Why you need to buy a JK Knife

outdoorsfan

outdoorsfan

Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Messages
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When you buy a JK Knife, what are you really buying? Well, a knife is the obvious answer but a knife is just the start. You are also buying an individual, hand-made piece of art. There may be others like yours, same pattern, same handle materials but there will be slight differences that will make yours unique. This is not to say that JK's are inconsistent, but they are also not laser cut, CNC milled nor assembled from pre-cut components. You also get to select from a wide variety of patterns, from John's interpretations of classic blades like the Kephart and Nesmuk to an ever-expanding colection of customer-produced designs like the KY Fieldmate, JDS1's new Potowatami neck knife and many others. Want a Kephart with a thicker blade and 1" longer handle? Done. Want a Nesmuk shrunk down to "elven" proportions? Done. Want to produce a design of your own that combines a knife and hatchet into a do-all field tool? JK is your man.

There are other artisans producing knives that will do some (or all) of these things and produce knives of elegant line and excellent function, this is true. There is one other area that JK Knives is undoubtedly at the top of as well and that measure is service. While other makers may match him, I can say with complete confidence that there is no one that surpasses him. I recently broke the stitching on the belt loop of my KY Fieldmate sheath (it was really my own fault, not paying attention). I contacted John and he told me to mail it to him for repair. I sent him the sheath this past Saturday and received an email from him today that he had not only received the sheath this morning, it was already repaired and ready for pick-up at the Gathering this Saturday. What more could you ask for than a man who stands behind his work 100%, no questions asked?

If you love knives and enjoy using quality tools that have a "heart and soul" you owe it to yourself to buy a JK. While I have never seen a written version of the JK warranty policy, it could be written easily with only a single word. That word is "integrity"!
 
You said it man. :thumbup:

I am new to the JK world but I have already received a fantastic knife in the form of a Michigan Trail Knife. Be it a jds1 design the craftsmanship is second to none. Even with our 15 plus emails John never failed to respond ASAP and I never hesitated to ask a question or make a request. I am truly appreciative that there is such a wonderful resource for custom steel here on the forum that is always willing to help out the little guy. I say do yourself a favor and pick out a JK knife and make it yours.

Jeff
 
I concur.

John is an outstanding individual who makes incredible knives. Everyone should own a couple of his knives - those who don't are missing out.
 
I also am new to the JK family, but have just placed an order for what will be my 3rd JK knife in about 2 months. I can vouch for the prompt email responses, and attention to detail and quality in his products. If I only had more money to spend...:(

:thumbup: to JK knives!

Glenn
 
I totally agree, I have three JK Knives two Kepharts and a Bushcrafter all of which are of the highest
quality. John's customer service is the best, he will do what ever it takes to make you the knife you
want even if it means changing one of his own patterns to your specifications. If you want do design your own he is happy and eager to assist you.

I have spent lots of money on knives over the years, but John's knives are the best value I have encountered. Cheers to Outdoorsfan for starting this thread
 
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John is my "knife guy". Whenever I want a new knife made, he is the one I call.

Jeff
 
Hi Sean -

What you also get is a friend. A friend who will invite you to his house and roll out the red carpet. A friend who is generous and always willing to help you out.

One other thing that I would add, I have NEVER heard of a JK knife that broke or was damaged beyond repair. I have seen some pretty rough stuff done to John's knives, but not one of them has been broken.

I am very proud when I tell my friends that these wonderful knives and tools they are looking at were hand-crafted by my Friend, John.

best regards -

mqqn
 
Thanks to all for your nice comments, it really helps to hear these sort of things. Even though I have not met most of you, except through here and emails, it`s good to call you my friends.
 
Right now I have 40 of John's knives in front of me. His work is incredible! There really is "soul" in his steel. It's probably cheating on my part because these beautiful blades belonged to my dad, who recently passed. But I will be adding to the collection one day.
 
I'll throw my 2 cents into this thread. I only have one JK knife but I think that John offers a very good product at a very reasonable price. Like others mentioned above, I too have no doubt of the mans integrity or his willingness to stand behind his product. I recently had John modify the knife that he made me. I won't go into the details (and I use the word modify because it wasn't a warranty or repair issue), but I'll quote John from one of his emails, "I just want happy customers". What else can you say?
 
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