Harness Jacks - Special Orders

Time to bring up this thread again.
So, after a long wait, my HJ6 is in my hands now...and no matter how long the wait, it's been worth it.
I haven't carried the knife yet, just handled it here at home, but there are many things that are overly clear.
But before that, I just want to thank Charlie. Without him, chances are I would have never known much about harness jacks, let alone owning one... :rolleyes:
So, back to the knife. First of all, I know this comes as no surprise to most of you, but the GEC #66 handle is really nice and comfy, it's the perfect size (for me), and ebony just adds to its charm. It's beautiful and handles great. The fit and finish on my HJ6 is very good, the knife has no flaws, and is a pleasure to handle.
I can't compare it to other versions, but it seems to me that the whole design of the punch is really good. I don't expect to use it on leather but I know I will find many uses for it. Due to the longitudinal curve on the spine (don't know how else to call it), it's very easy to open, and the sharpened side looks like it will be perfect to open packages and such (in absence of leather to punch). The clip blade is also very nice, not hard at all to pull, very solid. The knife looks very nice in the open position as well (both with the punch and the clip blade): as we say here, the eye wants its share as well...and the eye gets great pleasure in looking at this knife.
I plan on doing a little mod on my HJ6, then I will post some pics of it. Meanwhile, I just want to thank Charlie for dragging me into the HJ world :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
I want to take advantage on Fausto post and join his good words about Charlie and the HJ6, which I got about a month ago, ebony scales. Ever since I got the knife, it became one of my favorite amongst my small collection. So thanks Fausto for bringing this thread again and again, many thanks to Charlie.

Mike
 
In total agreement Fausto, Charlie got me into them too my friend, hes a great guy with great taste, and he has paved the way for us.
Harness Jacks are right up there for me now, and I can honestly say this will never go....a stunning knife design
Whatchya going to modify Fausto?
 
Duncan,
I'm thinking about removing the etching on the clip blade, and possibly giving the vinegar treatment to the whole knife, as others members have shown on other threads. Not sure yet, but I feel that a plain dark patina would be a perfect match with the ebony scales and knife pattern.
Now, back to Charlie...yes he's been great at this...and I suspect the HJ fever isn't over yet... :rolleyes:

Fausto
:cool:
 
quattromori said:
...as we say here, the eye wants its share as well....
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Great write-up, Fausto. The above jumped out at me, because it states succinctly what I want/love/"need" in so many of the items I choose to have near me through my days. Well said!

~ P.
 
Heck of a group Charlie. I know its punch isn't the best designed, but my favorite knife remains the one on the upper left. Its lines just look right.

- Christian
 
Agree that the 66 is the perfect pocket size and that the harness jack 6 is my favorite of the bunch! One thought ive had but not tested yet is that the punch would work great as a firesteel scraper.

Thanks Charlie!
 
AusLoX said:
Older thread but I’m bring it back up top. There’s some great info and history here from waynorth waynorth
Wanted to add #10 to the list 😁. Still my favorite!
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Thanks for bringing this thread back up, AusLoX!! I just spent the last hour reading all the way through it!! What nostalgic fun!!!
Here's are pics of my latest HJ - 2023!!86 Smooth White Bone.jpgCharlie 1 86.jpg
 
waynorth said:
I have had a flood of questions about the knives that will follow here.
Now that I have none to sell, I thought it would be a fair and politic time to tell this tale.
It is a bit about my journey, and a bit about the present state of cutlery making in America, but mostly a lot about my love of this pattern.
15 or so years ago, I became intrigued with the Harness Jack (HJ). A somewhat rare variation of the Jack knife, I thought it would be an exciting series of searches, and a way to limit my vintage knife habit. Also, having made my living doing leather work many years before, I had an affinity for the punch as a tool.
I had no idea that my collecting of old HJs would drive the price up so much in this small niche market! Also, the supply dried up in short order, because others were bitten by the HJ bug, especially after I wrote an article for KnifeWorld magazine in 2005.
Because of the demand, I thought a Cutlery manufacturer should revive the pattern, which had died out pretty much as horses had disappeared from daily life in the automobile age. None were much interested, even though I wrote or called all the ones I could find, some more than once or twice.
A Special Factory Order (SFO) occurred to me, but the required orders were too big for me.
Then I found someone who regularly did SFOs, and we split an order, hence HJ1.
View attachment 244095
Modeled after a Robeson, and equipped with their Robeson's punch, this old Teardrop pattern turned out great - pretty close to what I had in mind.

It was so much fun, I came up with another one, and Queen, who did the first order, agreed to a smaller order of Regular pattern Jacks, with another patent punch. In the process, I got to know the guy who designed and guided both knives through production. And along came HJ2.
View attachment 244097

In a similar fashion, I ordered another pattern, the Equal End jack, with a punch that worked like, but was not a copy of, an Empire punch. And so was born, HJ3!
View attachment 244100

I will post chapter two in another post!
Click to expand...
Charlie, hello from Dallas. I just listened to you talking about your HJ's on an episode of the Catch Bit Podcast. Thank you for all you do, sir! Hope to get one of your SFOs in my hands one day.
 
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