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I traded one for it.........
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
JK Knives Passaround Review Thread
- Thread starter bearthedog
- Start date
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- Feb 14, 2008
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- 1,093
OK, guys, I dropped the ball.
I can't find "the list" to know who is next.
....and I am flat out flippin' packing tape.
I sent a bunch of stuff out this week and tought I had another roll.
I will get tape tomorrow and they will go out Friday.
Sorry for the delay. I was all set to send them out tomorrow AM.
Review/pics to be posted tomorrow evening.
Who's next??
I can't find "the list" to know who is next.
....and I am flat out flippin' packing tape.
I sent a bunch of stuff out this week and tought I had another roll.I will get tape tomorrow and they will go out Friday.
Sorry for the delay. I was all set to send them out tomorrow AM.
Review/pics to be posted tomorrow evening.
Who's next??
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Hooked ya up. Raindog is next, since tonym is goin last to insure my keppy gets back to me.....:thumbup:
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Thane(tknife) is after raindog, followed by tonym who is last I believe......
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J,
Thanks for being on top of this passaround. We got to add one more guy who is mostly on knifeforums but here too. He is Cody1 and let me see where he is exactly so we can maybe stick him in before Tony. Thanks for being flexible.
-RB
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No problem guys......
Ruben, I dont have a problem with it, as long as the last dude knows where to send what.:thumbup:
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OK, I'm ready for these knives. I'm coming back from a 2-week vacation tomorrow, so it's perfect timing. I believe Bear has my address, but let me know, Jeff, if I need to send it to you also.
Dave
Dave
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- Feb 14, 2008
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I got a 4" Hiker from John a while back and once I had it my hand, all I could think was "geez, these guys are nuts - this knife has several serious flaws!" So, what's a guy to do? Be nice and say "yeah, great work, man," or come out with it and hope it helps him improve his work, even if he hates me? Well, I am NOT going to blow smooke up this guy's butt like everyone else has, so I e-mailed John and explained what all I thought was wrong with the knife. Shortly thereafter I get a reply - "your e-mail about caused me a heart attack" - Great! Now I've done it. I nearly killed the poor guy!
Then John explains that as he read about the "flaws" I itemized, they summed up to define a reject he uses as a pattern for his sheaths and MY knife was lying on his bench. I was relieved, John was relieved, his wife got on him for sending out a messed up knife and mine got on me for hurting a guy's feelings ("at least he tried" she told me) and we both got a good chuckle out of it in the end.
Incidentally, the mix-up was due to John trying to get my knife out before going out of town to the aid of someone else less fortunate that he or I at the time. Good man, John.:thumbup:
Now, about those that came in the mail a few days ago - those which John and JW so graciously offered up for a "test-drive" by the rest of us - here is the lot:
Nice-looking mess of knives actually. In fact, these patterns are worthy of some "special attention." John's finish is what I would term a "functional" finish - one that is low-key, subdued, a "working" finish that neither hides nor detracts from the underlying beauty of the shapes and lines of these knives. I have suggested that he may consider offering another "grade" of knife - finished out to 600 grit or so but then, who among us users would select that option? We're "users," right? Well, I tell you this, if John did offer them like that and people saw the difference, they would recognize that these are not just rough-and-tumble field implements, but they are also very aesthetically pleasing expressions of John's craft. The patterns have some class and his basic finish, while functional, reminds me of the five-oclock shadow an a male model in an LL Bean catalog - the "grizzled" look is a wee bit unnatural for something that good-looking.
Now, I normally prefer a longer knife when batoning certain materials - like eight-inch wide materials, but this stubby Keppy really surprised me as long as I kept it between the webs. It is a robust tool, feels so in the hand and performs so when called upon. If anyone is anywhere close to JW, please administer chest compressions now. I really should quit picking on JW, as he is a good person and has a big heart. Some day he will kill me but I still think he is a great guy. Thanks, JW, for the loan of your knife. It was a large and gracious gesture.
I did actually baton something - not what is pictured above, but some long-dead Maple. The EDC Bushcraft kept whispering "pick me, pick me!" So I did. Hey, it SAYS "Bushcraft," right? It should be able to do things a Bushcraft does - regardless of whether it is capable of being carried in a jeans pocket or carried as a necker. This little brute is stout. I love the pattern, the shape and cross-section of the handles and the tip is very nicely shaped for Bushcraft chores. I would change one thing - and this is subjective - completely a "personal preference" thing, but I would make the scales about a 1/4" longer - at least out to the start of the edge. Two reasons, 1) it would be just enough extra handle length without lengthening the whole knife and 2) I like my edges to end where my handles begin. I found that I used the ricasso as part of the handle anyway so - why not put some handle material there, right? Maybe not something everyone would like but overall, this pattern is sweet.
I did not sharpen the knives (I didn't dull them either) but I did mess with the one that someone seems to have touched up a bit. The shape and size of this one is also very useful - that is a good bit of real-estate for your paw without being overly large and the short Keppy blade is very useful itslef - very handy.
continued...........
Then John explains that as he read about the "flaws" I itemized, they summed up to define a reject he uses as a pattern for his sheaths and MY knife was lying on his bench. I was relieved, John was relieved, his wife got on him for sending out a messed up knife and mine got on me for hurting a guy's feelings ("at least he tried" she told me) and we both got a good chuckle out of it in the end. Incidentally, the mix-up was due to John trying to get my knife out before going out of town to the aid of someone else less fortunate that he or I at the time. Good man, John.:thumbup:Now, about those that came in the mail a few days ago - those which John and JW so graciously offered up for a "test-drive" by the rest of us - here is the lot:
Nice-looking mess of knives actually. In fact, these patterns are worthy of some "special attention." John's finish is what I would term a "functional" finish - one that is low-key, subdued, a "working" finish that neither hides nor detracts from the underlying beauty of the shapes and lines of these knives. I have suggested that he may consider offering another "grade" of knife - finished out to 600 grit or so but then, who among us users would select that option? We're "users," right? Well, I tell you this, if John did offer them like that and people saw the difference, they would recognize that these are not just rough-and-tumble field implements, but they are also very aesthetically pleasing expressions of John's craft. The patterns have some class and his basic finish, while functional, reminds me of the five-oclock shadow an a male model in an LL Bean catalog - the "grizzled" look is a wee bit unnatural for something that good-looking.
Now, I normally prefer a longer knife when batoning certain materials - like eight-inch wide materials, but this stubby Keppy really surprised me as long as I kept it between the webs. It is a robust tool, feels so in the hand and performs so when called upon. If anyone is anywhere close to JW, please administer chest compressions now.
I really should quit picking on JW, as he is a good person and has a big heart. Some day he will kill me but I still think he is a great guy. Thanks, JW, for the loan of your knife. It was a large and gracious gesture.
I did actually baton something - not what is pictured above, but some long-dead Maple. The EDC Bushcraft kept whispering "pick me, pick me!" So I did. Hey, it SAYS "Bushcraft," right? It should be able to do things a Bushcraft does - regardless of whether it is capable of being carried in a jeans pocket or carried as a necker. This little brute is stout. I love the pattern, the shape and cross-section of the handles and the tip is very nicely shaped for Bushcraft chores. I would change one thing - and this is subjective - completely a "personal preference" thing, but I would make the scales about a 1/4" longer - at least out to the start of the edge. Two reasons, 1) it would be just enough extra handle length without lengthening the whole knife and 2) I like my edges to end where my handles begin. I found that I used the ricasso as part of the handle anyway so - why not put some handle material there, right? Maybe not something everyone would like but overall, this pattern is sweet.
I did not sharpen the knives (I didn't dull them either) but I did mess with the one that someone seems to have touched up a bit. The shape and size of this one is also very useful - that is a good bit of real-estate for your paw without being overly large and the short Keppy blade is very useful itslef - very handy.
continued...........
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Did I mention that I did not sharpen the knives? OK, here's the deal, on the thicker knives with secondary bevels ground to withstand "abuse" I have not learned to get along with them or to shapen them and maintain the original angles. What happens next is that I void my warranty and work the edge into a more acute, "somewhat secondary" convex edge. I feather the edge into the rest of the blade as much as I can, resulting in as thin an edge as I can. These were not my knives and I knew I shouldn't alter them to suit my personal preferences in edges - not like knocking a "horn" off a handle or stropping a burr off the edge. So, I try to play around with the secondary bevel and I look like an idiot trying to make it work for me. Someone else might have done better trying to hold the knife with their foot and cut wood than I did with my dominant hand. I have had this difficulty with many knives and some by some "more famous" makers. So, ther you have it - my achille's heel - I have not mastered the more robust edges. I barely squeezed out one decent fuzz stick.
Check out this little bulldog! When I said "stout" and "robust" earlier - relative terms. They apply here but at a different level. This is a neat pattern and the handle is just about perfect for the blade. A very compact package in a very useful shape. "Hiker's Backup?" Yeah, and on shorter hikes, closer to civilization, it would serve well as a "Hiker's Primary." Yes, I woiuld like to see this one offered sans scales for tucking into a "survival kit."
Size reference. I have "average-sized" ("relative," I know) hands.
Another size refernce:
Overall, John's scales show no gaps, they are of even length at the recasso and symetrically shaped. Handles with one edge rounded and its mate squared irritate me to no end. Unevenly shaped scales with one thick, one thing irk me terribly. John's handles are evenly shaped and nicley contoured. His edges are ground evenly centered and they both end at the same spot - directly across from each other. His finish is even and consistent, the surface of the spine is perpendicular to the ceterline of the knife. With all these points in mind, I go back to the idea of a "finer" finish - John gets it right on so many of the basics which some just polish up (aka "lipstick on a pig") that this extra elbow grease would "emphasize and complement" rather than "cover up." As for the edges, I need to figure out how to use the heavier duty edges or keep changing them. John's edges are even and consistent, and likely robust enough to stand up to soe hard use but I personally have to have a thinner, more acute edge.
Nice work and THANK YOU!!:thumbup::thumbup:
I have had this difficulty with many knives and some by some "more famous" makers. So, ther you have it - my achille's heel - I have not mastered the more robust edges. I barely squeezed out one decent fuzz stick.Check out this little bulldog! When I said "stout" and "robust" earlier - relative terms. They apply here but at a different level. This is a neat pattern and the handle is just about perfect for the blade. A very compact package in a very useful shape. "Hiker's Backup?" Yeah, and on shorter hikes, closer to civilization, it would serve well as a "Hiker's Primary." Yes, I woiuld like to see this one offered sans scales for tucking into a "survival kit."
Size reference. I have "average-sized" ("relative," I know) hands.
Another size refernce:
Overall, John's scales show no gaps, they are of even length at the recasso and symetrically shaped. Handles with one edge rounded and its mate squared irritate me to no end. Unevenly shaped scales with one thick, one thing irk me terribly. John's handles are evenly shaped and nicley contoured. His edges are ground evenly centered and they both end at the same spot - directly across from each other. His finish is even and consistent, the surface of the spine is perpendicular to the ceterline of the knife. With all these points in mind, I go back to the idea of a "finer" finish - John gets it right on so many of the basics which some just polish up (aka "lipstick on a pig") that this extra elbow grease would "emphasize and complement" rather than "cover up." As for the edges, I need to figure out how to use the heavier duty edges or keep changing them. John's edges are even and consistent, and likely robust enough to stand up to soe hard use but I personally have to have a thinner, more acute edge.
Nice work and THANK YOU!!:thumbup::thumbup:
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Good stuff Jeff, I know there is more but I wanted to agree with you on the extra scale length. I also like the cutting edge to start right after the handle. I don't think John puts too much ricasso but I had an interesting thing happen a few months back that helped me respect the ricasso area. I was doing some batoning and got a little careless. Before you know it, picture this, the knife was deep into the wood and rubbing against the scales pretty viciously. I kind of chipped the scales of an awesome knife. This is totally my fault for not paying attention. The knife was not a cheap one but made by a well known custom maker who makes quality stuff. I just thought, if I had a little ricasso area this would have acted like a barrier or small buffer area. I do like the look of a smooth edge right out of the handle but this made me understand, there is a reason for every design. That, and I eat bugs!
-RB
-RB
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Good review Jeff.
-RB
-RB
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I agree regarding the three, in general. On the EDC Bushcraft, it's not so much "too much ricasso" but more of wanting to take advantage of being able to sneak in a little more handle without lengthening he whole knive. A matter of which compromises to make when scaling something down - and he did a good job of selecting what to give up.... and not.:thumbup:
Don't you ever worry about smiling at your dinner date and having a leg stuck between your teeth?
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Thank you!
That's a highly appreciated compliment coming from one who has authored some pretty comprehensive reviews.:thumbup:
JK Knives
Moderator
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Great review and pictures, Jeff! Funny you should mention a Hiker`s Backup with no scales to tuck in a kit. I just shipped one out today to TFin04, I`m sure you will see pics on Monday. I have been giving considerable thought into a finer finish on my knives. The new woods also give them a "dressier" look.
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Awesome review, and great pics jeff. Even the first one that made me sick for a split second!
I wanna say that jeff also made a kick ass kydex for the keppy, so it will have 2 sheaths now......
I wanna say that jeff also made a kick ass kydex for the keppy, so it will have 2 sheaths now......
mtnfolk mike
Basic Member
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- Mar 21, 2006
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- 10,040
gret review jeff...:thumbup: and nice pics too...
i have a kephart, from john on the way soon.. i'm really looking forward to getting it...
i have a kephart, from john on the way soon..
i'm really looking forward to getting it...