"R" Nishijin? What's the story on this knife?

[flatface77]

My wife carries a Para 2 & bought the small Lum Chinese due to the fancy handle material. I saw this mystery knife in the new catalog & got her to make positive noises about it's size & features long enough to snap it up on pre-order. I've never seen this model before but I gather that its' been around before. Given the size & features I figured it would've been a winner. Its almost an archetypal Spyderco folder. What's the story on this one?

 

[yablanowitz]

The first time around, both the blade and the handle were cut out in the same manner as the Q, resulting in a blade that tended to accumulate soft materials such as food during cutting. It was a royal pain to get one clean once that happened, and the open gridwork handle ensured an adequate supply of pocket lint could enter and adhere to any particle you missed while cleaning. The second time around, the blade was left solid but the open gridwork handle was retained. I thought it was a decent knife, but I carry enough crap around in my pockets that open handles have little appeal to me. This time both the blade and handle seem to be solid, so I might actually buy one of these.

 

[The Deacon]

Can't really add anything to Jack's post, except maybe a photo of both previous versions of the R...

 

[flatface77]

Thanks, guys. I didn't connect that model in my head due to the cutouts. Noticed the cutouts instead of the shape. I had a Q years ago & lumped it into that category. Looking forward to this one. Seems like a quiet, classy winner with some sweet scales on it.

 

[The Mastiff]

I'll add that the R model is an excellent slicer. The blade shape really works for me. I find it easy to sharpen as well.

Joe