Not so much mileage on this of course, but so far I haven't been able to come up with an immediate dislike. Not a single one 
What stands out to me (5 stars out of 5):
- The wheel flipper. Over the last decade or so, I've purchased and immediately sold a good number of flippers, due to my total lack of interest in the flip tab. So far, the wheel works great (for me) so the Ikuchi seems to be here to stay.
- Grip-agnostic handle. I appreciate the 50/50 choil for what it is but I've never actively liked it as a design feature. I find myself gravitating towards more grip-neutral handles and the Ikuchi is absolutely stunning from this perspective. The looks could be a bit meh at first, as it's just a length of CF, G10 and metal with the slightest curvature to it - and yet somehow manages to sit incredible in hand.
- The pointy kwaiken style blade coupled with the 2.5 mm thickness might very well turn this into the ultimate slicer. YMMV of course and there's nothing inherently wrong with overbuild, my take is we simply need more of this in pocket knives.
- The slim package. At roughly the same dimensions and weight, the Ikuchi packs an additional cm of blade into a package half as wide as the Salt 2 wharnie.
Other people seem to have issues with either the wheel flipper (sharp edges that affect deployment to the point of causing injury) or with the tip (barely recessed inside the handles and a potential liability) but I have experienced none of those. My biggest issue is to overcome my own muscle memory dictating I should press the comp lock with my thumb and let the kick of the blade hit my finger (as this is how I usually close all my comp & back locks) which obviously would be a bad idea in this case... still working on changing the habit.
The niche I appreciate the Ikuchi the most is in the lightweight carry department, if you are into this. For example, I think a combo like the below would serve quite well in those days you want only the bare minimum in your pockets:
What stands out to me (5 stars out of 5):
- The wheel flipper. Over the last decade or so, I've purchased and immediately sold a good number of flippers, due to my total lack of interest in the flip tab. So far, the wheel works great (for me) so the Ikuchi seems to be here to stay.
- Grip-agnostic handle. I appreciate the 50/50 choil for what it is but I've never actively liked it as a design feature. I find myself gravitating towards more grip-neutral handles and the Ikuchi is absolutely stunning from this perspective. The looks could be a bit meh at first, as it's just a length of CF, G10 and metal with the slightest curvature to it - and yet somehow manages to sit incredible in hand.
- The pointy kwaiken style blade coupled with the 2.5 mm thickness might very well turn this into the ultimate slicer. YMMV of course and there's nothing inherently wrong with overbuild, my take is we simply need more of this in pocket knives.
- The slim package. At roughly the same dimensions and weight, the Ikuchi packs an additional cm of blade into a package half as wide as the Salt 2 wharnie.
Other people seem to have issues with either the wheel flipper (sharp edges that affect deployment to the point of causing injury) or with the tip (barely recessed inside the handles and a potential liability) but I have experienced none of those. My biggest issue is to overcome my own muscle memory dictating I should press the comp lock with my thumb and let the kick of the blade hit my finger (as this is how I usually close all my comp & back locks) which obviously would be a bad idea in this case... still working on changing the habit.
The niche I appreciate the Ikuchi the most is in the lightweight carry department, if you are into this. For example, I think a combo like the below would serve quite well in those days you want only the bare minimum in your pockets:
