Jackal01 - Emergency Knife
I'm pretty sure all the good things in the world came about because someone got bored of doing something the hard way over and over again. They'd have tried for a while and decided that what they were doing was neither efficient, comfortable or 'cool-looking'.
The washing machine came about as some dude got bored walking to the stream to wash his pants. The AK47 exists as communists needed a more efficient way to dispatch those who didn't tow the party line. There is a long list of inventions throughout time and they all start with a need.
Now I'm no world changer! I'm a simple enough guy who has a very specific job, skill-set and pass-times, all of which fortunately merge into one. A big part of what I do is step-in to assist people when their respective wheels have come off. This happens an awful lot. As part of this task I need tools, specific things with a purpose that need to work, no doubt! You'll have read my previous posts about med-kits and what they need to do, I'm this focussed with all my tools, they quite simply cannot let me down, lives quite frankly depend on it.
When I look at the emergency situations I most often find myself in, the common factor is people. Getting them out of cars, buildings, ligatures the list goes on. Then there is more often than not a requirement to stop claret spilling out of them, cutting clothes away, doing so safely etc etc
For the best part of two decades I have done this, carrying various bits of kit to assist me on my way, all of which are fine by themselves but none truly did the job in as efficient a way as possible. They just made-do.
For a long time I've dreamt of the perfect tool, often finding something which does 50% of the tasks, comes close or looks like it may work. All of these things have been tried and ultimately put down and forgotten.
So in the true spirit of what I do, sat around a camp fire with a good buddy of mine who is a knife maker I decided enough was enough, time to come up with something to stop me bitching about not having that something in my life, if that makes sense.
We kicked about a few ideas but I, as stubborn and pig-headed as I often am, had a clear idea in my mind as to what it needed to be! I began cutting out bits of cardboard, mocking up for size and shape. Truth be told it all happened surprisingly quick, the initial mock-up isn't a million miles away from the production item.
From there It went in to prototype production and we got one in our mitts, great fun! Hitting it as hard as I could, testing it to its limits and seeing what would happen was great fun! We also got to hand it to people at the range and some of the shooting shows we had a presence at, that was insightful and if you were one of those guys who gave me some feedback I owe you a beer - come find me to collect!
So we ended up with one of the most purposeful tools I have ever used. What does it do and why you say? Well here goes:
- Vehicle extraction - The glass breaker is solid and clean, it does what it says on the tin! Those of you (like me) that have tried punching a car window through or popping it with a baton will know how hard it can be. I always get there but very inefficiently. Gone are those days, one whack with the pommel of this bad-boy and its straight through. The seat-belt cutter is also no explanation needed tool. I've had to cut people out of cars whilst petrol is pouring out after a crash and its a scary ass place! A conventional knife is incredibly difficult to use for such a task and a rounded retention type gut-hook is a must have! This thing is great, cuts clean and sharpens up a treat, and its out of the way so you can't snag it on yourself!
- Trauma treatment - The seat-belt cutter doubles up as a clothes cutter, going through jeans and t-shirts like no-ones business. Anyone with a LEO or EMT type background will know how important this item is and whilst sheers are all well and good sometimes they just don't get through and the need to use brute-force to get past a hem or a seam just isn't there. Personally, I'd carry both but if I could only have one it'd be a hook!
- Flattened tip - the edge is scary sharp and because of the steel will sharpen up in no time but the tip is intentionally rounded and blunt. When you are using the hook anywhere near skin then a sharp tip would be madness! I can pull this thing along a pair of jeans with ZERO worry of further trauma being inflicted on the casualty.
- Kydex sheath - One handed opening is essential! No matter how good your tool is if you need two hands to recover it you may well not bother, same as a CAT tourniquet. If you are the casualty, you are using your lead hand for something important (like stopping someone from falling) then that one handed use could be the difference between life and death! One handed removal with the thumb to open is a dream. No issues at all.
- Bonus feature - The gut-hook lends itself to gralloching deer or hog perfectly. If you find yourself with the need to do so, this thing won't let you down! And the rounded tip means you won't catch that organ on your way through too so less clean-up. The blade is plenty sharp enough to make your first cut too, so no need to pierce with the tip, if that makes sense?
The finish is intentional, its hard working and won't show up marks as easily! This isn't a super-steel Spyderco which demands a mirror polish, its a tool for using recklessly to save someones bacon. The steel is well thought out to be ideal for purpose whilst easy to maintain, 80CRV2 does everything I need this blade to do whilst keeping the price down too! I'm gonna get Damascus and stainless ones made in the fullness of time as I've already been asked for them in those steels, just not straight away, you'll have to wait a little longer fellas!
Special mention to my buddy Ev from The Leading Edge Knife Works. He's managed to get this thing out of my head and into reality, a thankless task to be honest! If you need a custom knife making in the UK he's your man, he can be found in my links page!
Anyway, these things are available on the site now, you can find them on this link - https://jackalfirearms.bigcartel.com/product/jackal01-emergency-tool
These are the first version of this tool and I'm not so arrogant as to think I've got it perfect first swing! As always if you have any ideas or feedback I'd welcome it, sincerely! Or, if you think you know what you are talking about and want to have a play with one for your blog or Youtube then hit me up, I'll do my best to get one to you!