Comparing two 'modern' slipjoints

[Norcaldude]

Within the past few months I have bought two slipjoints that are similar in that they use modern materials and construction methods and they are priced very close to the same.

One of these isn't too difficult to purchase, the Lionsteel 'CK Edition' clip point Shuffler.
The other is a J.E. Made slipjoint

Both use a 'modern' steel for the blade (M390 for the Shuffler and Crucible CPM S35Vn for the J.E. Made) and both have titanium bolsters and liner.

Both have clip point style blades. Both with swedges. Grinds on both are excellent.

The Shuffler I bought has micarta scales while the J.E. Made has G10.

I paid $135 for the J.E. Made knife and $128 for the Shuffler (pretty close to the same, I think)

They aren't the same pattern and the J.E. Made is a bit larger, but they are pretty similar here also.

The J.E. Made has a stonewashed finish (which I like a lot) while the Shuffler has a satin finish.

The Shuffler has long pull nail nick on both sides of the blade (pretty cool) while the J.E. Made knife has a ... not sure what it's called (Scagel slot?). I like it though.

The J.E. Made knife also has a lanyard hole.

Fit and finish on both are excellent, though I think the J.E Made knife edges out the Shuffler by a bit.

They both arrives pretty sharp but I have put my own edge on both. The J.E. Made knife seems to have taken an edge better, but that could be on me.

I think the Shuffler has a lighter pull of the two. I can pinch the Shuffler open but not the J.E. Made knife.

The Shuffler weighs in at 2.2 ounces while the J.E. Made knife is 2.7 ounces.

Centering on both is about perfect to my eyes. I'm an easy grader though.

Both have screw construction. I haven't taken either of these two apart but I have taken the scales off my Lionsteel Roundhead with no problem and I assume the Shuffler would be the same.

If I had to choose just one to keep it would be the J.E. Made knife, easily.
The Shuffler is a fine knife and I am happy with it, but the J.E. Made knife has lots of small things that I like better. Considering that the Shuffler is a production model while the J.E. Made is... I'm not sure really... probably a 'mid-tech', I don't know how fair it is to compare them, but the price is close so I went with it.

The only problem with the J.E. Made knife is it's availability.

If you get a chance to buy or handle one of these J.E. Made knives, I encourage you to do so. You will probably be impressed.

 

[Duper]

Within the past few months I have bought two slipjoints that are similar in that they usInterestinge modern materials and construction methods and they are priced very close to the same.

One of these isn't too difficult to purchase, the Lionsteel 'CK Edition' clip point Shuffler.
The other is a J.E. Made slipjoint

Both use a 'modern' steel for the blade (M390 for the Shuffler and Crucible CPM S35Vn for the J.E. Made) and both have titanium bolsters and liner.

Both have clip point style blades. Both with swedges. Grinds on both are excellent.

The Shuffler I bought has micarta scales while the J.E. Made has G10.

I paid $135 for the J.E. Made knife and $128 for the Shuffler (pretty close to the same, I think)

They aren't the same pattern and the J.E. Made is a bit larger, but they are pretty similar here also.

The J.E. Made has a stonewashed finish (which I like a lot) while the Shuffler has a satin finish.

The Shuffler has long pull nail nick on both sides of the blade (pretty cool) while the J.E. Made knife has a ... not sure what it's called (Scagel slot?). I like it though.

The J.E. Made knife also has a lanyard hole.

Fit and finish on both are excellent, though I think the J.E Made knife edges out the Shuffler by a bit.

They both arrives pretty sharp but I have put my own edge on both. The J.E. Made knife seems to have taken an edge better, but that could be on me.

I think the Shuffler has a lighter pull of the two. I can pinch the Shuffler open but not the J.E. Made knife.

The Shuffler weighs in at 2.2 ounces while the J.E. Made knife is 2.7 ounces.

Centering on both is about perfect to my eyes. I'm an easy grader though.

Both have screw construction. I haven't taken either of these two apart but I have taken the scales off my Lionsteel Roundhead with no problem and I assume the Shuffler would be the same.

If I had to choose just one to keep it would be the J.E. Made knife, easily.
The Shuffler is a fine knife and I am happy with it, but the J.E. Made knife has lots of small things that I like better. Considering that the Shuffler is a production model while the J.E. Made is... I'm not sure really... probably a 'mid-tech', I don't know how fair it is to compare them, but the price is close so I went with it.

The only problem with the J.E. Made knife is it's availability.

If you get a chance to buy or handle one of these J.E. Made knives, I encourage you to do so. You will probably be impressed.

Great prices for both considering their construction and uniqueness. Thanks for showing them off.

,,,Mike in Canada

 

[sitflyer]

I really like the looks of that J.E. Made folder, looks to be very well made and has clean lines. I could see myself carrying one of those. Too bad it is a bit of Unobtanium. I'm really curious about how that back spring is done, looks like it is very different than a usual slip joint construction.

*** never mind, looks like your photo has a trick of the lighting going on after watching the short video presentation in the link...

 

[SVTFreak]

I’ve resisted the urge to get a shuffler, but I can attest to the je made. It’s a fine knife. My only complaint is I wish they had tucked a touch more blade into it.

 

[Norcaldude]

An update of sorts for this post. A new modern slipjoint I got in the mail today. This is another knife made in China, the Dicoria HJ110. I won't link to the site I bought it from but google should bring it up easy enough.

First thing about this knife is it was nearly half the cost of the two knives above, at $69 delivered. The delivery did take about a month.

This is a very nice knife, especially for the price. Excellent fit and finish, the blade grind is better than any Queen made knife I have ever looked at.

Fairly easy pull from closed to half stop (I can grip the blade with my fingers and pull it open easily) and then an authoritative snap from half stop to fully open.

Titanium handles and S35VN blade steel. Several different handle color options are available, but only titanium. I'm not a huge fan of metal handles on slipjoints, but I can live with this one for the price I paid.

It's on the larger size for a slipjoint. About 7.25" fully open, 4" closed with a 3.25" blade. I like it just fine at that size.

It also comes with a leather belt sheath that seems to be of ok quality. Personally, if they could lower the price even more and not include the sheath, I think that would be great.

Here are some pictures.

 

[Will Power]

Really excellent and interesting reviews thank you.

I'll admit, the Chinese knife surprises me a lot as I don't usually ever care for metal handled knives and it's a great deal bigger than I'm usually interested in, but I rather like it! Proportions and details are just right, offers a lot of promise I feel.

I have a Lionsteel Roundhead in Ram's Horn and it completely changed my mind about how I regard Modern Traditionals, a big turnabout in fact. When it was mooted, I had no interest in it: another Barlow modern materials, no. Then I kept noticing them on the Forum and was struck by their excellent appearance and range of scales. How well the scales looked on this modern interpretation in particular, so got one from the Exchange and was completely floored by it. Excellence in construction, walk&talk, great balance to the pull, enviable grind on a modern steel. Particularly liked the tubular liners-a great aesthetic plus and the size was good but it was not heavy in the pocket. I'd love to get one of their Bolus knives in Dark Ram's Horn but Mike @knifeswapper can't ship abroad and he's sold out the best looking ones I think?

Hope to hear more of your experiences with these and similar knives.

Thanks, Will

 

[Hickory n steel]

I have to say, these really are pretty traditional in appearance , the first one a little less traditional but makes me think of a 70's-80's custom.
If you saw a blacked out sillouhette of them you wouldn't think they weren't 100% traditional.

 

[solphilos]

I just got my Shuffler today am quite impressed with it so far. Excellent walk and talk, centered blade, and the first factory edge I don't need to reprofile. Cuts like a laser.
I was also pleasantly surprised at how light this knife is. while I'm a huge fan of the Barlow pattern they're typically heavy, and this one is quite nice in comparison.

This is my first knife made with a higher quality steel, so I can't wait to see how it performs.

 

[Sergeua]

Your china knife looks like this

 

[Ernie1980]

JE makes some really nice knives for the price! I really like their Zulu

 

[MattWRog]

What’s the situation like if you need warranty service on a JE made? Do they even mention anything of the sort? Info on the company or maker(?) is almost non existent.

 

[Kiro]

What’s the situation like if you need warranty service on a JE made? Do they even mention anything of the sort? Info on the company or maker(?) is almost non existent.

Not sure about actual warranty, but my JE Made Lannys Clip came with an extra set of all hardware (screws, washers and I think even the pivot) as well as a tool to disassemble and reassemble correctly with the backspring. I think he's trying to alleviate that concern somewhat, and avoid having to ship back to china.

 

[abcdef]

My eyes really popped when I saw the Dicoria HJ110 referenced above. I couldn't help but notice the same site is selling small Sebenza's for $38.69. It also lists the Sebenza under Hot Items buy DICORIA Knives.

Uh, hmmmmmm.

 

[Norcaldude]

What’s the situation like if you need warranty service on a JE made? Do they even mention anything of the sort? Info on the company or maker(?) is almost non existent.

No idea. It's so well made I don't see any need to send it in for any warranty service.

 

[Norcaldude]

My eyes really popped when I saw the Dicoria HJ110 referenced above. I couldn't help but notice the same site is selling small Sebenza's for $38.69. It also lists the Sebenza under Hot Items buy DICORIA Knives.

Uh, hmmmmmm.

Not sure what your point is. Sorry about your eyes.

 

[MattWRog]

No idea. It's so well made I don't see any need to send it in for any warranty service.

I’ve seen examples of Case, Queen even Custom slip joints with broken back springs here on the forum. It can happen to any knife. Not doubting their quality as it’s apparent they are finely finished knives. Something major does happen, it would be nice if to know if there was a way to reconcile. I like their stag inlayed Lannys, but $250+ price tag would hurt to write off if you can’t have it repaired.

 

[Norcaldude]

I’ve seen examples of Case, Queen even Custom slip joints with broken back springs here on the forum. It can happen to any knife. Not doubting their quality as it’s apparent they are finely finished knives. Something major does happen, it would be nice if to know if there was a way to reconcile. I like their stag inlayed Lannys, but $250+ price tag would hurt to write off if you can’t have it repaired.

He has a presence on the internet, just like most other custom makers. He works with several online retailers that are fairly well known. He has an account here on BF. I have an email address and I was able to order directly from him, I don't see any reason why, if the back spring broke, I couldn't contact him again the same way and see if he could fix it for me, like I would if a knife that [insert favorite custom maker] had made for me that then had a broken back spring.

The shipping process might take a bit longer, but that would be the case for any maker outside the US.

 

[MattWRog]

He has a presence on the internet, just like most other custom makers. He works with several online retailers that are fairly well known. He has an account here on BF. I have an email address and I was able to order directly from him, I don't see any reason why, if the back spring broke, I couldn't contact him again the same way and see if he could fix it for me, like I would if a knife that [insert favorite custom maker] had made for me that then had a broken back spring.

The shipping process might take a bit longer, but that would be the case for any maker outside the US.

Very good thank you. I didn’t know if it was just one man or a manufacturer.

 

[jikangchen]

Hello Friends:

I'm ChenJiYi, owner of JEMadeKnives.
Thank you for talking about my knives!

Let me introduce something about my knives to you:
All the knives are not personal made, we are a small team(5 person).I'm the material buyer, designer,planner,heat treater,quality inspector and seller. and the knives are not pure hand made, we use machines. Electorde line cutter to cut the blades, CNC miller, CNC grinder, Vacuum Oven, Belt Grinder, etc. But most of the very important parts of the making are done by hand:we hand grind the blade/handle/spring to make the thickness tolerance be arround 0.01mm; we hand polish the shape to make the parts more compact;we hand satin/grind the blades; hand polishing for the natural materials; assembling(Assembling is something very important for a knives as my opinion. Always, every knives should be assembled/disasembled 6-10times before finish to make it as good as I want.)
I'm not very sure about the knvies are custom or mid-tech. I care more about you like it or not.

For after-sale service, it's really hard for me to do as I'm really far from you, shipping will cost too much. So I tried my best to make my knives more durable and easy to maintain. I'm very serious about the construction design, materials choosing, heat treating. I invented the easy Dis/Re-assembling structure, new slip joints could be very easily/safely disassembled:
https://instagram.com/p/BqVGUP_hd8p/
you can see the structure of the knives: pivot is in the center of the handle/blade tang as it could be, blade tang is as stronger as I could do, I tried to make all the force bearing points of the structure as strong as possible.


I heat treat the blades and springs myself, I posted a spring test on IG:
https://instagram.com/p/BpOVjh3BQl3/

I will attach the tool and an extra set of hardware for every high grade knives, Maybe you don't need to worry too much about my after-sale service.
But If you need me, please send me email to: JEMadeKnives@foxmail.com, I'm busy with knife making, I can't be always on line, but I check my email often.
Let me know please if you have some advice for me or there's something I can do for you.

Thank you again! friends


ChenJiYi

 

[CasePeanut]

Hello Friends:

I'm ChenJiYi, owner of JEMadeKnives.
Thank you for talking about my knives!

Let me introduce something about my knives to you:
All the knives are not personal made, we are a small team(5 person).I'm the material buyer, designer,planner,heat treater,quality inspector and seller. and the knives are not pure hand made, we use machines. Electorde line cutter to cut the blades, CNC miller, CNC grinder, Vacuum Oven, Belt Grinder, etc. But most of the very important parts of the making are done by hand:we hand grind the blade/handle/spring to make the thickness tolerance be arround 0.01mm; we hand polish the shape to make the parts more compact;we hand satin/grind the blades; hand polishing for the natural materials; assembling(Assembling is something very important for a knives as my opinion. Always, every knives should be assembled/disasembled 6-10times before finish to make it as good as I want.)
I'm not very sure about the knvies are custom or mid-tech. I care more about you like it or not.

For after-sale service, it's really hard for me to do as I'm really far from you, shipping will cost too much. So I tried my best to make my knives more durable and easy to maintain. I'm very serious about the construction design, materials choosing, heat treating. I invented the easy Dis/Re-assembling structure, new slip joints could be very easily/safely disassembled:
https://instagram.com/p/BqVGUP_hd8p/
you can see the structure of the knives: pivot is in the center of the handle/blade tang as it could be, blade tang is as stronger as I could do, I tried to make all the force bearing points of the structure as strong as possible.
View attachment 1100324

I heat treat the blades and springs myself, I posted a spring test on IG:
https://instagram.com/p/BpOVjh3BQl3/

I will attach the tool and an extra set of hardware for every high grade knives, Maybe you don't need to worry too much about my after-sale service.
But If you need me, please send me email to: JEMadeKnives@foxmail.com, I'm busy with knife making, I can't be always on line, but I check my email often.
Let me know please if you have some advice for me or there's something I can do for you.

Thank you again! friends


ChenJiYi

thank you for replying Chen! It's so cool to hear directly from the maker!

Do you make any linerless slip joints?