Ronin 2, first impressions

B

bill_in_tx

Joined
Jan 2, 2010
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Just a quick first impression of this blade. I think for what it is, a medium size Wharncliffe style defense blade, it's ok. With that said, I pre-ordered this knife some time ago wanting to use it as a backup on my duty belt. I thought it would be possible to semi-hide it between the duty belt and garrison belt. The knife is thin but the sheath is giving me trouble. So far it's not looking like it will be possible without modding it.
The sheath with the side mounted G clip doesn't allow you to mount the clip at different locations. You can change the orientation, but without modifications, options are a bit limited.
The handle is a bit small and with the knife in the sheath it is a little hard to get a solid grip on it. This is what I hate the most, I would appreciate the feeling of drawing the knife and ending up with a complete grip. Another 1/2" on the handle would be good for my hand.
The seating of the knife doesn't give a satisfactory "clip-in" sound, it's just wedged in, the retention is a bit high for me.
I will work on tuning up the sheath, I think I might get the kydex out and try my own version.

For me it's a work in progress, I want to like it.
 
Thanks for posting, it's disappointing to hear that it isn't working out for you so far. Keep us posted as you get more time with the knife. It's one of my most anticipated releases of the year.
 
Hopefully it ends up working well for your uses. I love the design of the knife and might get one eventually.

I wish Spyderco released it with a locking sheath for duty purposes. A few years ago there was a cop in Austin that had a knife on his duty belt and a perp ended up grabbing it in a scuffle and stabbed him in the neck with it. Also, if Spyderco did make an extra retention system, I'm sure they would do it well and then retention could be controlled on the locking system instead of simple friction.

I've always wanted to see something like the Safariland ALS system on a knife sheath designed for duty, but I digress..

Keep us posted on how it goes with the knife, though. It looks wicked.
 
thatguybryan said:
Hopefully it ends up working well for your uses. I love the design of the knife and might get one eventually.

I wish Spyderco released it with a locking sheath for duty purposes. A few years ago there was a cop in Austin that had a knife on his duty belt and a perp ended up grabbing it in a scuffle and stabbed him in the neck with it. Also, if Spyderco did make an extra retention system, I'm sure they would do it well and then retention could be controlled on the locking system instead of simple friction.

I've always wanted to see something like the Safariland ALS system on a knife sheath designed for duty, but I digress..

Keep us posted on how it goes with the knife, though. It looks wicked.
Click to expand...

I remember that incident in Austin you mention, it was a patrol officer with a large Kabar TDI that was grabbed from the sheath during a struggle 1 on 1. Thankfully, although his throat was cut, the officer was OK, the cut didn't do more than superficial damage amazingly. After the knife was taken from him and he was slashed he immediately shot and killed the suspect.

I'm not an LEO but I have a couple of ALS style holsters for use in the boonies and will prob use them if I choose to OC in the future in the appropriate places (like rural Texas where people won't have a seizure at the sight), it's a good design, not too complex and WAY better quality than any of the SERPA variants. A knife version would be a good thing, it would obviously have to be model specific like the pistol holsters are.
 
Well, I am glad to see that this has been released.

I haven't seen it listed on any dealer websites yet though.

Updated to add:

Knifeworks.com has it. It looks like Bladehq.com sold out of it real quick.

(All authorized forum dealers.)
 
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I just recieved 2 of he 4 i ordered..my opinin is it is a nice knife and well designed..with its full tang and g10 handles i believe it probably cost spyderco half the amount to produce this knife compared to the Yojimbo 2....i plan to carry his discreetly while hiking as a self defense blade or maybe a summertime discreet blade
 
bill_in_tx could you pst comparison pics of it next to a Yojimbo 2, if you have one? The specs show the Ronin blade to be larger than the YO2 blade.
Thanks
 
Today I received my new Ronin 2. I have been waiting for the release of this knife ever since I first heard rumours about it a few years ago at a knife show. I can't remember if it was blade or SHOT. When the first images appeared in the Amsterdam thread I have to be honest and say I was a little disappointed. It looked nothing like the original Ronin and almost seemed boring looking in comparison. Well I am glad to say that yes, it is kind of a boring knife and that boring is a good thing. This knife is meant to be an affordable no frills working mans defensive knife and it succeeds. The Ronin 2 is thin, light and affordable. Pretty much all the things you would want in a knife that you are going to have on your person day in, day out. If it gets too banged up, oh well it didn't cost a fortune so there is no reason to feel guilty.

Today I'm feeling a bit under the weather so I apologize for the quality of the photos, I was trying to work quickly. But since I was so excited to get my hands on it, I figured why put this off until tomorrow. I'm probably the first person in Canada to own one of these so I wanted this up quick lol.

On to the overview.

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I had read that the knife was originally created by tracing a Yojimbo 2 which made me think that they would be about the same size. They are. However, you get a bit more cutting edge out of the Ronin 2.

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The Ronin 2's blade is thinner than the Yojimbo 2 which I like, makes for a better slicer. YMMV.

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One of the other major differences between the two knives is the width of the handle. I didn't expect the handle on the Ronin 2 to be so thin. At first it kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but it makes sense to me now. The knife should be thin so that it is easier to carry. This photo doesn't do the difference in thickness justice.

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The kydex sheath is well..a kydex sheath. There isn't anything fancy or different about this sheath that sets it apart from other kydex sheaths. The important things are here. It holds the knife securely in place, and I can draw from it with my hand in the proper grip without adjusting afterwards, be it regular or reverse grip. This is the first time I've tried out the G-clip and I really like it. It is easy to adjust and seems well built. At first I tried wearing the knife on my left side (I'm right handed) for a cross draw but that didn't really do it for me. So I adjusted the clip and am trying it on my right side instead. I'm sure I'll adjust it again for a different position later on. The nice thing is that the adjustment for a different position takes seconds. It will probably end up on one of my packs.

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The Yojimbo 2 fits my hand nicely, so it is no surprise that the Ronin 2 does as well. In one of the pictures above it looks like the Ronin 2's handle is smaller than the Yojimbo 2, but thats just the G10 part. The guard helps add some room. I wear a large size glove btw.

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I think this is my first Taipei made Spyderco and I'm impressed with the fit and finish (for the most part). There are grind marks here and there but no big deal. There are no sharp edges on the knife (except for the business end of the blade :p ), the G10 has been rounded off and isn't overly grippy. Probably so that it isn't like sandpaper on your skin. The knife was sharp when it arrived, but not as sharp as I would like so I put it on the Sharpmaker and after a couple minutes its hair popping sharp. I think the choice to go with BD1 steel was a good one. It helps keep the price down which I like. I've been buying a lot of Spyderco's in the 200+ range lately. I got this guy from Knifeworks for 80 bucks.

Anyway, this is just an overview. I've only owned the knife for a few hours so a review isn't something I'm qualified at this point to do. This post is more of an FYI, for those on the fence or those who were curious to see it from a few different angles with some thoughts thrown in. Basically, if you are a fan of the Yojimbo 2, you will like the Ronin 2. As long as you don't mind fixed blades!

Thanks for looking!

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Seeing it next to the yojimbo really shows the handle size, I see what you mean. Luckily I'm blessed with small hands lol. That blade really screams utility work for me.
 
Thanks for the review Spyderco Dude! The pics are great and exactly what I wanted to see...
 
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