I'll do that as well since holding the knife in that position feels wonderful even without the choil ground in yet.
Next to a Spyderco Military, Byrd Cara Cara and Benchmade Griptilian.
The lock-up
It reminds me of the Spyderco Manix, except at half the price and with a Kershaw flavor to it (Liner lock vs frontlock and different style of ergonomics).
Long Review: The Kershaw JYD2 has become one of my favorite knives after only a few days time. Here's what I like about it...
-Flipper works so well I don't even need to move my wrist when opening the knife. Very smooth action.
-The flat grind is well done, bringing the blade to a thin edge for a folder this size. The edge bevel is much less obtuse than other Kershaws I've used like the Storm and Mini Cyclone. I love the bladeshape, it works well on cutting boards and whittling wood or peeling foods.
-High out of box sharpness like all my recent Kershaws have been.
-The texture and color of the G10 is some of the best I've experienced.
-The grip is extremely secure and fairly comfortable. The index cut-out and flared handle ends reduce the chance of your hand slipping and the thickness of the handle adds comfort.
-Well constructed with thick liners, an innovative stop-pin placement, screw construction and very even lines all across the knife.
-I thought the clip was pretty comfortable compared to other clips I've used. It's not as tight as other clips when clipped to the pocket, so with such a heavy knife it seems like it might be easy for it to slide out, especially clipped to the back pocket. I removed mine like I do with all my knives and have been carrying it in the front pocket since. The clip is drilled for tip down right hand carry only.
A few things I dislike...
-The thumb-ramp is too far back to be comfortable for me and I find my thumb naturally going to the point on the top of it or just past it. If I adjust my grip so my thumb sits where the thumbramp is positioned it feels awkward and makes my thumb soar. I have this issues with most of Kershaws knives and was a little dissapointed to see it happen with the JYD2, but I like the knife so much that I'll either work on my grip or dremel the handle some.
-The flare at the end of the handle where the pinky sits could of been a more gentle curve so you have more room to grip the knife. If this were the case I could scoot my hand back a little and grip it in the thumb ramp, so I might do this to the handle myself.
-The G10 scales could of used a little more rounding, the scales combined with the thickness of the knife makes everything feel slightly squared and blocky, but this is another thing that will be easy to fix.
Overall it's an exceptional knife, especially for the price. The liner lock is one of the most solid feeling ones I've ever handled. It's very thick at the lock-up point. No blade play whatsoever. As mentioned above the opening is very smooth and easy to operate. The flipper works well enough that if you push it in the right direction you can easily open the knife without any wrist flick at all. The handle is extremely secure and rugged feeling overall. Flared handle ends and rough G10 make for excellent grip. The G10 scales are rougher than my Spydercos (G10 Byrd and 440V Milli) and I really like the gray color, just something different than black. Also enjoy Spydercos blue G10. The liners are over 1/16th inch thick with the handle being about 1/2 inch thick overall.
The blade is a hair under 1/8th inch by my measurements and has 3 and 3/8 inch cutting edge. The edge is a gentle sloping curve without as much belly as most folders, but more than something like a Leek. The blade shape works really well for me. I've used it in the kitchen cutting up veggies and meats and it excelled. The edge came ground at a more acute angle than Kershaws I've purchased in the past, but I still ended up thinning it out a bit to really take advantadge of the wonderful geometry behind the cutting edge.
My only issue with the knife is the ergonomics. Most Kershaw knives feel designed for someone elses hands when I hold them. with this knife the thumb ramp is too far back for me to comfortably utilize and the flare at the butt of the handle keeps me from being able to adjust my grip as much as I'd like. If the flare was taken down slightly, maybe an eigth to a quarter of an inch from where the vertical line in the G10 is, I think the extra handle room would add a lot to the comfort of the knife. If you look at the photos you can see the 3 other knives pictured allow more room for you thumb to rest on the spine of the knife, which is one of the reasons those knives have stayed in my collection. Makes them comfortable to use.
I plan to grind the top of the thumbramp down some and possibly the end of the handle to help shape the handle more to my hand. There were also some users who put a choil int he knife, something that is entirerly possible looking at the extra metal behind the cutting edge. I'll do that as well since holding the knife in that position feels wonderful even without the choil ground in yet.
Next to a Spyderco Military, Byrd Cara Cara and Benchmade Griptilian.
The lock-up
It reminds me of the Spyderco Manix, except at half the price and with a Kershaw flavor to it (Liner lock vs frontlock and different style of ergonomics).
