Spartan Blades’ Ronin Torii Assessment

Based by two retired Inexperienced Berets, Spartan Blades has a well-earned fame for excellence. Whereas a lot of their designs are jaw-dropping attractive, they aren’t simply wall hangers or protected queens. Each single one is constructed for exhausting use. The Spartan Blades Ronin Torii is a superb instance.

The Torii was designed to be the last word close-quarters fight knife, and it’s designed by individuals who know that material intimately. It’s a collaboration between Spartan Blades and Tu Lam of Ronin Ways. They needed to commemorate the Inexperienced Berets who’ve served at Torii Station in Okinawa, Japan. This knife is a tribute to them and is meant to honor the C-1-1 CIF (CINC’s Extremist Pressure), a unit that has a formidable fame for close-quarters battle and tactical prowess.

Being the curious kind, I regarded up the definition of torii in Japanese. It refers back to the conventional gate generally discovered on the entrance to or inside Shinto shrines. It signifies the gateway between the mundane world and the sacred. It isn’t a stretch to interpret that it refers back to the distinction between the peculiar and the elite, such because the Inexperienced Berets.

The reverse aspect of the blade reveals the logos for Ronin Ways in addition to Spartan Blades, letting customers know it is a collaboration between the 2 corporations.

Opening the Field

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The Spartan Torii has a decidedly distinctive attribute. Choosing it up and eradicating it from the Kydex sheath, you instantly really feel taller, sturdier, and able to tackle the world. Yeah, it’s that spectacular. I’ve been writing about knives for properly over a decade and I’ve solely run into possibly a handful of different blades that had an analogous high quality.

It runs 11.5 inches from finish to finish, with a blade size of 6.5 inches. The D2 metal is 0.1875-inch thick on the backbone. The blade is handled with a black powder coat that reduces corrosion considerations. Even at practically a foot lengthy, the Torii is deceptively gentle, tipping the scales at a really modest 8.4 ounces. Don’t get me mistaken, there’s noticeable heft. However it doesn’t really feel such as you’re wielding a sharpened pry bar. There’s an class current.

On the thickest level, the deal with is about 0.625-inch broad. It’s similar to the venerable Buck 110 Folding Hunter in that regard. The scales are contoured G-10. I went with the pink/black possibility for the scales, reasonably than the straight black. The texturing is aggressive, but snug. There aren’t any considerations about shedding your grip, irrespective of how moist your arms would possibly get. On the identical time, I didn’t expertise any scorching spots or different discomfort when dealing with the knife, even after prolonged intervals of time.

Corrugated cardboard is hard on knives, however the Torii did simply wonderful.

The sample of the G-10 texturing is paying homage to Japan’s flag and its rising solar motif. That is reasonably becoming given the Torii’s evident kwaiken lineage. When Tu Lam was younger, he devoted his life to the samurai code of Bushido. The kwaiken was a dagger that was carried by women and men of the samurai class in historic Japan. It had a curved trailing level profile and was meant to be a weapon for close-quarter conditions the place swords could be impractical. And that’s precisely what the Torii is, a close-up weapon able to devastating injury.

The Torii comes with a well-made injection-molded sheath. In my expertise, all too typically knife makers deal with the sheath prefer it’s an afterthought at greatest. It’s simply one thing they toss into the field as a bonus. That’s positively not the case right here. This sheath has had some critical thought put into the design. It comes geared up with two MOLLE straps, which will also be used as belt loops. These will be simply eliminated, if desired. The sheath options a number of slots and eyelets so it may be configured for carry in plenty of methods.

The retention is strong and tight, but pulling the Torii free is a chunk of cake. The sheath has a small thumb ramp to assist with deployment. It’s particulars like these that make it evident this sheath wasn’t simply slapped collectively on the final minute.

All in all, it’s a lovely knife. It even caught my spouse’s eye, which is uncommon given the variety of knives that come throughout the kitchen desk on a month-to-month foundation.

We used push cuts and pull cuts, and the paracord posed no points in any respect.

Efficiency

The Spartan Torii is made for battle, no query about it. However I wasn’t about to go round difficult folks to a knife struggle to see how the blade would carry out. So, I needed to give you another concepts.

First, I picked up a cantaloupe on the grocery retailer and took it into the yard. The Torii sliced into it like a laser beam going by butter. There was zero hesitation at any level because the blade minimize by the melon. I utilized just a few completely different grips on the Torii, together with overhand and reverse, as I minimize up the fruit and there have been no issues with controlling the blade in any course.

Some of the frequent knife chores we run into is chopping cordage. So, I grabbed a hank of paracord and went to work. I began with some push cuts, simply resting the cordage on a board and urgent the knife blade by it. The Torii did wonderful, although I discovered rocking the blade only a contact was crucial a few occasions. I additionally sliced by extra paracord by working the blade by loops of it, attempting to make use of as a lot of the blade as attainable. No points in any respect.

Corrugated cardboard will be homicide on a knife’s edge. The glue used when making the cardboard is extraordinarily exhausting. On high of that, factories producing cardboard aren’t precisely sterile environments. All kinds of grime and such will get inside these little corrugations. The tip result’s that cardboard can uninteresting a knife blade faster than you would possibly assume. That makes it an excellent medium for knife testing.

Nicely, that and there’s by no means an absence of cardboard containers sitting round. The Torii made quick work of the field I grabbed. I sliced each with and in opposition to the grain of the corrugations. The final couple of crosscuts, the blade didn’t get throughout, and I needed to repeat the minimize. This wasn’t completely stunning, and I don’t take into account it a significant issue by any stretch.

The Torii sliced by cantaloupe prefer it wasn’t even there.

Making the Minimize

The Spartan Torii is a battle blade, pure and easy. It’s a high-quality blade that lends confidence. If I had been headed to battle, or for some other cause felt I’d must depend on a knife to defend my life or the lives of these round me, the Torii could be on the high of the checklist. The one limitations to its efficiency could be on the a part of the consumer, and never the fault of the Torii. I can’t advocate it extremely sufficient.

Its injection-molded sheath is simply as well-designed because the knife it carries.

Spartan Blades Ronin Torii Discipline Grade Defined

Spartan Blades is understood for producing very high-quality knives, however they will carry a hefty price ticket. Don’t get me mistaken, you completely get what you pay for. However they are often out of attain for a lot of knife customers.

Some years in the past, Spartan began a Discipline Grade line in partnership with their Pineland Cutlery division. The concept was to provide a few of their fashions in additional reasonably priced configurations. They don’t skimp on high quality, simply on possibly just a few of the bells and whistles.

Right here’s the thriller, although. The Torii is taken into account a part of this Discipline Grade lineup. Why is that this puzzling? After utilizing this knife for some time, I’m baffled how anybody may take into account it a budget-grade knife. I’ve spent way more for lesser-quality blades. Granted, many individuals in all probability wouldn’t take into account $250 to be a budget-friendly worth, however those that frequent knife circles would be the first to inform you that may be a pretty average worth for a knife like this.

In regards to the Creator

Jim Cobb is a nationally acknowledged authority on catastrophe readiness, in addition to a lifelong knife nut. He has been concerned with preparedness for practically 40 years and has developed a fame for his commonsense strategy to the topic. Along with his quite a few books and a number of other hundred journal articles, Cobb is without doubt one of the cohosts of the The right way to Survive 2025 podcast. He affords a free weekly e-newsletter referred to as The Survival Weekly Dispatch (jimcobb.substack.com).

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Editor’s Word: This text has been modified from its unique model for the net.

Written by Jim Cobb