As a knife bro that appreciates traditional traditionals, non-traditional traditionals,
modern traditionals- traditional pocket knives, the retailer or C Risner as it’s known-
a place I buy my knife crack from often- hit me up and asked me if I’d like to borrow
a few prototypes of his upcoming Ohio River Jack.
Normal people would have broken that last sentence up into three, but I guess you could
say its my super power.
Now I love being in the loop before other knife bros, because I am so often out of the
loop.
Anyway I was so excited and accepted immediately then proceeded to sit on the footage for a
month- so other people could make a video and get it out before me.
I never waste an opportunity to squander an opportunity.
Which is why I’ve seen quite a few knife channels blow past me in subscribers.
I am never getting that play button apparently.
Anyway the Ohio River Jack seen here, in the fan favorite dimensions part is designed by
Austin from C Risner, comes in a few flavors.
The full Ti treatment, some micarta, a dual blader.
But with the same basic handle pattern.
Ok it’s not the fan favorite part of these videos- we call that part the end.
Yeah we have good times the subscribers and me.
Now per the C Risner page, this is a new pattern The Ohio River Jack.
Traditional knives designs are often referred to in patterns.
If you go back and look at some vintage knife catalogs for fun like average people do on
Friday evenings, you see a lot of patterns reused and tweaked over the decades.
Different makers can have their swaybacks, their sunfish, cigars, gunstocks, bronze crowns,
blowfishes, balloonknots, coffindrops, devildaggers, hobojacks, chickenheads, tightends, catsprays,
ratfaces, ropeadopes, and moosesmokers.
A lot of great history here in these patterns.
I remember a rousing argument on Blade Forums once about if the balloon knot and the bronze
crown were pretty much the same pattern.
Don’t want to spoil it though.
But we’re here for the Ohio River Jack.
Austin loaned me the prototypes of the single spearpoint in natural canvas micarta, the
double blade in green canvas, and an all titanium handled sheepsfoot blade.
Lets examine the blade first.
First they have all this in common, all flat grinds made from the M390s- which I think
seems to be one of the more popular stainless varieties in the modern traditional.
Lionsteel, Viper, Jack Wolf, etcetera- and these here are made by QSP.
I have reviewed a few QSPs in the past and found all to be delightfully made knives.
I am partial to a good spearpoint, it’s one of my more favorite profiles- but that
Sheepsfoot on the titanium is nice looking too.
Note that the double bladers have a spearpoint and secondary wharncliffe- not to be confused
with sheepsfoot single blade.
It is an important distinction not to ever confuse a wharncliffe with the sheepsfoot.
Or a 50 something gentleman with a wool vest and brimmed hat will drive all the way from
an Indianapolis suburb to politely educate you about the distinct differences and the
traditional uses for each.
Let’s not do this, as we need to spare his wife a 30 minute explainer on how to refill
the bird feeder out back.
And as soon as he returns home he will write the most scathingly passive aggressive forum
post you have ever read.
These work best as general purpose every day carry knives- the blade is sharp and utilitarian.
Blade stock is in line with other traditionals.
At least traditional manufactured in the modern era from the mid 2000s and later.
Although I have a half dozen made before the 1980s and all have a similar blade stock to
these, some even thicker.
I have GECs that range from about 2.3- nearly 2.9mm and this is somewhere in the middle
of that.
Perfectly average.
Traditional’s generally speaking tend to have an averageness to them because they are
general purpose blades.
I know the Bexar gets raves for its price and thinness of stock, so lets hope Youtubers
never find out about swiss army knives.
Ok the spring, and the action.
Or the walk and talk as the vested ones say.
Now being these are prototypes and I see in the notes on the update page for them, the
initial protos back springs were weaker- and these I believe are a more second round proto.
The spring tension on these is about where the lionsteel shuffler is, complete with a
half stop on each blade.
Which is great.
Not quite as stout as the jack wolf or the new GEC 36s.
Some people don’t like them that strong.
But it’s still strong and not overbearing.
I like a spring that takes a strong pull, and I can even handle a touch stronger because
I’m pretty strong.
All models here handle similarly in the pull and walk and talk.
10 years ago if someone would have tole me I’d be writing paragraphs about back springs,
I’d say future me sounds like a real boring piece of crap.
Austin had noted that they intend to have flush liners and covers on the finals and
that these have had scales swapped around a bit- it’s pretty good though- nicer than
a Benchmade Proper.
Handles are nice and comfortable no hot spots anywhere as the grips are pretty neutral.
Micarta looks nice and is not splotchy- the Tortuga was a touch splotchy if you remember
that video.
The bolsters and liners are a one piece design per side- remember from the jack wolf video
we called them integral.
Fun word, although rumor has it might get the ban hammer for using it some places - much
like the word stainless or titanium.
The jigging on the titanium variant is nice and gives it a great hand feel.
Comparisons.
Now these are a new pattern, but they to me resemble the proportions of a sunfish or an
elephant toenail pattern.
So we’ll go with mostly comparisons to that.
They aren’t massive, still under 3 inch blade blade stock, and the spine is reasonably
thin too.
Let’s look at the 36 GEC I’ve had for a while, this is a hand reground modded blade-
so this one had been thinned out reasonably well and is a slicer.
Doesn’t have a half stop on the older model, but I really like it- and overlook that it
doesn’t have the half stop.
This is a about a similar pull.
Now the new 36, from this year.
The prior 36 here is from 08 which is GEC in it’s first few years.
Now that we’re 15 or how many ever years in they have refined the pattern.
Very smooth spine and covers, that glasslike smoothness.
The new 36 have half stops and are a strong pull, more so than the Ohio River Jack.
Not a ton, but noticeable.
Similar to the jack wolf.
I said this already am I padding for length?
I think maybe the 36 is my favorite GEC pattern.
The cigar patterns are nice, I like the dual bolsters like the beer and sausage.
A 36 to me is just a tall cigar pattern, maybe top 3 pattern.
Someone shoot me please.
Overall though I think spear points are little more versatile than wharncliffe or are these
sheepsfoot.
Please hopefully a man that can tell the difference isn’t watching.
I’m sure he could teach a young guy like me a thing or two about respecting pocket
knives and the gentlemen that carry them.
This is embarrassing.
Here it is next to a Rough Ryder.
I paid like 20 bucks for this on clearance at collector knives.
It’s a good price but the steel is cheap and there are some nitpicks to the way the
fit and finish.
Muddier springs, some gaps where materials mate.
GECs are impossible to get if you’re not an extremely online moderately condescending
older man who posts more than a teenager- and these use similar materials to GECs, the
micarta and bone are all nice.
How about one GEC the forum Barlow knife.
A great little feller- I see a little stain on the blade.
I have quite a few great eastern cutlery’s now but try to use them to hose the resale
value as much as possible.
Ok wrapping it up.
Thanks to Austin at C Risner, the proprietor of Traditional Pocket knives.
I’ve bought quite a few GEC’s, lots of rough riders recently I plan on doing an upcoming
video about I own like 7 now real normal stuff, and I just bought one of those weed cutlery,
with the classy pot leaf on them- someone help.
Looks like the kind of knife that would end up in a sheriffs department shadowbox of shame.
Sir we found a machete, 3 cold steels, and this thing.
Says it was his grandpas knife.
Bake him away toys.
As far as I can tell these are only going to be available through his store over there.
And sometime at the end of may or mid June.
You can always shoot him an email or DM on Instagram.
His website and Instagram are listed below the video.
Say Hi to the patrons and thank them for enabling me to upgrade my camera and computer so these
are in 4k now.
Yay.
4k!
So like subscribe comment… and do a solid on me and click that alert bell and immediately
release any video youtube notifies you about that I upload.
I swear it won’t be a waste of your time.
Thanks for watching.