Great Eastern Cutlery #54 Tidioute Big Jack
Nick Clayton
I'll just get this out of the way; reviewing a traditional is not like reviewing a modern tactical folder, the nuances are different. The best place to find traditionals I have found is Knives Ship Free.
The Great Eastern Cutlery #54 is my first real foray into the current modern traditional knife (oxymoron?). I have handled plenty of Case knives and I've never been that impressed with them. Since that was my only exposure, I was hesitant to buy anything site unseen. But when I got this knife in, I immediately knew it was different.
The knife is pretty large, about 4" closed, with the blade coming in about 3" long with 2.75" of usable cutting edge. It's fairly heavy too but that is par for the course with traditionals. I like the weight though, it gives it a great balance toward the handle and you know it's in your pocket.
The scales are dyed camel bone and are beautiful. They have a nice yellow to orange fade that is really nice. The bolsters were nicely polished (I've dinged them up a bit) and everything on the handle is finished very nicely.
The knife comes with two blades opening from the same side both made of 1095 steel. 1095 is a carbon steel but I like the way it behaves. Easy to touch up and maintain, it will developed a patina over time. The first blade is a spear-point profile and the second a clip point. Both start life around 2.25mm and reduce to .68mm-.65mm near the tip and about .4mm behind the edge. I don't normally measure these specs but it's worth noting how thin the blades on these are. I was cutting some fruit with it and the ease in which the blades cut was addictive.
The pulls are hard, not too bad but they take a good amount of force. They are both nice and smooth to open though and include a half-stop. They are nice and centered and once open, there is no movement. Very nice.
I can say that I have been really impressed with this knife. My interests have been peaked and I already plan on picking up a few more. I've really got my eye on the Indian River Jack that is coming out later in S35VN.