Steel Will Knives Cutjack Mini Review

The Ultimate "EH...yeah" Knife

Steel is awesome, great heat treatment, ergos are pretty solid and the knife is sweet overall. Things arent all sunshine and rainbows though. The action sticks a lot, the handles feel cheap -kinda similar to cheap feeling as the OG bugout-, the pocket clip...kinda sucks and the blade rubs heavily on the scale opposite the liner lock. Then again, you cant expect perfection AND D2… read more for $40. Overall the knife is great and can take one hell of a good beating but you are definitely getting a lower end knife.

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Good ergos, but fit and finish issues

The Good:
The blade shape in nice and the ergonomics are great. I use the finger choil and it's very comfortable in hand. I have XL hands. The steel is good. The FRN handles are contoured well and pretty grippy. They feel a bit cheap, but more than adequate at this price range.

The Bad:
It's really stiff out of the box (or at least mine was). It took a lot of effort… read more to flip open. I loosened the pivot slightly and just opened it a bunch and it's pretty nice now.

My biggest gripe is that the lettering on the blade is raised. It's not laser etched, it's some sort of sticker or coating. This makes it catch on stuff occasionally while cutting. And it really catches when you try to clean the blade which is irritating.

Overall, it's a great knife and a great bargain.

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Great feel and excellent gift!

I purchased this and the blue handle as gifts and it was the hardest thing to wrap them up and give them away after holding them in my hand! Great full purchase in my hand and I have large hands as I'm 6'3"!

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Graet knife

I've gotta say this mini cutjack is one of the best purchases i've ever made. Very sturdy, I'd say it'll last me just about forever. I love the steel, just strop it for a few minutes every once in a while and keeps it's razor edge.

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Great user!

A must-have. Took a few days to break in the flipper, but this knife has a nice, reliable grip and the blade is a very good slicer. Fills niches from EDC to outdoor moderate use. I see more Steel Will knives in my future.

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Stiff and bit of a hassle

I wanted to love this knife but right out of the box the action came super stiff. I thought maybe after using it awhile it would get better but it didn't. So I resolved to take it apart, clean it, and lube it. Couldn't get all the screws off due to loctite or something and I don't have a soldering tool currently.. so I'm stuck with an even worse action until I can borrow a tool.… read more While I'm sure it'll get taken care of in the end and be a fine knife, the hassle was annoying.

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Great egos, good steel

Love the ergos of this knife, action is a little slow but it's 38 bucks! D2 is good to go. Great budget knife.

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Great Knife at the price

Nice knife. Not terribly big. Handle is a bit small in my hands, but better if you use the finger choil. Pocket clip is OK. Does the job but I feel like it rides a tiny bit high. FRN is grippy. Feels a little cheap, but it's FRN. Flips open just fine. A little lubrication and it's great. Honestly it's just a great knife.

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Great budget knife

Good blade steel good design! Cannot go wrong for the price!

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Good value

When put to the test, the liner lock will fail you. The action on the knife is poor. If you like to fidget with your flipper, you will have a sore finger fast. Still, D2 steel and well made for the price point.

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Impressive

I have a Kershaw Chill that I really love, ($25 or so) but for a bit more money, it doesn't hold a candle to this Cutjack Mini. The flipping action is perfect, right out of the box. The size is just right. I have a medium size palm and shortish fingers, and I can hold it below the choil with all four fingers: the pinky rests on the round part at the butt, but is not falling off.… read more Choke up to the choil, and there's LOTS of room.

I haven't done a lot of cutting with it yet, but just from sharpening, the D2 is a lot harder than AUS8. (as it should be) Maybe Brian M's missed the heat treat or they didn't have it ironed out yet. If it dulls too quickly, I'll come back and report on it. D2 should be right around Rc 60.

What I did for sharpening was to grind a proper 30° back bevel on it with the Sharpmaker and the coarse diamond rods. That took maybe half an hour. Then, I put the 40° micro bevel on with the medium stones, and honed it with the fine ones. NOW this thing is a proper cutting tool. The factory edge was not very good. Very steep; quick and dirty. Not sharp enough to slice paper. So if you don't have sharpening skill, you better look elsewhere or plan to send this one off somewhere right away to have it done properly.

My one complaint is that its edge grind is steep. It really takes a while to grind a shallower one on it, so that I can get a sharp, fine micro-bevel on the cutting edge. Steel Will could take a lesson from Spyderco or Cold Steel on this front.

The clip is just right: tight, but not ridiculously so. (like Cold Steel) With a bit of wear, it will soon be perfect. It's held on by three nicely-rounded Torx screws, so it's not going anywhere.

The locking liner is just how I like it: light. It comes over positively, but is not ridiculously hard, like many frame locks are. It's strong enough to keep the knife from accidentally closing, but not so stiff it tears up your thumb if you flip it for an hour.

Before I bought this, I bought a Modus, and I love that one too. I actually considered getting the higher-end one of this Mini Cutjack, but they're not available new, except by ebay scalpers, and at $150+, there are plenty of compelling options. Steel Will needs to get the prices down a bit on their Italian-made, ball bearing models with the M390 steel, then they'll really be kicking the crap out of the big boys.

I used the Modus the other day to cut up all kinds of food: onions, tomatoes, cilantro and avocado for guacamole dip. It took me an hour, this being a small blade, but I didn't clean it all during that time. When I was done, I rinsed it with water only. No soap or oil. Put it away and forget about it. No rust. It doesn't shine like a proper stainless, as this is a "stain resistant" steel only. If that's the cost for good hardness and toughness at a knife in this price point, I'm all for it.

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Great EDC.

Great edc

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Soft D2

Unfortunately I have to give a thumbs down. Its a shame, the design is great.

The D2 behaves more like Aus8 or 8crmov, dulling in one workday, sharpens like a soft steel too. I had a Ontario Rat 2 in D2 steel that was lost, and that knife made it through the week. Perhaps Steel Wil was sold bad steel or maybe my blade missed a heat treat. Also I ordered a green knife, but… read more a blue one was in the box. That is OK, the blue is actually a good looking knife.

On the positive, the finger choil is awesome, very comfortable, flipping action very good for a knife running on bushings.

But I ordered another Ontario.

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Awesome knife!

Great ergonomics with a great blade for all edc jobs. Action was a bit tough on the washers, but it does break in after a little while and is buttery smooth for me now.
Love it and I do recommend it!

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Exceptional knife

Wow! For the money, this knife is outstanding. I also plan to get the large version when it's back in stock. Thanks Bladehq for shipping it fast.

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I wish there were more knives like this.

Perfect edc size. Perfect flipper action on washers!... D2 is some tough steel holds an edge. Lightweight.... Wish the clip was a little deeper....

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QUALITY QUALITY QUALITY

This knife should cost about 60-80 but it’s a very great deal for 40. Just need a little more maintenance on the D2 blade but other than that it’s a very smooth flipper and you get strong edge retention.

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Love blade shape

What a great knife...value makes it an easy edc choice and quality is there with d2 steel. Solid choice for new knife collectors and old

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Pushing the Price Point to the Max

The Cutjack is excellent. Design, Steel, Handle material, Clip, etc. are all good if not great. Then you see the price and it is mind boggling. This feels like a much more expensive knife than it is. Great job Steel Will.

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Serious Quality

Just got this Cutjack today. The first thing I thought was "Did BladeHQ goof on the price?" This knife feels like a $60, or $70 knife, easily. Beautiful blade, good steel riding on bronze washers, all Torx fasteners that are nicely rounded. No sharp edges on the handle, nice early lock-up. From the photo, I thought the FRN scales would feel cheap, but no way, feels premium and solid.… read more Aggressive enough to provide excellent grip, but not a pocket shredder. Perfect clip tension.

An interesting point is that the blade stop is not visible, it's integrated into the handle on the non show side. Nice touch. The back spacer protrudes slightly, but is well rounded to not cause hot spots. I only have one small nit-pick, and that's the fact that the blade edge goes all the way up to the forward finger choil. I would like to see just a bit of non sharpened edge just forward of the choil. Not a deal breaker though. This knife has a lot going for it. If you're looking for a small and relatively light weight flipper that feels like a knife twice it's price, this is it.

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