Christmas is fast approaching, and if you’re like me then your gift list still has people without checks next to their names. However, at this point you might be getting a little tapped out. You’ve got lots of friends and family that you’re excited to give presents, but they don’t come free!
So, in this article I will recommend three great options of budget friendly knives that make great gifts. These are all modern knives with one hand opening, pocket clips, and locks. I have owned or handled several of each of these, so I am confident in their overall quality, especially considering they’re all under $30!
Byrd Cara Cara 2
The Cara Cara in a stainless steel handle is a great canvas for engraving
Byrd is Spyderco’s budget brand. They’re made in China with less exotic materials than the typical Spyderco, but they seem to be held to a high standard of quality control for their price point. I have actually examined 6 of these, and I’ve been honestly shocked at the consistent quality across all of them. They’ve all had smooth action, solid lock up, and good centering (not all 100% perfect, but none close to rubbing the handles). The Cara Cara 2 is the Byrd version of Spyderco’s well known and loved Endura. It has a 3.75″ blade, which provides ample cutting edge. It comes in several different blade shapes including the classic Endura-like drop point, a serrated sheepfoot, and a spear point with an Emerson Wave Opener. The handles are either fiberglass reinforced nylon, which come in several colors, or stainless steel. I particularly like the stainless steel, and it’s great for engraving. I find the handle to be very ergonomic; honestly it feels better in my hand than that of the Endura. The blade steel is 8cr13mov; lower edge retention and corrosion resistance than the VG10 of an Endura but still very capable and easy to sharpen. The Byrd Cara Cara is a great option if you like the Spyderco aesthetic and emphasis on utility, and offers a great value at around $30. You can find it at many dealers and Amazon, but there are a lot of options available at DLT Trading. There is also a smaller, Delica sized, version called the Meadowlark.
Ontario Rat 1
The Rat 1 with another classic, the Case Trapper
The Ontario Rat 1 is one of the most commonly recommended budget knives. It’s a classic that has been proven to be of high quality. I think I’ve had 3 through the years, and I’ve given at least 3 as gifts. They’ve all come well centered, with no blade play, and smooth. The Rat 1 has an almost straight backed drop point design with a lot of straight edge and an abrupt belly, at about 3.6″. This blade shape works fine for pretty much any usage, and is very similar to that on the classic Sod Buster pattern, although I do prefer blade shapes with less abrupt a belly. The blade steel is Aus8, on which Ontario seems to have really dialed in the heat treat. Mine have always held an edge extremely well, and I’ve seen them stand up to some real abuse. The Rat 1 is right around $30, although it can sometimes be found on sale for less, and most dealers carry it including Amazon. It is available at this link at KnifeCenter, where you can also find the smaller version the Rat 2.
Kershaw Thistle
Nice lines for an inexpensive knife
The Thistle is an interesting model from Kershaw that I really enjoy. I have had a couple of these and have gifted a good several, so I’ve gotten to look over 7. They all had solid lockup and smooth action. 5 of them had perfect or close enough centering, and 2 were a bit off but nowhere near rubbing the handles. The Thistle has a somewhat unique modified liner lock where you push a button on the handle that pushes a bar across and unlocks the liner. This lock allows you to close the knife without putting your fingers in the path of the blade, unlike a normal liner lock. The thing I really like about this knife though, is its design. The handle is nice and simple with great ergonomics and a good bit of grippiness with Kershaw’s “K-Texture”. The blade is a very practical drop point with a good section of straight edge then a nice long sweeping belly. It fits a considerable amount of edge into the handle also, although it’s shorter than the others on this list at 3.25″. The blade steel is 8cr13mov, like on the Cara Cara. Another great thing about the Thistle is that it’s on sale pretty much everywhere! I got mine for Christmas gifts from Smoky Mountain Knife Works at only $9 each, but I think this knife is EASILY worth $30 and offers a similar value as the others on this list.
I sincerely thank you for your time, support, and interest! Don’t forget to tell your friends about KnifeThoughts.com, subscribe via email, and share this article on social media. You can find Knife Thoughts on YouTube where I have hundreds of knife videos, as well as on Instagram and Facebook! You can find all my latest links at LinkTr.ee/KnifeThoughts
T(oo)L(ong);D(idn’t)R(ead)? Here’s my YouTube review of the #86 Oil Field Jack!
Recently Great Eastern Cutlery began producing its first run of the new #86 pattern. The #86 is a jumbo jack pattern, which basically means it’s an enlarged version of the classic swell end jack shape like that found on a #15 or #77. GEC has named this pattern the Oil Field Jack, and it’s a fitting name. This hefty pocket knife would be right at home in the oil fields.
The jumbo jack is a pattern that has been around for a long time, but isn’t as well known as others. It’s an enlarged swell end jack, usually over 3.75″ closed. The GEC version is 3.875″ closed. They tend to have thicker handles. This is in part due to the more rounded covers, and in part to the fact that they are most often two bladed. The blades can even be ground from thicker stock than a typical jack. For example, according to Charlie Campagna, the #86 tangs are about .1″ wide, whereas a GEC #15’s tangs are about .09″. Interestingly, vintage jumbo jacks tend to have spear point main blades with pen secondaries, but the #86 has a clip point main and slender sheepfoot secondary. All of it comes together in the #86 to make an unusually hefty jack knife that is inspired by, but not a direct copy, of vintage jumbo jacks.
The #86 compared to a #78, #77, and #15 (from right to left)
Great Eastern Cutlery is making the #86 in several iterations. They’re making them under both their Tidioute and Northfield in-house brands, as well as some Special Factory Orders. The Tidioute versions all feature a quite unique, and appropriate to the name, wrench shield. They are being made with Oil Sucker Rod Wood, Natural Canvas Micarta, and Oily Creek Bone. The Northfield version will come in Autumn Gold Jigged Bone, Tortoise Shell Acrylic, and Sambar Stag. There will also be an SFO for Gunstock Jack’s Knives in Bloodwood with Bowtie shield, and for JSR Sports & More in Burnt Chocolate Peach Seed Jigged Bone with Propeller shield. Finally, there will be two more unique (and difficult to get) versions of the #86. First, the traditional knives subforum of BladeForums has ordered their yearly club knife on the #86 frame with a single saber ground sheepfoot blade, African Blackwood handles, and Bomb shield. At this point the only way to purchase that version is through the secondary market, as all have been pre-ordered months in advance. Second, Charlie Campagna is having a Waynorth Cutlery Black Jack produced. It will have a clip point main with more emphasized swedges and a pen secondary, Gabon Ebony Wood handles, and a Banner shield. You still might be able to get one of these by emailing the dealers through whom Charlie sells his SFOs, a list of which you can find at this link. The Waynorth Black Jack will probably be the most sought after of the #86s. With so many exciting versions of the #86 pattern coming soon, everybody should be able to find one they want!
The “jumbo-ness” really shows in the thickness. It’s thicker, due to the rounded covers, than a Case full sized trapper.
The first released Oil Field Jacks seem to be selling quickly, but you should be able to get one in your preferred handle material. This will be a relatively large run in regard to production numbers. However, GEC has been shipping knives to dealers in batches. This practice is both good and bad; good because it allows for more chances to get the knife you want, bad because it causes more scramble and makes the knives seem more scarce. As of this writing, all of the Tidioute versions have been released but if you act quick you should still be able to get at least an Oily Creek Bone model. There are some Natural Canvas Micarta versions still arriving at dealers, and maybe a couple Oil Sucker Rod Wood stragglers. None of the Northfield versions have been released yet, and they can be purchased from any of the GEC dealers (which you can find a list of at this link), so there’s definitely still time to get one. I think both the Sambar Stag and Tortoise Shell Acrylic will look awesome on this jumbo jack pattern; the stag because the big wide handles will give plenty of room to show off the unique character of each piece, and the tortoise because I just like the somewhat bold and garish look of that acrylic style. I’m sure the Autumn Gold Jigged Bone will be nice also, I just don’t get as excited about that particular dye color and jigging as some. I am probably most excited about the Waynorth Cutlery Black Jack (aside from / along with the one I already have). Not only will it be the most similar to vintage jumbo jacks with its long pulls, swedges, and Gabon Ebony Wood handles, it will also have that particular styling that Charlie brings to his SFOs that have made them so popular amongst collectors.
Compared to some well known knives, the Ontario Rat 1 and Case Trapper.
I got the Oil Sucker Rod Wood #86 Oil Field Jack. This is a knife I knew I had to check out as soon as it was announced. I already really have and enjoy a few other knives with the Oil Sucker Rod Wood covers. The Oil Sucker Rod Wood is reclaimed from the area around Great Eastern Cutlery. An oil sucker rod is part of the oil drilling process and the piece of equipment that pulls the oil up out of the well (you can find a video on the process at this link). Steel rods are used now and have been for a while, but in the early days of the oil industry wooden rods were implemented. One interesting quirk of this handle material is that, because it is reclaimed wood and there’s no record of what wood species was used for the wells from which the wood was reclaimed, one can’t be sure what wood these handles actually are made of. Some, including my dad who’s been in the industry for over 40 years, say that it’s likely Ash. Either way, it has a green hue from the crude oil that soaked into it during its previous life as a working sucker rod. The crude oil in the Titusville region is a particularly bold green color. I remember my dad having a little bottle of crude oil from the Drake Well, the first commercial oil well in the world (by most accounts) that is right outside of Titusville and only a couple miles from GEC, and it was just the same color as the handles on my Oil Field Jack. Finally, the wrench shield hearkens to the hard manual work put in on those early oil wells (not to say that hard manual work isn’t also put in on the modern wells!). All of it seems to reach back and connect the Oil Field Jack to local Pennsylvania history, making it much more than just an extremely well made knife.
Three knives in Oil Sucker Rod Wood. #18 Beagle, #15 2014 Rendezvous Special TC One Arm Barlow, and the #86 Oil Field Jack
Speaking of its build quality, my Oil Field Jack in Oil Sucker Rod Wood is impeccably made. It has smooth transitions between the covers and bolsters. The shield is fitted tightly, which is a feat on such a complicated shape as a double ended wrench. The blades are tight with no blade play. The action is great with nice snap and walk and talk, and about a 6 out of 10 pull (a little stronger than a swiss army knife) on both blades. Both blades are also well centered. In a huge relief to me, as these are the two most irksome and common issues to be found on GEC knives, neither blades came with proud tips or blade rap.
The Oil Field Jack is jumbo compared to other swell end jack knives, but it’s much smaller than some of GEC’s other large patterns. From left to right: #45 Lumberjack, #46 Whaler, #86 Oil Field Jack, #97 Allegheny, #98 Texas Camp Knife
I actually accidentally ordered two of these, and I have to admit that one was sent back. Sometimes you read or hear of someone “accidentally” ordering a knife, and you think “how can you possibly order a knife on accident?”. Well, I emailed two of my favorite dealers about this knife and, I thought, only heard back from one. So when I got a PayPal invoice for this knife, I just paid it. Later, when I got another, I realized that both dealers had emailed back confirming my reservation of this knife and one of their emails had gone to my spam folder! Anyway, the second one I received came with what I considered to be a poorly fit shield. There were noticeable gaps between the shield and wood that had been filled in with glue, which I find to be ugly. It also came with some rust / pitting on the main blade backspring, which was actually a first for me from GEC. Maybe chalk it up to the wet and cold weather. Anyway, as always, Ken at Blue Creek Cutlery provided incredible service and rectified the issue quickly and completely; he even refunded my return shipping, which went above and beyond my expectations!
The example I’m keeping is from Jamie at JSR Sports & More, from whom I’ve also received quality service. Despite one of my examples having some unusual issues, the Oil Field Jack I’m keeping is another great testament to Great Eastern Cutlery’s ability to make an heirloom quality pocket knives that are also ready to be put to real use.
The Oil Field Jack with pin and tube.
I really like GEC’s Oil Field Jack on the #86 Jumbo Jack frame. It feels really ergonomic in the hand with the thick, rounded handle. The classic clip point blade shape offers a usable tip for penetrating tasks, but also provides a very practical amount of both straight edge and belly for push and pull cuts. The slender sheepfoot secondary will work great for smaller cutting tasks like opening mail, cutting strings, etc. The Oil Field Jack’s heft makes it feel like a knife that would be a great every day carry user, but that would also be more than capable as a work knife. I also really enjoy the extra touch of the wrench shield. I think all of these Oil Field Jacks are going to look great, but the history and local authenticity of the Oil Sucker Rod Wood made me choose it over the others… So far! If you need a Jumbo Jack in your life, I definitely suggest trying one of GEC’s new #86 Oil Field Jacks!
I sincerely thank you for your time, support, and interest! Don’t forget to tell your friends about KnifeThoughts.com, subscribe via email, and share this article on social media. You can find Knife Thoughts on YouTube where I have hundreds of knife videos, as well as on Instagram and Facebook! You can find all my latest links at LinkTr.ee/KnifeThoughts
The Great Eastern Cutlery #89 is one of the few patterns of theirs that I haven’t tried in my time as a GEC user and collector. One reason for this is that this pattern hasn’t been produced in years, even since before I became aware of GEC, and they weren’t made in huge numbers relative to today’s run sizes. So I decided to check out this one in the very season fitting Pumpkin Patch Acrylic.
Similar in length to the Case Sodbuster JR and GEC #15 TC Barlow
The #89 is a long slender 4″ sleeveboard pattern. My specific example is splitback whittler. That means there are two backsprings, one for each secondary blade, that has a wedge between it so that it comes together as one backspring for the main blade. These long slender sleeveboard patterns are often called Melon Testers, especially when it has one blade, because their long slender blades are perfect for slicing out a taste of fruit. GEC calls this knife the “3 Blade Melon Tester Whittler”, so they basically threw all the descriptors they could into the name except “splitback”.
A great example of complex blade fitting
My version has Pumpkin Patch Acrylic handles. They’re a mix of pearlescent orange with swirls of black, but mine doesn’t have much black at all. Sometimes people see synthetic handle materials as uniform and without the character of natural handle materials, but GEC’s acrylics are always unique and you never know what you’ll get (unless the dealer/seller has individual pictures of each knife). I personally like the handles, although I do wish they had more black swirls, and they’re a perfect fit for this Halloween and harvest season.
The wedge that separates the springs, making it a “splitback”.
This knife is well made, and honestly I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like it. I expected the tip of the main blade to be noticeably proud, due to the slender handle, but it is not proud and I can’t catch a finger on it. There doesn’t seem to be any blade rub, and the main blade sits pretty well centered between the two secondaries. This fitting of the blades is certainly a commendable feat, and a great example of how well GEC can make even these complicated patterns. I also expected the main blade to have blade rap, where the edge hits the backspring, due to the slenderness of the handle (especially if it didn’t have a proud tip). However, it shows no blade rap at all even when allowed to close on its own. Part of the reason for this could be that the pulls on all three blades are relatively light, maybe a 3 or so. However, I like the pulls at this strength as it makes it easy to open and eliminates blade rap while still providing nice walk and talk and snap both open and closed. I bought this knife thinking I’d like getting the chance to look it over but not have any desire to keep it, but with how nicely it is built I wish I could put it in my pocket as a user!
Great Eastern Cutlery made several versions of the #89 pattern including the “3 Blade Melon Tester Whittler” (my version), the “Riverboat Gambler” (cool name, in my opinion) a pen knife version, the “Executive Whittler” with a wharncliffe main, and even some in stainless. However, they can be difficult to find. Mine was made in 2009, and the last time they were made was 2012, so it’s been almost 8 years since they made the #89 pattern. Hopefully they make some more soon, and if so I suggest getting yourself one!
Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the lessons handed down from our dads, grandfathers, and whomever we’ve been privileged to have as father figures. One of the things my father passed on to me is an appreciation for knives.
My dad is an avid outdoorsman. He was an Eagle Scout, fishes regularly, has gone on many extraordinary hunting expeditions that border on survivalist outings. His interest in knives stems mostly from the fact that they’re essential in those kinds of outdoors activities, as well their usefulness in everyday tasks. He isn’t a collector, though through the years he has accumulated a good number of knives. As a non-collector, he doesn’t often keep his knives in great shape and tends to get a replacement when his current carry breaks down. He originally used traditional knives and I remember him using them when I was younger, but he switched to assisted opening modern knives sometime in the 2000s. Due to his tendency not to hang onto knives like a collector, I haven’t been able to check out many of his older knives, especially from before he switched to modern knives.
My dad’s knife displayed in a geode
However, while visiting him this weekend I stumbled upon an old gem; his old fishing knife. The knife is a Case #48 Slimline Trapper. I knew right away from looking at it that it was Case’s classic Slimline pattern, and Case’s pattern number list confirms (linked here). It’s a knife that Case has made for decades and continues to produce today. It’s a great utility pattern; easy to carry because of the thin handle, good amount of belly for skinning and such, useful tip, and a long edge for the overall size. I am sure that the handles are jigged synthetic, but Case’s handle designation number system (linked here) only confirms that it’s either jigged synthetic, laminate, or bone. My dad said he bought it about 50 years ago and used it all the time as his fishing knife. I took a look at Case’s tang stamp dating system chart (linked here) and he wasn’t too far off; it’s a 1974 6 dot normal “s” model.
Case XX U.S.A. (normal “s”) 6 dot stamp
61048 pattern designation
It’s pretty dang cool to not only be able to look over a knife used by my dad for years, but also to confirm its identity and age. For a well used 45 year old knife, it’s in admirable shape. Sure, it has some blade play and lots of patina. Even some gaps around the scales and spring. But it has great action with snappy walk and talk, and a nice even grind and sharp edge. This Slimline Trapper is a real testament to the fact that a well made slipjoint knife can be used hard and last for decades. The knife below (bottom knife) is a Queen #11 Utility Trapper. It’s not called a Slimline Trapper because that term belongs to Case, but it’s the same pattern. It was a gift from my dad. I’ve used it many times while hunting and fishing, including on some trips with my dad. It already was a knife I’ll keep forever, but I appreciate it even more now knowing that my dad carried an extremely similar knife. Like lessons, our fathers can also pass down physical items like knives that are imbued with meaning.
Queen #11 Utility Trapper on the bottom
As an interesting post script note, upon looking closely I realized that the shield is not pinned even on this 1974 Case! So the glued shields must not be a new development for Case. This is very interesting to me, and I plan to do more research into when Case stopped pinning their shields.
This article will provide a short review of the Kershaw Launch 4 from my perspective as an admirer, but not a user, of automatic knives. Unfortunately due to ludicrous, unreasonable, impractical, unjust, immoral, and vague laws I’m not willing to carry automatic knives. I could write a whole article on why restrictive knife laws in general, let alone the federal switchblade ban, are wrong and should be repealed. That, however, is not the purpose of this article. This article will give you my thoughts on this particular knife thanks to the generosity of my friend Joe, who loaned me the knife.
Three Pointy Knives: Kershaw Launch 4, Kershaw Decimus, GEC Northfield #65 Ben Hogan
Specifications
The Kershaw Launch 4 is a small out the side automatic knife. It is made by Kershaw in the United States. It has an anodized aluminum handle and CPM 154 blade. It comes with a typical Kershaw pocket clip. This particular model is all blacked out, with black anodization on the handle and a black diamond like coating on the blade. The blade is 1.9″ and the handle is 3.2″. It has a push button lock that both actuates opening and unlocks the blade for closing.
It is not a large knife
Ergonomic in the highly practical pinch grip
Disappears in a hammer grip
Build Qualities
Upon first opening this knife my mind was immediately sent to the “Noisy Cricket” from Men in Black. This thing might be small, but it’s snappy! It opens with a quite audible “THWACK” as quickly as any other automatic knife I’ve ever handled. The centering is pretty much perfect. There’s no blade play to be found. The grind and edge seem to be even. I appreciate the extra machining touches of the swedge and the chamfered edges on the handle. It has an integrated backspacer that is formed by extensions of each handle scale.
Well centered
Integrated backspacer
Not deep carry, but easy to access
Reflections
I just plain like this knife. I like the design and look of it a lot; it has an extremely classic spear point blade shape that would work well for all kinds of small cutting tasks, and it has a nice simple handle shape that (as I often say) lends itself to comfortable ergonomics. The handle and blade shapes put together vaguely remind me of a paleolithic knife, but miniaturized and (obviously) modernized. I think a button lock is a good choice on an out the side automatic, which is evident in how frequently it is used on such knives. I also like mini knives for their ease of carry and simple funness, despite definitely preferring a larger blade on my main carry and use knife. This would be a good option if you want to carry a knife in your watch pocket. Another interesting thing related to its size is that this knife is actually legal in California. As crazy as it seems, automatic knives with blades under 2″ are legal to carry in California (of all places) but not where I live. The clip doesn’t lend itself to deep carry, with a little under an inch showing above the pocket, but it does make it easy to pull out of the pocket. I can’t be sure, but I think the pocket clip for the Zero Tolerance 0560/0561 would fit and Kershaw/ZT (both under KAI) are usually willing to send out a clip.
Conclusions
If you’d like to venture into American made automatic knives the Kershaw Launch series is a great way to go. They’re well made knives with some interesting designs backed by Kershaw’s great service and warranty. The Launch 4 is a small offering, but it packs a lot of style and a whole lot of snap into the small frame. You can find it at several dealers, but Northern Knives has three of the versions at great prices: They have the ALL BLACK, GRAY / BLACK, and BLUE / BLACK versions (respectively linked) each for $79. BladeHQ also has a version with an uncoated blade and TEAL handle linked here on sale for $70.
