As per usual the reviw can be read in depth on my blog, it is a bit too long to be posted here as a whole unfortenately.
- Serious Japanese EDC-contender
How many knife brands out of Japan are you familiar with? Problably not that many and the ones known to the western markets seems to be scattered along the "folding knife spectrum". At one end you find the simplest versions of Higo No Kamis and in the other one of the most exclusive production brand there is - Rockstead. In between there ain't too many and I myself can just recollect a few such as MCusta, Seki Cut and Moki without "Googlecheating".
It is therefore especially satisfactory to present a rather new brand from the land of the rising sun!
Raging Jap RJ5
The brand is called "Raging Jap" and this particular model is their latest release and are named or rather designated "RJ5". It more than implies how many models the company produced thus far. But I must admit I struggle to find number three in that classification. Besides a couple of Neck-knives and two folders you can find a series of competent looking kitchen knives in their catalogue.
It's an interesting knife that we are going to attend today. Constructionwise it doesn't deviant from the current norm very much. However, the design offers a few areas that gives the knife a bit of personality of its own.
The materials choosen are otherwise rather typical for what I earlier encountered in Japanese folders and there is for exeample some similarities with MCusta in that regard.
A rather small knife aiming straight at the "EDC-segment"
The model is directly developed as an EDC-blade and I'm going to try to answer how well it fulfills that role. Is RJ5 a good pocketknife and is it for you?
Twitterversion: New EDC-candidate from the land of the rising sun
In Summary
Raging Jap is a really interesting brand and I for one is looking forward to follow their future development. RJ5 is the first model I've come into contact with. The outcome of the meeting is a very positive one and I really like this knife but the relation isn't totally uncomplicated.
One thing that springs to mind is that it can seem to be a bit on the expensive side given the materials used. They are indeed well chosen for the intended use but not with prestige in sight if I put it that way.
Unfortenately components and materials used are often a more valued sales pitch than function today. That's the reason the market is overflowed by many bad "TFFs - Titanium Framelock Flippers". The technical specification looks cool on paper but there the positive more often than not ends.
In the case with Raging Japs RJ5 it's the other way round. This knife should be experienced since it feels better in hand than the specification implies. The MSRP is US$129 according to their home page by the way.
RJ5, a good companion on excursions in the early winter
The question is what you get in return for your invested monetary means? You know the materials by knov: a sturdy but drilled steelframe, very sharp VG10, a little bit of well shaped G10 and an even smaller bit of flexing titanium.
What you can't see and what I highly appreciate is the work behind the scenes that manifests itself in the design and how well put together this knife is. That is something that must be felt and that's where RJ5 speaks for it self.
Raging Jap, something a bit more original to carry as EDC
RJ5 is a really likable little pocketknife that I appreciated already from the start. A knife with a look of its own and several features that makes it stand out in a sea of similar constructions. What you get is a very well built knife with a useful blade and for the size good ergonomics - Japanese finesse in EDC-format. But maybe you can catch a small glimpse of culture shock which can be seen in the brand name and the amount of text on the blade. If it had been a Swedish brand my guess is that the word "raging" wouldn't be part of the name for instance.
But despite that I consider this to be a gem amongst small EDC-blades. But sure, It could be even better without a grinning Samurai on the blade.
Specification:
Length Overall: 182 mm
Length Folded: 101 mm
Weight: 110 g
Blade Length: 80 mm
Blade Thickness: 3 mm
Blade steel: VG10, HRC 59-61
Handle: G10 over steel frame
Lock: Framelock, steel
Produced by: Raging Jap, made inTaichung, Taiwan
/ John
#knivesandbikes #aliaspostmortem #knivigtvarre
- Serious Japanese EDC-contender
How many knife brands out of Japan are you familiar with? Problably not that many and the ones known to the western markets seems to be scattered along the "folding knife spectrum". At one end you find the simplest versions of Higo No Kamis and in the other one of the most exclusive production brand there is - Rockstead. In between there ain't too many and I myself can just recollect a few such as MCusta, Seki Cut and Moki without "Googlecheating".
It is therefore especially satisfactory to present a rather new brand from the land of the rising sun!
Raging Jap RJ5
The brand is called "Raging Jap" and this particular model is their latest release and are named or rather designated "RJ5". It more than implies how many models the company produced thus far. But I must admit I struggle to find number three in that classification. Besides a couple of Neck-knives and two folders you can find a series of competent looking kitchen knives in their catalogue.
It's an interesting knife that we are going to attend today. Constructionwise it doesn't deviant from the current norm very much. However, the design offers a few areas that gives the knife a bit of personality of its own.
The materials choosen are otherwise rather typical for what I earlier encountered in Japanese folders and there is for exeample some similarities with MCusta in that regard.
A rather small knife aiming straight at the "EDC-segment"
The model is directly developed as an EDC-blade and I'm going to try to answer how well it fulfills that role. Is RJ5 a good pocketknife and is it for you?
Twitterversion: New EDC-candidate from the land of the rising sun
In Summary
Raging Jap is a really interesting brand and I for one is looking forward to follow their future development. RJ5 is the first model I've come into contact with. The outcome of the meeting is a very positive one and I really like this knife but the relation isn't totally uncomplicated.
One thing that springs to mind is that it can seem to be a bit on the expensive side given the materials used. They are indeed well chosen for the intended use but not with prestige in sight if I put it that way.
Unfortenately components and materials used are often a more valued sales pitch than function today. That's the reason the market is overflowed by many bad "TFFs - Titanium Framelock Flippers". The technical specification looks cool on paper but there the positive more often than not ends.
In the case with Raging Japs RJ5 it's the other way round. This knife should be experienced since it feels better in hand than the specification implies. The MSRP is US$129 according to their home page by the way.
RJ5, a good companion on excursions in the early winter
The question is what you get in return for your invested monetary means? You know the materials by knov: a sturdy but drilled steelframe, very sharp VG10, a little bit of well shaped G10 and an even smaller bit of flexing titanium.
What you can't see and what I highly appreciate is the work behind the scenes that manifests itself in the design and how well put together this knife is. That is something that must be felt and that's where RJ5 speaks for it self.
Raging Jap, something a bit more original to carry as EDC
RJ5 is a really likable little pocketknife that I appreciated already from the start. A knife with a look of its own and several features that makes it stand out in a sea of similar constructions. What you get is a very well built knife with a useful blade and for the size good ergonomics - Japanese finesse in EDC-format. But maybe you can catch a small glimpse of culture shock which can be seen in the brand name and the amount of text on the blade. If it had been a Swedish brand my guess is that the word "raging" wouldn't be part of the name for instance.
But despite that I consider this to be a gem amongst small EDC-blades. But sure, It could be even better without a grinning Samurai on the blade.
Specification:
Length Overall: 182 mm
Length Folded: 101 mm
Weight: 110 g
Blade Length: 80 mm
Blade Thickness: 3 mm
Blade steel: VG10, HRC 59-61
Handle: G10 over steel frame
Lock: Framelock, steel
Produced by: Raging Jap, made inTaichung, Taiwan
/ John
#knivesandbikes #aliaspostmortem #knivigtvarre
Maybe it's "raging " because it's made in Taiwan and NOT Japan ?! 
