A couple of questions for you traditional folk

[Peter_E_Ryt]

Howdy yall- I'm ready to get back into some of the more useful traditional designs, and while checking out my favorite traditional company (Queen Cutlery), I've come across a few blades that I don't understand. Is there a chance that yall could explain them to me?

What's the little angular clip blade called on this model, and what's its purpose?

Why would you want to blades of the same design on a single folder, a la this knife?

Is there anything special to the spay blade found in this model, or is it just a skinning blade?

And finally, why is 420HC popping up in more and more of the traditionals? With good steels like D2 and the 10XX high carbon steels, I'd think that something like 420HC would be a step backward.

Thanks!

 

[Arathol]

A- Coping blade, its a wood carving blade, the knife is a whittler pattern

B- Well, umm, just in case....

C- Its a spey or castrating blade. Originally intended for castrating cattle, and pointy things tend to poke holes where holes aren't intended to be at such times

My guess would be that 420 polishes up nice and shiny, and a lot of collectors like shiny things regardless of how well they work.

 

[Thomason]

The angular blade is a "coping" blade.
When one blade becomes dull in field you can use the other.
Originally for castration.

All of the above I learned right here in this forum.

 

[Peregrin]

Here's the link to a real handy resource:

http://www.agrussell.com/knife_information/knife_encyclopedia/glossary.html

Hope it helps.

 

[Peter_E_Ryt]

Thanks for the answers yall! I'll hopefully be getting more and more active around here as my collection increases.

I guess that the name should have given away the spey blade's purpose...

Peregrin- that link has been favorited- very helpful indeed!

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

Per 420HC, I've also heard that there is a bit of a price difference between it and 440C stainless and that is one of the reasons it is being used more now. I'm sure there are other reasons - cutlery companies figure most people buy nicer knives to collect, people don't use knives as hard as they used to, and a lot of new buyers don't know the differences.

A note on the Muskrat pattern with the identical blades. As noted by a few folks, so you can keep working. It is a knife suited to skinning a LOT of smaller furbearers and game in a single sitting. As one blade dulls instead of having to stop and resharpen you just close one blade and open the other. Same blade style and hold as you were using already, only sharp. At the end of a skinning session sharpen up both blades and you are ready for the next time. Quite a valid scenario for fellows who trapped smaller furbearers, especially muskrats. The hides would have sand and stuff in it and on a big pile of critters that would mean dulling a knife blade down before you got finished.

While the spey blade does good for skinning/cutting things you don't want to poke, we've found other uses for it. Getting the last of the peanut butter from the jar. I've also had great fun seeing the look on people's faces, especially guys, when they look at the blade and you answer their question about what is this one used for. I've seen a few other suggestions around here that are good too.

Welcome home to the traditional side of life.

 

[Bastid]

I really like my whittlers to have at least one coping blade.
On the ones I carry the coping blade seems to get used the most.

 

[marcinek]

Here's the link to a real handy resource:

http://www.agrussell.com/knife_information/knife_encyclopedia/glossary.html

Hope it helps.

No offense Peregrin, but why bother with going there when these helpful folk are around??

That was incredibly informative!!!

And thanks Peter_E_Ryt, for asking some questions I wanted the answers to. I'm pretty much doing the same thing as you, except I'm not getting back to traditional, I'm getting into traditional for the first time.

Tactical was giving me a headache.

 

[El Lobo]

Re: 420 series steel...

Unlike many other more expensive steels, 420 can be purchased in coils. Why does that matter? Let's borrow a couple of explanations from the Buck website.....

Coils - Long steel strips that come in large rolls, which are fed into Buck's fine blanking press as the first step toward making a blade.

Fine Blanking - Buck's advanced blade blanking system. Our fine blanking machine is used to press a knife blade out of a coil of steel using a specifically shaped die. Fine blanking produces consistently accurate parts that require little additional machining.

Manufacturability - The ease in which steel can be machined, blanked, ground and heat-treated.

Seems to be easier to work and much less expensive labor wise. The HC designation, a top notch heat treatment, and a good geometry, make it pretty serviceable and it holds up against corrosion. Not the top choice for every application, but a real cost saver for production knives.

JMO.

Bill