- Joined
- Feb 26, 2002
- Messages
- 618
In late November, Jerry Busse wrote a thread about how he used a Satin Jack to assist in a motor vehicle accident and I also read another thread about its use by Israeli Commandos. From photos on this forum, I was immediately taken by the looks of the Busse Satin Jack. I have grown old enough to now say I no longer need to analyse why I like the appearance of a knife. I simply like what I like and after I have bought it, perhaps then I analyse its features a little bit and compare it to other knives I own. But I still have a tendency to wear a knife I like, not for any other reason, but that it appeals to me. This is one of those knives.
Off topic - my previous knife collecting over the years had resulted in a good collection of Khukuries so I wasn't after a chopper. Although I might add that my lightest chopping khukuri weighed 18 ounces and I have recently bought another secondhand Busse (a Basic 9 at 14 ounces) that will hopefully extend my range of choppers. The Basic 9 is still in the process of making its way to me from the US.
I have in recent times been collecting knives that would complement the khukuries and because they would be used in food preparation (and I am distrustful of oils that stop rust and supposedly are non-toxic) and needed to be able to survive in a humid coastal sub-tropical to tropical climate, my latest purchases had all been custom and production stainless steel blades (440C, VG10, S30V) from 5 1/2 to 7 inches in length. The Satin Jack was in this category. I knew next to nothing about the INFI used in Satin Jack's until late November 2003. My research on INFI indicated that it was the equal of most stainless steels as far as corrosion resistance was concerned. Once I also read about how indestructible INFI was, I wanted one.
I eventually bought a second-hand refurbished 1/4 inch Satin Jack from Steeldriver. It was listed on the For Sale forums with the factory black nylon sheath and a David Brown kydex sheath. There are some really good photos of it back on the For Sale thread of 12/16/03. It only arrived yesterday so I haven't had a lot of time to test it. My first impression was WOW! This blade was bought by Steeldriver from Jerry Busse in late January 2002 and I think it was one of the last 1/4 inch SJ CG's made. I know that at least by March 2002, the Satin Jack's were 3/16 inch INFI.
Steeldriver gave his first impressions of the knife in a thread on 02/05/02. His first reaction was the same as mine; "This thing is THICK". My previous favourite production knife in this category was the Fallkniven A1 (which is still one of my favourites by the way). Compared to it this Satin Jack looked like what is commonly referred to as a sharpened prybar. It was strangely appealing. I knew I had a knife that I couldn't possibly break. I am yet to see how this works at slicing but I find the A1 acceptable for most uses (I didn't say perfect) and I see no reason why the Satin Jack won't be comparable to the A1 in this area. Experts will tell me that there are far better slicers than the A1 (and I agree) but it performs well enough for me for general usage - and as I said before - I like it - and that's the most important thing for me. Whether other knives are better in some categories becomes meaningless once you like a knife.
The next thing that caught my attention with the Satin Jack, after its thickness, was the perfect condition of this supposedly secondhand knife. Steeldriver had given this knife some hard use. In a thread on 05/13/02, he described how he had used it to hack through some old metal gutters. He eventually sent it back to Jerry Busse to be refurbished and it only recently came back to him as a near new knife. The coating is now desert tan, a penetrator tip was added, the spine and tang are fully polished, the brass bolts were replaced by silver-coloured bolts, and the asymmetrical edge is minty sharp. The linen micarta (which I think was originally black) was not replaced but had turned to a sandy green colour that perfectly matched the desert tan coating and fitted perfectly to the steel spine. The two sheaths provided were in pristine condition. In every respect, this was like buying a brand new knife. In fact, it was better than a brand new knife. Steeldriver described some minor flaws with this knife when new in the thread on 02/05/02. The talon hole and the lanyard hole had jagged metal protrusion in them, the micarta scales had sharp corners, and there was an uneven line between the coating and where the polished tang began. All of these are now non-existant problems and a David Brown kydex sheath thrown in as well.
The next thing I did was compare the Satin Jack to another very similar sized production knife I owned - the Fallkniven A1. I consider the A1 to be a near perfect production knife in this size range and therefore a good knife for comparison to the Satin Jack. The A1 is VG10, a reportedly very good stainless steel, and is also coated (black). I like coated knives because I read somewhere that no matter how stainless a steel is supposed to be, they will all corrode and their potential weak spot was under the grip material. The coating would protect in that area on both knives. My comparison is not quite in the same category as Cliff Stamp's, but more in the category of an amateurish casual collector/user.
First comparison - the looks department - the appeal factor. A lot of people don't seem to use this for comparison purposes, but for me it is one of the most important. If I like the looks, I will wear and use a knife no matter what others say about its usefulness. Both of these knives are A+ in this category but the winner by a small margin is the Satin Jack. It just looks smooth. If you don't understand, have a look at the photos of this knife back on the For Sale forum of 12/16/03.
Second comparison - comfort of the grip. Once again, both these knives are A+. This time the winner is the A1. I am one of those people who actually likes rubberised grip material over micarta (as an aside, I look forward to receiving my Basic 9 which has the Resiprene grip). I can't remember what the exact material of the A1 handle is but it is extremely comfortable and secure and completely covers the handle. Even when my hands have been sweaty, the A1 is easy to hold onto. Not that the linen micarta of the Satin Jack is bad. In fact it is the best of all the micarta gripped knives I own. But my personal preference is for the rubberised material of the A1. I also find the small guard on the A1 more secure than the small one on the Satin Jack. I found that the polished spine on the Satin Jack gave the impression that my thumb and forefinger did not have sufficient grip. It felt like they could slip on that polished spine. This was countered to some extent by the firmness of the grip of the back three fingers on the linen micarta. And, from what I have read, the Satin Jack has been tested by being thrust into various materials with no reports of the hand slipping up onto the blade, and I remember Steeldriver used this very knife to hack and slice metal gutter material - so maybe it's just my imagination.
Third comparison - balance in the hand. A dead heat! These knives weigh much the same (A1 - 309 grams; Satin Jack - 322 grams) and are approximately the same length. I find both are well balanced and highly manouverable. I don't regard either as a chopper, although both could be used for lightweight chopping if required. In Australia, the only time I have ever needed a chopper when bushwalking was when timber was wet and I needed to chop off the outer covering to get to the dry timber underneath (hence my purchase of the Busse Basic 9). But there is not a lot of this need as Australia is one of the driest continents on earth and dry ground timber is usually in plentiful supply. When bushwalking, the chopper is really only needed after recent rain and rarely justifies the increased weight in my opinion. Where I live, it rains hard for a time and then is dry for the rest of the year.
So how do the two compare overall. I love both these knives. I could have two A1's for the price of one Satin Jack, but then I have confidence that in the Satin Jack I have a near indestructible knife. Considering price and value for money, I am going to declare it a draw. I'd have no hesitation in recommending either knife to another person. I'm very happy with my Satin Jack. Both knives will last a life time and will get plenty of use. I know I am lucky to own both and I look forward to the arrival of the Basic 9.
Off topic - my previous knife collecting over the years had resulted in a good collection of Khukuries so I wasn't after a chopper. Although I might add that my lightest chopping khukuri weighed 18 ounces and I have recently bought another secondhand Busse (a Basic 9 at 14 ounces) that will hopefully extend my range of choppers. The Basic 9 is still in the process of making its way to me from the US.
I have in recent times been collecting knives that would complement the khukuries and because they would be used in food preparation (and I am distrustful of oils that stop rust and supposedly are non-toxic) and needed to be able to survive in a humid coastal sub-tropical to tropical climate, my latest purchases had all been custom and production stainless steel blades (440C, VG10, S30V) from 5 1/2 to 7 inches in length. The Satin Jack was in this category. I knew next to nothing about the INFI used in Satin Jack's until late November 2003. My research on INFI indicated that it was the equal of most stainless steels as far as corrosion resistance was concerned. Once I also read about how indestructible INFI was, I wanted one.
I eventually bought a second-hand refurbished 1/4 inch Satin Jack from Steeldriver. It was listed on the For Sale forums with the factory black nylon sheath and a David Brown kydex sheath. There are some really good photos of it back on the For Sale thread of 12/16/03. It only arrived yesterday so I haven't had a lot of time to test it. My first impression was WOW! This blade was bought by Steeldriver from Jerry Busse in late January 2002 and I think it was one of the last 1/4 inch SJ CG's made. I know that at least by March 2002, the Satin Jack's were 3/16 inch INFI.
Steeldriver gave his first impressions of the knife in a thread on 02/05/02. His first reaction was the same as mine; "This thing is THICK". My previous favourite production knife in this category was the Fallkniven A1 (which is still one of my favourites by the way). Compared to it this Satin Jack looked like what is commonly referred to as a sharpened prybar. It was strangely appealing. I knew I had a knife that I couldn't possibly break. I am yet to see how this works at slicing but I find the A1 acceptable for most uses (I didn't say perfect) and I see no reason why the Satin Jack won't be comparable to the A1 in this area. Experts will tell me that there are far better slicers than the A1 (and I agree) but it performs well enough for me for general usage - and as I said before - I like it - and that's the most important thing for me. Whether other knives are better in some categories becomes meaningless once you like a knife.
The next thing that caught my attention with the Satin Jack, after its thickness, was the perfect condition of this supposedly secondhand knife. Steeldriver had given this knife some hard use. In a thread on 05/13/02, he described how he had used it to hack through some old metal gutters. He eventually sent it back to Jerry Busse to be refurbished and it only recently came back to him as a near new knife. The coating is now desert tan, a penetrator tip was added, the spine and tang are fully polished, the brass bolts were replaced by silver-coloured bolts, and the asymmetrical edge is minty sharp. The linen micarta (which I think was originally black) was not replaced but had turned to a sandy green colour that perfectly matched the desert tan coating and fitted perfectly to the steel spine. The two sheaths provided were in pristine condition. In every respect, this was like buying a brand new knife. In fact, it was better than a brand new knife. Steeldriver described some minor flaws with this knife when new in the thread on 02/05/02. The talon hole and the lanyard hole had jagged metal protrusion in them, the micarta scales had sharp corners, and there was an uneven line between the coating and where the polished tang began. All of these are now non-existant problems and a David Brown kydex sheath thrown in as well.
The next thing I did was compare the Satin Jack to another very similar sized production knife I owned - the Fallkniven A1. I consider the A1 to be a near perfect production knife in this size range and therefore a good knife for comparison to the Satin Jack. The A1 is VG10, a reportedly very good stainless steel, and is also coated (black). I like coated knives because I read somewhere that no matter how stainless a steel is supposed to be, they will all corrode and their potential weak spot was under the grip material. The coating would protect in that area on both knives. My comparison is not quite in the same category as Cliff Stamp's, but more in the category of an amateurish casual collector/user.
First comparison - the looks department - the appeal factor. A lot of people don't seem to use this for comparison purposes, but for me it is one of the most important. If I like the looks, I will wear and use a knife no matter what others say about its usefulness. Both of these knives are A+ in this category but the winner by a small margin is the Satin Jack. It just looks smooth. If you don't understand, have a look at the photos of this knife back on the For Sale forum of 12/16/03.
Second comparison - comfort of the grip. Once again, both these knives are A+. This time the winner is the A1. I am one of those people who actually likes rubberised grip material over micarta (as an aside, I look forward to receiving my Basic 9 which has the Resiprene grip). I can't remember what the exact material of the A1 handle is but it is extremely comfortable and secure and completely covers the handle. Even when my hands have been sweaty, the A1 is easy to hold onto. Not that the linen micarta of the Satin Jack is bad. In fact it is the best of all the micarta gripped knives I own. But my personal preference is for the rubberised material of the A1. I also find the small guard on the A1 more secure than the small one on the Satin Jack. I found that the polished spine on the Satin Jack gave the impression that my thumb and forefinger did not have sufficient grip. It felt like they could slip on that polished spine. This was countered to some extent by the firmness of the grip of the back three fingers on the linen micarta. And, from what I have read, the Satin Jack has been tested by being thrust into various materials with no reports of the hand slipping up onto the blade, and I remember Steeldriver used this very knife to hack and slice metal gutter material - so maybe it's just my imagination.
Third comparison - balance in the hand. A dead heat! These knives weigh much the same (A1 - 309 grams; Satin Jack - 322 grams) and are approximately the same length. I find both are well balanced and highly manouverable. I don't regard either as a chopper, although both could be used for lightweight chopping if required. In Australia, the only time I have ever needed a chopper when bushwalking was when timber was wet and I needed to chop off the outer covering to get to the dry timber underneath (hence my purchase of the Busse Basic 9). But there is not a lot of this need as Australia is one of the driest continents on earth and dry ground timber is usually in plentiful supply. When bushwalking, the chopper is really only needed after recent rain and rarely justifies the increased weight in my opinion. Where I live, it rains hard for a time and then is dry for the rest of the year.
So how do the two compare overall. I love both these knives. I could have two A1's for the price of one Satin Jack, but then I have confidence that in the Satin Jack I have a near indestructible knife. Considering price and value for money, I am going to declare it a draw. I'd have no hesitation in recommending either knife to another person. I'm very happy with my Satin Jack. Both knives will last a life time and will get plenty of use. I know I am lucky to own both and I look forward to the arrival of the Basic 9.
