Steel Will Cutjack C22M Linerlock OD, Green, 3.0"

Ok, I'll admit that when I first got the Cutjack mini I was a little underwhelmed. Admittedly, I'm not really a fan of FRN knife scales. I guess it's just a subjective thing but FRN just looks and feels "cheap" to me. I'd much prefer this knife it it came with G10. And then there was the action... I guess I've gotten a little spoiled by other knives that have really good unassisted flipper action. The Tangram Amarillo for example, is a nice small knife with phenomenal action! By contrast, the Cutjack mini just wouldn't flip reliably at all. With a perfect flip, and concerted effort I could maybe get it to flip to lock 80% of the time, but it just wasn't something impressive, or even acceptable to me. Maybe I got the short stick, or maybe they're all like this, I don't know...Saturday night I showed it to my GF, who isn't even into knives. I demonstrated it and she immediately said, "send it back! The action is bad, and it looks cheap. I don't like it. Send it back". So, yesterday, I decided to open it up and take a peek at the inner workings. While I had it apart to clean it, I decided to polish the washers a bit. Yes, washers. No bearings in this guy which is good IF the action works well, since washers are not near as sensitive to dirt and grime as bearings. This is a good thing for a knife that'll actually be carried and used outdoors a lot. So anyway, I put a piece of masking tape on a piece of plate glass, put a dollop of Semichrome on the tape, and polished both sides of both washers by moving them in figure eight patterns on the treated tape. Viola! Mirror shined phosphor bronze washers in nothing flat!. I cleaned everything else up and reassembled with a little Diawa reel oil on all contact surfaces. This made it a little better, but nowhere near what I was wanting.... So, I was a little disappointed. Last night I had pretty much decided that I'd just keep it, make it my "garage knife" and use it for yard work chores and such. Then, as I sat watching TV last night, the Cutjack became my fidget toy and I sat flipping it over and over, and over, practicing my technique with it and thinking about how much finger pressure and technique was required to get it to open reliably. Well, guess what! All that flipping did the trick! This morning I picked up the knife and was surprised at how it opened. I've been playing with it quite a bit more today, and have really began to love this little guy. A side benefit of all that handling that I did last night is that I've really learned to appreciate the ergos. With the forward finger choil and jimping on the slight ramp at the rear top of the spine, this little knife feels really great in the hand. I'm not sure if it's the shape of the grip, or the shape of the pocket clip, but with my normal grip I don't even feel the clip against my palm, which is pretty rare. This knife is no longer relegated to garage knife duty and will now be part of my regular EDC rotation.Pros:D2 steel. Finally a budget knife with decent steel! There are a few out there but an awful lot are 8Cr13MoV (Kershaw and CRKT to name a couple) and D2 is a MUCH better choice. Still easy to sharpen, but holds an edge much better!Blade shape. This is personal choice and dictated by usage and needs. But this is a relatively deep blade of stock that's not too thick, and has a long flat grind with good belly. Makes for a nice slicer and good general purpose cutting tool.Finger choil. I really like the finger choil on this knife! And even if you don't use it as such, it gives it a very nice sharpening choil, which is another thing missing on a LOT of knives. Combined with the slight ramp and effective jimping on the spine, you can choke up and really lock into this knife.Ergos. See above and then add in the handle shape. Makes for a very comfortable to use smallish knife.Lock. The liner lock gets good engagement and is plenty strong for everyday use. The cutout on the show side of the handle gives good access, and the lock has jimping, which makes unlocking the knife a breeze.Grip texture. I like it! It allows for good grip without being too abrasive. Some complain about the texture under the pocket clip, saying that it should be smooth there and makes it difficult to get in and out of the pocket. Personally, after loosing several knives that were slick, I actually LIKE the fact that this knife will stay put in my pocket until I want it out.Phosphor bronze washers. This is in the pros and cons category. I do love the smooth action that bearings give, and have several knives that use them. But they are susceptible to dirt and grime, and do need more maintenance as a result. Washer aren't as smooth to operate, but they will stay smooth longer. Especially if it's a work knife that sees dirty conditions regularly. Drop that nice slick bearing equipped knife in the mud or sand and see for yourself.Size and weight. Small enough to be unobtrusive in the pocket, and yet large and beefy enough to do more than open the next box from Amazon. Nice light weight too.Materials. Good quality steel used for hardware. All screws seemed to be properly cut and hardened.Price. Less than half the cost of a Spyderco Delica 4. Comparable in size, weight and intended use. Both have washers. Both have FRN scales. Blade design performance is similar. While arguable, I prefer D2 steel to the Spyderco VG10. The Cutjack has a nice flipper action (once broken in) and a liner lock, compared to the Delica blade hole and back lock. Back locks are theoretically stronger, but in real world (proper) use of a knife, I've never had an issue with a properly designed liner lock. AND, the Cutjack makes for an easy to use one handed knife, both opening and closing is easy peasy. The Cutjack also takes up less real estate due to the overall height when closed when compared the Delica with its "humpback" blade design.Cons:FRN scales. Perfectly serviceable and feel fine in the hand. But they just look cheap to me. For a working knife maybe it shouldn’t matter. But, if you care about such things and/or want others to recognize a nice knife just by looking at it, then FRN may not please. If I didn’t know better, and with just a casual glance, I might think this knife was a gas station or flea market special. In reality though, there’s nothing really bad about it though. G10 scales sure would make the knife look and feel better in my opinion though.Washers. Yep, they’re phosphor bronze instead of plastic, which is great. But, they aren’t as smooth as an action using bearings. Then again, they are more durable under adverse conditions, so you be the judge.Action. See above about washers. And see my earlier experience with this knife. After a good break in period, I have nothing bad to say about the action. But, out of the box, it left a lot to be desired. I almost docked it a point for this, but in the end I think the knife deserves 5 stars. Knowing this going in might make it less disappointing for others. And just know that one evening in front of the TV resulted in a very nice action. Again, you be the judge.Thread locker. Nick Shabazz commented about it in one of his videos. Mine had the same issue. It seems the factory uses a tough thread locker. One of my screws required heat from a soldering iron to break loose. The others didn’t though, so go figure. All is good after the first disassembly and reapplication of blue Loctite.Conclusion:All in all, I’d say that this is a great knife and an OUTSTANDING value! Once broken in, it is on its way to becoming one of my favorites. Enough so that I’m considering buying another one or two, just to keep in a vehicle, gear bag, etc.I wouldn’t have any reservations giving this as a gift, or recommending to friends. It really is a gem of a knife.If you decide to buy one and agree with my review, give me a vote so I’ll know that I helped.Thanks for reading

This particular model I have had since 6/18. It is a good knife, lightweight but sturdy, blade holds an edge well, comfortable in hand, with good action (on most)have about a dozen steel will's) the texture on handle isgood inhand but will wear fabric a bit in pocket with in and out of pocket use(fixed that with thin coat of epoxy under pocket clip) overall am happy with this brand. BUT,they are not the bargain they once where. For the same money,I would pick a civivi, cjrb, sencut qsp and others like these for roughly same price with equal or better quality and materials. But if your looking for a frn handled lightweight folder,this is worth a look.

We always sort of hope that the current knife purchase will be “The One”. Well, this comes close i guess... but not out of the box. Same problem as others have had, because of a tight detent and sharp edges it’s a finger-buster when opening, but loosen the screw and you get blade wobble side to side. So, I take it apart (don’t lose that little pin), clean and lube it, and it’s... slightly better. Next i cut a couple more jimping groves in the flipper tab and then round off the sharp edges, and it’s... slightly better. Next future “adjustment” to the frame will be the detent ball. But next, that D2 edge. Good but not great out of the box, but 5 minutes with a ceramic rod and strop and... very nice. Conclusion? This might be your “The One”, if you don’t mind doing the finishing the factory forgot. Don’t excuse the factory because it’s an inexpensive knife. The VERY nice (And expensive) packaging which you will throw in the trash cost more than a few minutes of finishing work would have. Next time please send it to me finished properly in a ziplock snack bag please ( :

This knife is super fun. I bought this because I wanted to try something new. I have many kershaw,s spydercos that I use for edc and because they are relatively affordable for the quality you get but I wanted something with a different feel and blade steel. The D2 steel was a real draw for me in this knife. The knife takes some effort to get it sharp out of the box but it holds an edge very well once you get it there. The ergos on this knife are great. If have medium/large hands and this knife fits well knowing this is a smallish handle. I really like the finger choil on the blade that lets you choke up on the knife due to the small handle and the gimping on the top of the blade help lock this into your hand. The only gripe with this knife is the action. The flipper design is completely fine and the flipper tab is super grippy and I'd say sharp even. Out of the box the action is a bit stiff. I took this knife apart, cleaned and lubed the bushings and played with the pivot screw. I got the action to a better place and with time, it loosens up a bit. The handle on this knife is grippy and the design for the traction on the scales is unique and simple, but effective. The pocket clip is solid. Be aware that the grippiness of the scales when using the pocket clip makes it feel like you will wear out the side of you pocket but the knife is not going anywhere. For the price, you cannot beat this deal on a knife with D2 steel. This is not my last Steel Will knife purchase for sure.