All About Pocket Knives

54 working hard cutting the cheese

Late to the thread here, but I recently got a 54 Big Jack in KSF's muslin micarta. My wife helped me pick out the color, and since I got it I like it a lot more than I thought I would. It looks much better in person than in the pictures and I'm really happy with it. No complaints whatsoever! It's in my EDC rotation and I carry it in a belt sheath, but I do that for almost all my knives (including my little #14 Boy's Knife!) because I don't like much in my pockets. There were a bunch of Big Jacks in red river acrylic still available, but I just wasn't feeling the acrylic. There were even some of the cougar claw bones still out there, and now you're making me second guess the micarta. But I like it for EDC.

I got the Big Jack instead of the new #81 bull moose because I wasn't feeling the upended serpentine thing. The 81 reminds me too much of my Buck 301 stockman, whose skinny dogleg looking handle just bugs me. But I wanted a stockman with thick non-crinked blades and the 301 fit the bill. Anyway, back to the 54, I can see why they call it a Big Jack. It's very generous and confident in the hand, and I love both blade shapes. I can't decide how I want to divide up cutting tasks between them. I randomly open one or the other to do different things. Turns out being more fun that way!

Lee

This is a #53, Equal End, Double End Jack. 531213, same frame as #54, so a good opportunity to show it off.
kj

That is an outstanding knife kj.

Yes thank you. I was lucky to get it. I really like slender knives, so 2 blades, one spring is the set up i like best.
kj

WOW!!! Very NICE KJ... SWEETT!!! John

Thanks John. This 54 and a few other GEC & Queen with ivory handles are all knives that were posted on dealer websites for days and often weeks before i bought them. They were acquired between 12-24 months ago. Now with the ban on ivory there seems to be an increase in demand. Any GEC with mammoth now gets snapped up in minutes and i think this elephant ivory one would too. I am lucky to have bought them when i did because now i would have to be in the right place at the right time and still have to compete with other want to be buyers.
kj

That 53 is sweet! I bet it's a fair bit thinner than the 2 blade 54's

A couple weeks ago I scratched an itch and picked up one of the muslin micarta big jacks from KSF.
Only gripe is the blades were a bit lazy on the close (getting better with use) and that the secondary blade is awkward to open with the nick on the back side. opening it feels "reversed". I find I like the #35 I picked up more as a result, despite it being smaller.

I might have to dig around for one of those 53's

Adam, is your #54 a 2 spring or 1 spring knife ?
My #53 above has secondary nail nick on back side and i find it just as 'handy' as having both nicks on front side.
kj

two spring. The difference in usage is which end the blade pivots on - the 54 I have has both blades pivoting from the same end of the knife. I'm right handed, so usually when opening a knife I hold in my left hand, then pull the blade up and out with my right. When the 2nd blade is on the opposite end like your 53, the secondary blade opens with the exact same motion, even though the pull is on the back side (because the blade/pivot is in the same orientation when you open it as the main blade is)

With both pivots at the same end, the opening action of the secondary blade is weird. I either have to open it left handed, or open it "down and out"

If that makes any sense

Opening the big spear is different, but I think I"m so used to those Case Barlows (secondary pen nick on pile side almost all the time) that it never was a problem for me.

My EDC oily creek bone Big Jack had good, but not gator-like, snap out of the box. I will admit I half-expected both springs to be just immense and create finger-chopping snap but as a functional pocketknife it is more than fine. Doesn't suffer from the complaint some of the 35s prompted about the snap not "kicking in" until the angle of the blade was very small already...my oily creek 54 closes basically right after the half stop on either blade.

I have found that having a big clip and spear on the same knife (like the 54 or the new Maher & Grosh Yankee Whittler) tends to limit my choices in the smaller knife I generally carry in the watch pocket. Thankfully I've always got my EO sheepsfoot 25 if I need a good little cutter that vanishes in the jeans.

Darksev wrote: A couple weeks ago I scratched an itch and picked up one of the muslin micarta big jacks from KSF.

Darksev - Aren't you glad you did? I certainly don't regret getting my muslin micarta 54. I was going to post a pic but you beat me to it. That's a good looking pocket slip you've got there. Did you make it yourself?

Lee

It's a great knife. My non - slipjoint EDC knives are almost always larger, and the 54 is basically the same size as my go to carry Emerson mini A100. The slip was something I tossed together to keep them from getting banged up in my pockets