Tiny knife shootout - repost from BCUSA

M

machine26

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Sep 3, 2009
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Wanted to do a tiny knife shootout so here ya go, enjoy. :D

Here are the contenders: JK fire kit knife, Turley 23 and the Buck Smidgeon. Note how similar the JK and Turley are, I wasn't even thinking of this when I purchased the Turley, I reckon they'd be considered roach bellies.
tinygroupshotk.jpg


Spine shot. L-R: Buck, JK, Turley, as you can see the Turley is the thickest of the group followed by the JK then the Buck.
tinyspines.jpg


First test, notches.
JK - Great all around knife, slices wonderfully, comfortable handles(as much as I get to hold anyway), performed well for notches.
Turley - Took a nice sharp edge, slices well. Feels fine at first while using but gets uncomfortable quickly. When batonning into the wood for make the first slice it wants to spread the wood apart very quickly due to the thick grind. Overall it did well for notches.
Buck - Sliced great with the thin grind. Jimping absolutely destroyed my thumb, honestly I didn't even wanna finish this with this knife, it was painful. Overall impressions: I'd use it if it were all I had.
tinyknifenotches.jpg


Batonning.
JK - Did as well as can be expected for such a tiny knife, shock from the baton didn't hurt, no damage and got the job done.
Turley - Shock while batonning hurt my hand a bit but its thick edge helped in batonning, did fine, as above no damage.
Buck - Catastrophic failure, broke batonning the 2nd piece. Was batonning straight, easily splittable wood with no knots.
batonfinished.jpg

buckbroke.jpg


Drilling.
Turley - I was able to finish the hole, wasn't very quick due to the blade shape, gets alot of belly quickly. Slipped while drilling and cut the #### out of myself. Poor thumb, blister and a cut, need to give this fella a break.
JK - As above, finished the whole not too quick. Handle was a bit more comfortable to use but otherwise identical.
tinyholesdrilled.jpg


Fishing Spear.
JK - Got the job done but took forever. Being comfortable to use was a plus.
Turley - This knife is sharper than the JK at this point so it made for a better carver.

Batonning to length.
jkfishspear1.jpg


Starting the spear tines.
jkfishspear2.jpg


Spear Finished.
jkfishspear3.jpg


Finished spear with the Turley.
turley23fishspear.jpg



Overall impressions. They worked, for the most part. If I had to use one on a regular basis I would choose the JK, as it's more comfortable, of course if I needed one specifically for a small survival kit I would go with the Turley, it's a bit less comfortable but its alot thinner and can be stowed easier.

That's it for now, if you'd like to see some specific tests I'll be more than happy.

ETA: Positive about not having handles on the Turley: I can beat at any point on the knife and not worry about breaking handle scales.
 
Thanks, John. I'll tell ya what, I've never done such a painful review. That buck tore my hand up lol.
 
Dang machine! That is really taking one for the review!

Thanks for your review - very interesting.

Too bad for the Buck.

best

mqqn
 
just seeing this. that's a great review machine. thanks for doing it. hope your hand has recovered.
 
Thanks for your observations and taking the time to post them.

I'd seen those little buck knives and had wondered about them, now I know. Too bad it's painful to use and broke.

That JK handle looks good with the yellow liners, and I'm sure actually having a handle helps with comfort.
 
Nice work on the review. Too bad about the Buck but glad to know how it performed (or didn't) as that was one that was on "the list".
 
The smidgeon always worked well for EDC, reckon I just overestimated it's capabilities.

Wondering whos bright idea to use that agressive jimping though, made it absolutely painful for the simplest carving tasks.

shockjockey - I borrowed the knife from my dad lol, gave it back to him along with a replacement.
 
fair enough...thought id ask :D I got a broken condor golok once, that turned into a decent knife (it snapped right in front of the handle) thanks for responding!
 
Great review! I'm not surprised that the JK did so well. It's sad to see the Buck couldn't hold up to light batonning. A fella on a tight budget might wanna check out the Kabar Johnson Adventure Piggyback. It's a little under $10 shipped. I'll try mine out next time I make it out camping. Of course, I will also have a couple JK's along as well!
 
The Hartsook version of the Smidgen is S30V (model 860) & sharpens up way better than the 420 Smidgen(model 160) & I doubt it'll break from battoning,but the darn handle is pretty much worthless as you now know.

Great review of some little knives machine.
Now you got me thinking of putting scales on my Hartsook.
 
Rob> Thanks bud, I agree that the piggyback(and remora for that matter) are great little knives, I would've included em in the testing but they dwarf these other tiny knives.

Mykel> Thanks, when you do put handles on it make sure to share pics. :D

ETA: hhmm...maybe I can do a shootout between the piggyback, remora and JK EDC...or maybe that'd be too unfair.
 
machine26 said:
Rob> Thanks bud, I agree that the piggyback(and remora for that matter) are great little knives, I would've included em in the testing but they dwarf these other tiny knives.

Mykel> Thanks, when you do put handles on it make sure to share pics. :D

ETA: hhmm...maybe I can do a shootout between the piggyback, remora and JK EDC...or maybe that'd be too unfair.
Click to expand...
We'll see,I'm not sure that little blade is worth the effort though.
 
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