Aitor Jungle King I and II

[steelstr45]

I own a Jungle King I and it feels like it would be incredibly durable in a destruction test. I'd love to see it tested.

[Noss]

steelstr45: Welcome to the forum. I use to have one of these a long time ago. I never used it. I was more in a collecting phase back then. I sold it to a friend of a friend.

Are they still making them ?

[steelstr45]

Thanks.
I think they must still make them unless there's a lot of new ones they haven't sold yet. I got mine at Overstock.com. It wasn't listed as a Jungle King I, just as a survival knife. I also just saw them on Amazon.com yesterday. If you type in "Jungle King" on Amazon, a bunch will show up new.

[doubletap]

I must be looking for the wrong thing. All I'm finding are "jungle king" knockoffs. Could you provide a link? I'd love to pick a genuine Aitor Jungle king up especially the larger Jungle King I model. There was a company called www.cutlerytogo.com that carried them but they are out of them. thanks.

[steelstr45]

Well a search on Amazon led me to this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Jungle-Hunting-Knife-Nylon-Sheath/dp/B0018HYCHQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1213759933&sr=8-1

I have no idea if it's a knockoff or not. If it is, then I've been screwed and I own a knockoff.

[steelstr45]

You know, I think mine is a knockoff now that I look at it. There's no mention of the company Aitor anywhere on it.....crap.

Well at least it's a good knockoff anyway.

[Tac45]

http://www.aceros-de-hispania.com/gb/infer.asp?ac=1&trabajo=listar&pa=cuchillos_supervivencia_knives&sg=cuchillos_supervivencia_knives

Hi and welcome Steel. The one in your link is a knock off. The Aitor branded originals are quite expensive. The blades on these things have a very short tang and if you look at the picture there is a pin holding it in.

here is an interesting article.

http://www.donrearic.com/slingshots.html

[steelstr45]

yeah, that's kind of disappointing that it's a fake, but it seems like even the fake is pretty good quality. I haven't used it for any real survival stuff or anything, so I don't really know if it would hold up in real world conditions, but it seems like it would. I've ordered the Cold Steel GI knife after I saw the destruction video, so I guess that will be my first really tough knife in my collection.

[Macgregor]

Do yourself a favor bro and pick up a mora or one of the lesser priced cold steel blades like the long hunter.

[Macgregor]

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=CS36PS

http://smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/prodlist.jsp?Mode=Brand&Brand=47&CatalogName=&PriceStart=&PriceEnd=&Feature=&SearchText=&list=50&range=1&order=Default

http://www.knivesplus.com/ONTARIO-KNIVES-SPEC-PLUS.HTML

All of those would be good choices for ya.

[Tac45]

The GI Tanto sure seems a bargain of a knife. Awsome performance in Noss's test.

Here is another link for the Jungle King.

http://www.donrearic.com/aitor.html

I like these things. I'd even use one in the bush for fun. The truth is they are not solid enough to be your one and only tool. If there is a possibility that it may have to take abuse, use something else. You need a knife with a full tang. A survival kit should be bigger than what fits in a handle. I think the current fad for tiny survival kits is just crazy and dangerous.

Having said that. They are so cool. I love gadgets, multi tools etc. The Jungle King to me falls in this category.

[steelstr45]

Do yourself a favor bro and pick up a mora or one of the lesser priced cold steel blades like the long hunter.

Is the Mora now called Frosts? I've been trying to find one but I keep getting Frosts knives when I look up Mora's for sale.

[Macgregor]

Yep; Frosts Mora of Sweden, there is also JJ. Eickerson.
http://smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/prodlist.jsp?Mode=Brand&Brand=47&CatalogName=&PriceStart=&PriceEnd=&Feature=&SearchText=&list=50&range=1&order=Default

DO NOT get them confused with Frost Cutlery, they are just china pos.

[steelstr45]

The GI Tanto sure seems a bargain of a knife. Awsome performance in Noss's test.

Here is another link for the Jungle King.

http://www.donrearic.com/aitor.html

I like these things. I'd even use one in the bush for fun. The truth is they are not solid enough to be your one and only tool. If there is a possibility that it may have to take abuse, use something else. You need a knife with a full tang. A survival kit should be bigger than what fits in a handle. I think the current fad for tiny survival kits is just crazy and dangerous.

Having said that. They are so cool. I love gadgets, multi tools etc. The Jungle King to me falls in this category.


I like the way the Jungle King II looks in that article.

Even though it can't really be fully relied on in a real survival situation not having a full tang, I like how the Jungle King I is thought out, even my knockoff. The hollow handle can be used to make a spear out of the knife, and it has the holes in the guard to tie it onto a stick. It even has a really long length of cord on the sheath to use to tie it up.

You're right about it not having adequate supplies to truly survive with the knife alone, but there's some stuff inside that could give you a nice "boost" in a survival emergency like flint, and a couple of matches, and some mini fishing hooks and weights.

[steelstr45]

Yep; Frosts Mora of Sweden, there is also JJ. Eickerson.
http://smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/prodlist.jsp?Mode=Brand&Brand=47&CatalogName=&PriceStart=&PriceEnd=&Feature=&SearchText=&list=50&range=1&order=Default

DO NOT get them confused with Frost Cutlery, they are just china pos.

Thanks, that's good to know. I think I'm going to order one from Amazon, but the ones they have are the Stainless Steel models. Are these as tough as the Carbon Steel ones tested on the website?

[Tac45]

If you really need a spear. You can use the knife to sharpen a stick. Once you sharpen the end you can heat treat it using your fire to harden the tip. Alternatively a Cold Steel Bushman is a cheap mighty tough knife that is hollow handled and one piece.

Last thing you should do with the spear is throw it. No fun to loose your knife stuck in an animal that runs off. best used as a sticker giving you extra reach.

For the tasks you would use the Mora for I personally don't think carbon or stainless make much difference. My personal preference would be carbon for ease of sharpening.

[steelstr45]

That's really good to know to fire the tip. I would have never thought of that.

[Macgregor]

Pick eather one.
The stainless ones are made of 12c27, a stainless steel that sharpens and wears like carbon.
They rc in at 57.
The carbon ones are probly made of 1095 or something similiar, easy to sharpen and holds a great edge.
They rc in at 60.

Scandi ground knives are idiot proof to sharpen, you just lay the blade bevel on the stone and sharpen right down to the edge.
http://www.ragweedforge.com/scanshrp.html

[steelstr45]

I ordered a stainless steel clipper this morning. I hope it arrives fast since my Cold Steel GI one is taking forever.

[Macgregor]

Costing you money already.

[steelstr45]

Getting back to the Jungle King I for a second, I know mine is probably a knockoff, but I've been looking at it very closely for signs of this and don't really see any. Of course I don't have a known real one to compare it to. One thing that might be a sign is that the blade itself says "China" on it, but I don't know if this is the case with real JK's.

I took some pictures (below) of mine, so if anyone knows Jungle Kings, maybe you could take a look to see if you see any tell tale signs.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/steelstr45/Picture001.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/steelstr45/Picture002.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/steelstr45/Picture003.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/steelstr45/Picture007.jpg

[steelstr45]

Here's a few more pics since the forum limits me to 4.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/steelstr45/Picture008.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/steelstr45/Picture009.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn319/steelstr45/Picture010.jpg

[Tac45]

Jungle Kings are made by Aitor in Spain. They are branded Aitor on the blade and stamp the place of manufacture as Spain. Aitor also Rockwell Test for hardness each blade they make. If you have a look at the picture in the the link you will see a small circle before the brand name. Indside that circle is a small indentation. This is caused by the machine which tests the blade hardness.

The Spanish have no need to outsource manufacture. They have been making knives and swords for centuries. I doubt you could find a new genuine one for under a hundred dollars.

[steelstr45]

thanks, that's what I thought. It's very frustrating that it's a counterfeit. I mean it's a decent knife from what I've seen, I don't know why whoever made it couldn't just give it their own name instead of using the name of another product. I'm sure they would have sold their product just as well if not better with a unique brand as they did being counterfeit Aitor makers.

[doubletap]

Heres a link to Aitor's site. http://www.aitor.com/ Looks like there are quite a few versions of the Jungle King. Even if your knife is not a genuine Aitor it doesn't mean it's not a fine knife. If your happy with it and it works for you thats all that matters.