Hello to everyone, today I'll review the Ruike Jager F118 (Green) sent me by Ruike, whom I thank for the opportunity and trust given to me.
CLICK HERE to go to the official product page on the Ruike's website.
Official Features Taken from Ruike:
- Sandvik 14C28N (58 ~ 60 HRC) blade material
- G10 knife's handle
- finish: stonewashed
Where to buy
You can purchase the F118 from FENIX OUTFITTERS
The Packaging and the Accessories
The Jager F118, like the other Ruike's products, comes in a sturdy cardboard box. On the front, in addition to the brand's name, there is also the motto of the company.
On the back there are more information about Ruike and, as can be seen from the first written, this mark is connected to the famous brand Fenix.
On one side is attached a sticker that shows the model name and the color of the handles.
Opened the box, we will find the knife hosted into a specially shaped compartment.
Once removed everything from the packaging, we will have:
- the Jager F118
- The scabbard made of black plastic (ABS)
- warranty's sheet
- the manual in English, Chinese and Spanish
Here, the pages of the manual that you can download or view on the Ruike's website.
The Knife
The Jager F118 is the top fixed blade and full tang knife of the Ruike (pronounced "Rake").
The steel used in the construction of this knife is the Sandvik 14C28N (58 ~ 60 HRC), much used in these areas due to its corrosion resistance, high general hardness and high qualities of thread trimming.
The material used for the handles is the G10, obtained by combining fiberglass and epoxy, which offers good grip in a variety of situations. In the model reviewed, the handle is green with black streaks. But are also available in all black (change the last letter of the name from G to B).
Here's the Jager, just took it out of the box, in all its glory.
The knife comes with a piece of hard plastic that protects the tip,
protection that comes off very easily.
The blade has a drop point profile and a stonewashed finish. On the left side stands out, in plain sight, the name of the brand.
On the opposite side you will find the model name
and, next to the grip, the name of the steel used and an identification code. To the right of the latter, there is a hole where you can put a dragona if you feel necessary.
On top of the knife there are grooves that increase the grip of the thumb when we will make some work.
Despite the thickness of 4.5 mm thickness (4.4 mm according to my digital gauge), the back has rounded corners and this makes it look thinner than knife actually is not. Obviously the shapes gradually thinning when approaching the tip and, in my opinion, the particular cut of the head makes the line of the knife very nice to look at.
And finally, to conclude this section, there's the handle.
As mentioned, are black and green and are held together by 4 torx screws (2 on each side) and make the handle very comfortable and grippy.
The overall shape of the tail of the knife does not make a very comfortable backward grip position to chopping. Batoning instead will be performed flawlessly.
There is another hole in the tail which is fine for a dragona and either for a simpler, but still valid, strap or lanyard.
The Scabbard
The scabbard supplied with this knife is not done in kydex but is built with the simplest ABS plastic. The knife will fit perfectly inside and will not come off without our intervention. Will not come out from there even if it is put upside down.
All around there are riveted holes (8 usable in total and 4 still free) which, besides ensuring the clip, allow the engagement of other knives with sheaths of the same system or adding paracord or other useful tools.
On the back, compared to the previous picture, there is a clip attached to the system that allows it to rotate 360° on preset positions, however, stopping suddenly.
Here's the clip viewed from the side. Both it and the locking and rotation system are completely made of plastic but nevertheless has a good stain on clothes.
The locking system is composed of 9 holes into which you insert a PIN that is operated by a lever (plastic).
To rotate the clip, and then change it position, simply depress the lever to separate pin and holes. The trigger will be released when we find the location you want.
Small digression: the locking system is anchored to the knife-scabbard using 4 torx screws which, with a special instrument, can be unscrewed and screwed on the opposite side to the scabbard. This enables both the left/right-handers to use this product.
The latches that will tighten the screws are not fully circular but will have a flat part
which will avoid the screw to turn into the hole that will be inserted which will have the same shape.
The side of the scabbard has horizontal grooves on which will be placed the thumb to get more grip when we leverage to pull out the knife.
How the knife looks like when carryed by your side
or carryed behind on your back.
The Tests Performed
The knife comes with a great factory sharpening and cutting of a sheet of paper or a cardboard without any problems.
Also the makingo of feather sticks is easy, given the comfortable grip that won't fatigue during this type of work.
Also running the batoning on a 7/8 cm diameter ankle turns out to be a not too difficult operation for this F118 Jager and, with about 10 shots in total, it will divide into two a 30 cm-long wooden ankle.
The only drawback encountered during the operation was a slight loosening of the rear screw due the impacts of another stub wood used during batoning. Probably had not been tightened and, when comed back to home, I made sure nothing is damaged and then tighten all well.
During the batonning, the loosening of the tail, made slightly unstable grip and slowed the work.
N.B. I want to clarify that the wood used in testing have been picked in the undergrowth by trees or fallen branches on the ground in a natural manner. The wood, after tests, remained available to people in the barbecue area present in the vicinity of where I was. No living tree has been mistreated during testing.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/-WrfGOPuWxc
Dimensions and Weights
The F118 Jager weighs 195 gr while the only sheath weighs 95. The lenght of the knife is 22.3cm, the only cutting edge is 10.5 cm long, the thickness is 4.4 mm while the knife is high, from the wire to the back, 3.3 cm.
Dimensional comparison with a big BIC lighter,
with the Ruike LD43,
with a Morakniv Companion Tactical
and with a KA-BAR BK7.
Comparison also of the thickness of the Companion, the Jager and BK7.
Personal considerations
This Jager F118 is a valid field knife, very practical because its dimensions that also allow you to perform works not overly burdensome as set up a fire to heat or cook and eat something hot.
The scabbard, though is maded of plastic, seems sturdy and his ingenious locking system allows us to wear it and have it available in the easiest way possible.
The generous blade thickness allows it to perform even the batoning, as long as the piece of wood hasn't a diameter too generous.
Its weight, its size and the comfort of the grips make this knife a good companion for any outdoor outlet. Also because that is its nature.
The only improvement that I also suggested to Ruike, is to control better the screws that keep togheter the handles and, if necessary, to take due care to improve and make more stable its clamping system.
What do you think about? You will buy it?
This seems like a solid day hikin knife. Blue Locktite should have been used on the screws.
I’m not to sure about the exposed top of the tang. It looks a little uncomfortable. The tension adjustment screw wasn’t mentioned… that’s a plus.
I would replace the clip with a Teklok the first day.
Nice review Neil,
I’ve got a question about the handle/g10 scales, what does the tang underneath the scales look like. Has it been skeletonized or is it solid apart from the screw holes for the handle?
I’ve basically come down to the Ruike f118 or a Real Steel Pointman and the answer to the above will help
Thanks
I’m using my best necromancy to revive this old thread. I like this knife but I don’t know how popular it is. Has anyone tried other mounting methods for the sheath, like a Tek-Lok? The stock clip protrudes a little more than I’d like and slightly reduces the range of comfortable wearing positions.