Well I got my replacement to the RR Dogleg Jack that I sent back a couple days ago. Instead of chancing another of the exact same model, I found what they are calling a Mini-Canoe lockback that I liked a little better instead.
It's a weird little critter. It is part of the Dogleg Jack line which means that the body sort of bend up like a dog's leg. I have seen this before, but I thought that the bend went the other way on most other manufacturers
Anyway, it's a pretty handy little design with its locking spear blade and a spey on the other side. It's a small knife. Not one that is likely to displace my medium stockman as my EDC, but it's a nice little knife that might find its way into my pocket when I need to pack something smaller. The more I play around with it, the more I might carry it instead of the Barlow I picked up last week.
Here's a pic of it next to my EDC medium Case stockman. The goofy lanyard and Pandora bead are already cut off the knife. It's neat idea, but that crap always get in the way. I'm not big on lanyards of any kind on anything, really.
But the big question: Is it any better than the disappointing floppy 3 bladed Dogleg Jack? Short answer: Yes
While the walk and talk on the main blade doesn't exactly sing, it doesn't flop open with a mild flick of my wrist and locks up with next to no blade play in any direction. It's more than good enough for a $13 knife. The spey doesn't have quite the nailbusting resistance of the one I sent back. However, I'm guessing that was because the other one had a pen and sheepsfoot on a single spring. Fit and finish are very good for such an inexpensive knife. The bone scales match well enough, and there is only a little bit of a gap between the scale and bolster on one side, and that's probably due to the dramatic angle making it hard to match everything back up 100% Once again, for 13 smackers...not bad at all. There is a little bit more of a gap where the lock spring meets the rest of the back spring, but it doesn't seem to be a failure point.
The blades are sharp enough for most, but I prefer to get my edges sharp enough to give a lightsaber the willies. The steel feels soft enough that I should be able to make hair popping with little effort
I like the little Dogleg Jack embossed on the main blade, but the whole 440 razor shape steel lettering on the reverse side is getting polished off because I think it looks stupid
So, color me a casual fan
I still want a nice Case or GEC for my birthday, but when I get the new knife itch, I think picking up a RR to play with is going to be just the ticket
