Joker Corzo and Cocker put to the test

Since the early years of edgeware making, Spain has been prominent as a maker of quality cutlery. The days of swords and other fighting blades may be no longer with us, but the tradition remains, and while the knives of today are considered more in the light of quality tools, they still adhere to the traditions founded by the ancestral making of fine steel swords and knives. Hardly surprising then to find hunting knives built there that live up to the legend.

While the Joker company is comparably more recent than those craftsmen of old, they still make great knives. Founded in 1987, the term ‘craftsman’ still applies to those who work there. They come from a Spanish region known as Albacete, a place well known for its skilled craftsmen and master cutlers.

The company has a wide range of edged products, including axes and saws. But the focus here is on their knives. Each knife is crafted by hand and uses a combination of traditional techniques as well as more modern ones, often depending on the style. They are particularly renowned for folding knives.

The Joker Knife Store sent us a couple of knives to wrap our fingers around – a sheath knife and a folder. The sheath knife is called a ‘Corzo’, and its catalogue number is CR-23. It’s priced at $174.99. The folder is called a ‘Cocker’, cat. no. NO-47 and priced at a very reasonable $124.99. Both are flat ground, made from 440 stainless steel and are hand finished.

These knives are tools firstly, but it never hurts to own something that looks nice as well. The Joker knives under review are pleasing to the eye yet maintain the practical features to make them effective in the field. And that’s the basics taken care of.

First off, both knives feel good in the hand, an important factor in anyone’s language. The handles are not too wide but have just enough bulk to allow a decent grip. The Corzo comes with a sheath made of solid cow hide that is skilfully stitched. The edge of the blade is well protected, and there is a keeper strap that holds the knife in place.

Right out of the box the blades are razor sharp. It’s also an easy job to keep that edge, using a combination of a good stone and a steel. The duration of the edge obviously depends on the sort of work they do. They are designed to be used in the field, and their design reflects this.

I have to say I much prefer the drop point as there’s far less chance of the point snagging a gut bag, which can end up ruining the meat. The top of the blade is wide enough to rest your thumb on without adding extra weight. Both knives have a similar length blade, the main difference being that one is a folding knife and the other a sheath knife.

The next step was to take them out in the field. This is where the knives are supposed to work, and we wanted to see how they handled the rough and tumble of bush use. Both these knives are robust enough to manage just about any job you could toss their way, but personally I’d keep them just for skinning and breaking down an animal in the field.

When out and about, there was no need to touch up the edge. We had a young goat to break down for meat, and both the Corzo fixed blade and the Cocker folder did the job effortlessly. The only difference between the two being the slightly smaller handle on the folder. The cuts were clean, and we were able to get the job done without any trouble, including keeping the meat free of fur. The edge remained as sharp as it had out of the box.

We only wanted the back legs in this instance, and the Joker knives made an easy job of removing them cleanly. They were also great when it came to skinning them. Both the Corzo and the Cocker were easy to clean up after the job, we just had to make sure nothing got down into the slot for the folding Cocker’s blade. Both the folder and the sheath knife handled this work with the same degree of efficiency.

It basically came down to personal preference as to the folder taking up less space, or the sheath knife having the advantage of slightly better grip.

Check out jokerknifestore.com.au for their full array of products and to make a purchase. You won’t be disappointed.