My local hardwarestore has started selling a brand called Black Jack. They are sort of nice looking and feel solid. So I went home and was to do some Google Fu before getting me a couple of cheap knives. But they are getting VERY mixed reviews. Some people don't think they are good enough for spreading butter while some say they are high quality knives. The latter is what I would love with the kind of privetags they are given. I'm not really on the market for something special, but it's like I can never have enough knives for utility purposes. Nor have I never been a brand-snob. I mostly have Mora knives and I think they get things done for me. So, for a guy with my standards who don't care much for big brand names, would YOU recommend Black Jack Knives?
Haven't used the Blackjack knives. Along the same principle, I can recommend Condor knives, though. The Bushlore, Bushcraft and Rodan are all well made and affordable, and there are lots of great reviews on them. I own a Condor Bushcraft and Bushlore like them very much. Granted, the steel is soft, so they are not as durable as many higher end steel blades. Ran me less than $40 each. Some of the Blackjack knives look like "hit or miss", but if you do use any, keep us updated!
I got a BlackJack Blackmoor Dirk from Phishi several years ago and love it. It is a wicked beefier version of the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife. The knife is lethal. The present production copies classic knives made by Randall at a quarter the costs. They are rugged, hold an edge and will last a lifetime.
This sight offers a pretty comprehensive overview of the history of the company. The BlackJack knives Info Pages Crawl through the pages, you will probably find some surprising info concerning both the company and the recent history of the American knife industry. As for the blades themselves, I'm assuming you are meaning current designs as opposed to some of the others? If so, Seacowboys is correct. The current designs are classic, based off Randal designs. While I have only handled one, I believed it to be of good quality. If you are intrigued by these designs, this would be a reasonable way to experience them without the price or wait time for one. Personally, I would not think myself under tooled if I found myself with only one of these. Think of it as a Randall design you can use with out feeling guilty. If it is an older design, I would probably also purchase. I hesitate, but only because some of he designs don't appeal to me. I believe the quality to be good, it's the aesthetics, on some, that I find lacking. It's my opinion only, nothing more. I find the same to be true concerning designs of other companies of the same time frame (late 70s thru mid 90s). Gerber, SOG, Cold Steel, and EK come to mind. In other words, it's hit or miss, the quality is probably fine, so if you like it, buy it. Just my .02cents. Phishi
