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.
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!
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.
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.
I also wanted a double lanyard layout in case the knife had to be lashed to a stick for a spear or similar setup.
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.
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.
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!
First Headblade shave tonight guys.........been using a Mac h 3 for a month now. Post reviews on that too later
Hopefully it goes good.
