Rob Johnsons Cypress Bladeshow Surprise WOW

John Phillips

Platinum Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Messages
1,859
I attended this years Bladeshow in Atlanta again and this knife was not on my radar at all.

I was way over my budget and done spending any more money and then I stumbled upon the Rob Johnsons Knives table with the actual makers there at the table. Damnit, lol.

My first thought was that it reminded me of a refined Rask which is VERY high praise because I think Grimsmo hit a homerun with the Rask, I carry mine regularly. My only gripe is that you can get deadlock when trying to deploy the Rask if you have any pressure at all on the lockbar. Not a deal breaker but still, it’s my only complaint.

This Cypress truly stunned me in every manner. The tolerances are ridiculously tight, similar to the Rask. Its blade to handle ratio is phenomenal, almost the same blade length as the Rask but substantially smaller in the closed position. It’s extremely lightweight, fantastic ergonomics. The level of detail on the Zircblasted honeycomb and diamond scales, pivot, and blade is the best I’ve seen for a $900 knife, PERIOD!!!

I held and flipped hundreds of knives at the shows over the years that were all over $1,000 and many left me wondering why they were so expensive. This was a complete surprise in the best way possible. The makers were extremely humble and friendly. I didn’t even realize the RWL34 blade was step milled until they pointed it out because the work is so fine. Lastly, this is easily a top 5 sharpest knife I’ve ever picked up from any maker and that’s saying a lot, it might be number 1 sharpest knife I’ve ever bought directly from a maker. Hair whittling laser beam sharp!!!!! Even after I was completely done spending money, I couldn’t resist and made the purchase bc I was blown away.

7.25 inches total length
3 and 1/8 inch blade
4.25 inches closed

Through in a Sham for reference bc I think the Sham is as close to a perfect pocket knife as it gets.

EXTREMELY EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE for $900!!!

Video and pics



IMG_9437.jpegIMG_9438.jpegIMG_9442.jpegIMG_9443.jpeg
 
Nice looking. Gives me an OEM'd by somewhere else kind of vibe. Besides their website, can't find any additional info.
 
That’s like saying Herman Knives, Jason Guthrie, Holt, A2, Skiff Knives, etc have an OEM’d by someone else kind of vibe. But hey, you’re certainly entitled to your opinion. I just vehemently disagree with all due respect.

Here’s another review that I remembered was posted a while back.

 
Last edited:
They make great stuff. Their stuff is in-house.

Not the best pics, but this a Starburst patten with black hardware and a Vanax blade. They do a full salt water build option too which has a vanax lockbar insert in conjunction with a Vanax blade, pretty neat unique offering.

20250414_180344.jpg

20250414_180348.jpg
 
They make great stuff. Their stuff is in-house.

Not the best pics, but this a Starburst patten with black hardware and a Vanax blade. They do a full salt water build option too which has a vanax lockbar insert in conjunction with a Vanax blade, pretty neat unique offering.

View attachment 2904872

View attachment 2904873
Love it. Didn’t know they had a salt water build, I’m in.
 
I always enjoy hearing about a great finds amongst what seems like thousands of tables. Definitely my favorite part of blade show is discovering new makers that are killing it. Congratulations on finding another great maker!
 
I attended this years Bladeshow in Atlanta again and this knife was not on my radar at all.

I was way over my budget and done spending any more money and then I stumbled upon the Rob Johnsons Knives table with the actual makers there at the table. Damnit, lol.

My first thought was that it reminded me of a refined Rask which is VERY high praise because I think Grimsmo hit a homerun with the Rask, I carry mine regularly. My only gripe is that you can get deadlock when trying to deploy the Rask if you have any pressure at all on the lockbar. Not a deal breaker but still, it’s my only complaint.

This Cypress truly stunned me in every manner. The tolerances are ridiculously tight, similar to the Rask. Its blade to handle ratio is phenomenal, almost the same blade length as the Rask but substantially smaller in the closed position. It’s extremely lightweight, fantastic ergonomics. The level of detail on the Zircblasted honeycomb and diamond scales, pivot, and blade is the best I’ve seen for a $900 knife, PERIOD!!!

I held and flipped hundreds of knives at the shows over the years that were all over $1,000 and many left me wondering why they were so expensive. This was a complete surprise in the best way possible. The makers were extremely humble and friendly. I didn’t even realize the RWL34 blade was step milled until they pointed it out because the work is so fine. Lastly, this is easily a top 5 sharpest knife I’ve ever picked up from any maker and that’s saying a lot, it might be number 1 sharpest knife I’ve ever bought directly from a maker. Hair whittling laser beam sharp!!!!! Even after I was completely done spending money, I couldn’t resist and made the purchase bc I was blown away.

7.25 inches total length
3 and 1/8 inch blade
4.25 inches closed

Through in a Sham for reference bc I think the Sham is as close to a perfect pocket knife as it gets.

EXTREMELY EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE for $900!!!

Video and pics



View attachment 2904663View attachment 2904664View attachment 2904665View attachment 2904666

What a looker. Congrats!

Don't tell my wallet but I'm off to see if there is a larger model. :)
 
The larger model is in my post above, it is called the Cedar. I will edit this post in a bit to include a pic with it against some more common knives. Rob Johnsons is not so much talked about around here, but is already hugely popular over in the sub forums on reddit and swap. It's nothing "new" over there and both models are very well received.
 
Back
Top