Looking for a nice small single blade (maybe Northwood Indian River Jack)

Macchina

Macchina

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Apr 7, 2006
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I am looking at getting a new knife soon and I think I'd like it to be a single-blade traditional. I'm looking real hard at the North wood Indian River Jack River:

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It looks great, but I see mixed results on the reviews. Some say Sebenza-level F&F and others say "it's OK".

Should I go for this one or are there similar knives out there that are just as nice but cheaper than $130.

This will be my 5th traditional or so, and most of them are large Trappers. I also don't have a Peanut yet, but that pattern just doesn't call out to me like the Indian Jack.
 
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Can't go wrong with a GEC #15. To me its the perfect edc knife.

I had an IRJ, I liked it but it definitely wasn't sebenza f&f, which I don't think its meant to be. Its considered the "workhorse" of the Northwoods line.

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The Pemberton is a nice one as well if you don't mind a smaller knife.

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Consider a Queen Cutlery Teardrop liner-lock. These are now available in Amber Bone. Also, Gec's 73

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When you say 'small' the Northwoods is in fact quite a large Trad knife at 3.75" I believe, so that's why I suggested the Queen and GEC 73 as they're around the same size weight etc.
 
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Are you guys talking about the most recent run of the NW IRJ or the older ones?


I agree that the #15 is a nice knife.
 
I have to agree with getting the GEC #15. You'll pay half the price of the Northwoods and will get a knife that compares in quality. The Northwoods Indian River Jack is made by Queen and I believe the pattern is exclusive to KSF.
The GEC 15 is 3.5" closed and the Northwoods is 3.75" closed.
I know you said you were looking for a single blade but if you decide to go with two blades, Queen's #69 Straight Jack (now discontinued) is a great choice.

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In his review he says, "My IRJ is at least equal in fit and finish to the CRK blades I have held". Personally I wouldn't make too much of that statement. IMO he's engaging in a bit of hyperbole. I somehow doubt that Queen (who I believe makes the Northwoods Indian River Jack) follows the same tolerance standards as CRK. But that takes NOTHING away from the Northwoods, which is still a very fine product.

I only own one Northwoods knife at this time (a Madison Barlow) but I will not hesitate to buy another. The fit and finish are VERY good. Of everything I own (around 90 knives) it's easily one of my top three favorites.

I also agree that you can't go wrong with a GEC #15 but it is 1/4" smaller (closed) than the IRJ. That 1/4" makes a difference in the hand.
 
I believe that Queen no longer manufactures the North wood line and they are now made in their own facility in Northern Michigan. Is this not correct? This happened a year or so ago and they are now higher quality.
 
Northwoods used to be made in Michigan, years ago. KSF bought the brand and they are now made for KSF by other companies under contract. Queen has made some of them, Great Eastern Cutlery has made others.

The info on that web site you linked is very old.
 
Anyone who says a production slipjoint has fit and finish equal to Sebenza is either ignorant or lying and immediately loses credibility. You'll have to pay a lot more than $130 to get that type of craftsmanship.

What's your definition of small? The #15 is an awesome knife, but it's probably closer to medium at 3 1/2" closed.

- Christian
 
kamagong said:
Anyone who says a production slipjoint has fit and finish equal to Sebenza is either ignorant or lying and immediately loses credibility. You'll have to pay a lot more than $130 to get that type of craftsmanship.

What's your definition of small? The #15 is an awesome knife, but it's probably closer to medium at 3 1/2" closed.

- Christian
Click to expand...

As someone who has owned a number of Sebenzas, production slip joints, and custom slipjoints I agree with the above. I've never seen a production slipjoint that equals the fit/finish and consistency of the Sebenza. Not even the Case/Bose colab knives. If you want that level of fit and finish then you need to look to custom knives.


All that being said, I do love GEC and think they make some great knives. I really think the single blade #15 is probably one of the best values out there and just a great knife that is easy to carry. I love both the clip and spear versions, the new run of bearhead clips are really great. While it may not be small, I think it would probably work for you based on the fact that you're looking at the IRJ.

IRJ might be a good choice to, I've just never held one to know. Maybe I should get one to check out.
 
Considering the cost of the Sebenza I woulden't expect any production knife to be consistently equal in F&F.
On the only Northwoods example I've got the F&F on the Indian River Jack is as good as you could expect for a production knife. A bit better than my Queens.
Between Northwoods CPM 154, Queens D2 and GEC's 1095 You just have to pick your pattern blade type and steel. The various steels probably account for much of the price differences in the knives.

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After lusting after the Indian River Jack for long time I finally purchased one a month or so back. I sent two of them back before I got one that was acceptable (still has a proud spring). Do I like the knife? Absolutley! It ticks a lot of boxes for me: it's single bladed, thin, 3.75" closed, and I really like CPM-154 steel. However, in MY experience the fit and finish does not match the cost.

I recently purchased a GEC #72 lock back that had perfect fit and finish (other than a small amount of vertical play) that was $40 less. The #15 is a great knife, as is the Case Sodbuster Jr and GEC 71 Bullnose, GEC #55 and you could also look at the KaBar Coppersmith Single Blade Trapper... I love single blade slippies. :D Here are some pics.


Indian River Jack


GEC #72


Case Sodbuster Jr.


GEC #71 Bullnose


KaBar Coppersmith


GEC #55
 
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Discuss Sebenzas and their attributes somewhere else, please. This forum is for the discussion of traditional knives.
 
I 2nd GEC. They have so many different patterns that you're bound to fall in love with one of them. Just be careful. They have so many different patterns that you're bound to spend all your money if you fall in love with all of them.
 
Peregrin said:
Discuss Sebenzas and their attributes somewhere else, please. This forum is for the discussion of traditional knives.
Click to expand...

C'mon Gary. We're not discussing Sebenzas per se. They were mentioned because they provide a useful benchmark for understanding fit and finish.

To the OP. You don't need that type of refinement to have a truly excellent knife. I myself have backed off from buying knives of that ilk. They're nice, but hardly necessary. A GEC may not be perfect, but they are well-made from beautiful materials, by an American craftsman proud of his work. That's enough for me.

Truth be told if knives of GECs current quality were offered earlier I probably wouldn't have ever bothered with custom slipjoints.

- Christian
 
I've had an IRJ for a few days and here's what I've observed.

Half stop is a bit mushy on opening but a bit more crisp on closing. Spring sits slightly proud when the blade is at half stop.

Covers are flush with bolsters. Had a few small burrs on the pile side bolster near the pivot, which I was able to dress easily with some mylar lapping film.

Pull is a little stiff for me but not a nail breaker.

Edge could be better. It was a lot sharper than the Burnside Jack I got but no where near an edge that you'd get on a modern like a Kershaw, Spyderco etc...

Do I love it? Absolutely! It isn't perfect and it requires some work to get to a fully usable state but I don't mind.

Price? Delicas in my country retail for the equivalent of about $140. If anyone sold the IRJ locally, I doubt I could get it for less than $175, so I think what I paid was worth it. (ordered straight from KSF.)
 
As others have mentioned you really can't go wrong with a #15 boys knife and a single blade can be picked up for under $70. If you want something a little more rare and stainless then Barry still has a few of the SFO Eric's Jacks available.
 
I'll weigh in on this discussion... :)

Regarding F&F in comparison to the aforementioned knife... Like others have said, there is no way these are in the same category as the CRK. Here is why. Modern folders are made by machines to crazy tolerances and modern, specialized materials and mechanisms. All of that translates to knives that are crazy smooth, perfectly centered, perfect grinds, blah, blah, blah. ALL production slip joints that I am aware of are just completely different animals. It would be like saying I want a bicycle with the fit and finish of a Ferrari. I love the Everdaycommentary review for everything except the Sebenza comparison because a ton of Sebenza people bought one as their first traditional and didn't like it because their expectations were set incorrectly.

The Indian River Jack is made by Queen to our specs. We chose Queen because they will deal with the higher end, modern steels. The IRJ is, indeed, a pattern that is just ours. The F&F is a bit above regular Queen. If you are looking for a perfect knife, I recommend....well, not sure what I would recommend. :)

As to the edge. They are dull. Dull like every other Queen. :) We were going to send them to another company to have them re-ground and sharpened to make them a little more incredible out of the box, but we opted not to for cost reasons. Modern folders (Kershaw, Benchmade, etc) have mastered turning out sharp knives. Queen and GEC have not. It is something I have come to live with.

We wanted this to be an EDC, workhorse knife. It is not built for someone who wants something for their shadow box, but for their pocket.

As to price. We did what we could to keep the price reasonable. The steel--a CPM steel--is quite expensive both in the raw form and in the working to put it in the knife. Queen had to do a number of extra steps and different processes to make it work. I was very pleased with the performance I am seeing out of them.

The Northwoods Indian River Jack has what I love about traditionals--it has soul. It is a beautiful knife that marries the performance qualities of modern folders and traditional pocket knives--high performance steel of moderns with the thin blade of a traditional--giving it better cutting performance (imo and for my needs) than either modern folders or standard traditionals. It does that while maintaining the warmth and beauty of a well made knife made by real craftsmen and women.

Honestly, I love the Indian River Jack (I have about 4 or 5 of them) and it is in my pocket right now.
 
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