Search & Rescue Knife Review

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Sep 17, 2009
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Recently Stomper (John) from JK Handmade Knives held a contest for his second anniversary in the custom knife making business. John wanted all forum members from Blade Forums to submit designs for his second anniversary knife. I submitted a design I had in mind for about a year now on what I felt would be a good knife for Search & Rescue operations or hunting/woodland adventures. I’ve been involved in Law Enforcement S&R (my career) and before that with my local fire department for 18 years now. Like many of you I grew up in the woods and love hiking and hunting. I asked John to make this knife for me and he didn’t disappoint. He nailed it as usual.

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My design involved a knife with a 4” blade and a 4 1/2 “ handle. I also wanted to have a backup single row saw tooth back in case it was needed. I wanted a very sharp point on this knife and John did his usual EXTREME sharp blade on his knife. Damn sharp!

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Notice under the makers stamp I also had John put an integral fire steel striker. I never liked the idea of trying to use the "back" of the blade or definitely not the blade itself.
The single row saw teeth zipped right through wood I grabbed from my back yard as a test today. Think melted butter.

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I also had John drill a 3/16 x 2.5” hole in the handle (think Swiss Army Knife toothpick) for a fire steel to be slipped in.

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I also wanted a double lanyard layout in case the knife had to be lashed to a stick for a spear or similar setup.

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Another thing I asked for was a kydex sheath that could be utilized horizontal or vertical carry based on the equipment I had at any given moment.

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The handles are strong black canvas micarta and the knife is solid 01 steel that is heat treated to a level of strength that is impressive. It fits your hand perfectly.

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Overall this is a solid package that John put together. It’s rare to be able to draw up a design you have in your head and have someone that can make it a reality exactly the way you meant. John did this and I think this knife is perfect for wood use especially for Search & Rescue.
If you get a chance stop by his website at http://www.jkhandmadeknives.com or his forum over at bladeforums.com. This guy is damn good and can make your design into a reality. He also has a nice line up of knives at very reasonable prices.
I looked around for years and like many others here purchased knifes from SOG, Buck, Case, etc. but when you have a knife made to your specs….there’s NOTHING like that! WOOSHA!
I'll be posting updates on this knife as I use it. Monday I'm heading out on a hike and I'll be sure to update.
Stay Safe!
 
That looks like it will do the job nicely. I love the handle size on it.
 
Very cool. Only I'd change is move the saw forward so there is a resting spot for thumb.
 
I just got home from my grandaughter`s preschool graduation and saw this. Nice review :thumbup:
 
She's going out in the woods with me Monday so more to follow.
Love this one!
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::)
 
Hi mrbear -

Very cool design!

That is a well thought out knife with a lot of useful design features.

Great pictures of it as well!

I will remember to put a link to the JK site on my reviews in the future.

Thanks for the great review!

best regards -

mqqn
 
Does the firesteel stay in the handle? Never had a saw backed knife, but I bet they are pretty darn handy on a large knife.
 
Yes, the fire steel slides into the handle and 1/2" sticks out for you to grab and pull it out. Similar to the toothpick/tweezers concept on the Swiss Army Knives.
It holds standard 3/16 x 2.5" fire steels. They are super cheap and last a good bit so when it eventually does wear down and maybe become a little loose, I just toss it and throw a new steel in.
:)
 
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Hi mrbear -

Now that is getting the knife out there!

When will it be on headline news??! :thumbup: :p

I like the idea of posting the master list of all the reviews here in Stompers blade forums area.

Thanks for doing that, and I will do the same with all of the reviews I do in the future.

I looked at each thread you posted - great job!

best regards -

mqqn
 
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