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The latest run is from GEC, I have two, smooth white bone & amber carved bone. you might want to get one before they sell out.
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Northwoods Indian River Jack or Scagel Fruitport or ???
- Thread starter doppiodan
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Crazy Canuck
Singing along with the voices in my head
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Are you certain the latest run is from GEC? I'm pretty sure they're still through Queen. I thought the reason Queen made the IRJ, is because they were willing to work with the modern steels.
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Derrick responded to a thread several weeks ago and I seem to remember him replying that the IRJ is made by Queen. I do not mean to offend the fans of Queen cutlery but reports of fit and finish issues have made me hesitant to purchase one of their products. I also bought a micarta Country Cousin of theirs a few months ago and I was not impressed with that knife.
My understanding is that the IRJ is made by Queen. GEC manufacturing is a reason why I decided to get the Fruitport. Well, and Derrick really strong-armed me into it. Can't wait for it to arrive! I would love to see an IRJ with a Scagel slot and CPM154. This would be my ideal knife. But with my luck the price would be out of reach.
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The Presidential was the one made by GEC, the IRJ by Queen. I have no issues with the F&F on my two. Maybe I just got lucky.
Crazy Canuck
Singing along with the voices in my head
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- Nov 24, 2013
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The Presidential was the one made by GEC, the IRJ by Queen. I have no issues with the F&F on my two. Maybe I just got lucky.
I like your bottom one. I have the same one, and love it! There's a couple gaps in the liners, but it doesn't affect operation at all. One of my favorites!
Update: I received the Scagel Fruitport clip point in the mail today. I could barely contain my excitement opening the bag. It came in the KSF slip which I think I'm really going to like. I gently squeezed the sides and knife came smoothly sliding out. It's much smaller in the hand than I had imagined, although I knew it would not be a hand-filling knife. The F&F are about what I expected - excellent, solid construction and well-built. No big gaps anywhere, with a decent level of finishing. Opening is a dream! Easy to pinch open, with or without the fantastic Scagel slot. I am not qualified to rate the pull in the way many here are, but based on the limited experience I have with traditionals, I would rate it a 6 on pull strength. The thing is, it's extremely easy to open because there's no nail nick trying to bend my nail. Walk and talk are outstanding - very smooth, and the half stop is perfect! The backspring is way not flush at the half stop. Do I care? No. It is nice and flush open and closed. It will look sweet as a patina develops against the nickel silver (I think) bolster and stainless liners.
The blade is interesting, both impressive and disappointing. The convex grind is something which drew me to this knife, but for all my built-up hopes, the grind is not very good on mine. There's a big flat spot on the left side near the tip. Also, there is a lot more upsweep than I had hoped. The only downside to this for me is difficulty in sharpening. I honed the blade on the white Sharpmaker stones at 40 deg inclusive and it is shaving sharp for now. As usual, the 1095 is addictively responsive to the stones. I'm thinking I will use sandpaper on a mouse pad to maintain the convex as necessary, and use the 40 deg setting on the Sharpmaker to maintain the primary bevel.
The blade is quite thick at the spine, lending a solid feel and excellent balance in the hand. I keep reaching into my pocket to retrieve the slip, take the knife out, and admire it. It's exactly what I was looking for - excellent quality, fantastic geometry, beautiful, non-threatening, great walk and talk, but no so precious or flashy that I don't want to use it. I use all of my knives - not hard except for some of my non-traditional knives, but I don't have any safe queens. Rest assured, this little beauty will get a lot of pocket time and low-key use.
For now, I wiped down with mineral oil and removed the excess. I'm biding my time on how to treat the blade - I may let if go au naturel for a bit, let it develop patina, then arrest it somehow. But for now I'm going to try to leave it pristine.
Overall, I am stoked with the purchase. It was pricey but delivered on the promise of quality and ergonomics. The Scagel slot is truly amazing - it transforms the agony of opening (I have several traditionals which are nearly impossible to open, even after repeated attempts to remedy) into the pure joy of snick, snick. If you have every driven a Mazda Miata or Honda S2000, you know what I mean. It's a quality tool and I'm looking forward to many year of use. This will be my primary knife at work, riding in my RFP in the slip, incognito, until called into action to slay an apple, loose thread, halve a sandwich, or just be admired.
The buying experience and personal input from Derrick at KSF was also a huge factor. What a cool guy and to take the time to participate in this forum, go on knife podcasts, etc. really shows he has passion for the industry. I am a loyal customer of such enterprises and feel fortunate to have gotten the last clip point model. Wish I could also get a Wharncliffe but a man's got to know his limitations.
Only problem: it has whetted my appetite for more - if a knife with this handle shape can be this good, how sweet would it be to have a slightly taller handle (think Indian River Jack, Freemont Jack) , blade with larger-radius, minimum belly, CTX-XHP blade, half stop, and Scagel slot? Oh baby, I'm getting excited just thinking about it! No, a custom is not currently in the cards.
The blade is interesting, both impressive and disappointing. The convex grind is something which drew me to this knife, but for all my built-up hopes, the grind is not very good on mine. There's a big flat spot on the left side near the tip. Also, there is a lot more upsweep than I had hoped. The only downside to this for me is difficulty in sharpening. I honed the blade on the white Sharpmaker stones at 40 deg inclusive and it is shaving sharp for now. As usual, the 1095 is addictively responsive to the stones. I'm thinking I will use sandpaper on a mouse pad to maintain the convex as necessary, and use the 40 deg setting on the Sharpmaker to maintain the primary bevel.
The blade is quite thick at the spine, lending a solid feel and excellent balance in the hand. I keep reaching into my pocket to retrieve the slip, take the knife out, and admire it. It's exactly what I was looking for - excellent quality, fantastic geometry, beautiful, non-threatening, great walk and talk, but no so precious or flashy that I don't want to use it. I use all of my knives - not hard except for some of my non-traditional knives, but I don't have any safe queens. Rest assured, this little beauty will get a lot of pocket time and low-key use.
For now, I wiped down with mineral oil and removed the excess. I'm biding my time on how to treat the blade - I may let if go au naturel for a bit, let it develop patina, then arrest it somehow. But for now I'm going to try to leave it pristine.
Overall, I am stoked with the purchase. It was pricey but delivered on the promise of quality and ergonomics. The Scagel slot is truly amazing - it transforms the agony of opening (I have several traditionals which are nearly impossible to open, even after repeated attempts to remedy) into the pure joy of snick, snick. If you have every driven a Mazda Miata or Honda S2000, you know what I mean. It's a quality tool and I'm looking forward to many year of use. This will be my primary knife at work, riding in my RFP in the slip, incognito, until called into action to slay an apple, loose thread, halve a sandwich, or just be admired.
The buying experience and personal input from Derrick at KSF was also a huge factor. What a cool guy and to take the time to participate in this forum, go on knife podcasts, etc. really shows he has passion for the industry. I am a loyal customer of such enterprises and feel fortunate to have gotten the last clip point model. Wish I could also get a Wharncliffe but a man's got to know his limitations.
Only problem: it has whetted my appetite for more - if a knife with this handle shape can be this good, how sweet would it be to have a slightly taller handle (think Indian River Jack, Freemont Jack) , blade with larger-radius, minimum belly, CTX-XHP blade, half stop, and Scagel slot? Oh baby, I'm getting excited just thinking about it! No, a custom is not currently in the cards.