A good "starter" traditional?

Q

qpuf

Joined
Oct 24, 2005
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I was thinking of a traditional pocket knife and wondered what might make a good knife to start with. Something not overly pricey and fairly easy to get. Something that would likely be in many collections as an expected piece, if there is such a beast? Thanks
 
Are you looking for a collector or a user?
Some very popular patterns are the peanut, trapper, and stockman.
 
Sure, that could be any number of pocket knives. Other than price and a common pattern, what other specifications did you have in mind. Will this be an every day carry? Do you like small, medium, or large slippy's. What will you be cutting?.. Gardening? Box cutting? Food prep?..

Anthony
 
Go to the For Sale forum here or to Ebay and try to pick up a used Case/Schrade/Camillus/etc for around $20 or so. That way you still get the quality but don't have to pay the new price. It's a better option than buying a low-end slippie and having a bad first experience!!
 
another option is to go to Lowes and pick up a case sodbuster jr for about $18. great pattern, great knife, low price. watch out though like all knives slippies are addictive.
 
A CASE Stockman should cover many areas as it has 3 blades to choose from.In my view,opt for the medium one with rounded bolsters.Very pocket friendly but highly useful.

You won't be satisfied with one pattern though....
 
there are 100's of such "beasts"; impossible to suggest just one. my suggestion: spend time browsing ebay for production folding knives. it takes many hours to get familiar with all the patterns/makers; learning to read pics. plus what is NOT said (don't assume); learning which sellers are likely most reliable, and finally what a "good" price is. it's a lotta fun and if you cross-reference to various sub forums here, an excellent education.
lots of older U.S.A. knives are great (i like Schrade & Case); some older German ones (Boker is a safe start), and some new U.S.A. like GEC and Canal St. Cut.
once you start buying these great older knives, it's v. hard to stop---- too much fun ! so after awhile you'll have 10 or 20 (or > 300) nice slip joints and only THEN will you begin to be able to answer your own question. roland
 
qpuf said:
I was thinking of a traditional pocket knife and wondered what might make a good knife to start with. Something not overly pricey and fairly easy to get. Something that would likely be in many collections as an expected piece, if there is such a beast? Thanks
Click to expand...

This is how it starts.
Buy a Mooremaker, Case ,Queen, or look around antique stores.
 
SilverFoxKnows said:
A yellow handled Case trapper in CV would be a good place to start.

Frank
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This is good advice. Look at Case. While some of their knives run up to a hundred dollars, not all of their pocket knives put a hurtin' on your pocket. I just saw a yellow handled Case trapper for under $40.
 
I would try to find a place that you can handle, or at least see a few different patterns and brands, even if they are in plastic packaging. Then select one that you think would be the most useful. If it is going to be used for dirty jobs, skinning, food prep than one blade like a sod buster, or slim trapper may be right. If you plan to whittle than maybe a 2 blade jack or stockman. Case CV trappers are always nice. Joe
 
Buy a nice Schatt & Morgan small enough to fit comfortable in your pocket,get a pattern that is eye appealing to you,keep the nice quality box it came in, and just spend some time studying the quality of it.
 
qpuf said:
I was thinking of a traditional pocket knife and wondered what might make a good knife to start with. Something not overly pricey and fairly easy to get. Something that would likely be in many collections as an expected piece, if there is such a beast? Thanks
Click to expand...

My man,you just asked a big bunch of slipjoint junkies a question,that creates a feeding frenzy,LOL Right in the swarming school,too,lol
Look around & good luck.Slipjoints are great!
-Vince
 
All mine are users. My best luck has been with Boker and Case. If going stainless, Case has a large selection - not so much for CV though I have recently bought three on Ebay. All my Bokers are German made, carbon steel. I like thinner knives for pocket carry and think a nice barlow pattern is about perfect for EDC. Though today it is a Case CV barehead slimline trapper.

I have two Moore Makers and a Queen. The MM are over priced. The Queen classic in 1095 that I bought was a bargain at $54 - a real beauty. But, for a first buy, you can get a good solid respectable slippie for around $30.

tjg
 
The ubiquitous tradtional pattern has got to be the stockman. I'd recommend Boker for a good quality user at a fairly low price.
 
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