The three knives detailed here were sold to me by Noah Walt
of Thrust Magazine, who
was responsible for bringing them to market. Each has a blade of 01 tool steel
with a baked-on black coating, leather handle wraps, and Kydex sheaths from Eric
at On/Scene Tactical. The largest,
the “Jak Dao,” is a collaboration with noted self-defense instructor James
Keating. The ring-handled blade is called the “Skinny Puppy,” and the
Wharncliffe-inspired blade is the “Beatle-juice.”

All of these
knives are purpose-built self-defense tools, really, so I’ve not done extensive
cutting tests with them. They were sharp, they cut nicely, and they penetrated
nicely in initial testing, but these are blades meant to be carried as weapons
first and foremost. As such I’ve not done much in the way of extended cutting to
test the durability of the tool steel. Rather, I’ve done enough cutting to
satisfy me that the knives will perform for self-defense, and have since carried
all three extensively.

The baked on finish has held up reasonably well,
though it wears around the cutting edges and has scuffed where the knives rub
most actively against the Kydex while sheathed.

The friction-fit On/Scene
Tactical sheaths allow for multiple carry positions, right- or left-hand. The
belt clips with which they ship are perfect for Inside the Waistband (IWB)
carry. The knives snap positively into the sheaths and, while they shift a
little inside the sheaths, are secure and will not fall out even while making
violent physical movements. I’ve had sheaths made for me by Eric at On/Scene
before and I have never been unhappy with the results.

The
grommet-equipped sheaths could also be used with paracord to form one’s own
shoulder harnesses, or with a CRKT-manufactured MercHarness for
the same purpose.

The
Beatle-Juice

The Beatle-Juice is a compact “two- to three-finger”
cutter that would serve best as an emergency slashing tool. It can be used to
pierce, but my thumb naturally gravitates to the top of the blade and the knife
handles best when cutting and slicing. The contours of the knife form an
integral guard, of sorts, ahd there is a hole in the butt for attaching a
lanyard. (I actually removed the lanyards from my knives.)

The
cord-wrapped handle is a little uneven but comfortable. It provides decent
traction. The knife overall is quite ergonomic despite the fact that’s quite
small for my fat hands, because my fingers fit into the curves of the blade in
all the right places.

In cutting,
the generally underwhelming Wharncliffe-style blade is helped by the slight
curve it posses, which gives it… I don’t know, let’s call it “reverse belly”
for carving its way through the cutting medium. It really is an impressive
little slicer, which belies its relatively benign appearance.

The Skinny Puppy

The Skinny Puppy is a
much more severely curved slashing and thrusting weapon, named for the
relatively minimal handle. Retention of that skinny handle is helped greatly by
the finger ring at the tail (which is something you’ll either love or loathe).
The leather-wrapped handle, like the handle on the Beatle-Juice, is comfortable
if a bit uneven, and it provides good traction.

The curves
of the knife again make my hand want to slip into very specific position, with
my thumb on the slope just ahead of the handle portion of the spine. Thumb
grooves would be welcome here, but the knife is no less secure in my mitt for
the lack of them. There is no guard, but the sweep of the blade forms an
almost-choil forward of the handle that should keep your fingers away from the
cutting edge.

The Skinny
Puppy is all belly and needle-tipped point, making it an excellent slasher,
slicer, and penetrator. Resist the temptation, however, to perform
kerambit-style twirls with the tail ring, for I can see no way to do this in
safety and the knife really shouldn’t be used for that.

The Jak-Dao

My favorite of the trio is
the Jak Dao. Jim Keating’s influence is obvious. the knife is a fighter, with
features designed to make it a good carry piece.

The handle is
intentionally small, but not too small to afford a good grip. This lowers the
knife’s carry profile; the blade-to-handle ratio favors the blade by a good
percentage.

There is again a
sort of integral guard (though no true protruding guard), but the thumb-ramp
curve of the Jak Dao has the thumb grooves for which I’ve been wishing on the
other two blades. Thanks to the way the swell of the butt (it forms a sort of
enlarged, flat circle) fits in my palm, the knife also feels very well balanced
in my hand, and it is very secure. Traction of the somewhat uneven
leather-wrapped handle is good, but the true sureness of the grip here owes to
the shape of the knife and how it fits into the palm.

The cutting edge
is a long, gently curved arc that features a straight, sharpened false edge.
this makes the Jack Dao an excellent slasher and a brutal penetrator. It also
allows for back- , snap-, and comma-cuts (which one would expect from a knife
James Keating had a hand in designing).

If the Jak Dao has any drawbacks
it is that it is deceptively long, meaning it is not quite as comfortable in the waistband as the
user might first be led to believe by the appearance of the low-profile
handle.

CONCLUSION

All
three of these knives are excellent purpose-built defensive tools. They handle
well, they cut well, and they have held up under extended on-body carry. I have
been pleased with my purchases and will speak well of Noah Walt and Thrust
Magazine in the future.>>