Be warned, this is my most nerdy intro every. Exactly two people will find this funny and one of them is a fictional character named Fraiser Crane. Even Niles didn’t find this anecdote funny.

Once in philosophy graduate school a visiting scholar—Stanley Fish—gave a lecture about Alasdair MacIntyre’s riff on Aristotle’s quote about man being a social animal. There was a group of us that enjoyed Aristotle, though we were decidedly Rawlsians through and through. Fish, thinking it was funny, said that “MacIntyre improved Aristotle because not everyone likes Aristotle.” At the end of his lecture, during question time, I raised my hand and asked: “Who?” Fish replied: “Who what?” To which, much to the pride of my Jesuit teachers, I said: “Who doesn’t like Aristotle but reads things you and MacIntyre write?” The audience laughed, I thought myself very clever, and Fish didn’t respond verbally, but gave me a tip of his imaginary cap acknowledging that pretty much everyone that reads philosophy, even if they disagree with him, still loves reading and talking about Aristotle.

The Indian River Jack is like Aristotle for knives. You might love other kinds of knives, but if you like knives at all you will have a strong attraction the IRJ.

There are few objects, even in the craftsmen-obsessed gear world, that have the simplicity, directness, and feel that the IRJ possesses. At least two companies have made IRJs, Queen and Great Eastern Cutlery, and both were good. Its hard to mess up this formula—nice size, good blade shape, neutral and comfortable handle. The IRJ is the very epitome of the KISS principle. Making good knives is easy in theory—use good materials with an excellent design; making good knives is difficult in practice, as evidenced by how much the IRJ stands out from the crowd. This latest iteration is still a superior knife in every way and this review is largely an excuse to show off some pictures of this absolutely beautiful knife.

Here is the product page. All version are sold out and this is a limited edition knife. There were five covers from the high end Mammoth Ivory to the “low end” burgundy canvas micarta I am reviewing here. All sold out in less than three minutes (I know because I wanted to see how fast the high end version sold out and all were gone by the time I finished buying the burgundy version). Here is my review of an ealier version of this knife (note: the 2014 version I reviewed was made by the now-defunct Queen Cutlery). Here is a video review of this iteration of the knife. Here is my video overview. I am not bothering to check, I am confident there is no written review of this iteration of the IRJ. Here is my review sample, purchased with my own money and mine to keep. It is beautiful (all of the pictures were taken at Walden Pond, perhaps the perfect place to take knife pictures—both for the mystically beautiful light and the affirmation of self-reliance that hangs in the air):

Twitter Review Summary: Gorgeous, simple, and splendid…still

Design: 2

This is the most similar item I have ever reviewed. There are only a few places where it differs from the 2016 IRJ I reviewed. This, like the original, is incredibly simple, but also incredibly great. With a thin, rounded, and well proportioned handle, the IRJ is great in the hand, following the design maxim of great fixed blades—great handles make great knives. Coupled with this neutral handle is a very clean, exceedingly thin blade. Good handle, good blade, good design.

The performance ratios are still great, nothing really changed on this front.

Fit and Finish: 2

The old IRJs made by Queen were very, very good for a Queen knife. That means they are good but not great for a GEC knife. GEC's fit and finish is so consistent and so similar that their knives have a distinct feel to them and that feel is amazing. Tight tolerances, thorough polish, and even grinds. Everything is spot on.

But…

There is a small thing—non-flush pins. They have no impact on performance and they look and feel fine, but I can’t really not mention it. I dislike this look. Its like they only have one size of brass pins at GEC. Why, why, why? It drives me NUTS, but I can’t see taking off a point for this.

Grip: 2

When I think about knife handles I think of two things: 1) the Cooks Illustrated article on what makes a good kitchen knife (which is not linkable); and 2) Kyle Ver Steeg’s video on how the hand’s anatomy works and how that impacts knife handle design. For all the curves and cuts on other knives, for all the textures and inserts, nothing is better than a nice, simple, rounded shape—tapered at the ends and slightly flared in the middle. Lo and behold that describes the IRJ’s handle to a tee.

Carry: 2

Its like good design compounds on itself—a small, compact, rounded handle that works well in grip and is pleasing to the eye also makes for a thoughtlessly good carry. Sure there is no clip, but you kinda know that going in and so you have few options—slip carry, which I quite like in all seasons but summer, and naked. Here, the IRJ, of course, fits in the jean’s coin pocket quite well, but it is also not TERRIBLE in bouncing free in your regular pocket either. I wouldn’t carry this in the same pocket as my iPhone, but generally don’t carry ANYTHING else with my iPhone.

Steel: 2

1095 is not a new steel. It is not a great all around steel. I would not recommend it in a beefy folder and its not wonderful in a chopper, but in very specific applications, like here, it can be quite good. I find 1095 works best in this application—a thin but small blade. When you make the blade thin and a bit larger, like with the Smith and Sons Mudbug, it gets a bit chippy. Here though, with less length and less height to worry about, its great. That said, as Case has proven, virtually any steel works well in this application. This is one of the beauties of the traditional knife design—by focusing on the shape, size, and geometry of the blade you can work around profound metallurgical limitations. And so don’t think of this “2” score has meaning the “best possible choice”—its not by a long shot—but instead as “an excellent choice for this knife.” Scores are always contextual and here context matters a lot.

This is one notable place where the Queen-made IRJ was better. 154CM is a better steel and while the geometry of this design limits a person’s capacity to detect the superior steel, there is no question it is better.

For a second, though, let’s imagine a scenario where you could choose any steel for this knife. In this scenario I think the choice is obvious and would result in one of the coolest blades ever—M4. This is a traditional knife and so the idea of some generic “supersteel” with its ultra clean, boring stainlessness perfection doesn’t sit right. Instead you want something that takes a brilliantly aggressive edge but still shows wear. In my mind that steel is M4. M4 is one of my favorite steels—its quirky and old, but still a great performer. It is the steel equivalent of the original Shelby Cobra. Sure there are newer, faster cars but the combination of a great engine and a light vehicle always do well. An M4 IRJ just might give me an anuerism of joy.

Blade Shape: 2

Like with all choices on the IRJ—simple is best, and here we have a classic spearpoint blade with really great fit and finish and a megathin blade stock. Its not different than the 2016 IRJ, but if ain’t broke…you know.

Grind: 2

Ah, like the first pull of breath on a brilliant cold New England winter morning—the gloriously thin and even GEC grind invigorates the soul. If you are a knife guy and you aren’t thrilled by the grind on this knife, you need to check your pulse—you might have accidentally died and not known it.

Deployment Method: 2

Nothing feels more The Repair Shop than a slipjoint nail nick knife. Opening it is a process, but one that emphasize purpose not an impulse to fidget. Its ceremonial and while I think that handwound watches are stupid for being ceremonial, I don’t mind a very small bit of ceremony in opening a knife. The IRJ wouldn’t be what it is without the nail nick.

Retention Method: 2

The lack of a clip here is 100% the right choice. Traditional knives, like the men that lived when they were first popular, is gruff and unforgiving. Without a clip the knife basically says: “Don’t be dumb, use some common sense, and treat your things with care and respect.” Seems fair to me.

Lock/Blade Safety: 2

As if to emphasize the don’t be dumb thing—there is no lock here. You just don’t need a lock on knife. My Dad’s carry for the last six or seven years is this Cold Steel AK-47 which he has used to the point that the blade shape is noticeably different, the blade length is about a quarter inch shorter, and despite many efforts to fix it, the vaunted Tri-Ad lock no longer works at all. Guess what? He’s fine. Knife’s fine. Still carries and uses it every day. The walk and talk are like a good sales man—smooth and loud and there is a half stop, if you need it. Commonsensical folks don’t, but why not?

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: Very Low

Did you know that you can make a knife without a bearing pivot? Its true. Its possible. It can be done.

Fett Effect: Very High

Knives, like real men, have scars. This is a good knife for accumulating signs of use and wear, though I do like keeping mine clean and well-maintained.

Value: Very High

At $129 when it was new, this knife is an exceptional value, a classic iteration of the form with superior fit and finish. On the secondary, where prices approach $300, I would slow my roll a bit, but in reality, I’d still probably snap one up.

Overall Score: 20 of 20

I am not giving this thing a perfect score for two reasons: 1) I hate limited editions; and 2) the pins. But don’t be silly, this is one of the best knives available under $150 and has charm and class up the wazoo (which is a saying that is ironically very uncharming and totally classless). I love the IRJ to pieces and this one is never leaving my collection. Its a great knife, a fun knife to carry and use, and is surpassingly beautiful. The burgundy is just stunning. All knife people hear the clarion call—the IRJ is the end all, be all of traditional knives made in modern times.

Competition

The only competition for the IRJ is other IRJ’s. Of the versions out there, this burgundy micarta is favorite. I love the mammoth and the bone, but they can shrink over time resulting in less than perfect fit between the covers and the scales. Micarta can’t and the burgundy color is a deep, rich wine color. This is the one to hunt down if you aren’t a IRJ collector—sensible, functional, but still beautiful, like Bernie Sander’s hilarious mittens on inauguration day.

Its a superlative knife, one without a lot in the way of peers. Do not even think of comparing to the IRJ to one of those horrible simulacrums of a traditional knife made by Lionsteel. They are basically the knife equivalent of the colorized version of Its a Wonderful Life—a garish mistake.

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Cold Steel AK 47