Jokers Wild

[Jack Black]

My only Joker. 3" blade.

That's cool Jer

 

[joeradza]

Going to carry the plastic handled one for now and the bubinga will be my go to tomorrow for a pre-Christmas family dinner.

 

[5K Qs]

I have to thank Gary 5K Qs 5K Qs for making me aware of the Joker brand.

Gary turned me onto the Jokers, as well!

I also blame 5K Qs 5K Qs

I'm glad I happened to be the person who "introduced" Alan and Shawn and Rachel to Joker knives.
But I doubt if I've ever had an original knife thought in my life, so in the interest of full disclosure, I want to make it clear that I became aware of Joker knives via a photo that Jack Black posted sometime in the second half of 2014. I think it was probably this knife that appears in post #4 above.

...

...

I was quite taken with the shape of the blade and the curve of the blond wood handle, and I told myself that I should look for a similar knife when I visited my daughter in Spain for a couple of weeks over the Christmas/New Year holidays at the end of 2014.

The first Joker that actually caught my eye was in Granada, and it really looked nothing like Jack's Joker that I admired. It was small and had a blond horn handle, and I think what really "got me" was a little "Asta Autentica" sticker on the handle; it was almost identical to the bottom one in Rachel's photos above. But my main goal in the knife shop where I saw it was to get a Spanish sodbuster junior style knife, which I did with the help of my daughter as translator/negotiator. But I walked past that cuchilleria a couple of times in our stay in Granada to look at the little Joker. When my daughter decided to take a nap on the day we were taking a bus back to her place in Madrid, I said I'd be going out to get the knife while she napped. But the shop was closed at midday when I arrived! Later, we took a day trip to Toledo, and I found an identical knife there (although I paid a Toledo cutlery tourist premium). Here's my first Joker:


Later in my visit to Spain, my daughter took me to Valencia, and in one of 3 knife shops we visited there, I found a knife very similar to Jack's Joker that had caught my attention. I think it turns out that mine, at 4" closed, was a bit larger than Jack's, and the olive wood handle was a bit darker. One of my favorite knives!


I'll post some of my other Jokers here in subsequent posts.

- GT

 

[black mamba]

Alan, that bubinga is no joke, very handsome! And Gary, I always enjoy seeing the "feathered" horn.

 

[joeradza]

Alan, that bubinga is no joke, very handsome! And Gary, I always enjoy seeing the "feathered" horn.

Thanks Jeff. I believe it should make a fine food knife, which is usually my main criteria. This afternoon's turkey will tell the tale.

 

[Jack Black]

I'm glad I happened to be the person who "introduced" Alan and Shawn and Rachel to Joker knives.
But I doubt if I've ever had an original knife thought in my life, so in the interest of full disclosure, I want to make it clear that I became aware of Joker knives via a photo that Jack Black posted sometime in the second half of 2014. I think it was probably this knife that appears in post #4 above.

I was quite taken with the shape of the blade and the curve of the blond wood handle, and I told myself that I should look for a similar knife when I visited my daughter in Spain for a couple of weeks over the Christmas/New Year holidays at the end of 2014.

The first Joker that actually caught my eye was in Granada, and it really looked nothing like Jack's Joker that I admired. It was small and had a blond horn handle, and I think what really "got me" was a little "Asta Autentica" sticker on the handle; it was almost identical to the bottom one in Rachel's photos above. But my main goal in the knife shop where I saw it was to get a Spanish sodbuster junior style knife, which I did with the help of my daughter as translator/negotiator. But I walked past that cuchilleria a couple of times in our stay in Granada to look at the little Joker. When my daughter decided to take a nap on the day we were taking a bus back to her place in Madrid, I said I'd be going out to get the knife while she napped. But the shop was closed at midday when I arrived! Later, we took a day trip to Toledo, and I found an identical knife there (although I paid a Toledo cutlery tourist premium). Here's my first Joker:
View attachment 1707203

Later in my visit to Spain, my daughter took me to Valencia, and in one of 3 knife shops we visited there, I found a knife very similar to Jack's Joker that had caught my attention. I think it turns out that mine, at 4" closed, was a bit larger than Jack's, and the olive wood handle was a bit darker. One of my favorite knives!
View attachment 1707204

I'll post some of my other Jokers here in subsequent posts.

- GT

All the way back in 2013, I posted a thread about another Spanish folder, the Aitor Castor Pequena, which had been gifted to me by an old member scruffuk . I thought highly of the knife, and recommended it, but soon after the publication of the thread, someone posted to say that Aitor were discontinuing that model. I therefore set out to find a replacement to recommend to those who couldn't get hold of a Pequena, and the Joker was what I came up with. I buy them, as gifts, whenever I come across them

 

[meako]

Cockers

 

[meako]

 

[5K Qs]

Gary, I always enjoy seeing the "feathered" horn.

Thanks, Jeff.
Here are my other horn-hafted Jokers.
This one is a gift my daughter brought me from Spain; I think she bought it while visiting Zaragoza:


Although somewhat similar to my first horn Joker from Toledo, there are many differences, as you can see in the following pic. The knife my daughter gave me (lower knife in photo) seems to me to have a more "natural" finish to the horn; it's not as smooth and polished. It also has more of the feathering Jeff mentioned:


In 2018, a US knife dealer from whom I used to order many knives started carrying quite a selection of Joker models, and I bought this little horn Joker from that dealer. It's essentially the same model as my first horn Joker from Toledo, but I think the color of the horn is superior on this model:



I also bought a horn Joker lockback from that US dealer, identical to the one just shown except for the lock. Excellent small knives!



- GT

 

[euroken]

My One and only Joker, courtesy of J Just Tom.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

A couple of mine, sanded & oiled. Nice knives.

 

[5K Qs]

I finally remembered that I intended to post my stag Jokers in the thread, too. Both of these were purchased from a US dealer, but many of his Joker models have sold out and he doesn't seem quick to restock them. Both of my stag Jokers are lockbacks, differing mainly in size.

Here's my big stag Joker:


Here's a pile side shot of the smaller one:


Here's a comparison shot of the pair:


- GT