Jagdkommando emblem laser engraved onto blade

Extrema Ratio TASK J

Extrema Ratio TASK J Tough as!

Extrema Ratio TASK J no problems for making feathers (wood seasoned cherry!)

I didn't know what to expect when Extrema Ratio released the TASK J. As as owner of the TASK, 

Side by side comparison. The Extrema Ratio TASK, and the TASK J (bottom knife) is a blade for harsher treatment. Both knives have their virtues and neither one IMHO replaces the other. These two models should satisfy the needs of the outdoors persons. The slightly less penetrative power of the TASK J but increased power for chopping as apposed to little chopping power of the TASK but big on penetration power. Lacking any confident levering power in the TASK, the TASK J satisfies this mode. The TASK J is easily used without gloves. As I said in my early reviews of the TASK, I liken it to a bushcraft knife on steroids. For me this still stands. The Extrema Ratio TASK J for me (in my hands) could easily come under my banner of a "Survival knife" (see my definitions) although Extrema are certainly not marketing it under that banner.

a knife I find to be very versatile for a great many camping activities where knives are involved and also straight out and out "bushcraft stuff", I've had no issues with it in the Australian bush and also the jungle environment.

Now after some weeks going on a month of field testing, as to the TASK J, well this is a totally different knife as you will have ready and seen in my previous blog and seen in my recent field assessment of this knife. The only similarity are the first 4 letters! The Extrema Ratio Task J simply rocks and to paraphrase one of my readers words: "A stout but functional blade"! I think their words sum up the TASK J. Weighty but not heavy, sturdy spine but not crazily thick and with a shallow angled grind to a sabre geometry along with a good swedge, and strong tip 

Super strong tip on the TASK J irresponsibly plunged into a tree trunk!

the TASK J can handle a lot of tasks, no pun intended! Maybe that's why I'm still crapping on about this knife so much. 

The Reason

The design of the TASK J is of course a collaboration with the Jagdkommando unit of the Austrian military, so there has obviously been some serious thought put into the design of this knife. 

Ok you are saying, "Come on, it's a damn knife, I mean, knives are meant to cut and that's it, so what"?

Ok well the so what is this:

Don't change the comfortable grip, it works, that's why for example Kizlyar Supreme use their particular grip (also very ergonomic) on all of their tactical knives, and so why shouldn't other manufacturers when they get it right too? Yes the handle on the TASK J is that very same one, also a collaboration with university researchers to develop an ergonomic grip. 

It cuts and it cuts well.

No problems with either raw or cooked meat

Of course all good knives should, at the very least be able to achieve this (cut well) but we know in our hearts of hearts, sometimes they fail in this area. It's easy to have a thin bladed knife slice through raw meat easily but making a thick bladed (the spine) knife do the same thing without great effort on the part of the user (or totally mangling what you are trying to slice up), requires some serious thought to the actual blade geometry. I have to laugh at the plethora of so called "Tactical knives" out there with blades which look more like pry bars than knives (rename as "tactical pry-bars" with added bonus  "sharp edge") and the manufacturers have the hide to state and or attempt to show these blades in some sort of military area theme! I seriously pity the people who are sucked in to purchase such blades. You would be better off carrying a dedicated pry bar and sharpen one end and turn the other end into some sort of pointy spear! Knives still have to be able to cut. All this hoo ha about having super thick knives as they are the strongest, I mean, for what??? When a tank accidentally runs over my 1/4 inch thick slab of steel?? Let's get real here. 

This brings me back to the TASK J which bears the insignia of the Austrian Jagdkommando Unit. What we have here is a balance of functionality and strength, not all out strength because then a knife like that ceases to become really useful, just a slab of steel.

Preparing a fire (also don't forget the ginormous ferro rod included with the TASK J

Carving off some outer part of sugar cane to eat. Perfect for a hot summer day in the tropics

The best option is a machete or small parang but the Extrema Ratio TASK J easily accomplishes working on sugar cane

If you can't chop into large hard vegetables or fruits or any tubers (sources of starch) then you must be carrying a knife with a good point and not too thick so as to be able to penetrate hard food stuff and sever the item via cracking. Even machetes or parangs if you don't swing/chop into similar items will crack them open. But for a small knife such as the TASK J, the tip works perfectly for this. I've done it many times on vary large tubers of Cassava, a perfect source of starch in tropical regions. 

Ok so you are saying what's with all this food stuff? Well to say it a million times, if you can't feed yourself with a knife then get another one in which you can. A multi-purpose knife must be exactly that. Obviously it must be good at cutting various objects, penetrating items, sturdy enough for some light chopping and certainly versatile enough to prepare game, fish and other food items in a survival situation or even just camping (if you are a civilian), hence the name multi-purpose. Now many a good hunting knife can also be classified multipurpose however, in the case of the Extrema Ratio TASK J, this knife is clearly aimed at military personnel so there are other potential functions of such a multi-purpose blade of which I will write nothing about as I'm not a soldier.

Ok enough ranting on about this latest acquisition, the Extrema Ratio TASK J. I guess you must've figured I'm pretty stoked with this blade.

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