GiantMouse ACE Jagt Knife Review – GWC Mag

Don’t get me wrong; I’m all about eating freeze-dried food out of a bag. But when there’s time to sit and enjoy a night by the fire, I have been known to prepare quite the spread. That’s why some folks call me “Cookie” (more on this in the recipe below).

Nearly 200 years before I accepted my culinary nom de plume, a man known as Nessmuk traversed the Adirondacks. Small in stature, Nessmuk is considered the father of the ultralight movement. He is said to have commissioned a lightweight, solo canoe for his adventures as well as a set of tools. These tools included a double-bit axe and a fixed-blade knife, now known as the “Nessmuk knife.”

The Nessmuk knife had a unique blade shape. It was a drop-point blade with a large swoop-like fin that broadened the front and top of the knife blade. It’s believed that Nessmuk requested this be done for hunting and meat processing, as this shape allowed for easier entry into the animal as well as heightened slicing properties.

It’s also believed that this knife may never have existed, aside from an illustration in Nessmuk’s 1884 book “Woodcraft and Camping.” But it has inspired numerous knives since. One of those knives is GiantMouse’s ACE Jagt, a long and slender flipper knife with a MagnaCut blade in that famous blade shape. I tested this blade to see if it would hold up to Nessmuk’s standards.

In short: The GiantMouse ACE Jagt brings food prep to the forefront with its well-balanced Jagt. This is the knife for those looking to add a few more functions to their EDC. First and foremost, a folding hunting knife, the tool should also function well for game processing.

GiantMouse ACE Jagt Knife Review

Design & Features

GiantMouse markets its Jagt as a hunting knife, which makes sense, being that “Jagt” is the Danish word for “hunting.” However, a quick read of the copy on its website for the Jaqt reveals that GiantMouse isn’t expecting you to break down a bull moose with the knife. (That’s not to say that you couldn’t. After all, where there’s a will, there’s a way.) Instead, it has deemed the Jagt an “excellent outdoor companion for hiking or camping.”

With an overall length of 8 inches, the Jagt fills your hand and is well-balanced. It has a stainless steel, skeletonized frame covered in texturized and contoured green Micarta handle scales. It’s a flipper knife with a liner lock, jimping for use in all conditions, and GiantMouse’s signature wire pocket clip. Like GM’s Biblio XL, the Jagt’s edges have all been rounded for comfort, so you’ll need to use the ample thumb hole when it’s time to make a fire with your Ferro rod.

The shining feature of this knife is the 3.27-inch MagnaCut, modified drop-point blade. It resembles the original Nessmuk design. MagnaCut was the “it” steel for EDC knives in 2023, and it hasn’t shown any signs of waning as more and more knives are being released with it.

The Nessmuk styling allows the Jagt to process meat, fruit, and vegetables precisely and easily. So, MagnaCut was a good call, as it excels in edge retention, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, and toughness.

First Impressions

I had been looking at the Jagt on the GiantMouse site for some time. In fact, if it wasn’t for the launch of the Biblio XL, the Jagt was lining up to be the first GM knife I had the opportunity to test.

As much as I admire MagnaCut, I’m getting bored with it. The same thing happened to me when 154CM hit the market, and everyone was using it. That’s not a knock on either steel, which I love. I just like variety. That said, I was excited to test this knife because I knew that the MagnaCut steel would really be put to the test. Why?

A knife like this is a great example of what MagnaCut is designed to do. Everyone thinks water is the worst thing for blade steel, but it’s really blood, guts, goop, and gore. The composition of blood makes it more acidic and corrosive than water. Another factor is the temperature of the blood; the warmer the blood, the higher the corrosion rate.

MagnaCut’s composition allows it to resist corrosion, which includes oxidization.

I really liked the look and feel of the ACE Jagt from the very start of my adventures with it. It’s a large knife whose spine arcs to meet the upward swoop of the Nessmuk feature. Its handle scales are tapered to compensate for the shape of the palm, which helps it seat better in your hand. This, along with the choil indexing, creates a natural feel in your hand, which will help stave off fatigue.

In the Field

When I pitched the Jagt to my editors, I knew I wasn’t going hunting with it — not in the traditional sense. I knew all along that I would hunt down some excellent meat from my local market so I could prepare an admirable meal out by a fire in the middle of the woods. Ultimately, I wound up with half a pound of filet mignon, a pepper, a shallot, and an amazing day in the woods.

Before that epic Saturday on Ragged Mountain, I hadn’t carried the Jagt for more than an hour. It arrived on Friday afternoon, and at that point, my time was focused on getting my gear dialed in for the hike. Suffice it to say that aside from understanding how the Jagt would perform, I didn’t know what to expect. The trip was a series of gear tests where everything could have gone sideways early on.

New boots, a new pack, a new water purifier, and a new knife; It could have turned into a three-layered shit show with sprinkles on top. Instead, the totality of the 5-mile hike was fantastic. In the middle of it all was the Jagt, preparing one of the finest meals I’ve had on the trail in a while: filet fajitas (recipe below).

Preparing the Domestically Hunted Feast

I thinly sliced and properly trimmed a pepper, shallot, and a juicy red, grain-fed filet. Then, against my better judgment and a case of acute OCD, I left the knife on a rock while testing out the new purifier and stirring the meat and veg over my Jetboil’s fire.

At one point, I had to source a new, flat rock to act as a windblock at the fire pit. It wasn’t until 15-20 minutes later that I finally cleaned off the blade and put it back in my pocket. That was ample time for it to get stained, and it didn’t.

I was careful not to let the blood or juice enter the pivot. The last thing I wanted was to gum up the ball bearings that allow this knife to deploy so smoothly and sufficiently to get all jammed up.

Overall, I was impressed. I am still impressed. Maybe some of it is my admiration for Nessmuk and the Nessmuk shape. As I sit here, flicking the knife open and closing it down multiple times between paragraphs, I’m excited to get it back in the pocket. It has earned a place in my next tried-and-true adventure.

GiantMouse ACE Jagt Knife: In Conclusion

If you’ve never read Nessmuk’s totem “Woodcraft and Camping” it’s a fantastic guidebook for living in the outdoors. The amount of detail he puts into explaining different camp setups and the tools he uses are fantastic. It all becomes a great companion piece for the Jagt.

The Jagt could be considered the epitome of a backpacking and camping knife. At 8 inches long and 4 ounces, it’s very well-balanced and excels at cutting, chopping, and slicing. It is also really good at scraping. If you use it for hunting, it could become a great tool for working with meat and hide.

I have a few knives lined up for testing but will focus on a few “not-knife” products for a while. This means I can carry the Jagt around a little longer, which I am excited to do. Being a fan of anything with Micarta brings up my stoke levels. Finding a newfound joy for MagnaCut means I will eat many more meals in the woods.

Bonus: Cookie the Cook’s Trailside Filet Fajitas

I’m not sure how it happened, but I have long been called “Cookie” when I go camping or head up to my cabin in Vermont with friends. It’s not my trail name — that’s “Ragged” — but more of a cute name derived from my affinity to not spare on the quality of food I prepare and serve for myself and my friends when we’re out there, in it.

The following recipe is good for two full-sized fajitas per person. Adjust accordingly to accommodate the number of people at your party.

• Jetboil MiniMo and Summit Skillet (or whatever stove and skillet you’ve got)
• ½ lb. filet mignon (venison backstrap would be epic as well)
• 1 cubanelle pepper
• 1 shallot
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Pepper jack cheese
• Tortillas

1. Heat a pan over medium heat (this is where a Jetboil outshines an open fire).
2. Slice the pepper and shallot thin. Remove the pith from the pepper.
3. Add a little bit of olive oil to the pan. Not a lot.
4. Add peppers and shallot slices. Get them to a sizzle.
5. Add filet slices to the pan.
6. Walk away. This isn’t like cooking at home. Let that meat sit and sizzle.
7. Once the meat has browned, add salt and pepper and stir everything together.
8. Add two slices of pepper jack cheese to your tortilla.
9. Cut the heat and add the meat and veg mix to your tortilla.
10. Fold and enjoy.
11. Repeat.