2019 Traditional Forum Knife...The First Poll

Which pattern will be the basis for the 2019 Traditional Forum Knife (see post for details)

  • GEC 86

    Votes: 212 52.3%

  • Fox knives 521

    Votes: 33 8.1%

  • Buck 192 (Vanguard) fixed blade

    Votes: 160 39.5%
  • Total voters
    405
  • Poll closed .
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skblades said:
The blade steel could be 5160 Carbon Steel on the 192. Then, to help mitigate rusting, have the blade blued. This has never been done on a 192 an is extremely unique as a solution to keep the knife on the more traditional end of the spectrum while combating the rusting issue. *cough* add Himalayan Rams horn or real ebony for added uniqueness.*cough* You're not picking that one up anywhere!
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100% onboard for this :) :thumbsup:
 
skblades said:
Maybe the option should have been "fixed blade" with a poll running concurrently to decide on the fixed blade of choice? I hadn't really thought of that until now. I also don't buy in to the argument that it won't be "special" enough, as seems to be a main argument.

So far an example of many many combinations that could make this knife unique, how about this for an example. The blade steel could be 5160 Carbon Steel on the 192. Then, to help mitigate rusting, have the blade blued. This has never been done on a 192 an is extremely unique as a solution to keep the knife on the more traditional end of the spectrum while combating the rusting issue. *cough* add Himalayan Rams horn or real ebony for added uniqueness.*cough* You're not picking that one up anywhere!
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5160 sounds great :thumbsup: No need for the blade to be blued, most of us here know how to look after our knives ;) Ram's horn would be spectacular :thumbsup:
 
I am not sure what Buck's bluing process is but bluing in the traditional sense is not food safe. Though many folks here do not use their cutlery for food, there are many that do (myself included) and bluing isn't something that I care to see on a blade.

That said, it is a feature out of many and there is nothing that says that it has to be an option in order to make the blade unique.

I like the idea of 5160 though, that is a great steel and I hear Buck does good things with it.
 
skblades said:
And yet, it was done for the 301!
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Very true. And while a lot was done for 70 some odd $ with the 301 last year, the 301 costs half of what a 192 does. And that's with 3 blades and 3 springs worth of steel.
 
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In terms of being special and exceptional, the #86 is a bigger #15, which is fairly unexceptional.

The people wondering what it looks like just need to imagine a bigger #15. Or if they have a #77, a bigger #77. Or if they have a #14, a really big #14. See thread here https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...-gec-77-and-the-new-86.1634046/#post-18674867

I used to own an #85 with a sabre grind and do own a beautiful Queen #40 with a sabre grind and I think it will work really well. It will be big and heavy, but still slimmer and lighter than the two blade #86 :D

Still don’t know how I will vote... if a ramshorn Buck came in under $100 I think that would be a tempting option.
 
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I'm not too much of a traditional guy, but I voted for the Vanguard, as that's the one I would almost certainly buy. I'd like to try out a fixed EDC and that looks like a nice option.
 
Pàdruig said:
I am not sure what Buck's bluing process is but bluing in the traditional sense is not food safe. Though many folks here do not use their cutlery for food, there are many that do (myself included) and bluing isn't something that I care to see on a blade.
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Fair point and that would be an issue for some myself included who like to use knives on food. I guess we would need to know more about the process to know if it is food safe.
 
Jack Black said:
5160 sounds great :thumbsup: No need for the blade to be blued, most of us here know how to look after our knives ;) Ram's horn would be spectacular :thumbsup:
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Yeah, that was sounding alright up until the bluing part... :confused: :D

I'm on the fence about the fixed blade in general. I've got nothing against fixed blade knives, and of course I own a few, but I rarely carry/use them, so the idea of buying another one (Forum knife or otherwise) just doesn't excite me.

I love the tradition of the annual forum knife, and I've purchased each one that has been made since I've been active here in Traditionals, but part of what I love about it is that I can carry it around with me in my pocket, that I can use this thing the we all had a small part in creating. That just won't happen with the fixed blade. It'll sit on a shelf, or in a drawer, and rarely (if ever) get used.

Don't get me wrong, if the fixed blade is chosen, and specifics turn out to be things that I like (carbon steel and stacked leather would be nice), I'll probably buy one. But it doesn't get my vote in this poll.
 
I voted Buck, because it gives us all sorts of options and let's be honest, we all have too many folders and not enough fixed blades. Bos heat treated CPM154 and Ram's Horn? Yes please.
The prospect of an ever so slightly bigger 77 did nothing for me and a single sheepsfoot is the least exciting blade choice possible. If only this was a stainless 29! *sigh* :rolleyes:
 
tmd_87 said:
Don't get me wrong that's a great looking knife that I will use to gut and skin deer....but man I kept hearing in voting last year how we wanted something that has never been made before and something that would stand out. :confused:
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Humans, as a rule, are rather fickle. Keeps us all on our toes.
 
tmd_87 said:
Don't get me wrong that's a great looking knife that I will use to gut and skin deer....but man I kept hearing in voting last year how we wanted something that has never been made before and something that would stand out. :confused:
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As I recall that discussion, it was based around not wanting another handle option to be added to the massive run of 14s, and for that to be the forum knife, as it would be just another 14 that everyone had a boatload of.

It was also clear that the success of some of the ground-up designs appealed to people and they wanted another shot at that.

I think that sentiment has been exaggerated a little in this year’s discussion. IMO I don’t think it is necessary that every forum knife be unique and never replicated. Just having a cool knife is a good thing.
 
PaulS. said:
Now that's funny! :thumbsup::D I'm too new to Blade Forums to have bought any of the previous forum knives. I'm not a collector, so if I buy a knife, it has to be useful to me. With that in mind, here are my thoughts about whether I would actually use any of these knives:

The Fox 521 is too large for me to carry as an EDC knife on a regular basis, so it would probably sit at home.

I already have a nice Case Teardrop with a wharncliffe blade that Will Power gave me to cut anything I need a straight edged blade for, so the GEC 86 with a sheepsfoot blade would also sit at home.

The only fixed blade knives I own are Mora wood handled ones, which I use in the kitchen and when I go camping. So the Buck 192 would get some use, but probably not a lot. Because of that, I voted for it. I think an ironwood or stacked leather handle would be awesome, but since the standard knife lists for $120 on the Buck site, i'm not sure what that would do to the cost.

I realize most of you are collectors, so what applies to me won't apply to you.
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I think you may be surprised on how many "collectors" use their knives too. I have a large collection of used knives as using "functional art" is part of the gloriousness of things that are functional and pleasing to the eye and hands.

As far as price, buck's listed price for nearly everything on their website is MSRP and I've never seen anything sell near that price, unless it's a custom shop. Now, the forum knives are generally at wholesale prices so there is a steep discount. This is why there needs to be a lot of buy-in from the forum to make this happen as most parties involved are volunteering their time and the manufacturer pretty much wants to make sure they break even, maybe a little more. I think it's almost like advertising instead of making a buck, pun intended.

And yes for stacked leather. I wish they would've made the 119 bramaha in a nicer steel, or expanded the concept to a few different knives. The 124 would look pretty sexy with some leather. I would prefer carbon steel, or tool steel, over 420HC. I like the 5160 119 I have quite a bit.
 
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Speaking as someone who will be getting his first forum knife, and possibly the last ever offered (I can see why they'd want to shut this down), I'd hope for something unique that represents this community in the way it deserves.
 
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