Okay, finally got the chance to take a couple JK Knives out with me camping. Last week was my dad's funeral, so I took some vacation time so that my brother and I could head up to the Black Hills camping afterward to unwind and get some perspective. When my siblings and I were little, Mom & Dad would take up to the Hills to fish and camp. We always loved the trips! Be it Sheridan Lake, Pactola or Deerfield we always had a good time. Sitting around the fire my brother and I could feel Dad sitting by the fire with us. That was something I'd been sorely needing.

The last knife that John made for Dad was called the "Chipmunk Chopper" IIRC. Dad's health was too poor to try it out, but I promised him that I'd take it with me on my next trip and give it a good shakedown. Sadly Dad passed before he ever got a chance to handle the knife...but true to my word, I finally got the opportunity to get it dirty on my last trip to Palisades State Park.

Okay! A few pics! From left to right: JK Chipmunk, a JK that I'm embarrassed to say I can't name , my RAT 7 and my Ontario SP-8.




One of the Chipmunk in action!




Another...




Here are two shots of the other JK.







Here's a couple of the RAT 7 & SP 8.








This was the first time I had the opportunity to actually use any of John's fine knives, and I was not disappointed! As most of you guys know John does great work. The fit and finish is very good and the ergonomics are exceptional. Again, with apologies for notknowing the model name/number, the knife with the orange G10 scales did a great job of batonning wood! The blade is shorter than I normally use for that (and a tad shorter than my RAT 7) but the 1/4" or so thick spine blasted wood apart. I had to use the RAT 7 on some pieces that the JK wasn't long enough to span but I give the JK very high marks!

The Chipmunk was very interesting! It didn't do a very good job of splitting wider chunks; the rounded shape of the tip caused blows on the tip to drive the blade not only down but back out of the wood. Not a big deal since it was designed to chop...and that it did very well! It made relatively short work of an old post I found by the river.




All in all it was a lot of fun to finally get to use them. I have several more in the que waiting their turn. Hopefully I can get some dirt time in over the next couple days and take a few different JK Knives with me.