Traditional slipjoints

[Doc]

A while ago we had a thread about traditional slipjoints - non locking pocket knives made to hundred-year-old traditional patterns (stockman, trapper, muskrat, etc) by long established makers (Case, Schrade, Boker, Camillus, Schlieper, Henckels, Remington etc)

Most are legal for everyday use/carry in the UK, and I know many of us are traditionalists and like the natural wood/bone handles, and the fact that the patterns and the makers go back a hundred years or so. It appears that the names given do indeed reflect their original use. They have a very non threatening appearance - the sort of thing your grandfather might (and probably did) carry.

I bought a Schrade Old Timer 34OT stockman for not very much money and it is great - perhaps a little small but a useful wee knife. The delrin scales look good, but I would prefer wood. Bone is possibly more traditional.

I find that I only use the main blade and the very small one. Nessmuk recommended a folder that looks a bit like a muskrat pattern (in addition to a hatchet and a belt knife).

For bushcraft use, what pattern do you think is best?

 

[mojofilter]

I have both stockmen and trappers, and a couple of other patterns, but my favourite is the trapper. I cant really say why, and I know the wee blades on a stockman are often handy, but I just prefer trappers.

 

[gregorach]

Interesting question mate - I've been thinking about getting a stockman myself. Mainly for the sheepsfoot blade - it seems like a very useful shape for whittling.

I have to say, I can't really see the point of the muskrat style - perhaps someone can enlighten me?

 

[Doc]

Looking again, Nessmuks folder is not exactly a muskrat. It has a single blade at each end but the blade shape is a bit different. It might be a 'Moose' pattern?

I suppose the 'Whittler' pattern might be a good bushcraft option too.

Think I need Hoodoo's advice on this one......

 

[RovingArcher]

I prefer the trapper design myself.

 

[Shing]

I like stockman knives, got 3 but the Buck is the best made if a heavy and not very traditional lokking.

 

[Graham_S]

i picked up a camillus stockman slipjoint in brass and rosewood the other day. i like the sheepsfoot blade for many whittling and cutting jobs.

 

[bushwacker bob]

I have a case stockman with jigged bone ,and a camillus penknife with psudo-antler and a jigged bone peanut.They are classy EDCs and the Camillus is the favorite for whittling.The small warncliffe blade is perfect for the more intricate carving.
I would recommend ANY of them!

 

[addyb]

When my Grandfather passed away, I got his old slip joint. It's an old Barlow, carbon steel, I'm guessing it was manufactured around the mid 1950's. It's a great knife, I don't use it because it has a lot of sentimental value, but it sharpens to a razors edge.

And I've used Schrade Old Timers. Two in fact, both of them I've worn out. In fact, the whole reason I got into knives was by seeing my childhood friend's Dad whittle away with an Old Timer. The delrin handles are great, but I can't stand the blades. Sure, 1095 carbon is a great metal, but the fact that the blades on my Old Timers were so miniscule, they didn't hold an edge worth a damn.

So then I switched over to my Victorinox, and I'm much much happier. The rockwell hardness on a SAK and a carbon steel blade are roughly the same, (55 to 57 hrc) so there's not much of a difference there. The main reason I prefer my SAK is because the blade profile is much larger, so in my experience, I've found that it holds up to work much better than my Old Timers.

I think SAK's get a bad reputation here. In all the threads I've read, they're scorned because they're stainless, and "every one knows stainless won't hold an edge." I disagree. With today's modern metallurgy techniques, stainless steels out there today are definately comparable to high-carbon steels. I mean, SAK's are rougly a 56hrc, and most carbon steels fall into that range. Hell, even Ka-Bar's have a rockwell hardness of 57. I just don't find it fair when people compare an SAK as a field knife to something five times larger, like a Fallkniven F1, or a Frosts Mora. It's apples and oranges, like comparing a Land Rover to a Bentley. It just doesn't work.

But hey, that's just my two-cents.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[Hoodoo]

Think I need Hoodoo's advice on this one......

Well heck, I'm not gonna be much help cuz I have a hard enough time of my own trying to decide. I'd say about 75% of the time, if I'm carrying a slippie, it's a SAK. In general though, it just depends on what I have planned.

 

[Bardster]

Just to ring the changes....
Here's a cheap Gerber I picked up a few weeks ago. Cant find a listing for it anywhere. Supposedly Geber dont make one like this with black plastic handles
Was sold as a Gerber and has Gerber USA stamped on the main blade with 6610 on the other.

 

[CatFisH]

SAK, trapper,stockman, muskrat...I have carried and used all of them and can't pick one pattern over another...the trapper and muskrat lend themselves quite well to field dressing game...the stockman pattern is more versatile because it has three different blade shapes designed for a plethora of tasks...which one I slip into my pocket depends on what pants i put on in the morning...if I were limited by law to a non-locking 3 inch or less knife, I'd have a wide selection of slippies to choose from....

the muskrat pattern with the same shaped blade on opposite ends was derived (leaning heavily on memory here) from trappers who used them to flesh out muskrats...the thick skin with heavy fur and plenty of mud would dull a carbon blade rather quickly...if they had a sucessful run on their traplines, it would mean a lot of work preparing the hides...the muskrat blade shape works well in dressing these musky critters... therefore all the muskrat skinner had to do was swap ends and finish the task rather than resharpen.....

 

[gregorach]

the muskrat pattern with the same shaped blade on opposite ends was derived (leaning heavily on memory here) from trappers who used them to flesh out muskrats...the thick skin with heavy fur and plenty of mud would dull a carbon blade rather quickly...if they had a sucessful run on their traplines, it would mean a lot of work preparing the hides...the muskrat blade shape works well in dressing these musky critters... therefore all the muskrat skinner had to do was swap ends and finish the task rather than resharpen.....

I see - makes sense. You learn something everyday on here...

 

[Doc]

I like ths one:

http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=158