A Stupid Question

gajinoz

gajinoz

Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Messages
11,650
I've never had much to do with "traditional" knives as such. I've probably owned quite a few that could have been considered "traditional" but I've never really thought about it.

Just recently though has occurred to me that I do, in fact, own a couple of this type of knife and I have another winging its way across the pond even as you read this.

So, here is the stupid question:

What, exactly, makes a knife traditional?

For instance, is my Buck 110 traditional?
 
Well, I'll be watching this Thread. I'm sure I don't really know what's "traditional" and what isn't.

Generally, if my granddad had it ... I just assume it's traditional.

By that standard, your Buck 110 is definitely traditional.:thumbup:

Or ... I'll just ask Bastid or Thomason.:thumbup::thumbup:
 
I don't know if a solid definition exists, it just kind of depends on the knife. Obviously, some patterns are definitely traditional, but outside of the traditional slipjoint patterns it's hard to define by materials, lock type, blade shape, etc. Just have to rely on intuition.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I would say anything owned by someone as old and decrepit as you qualifies as traditional!
Click to expand...

Well, I guess I can't argue with the old and decrepit part but I guess that makes my Sebenza traditional. :)

On a marginally more serious note, I wonder if, one day, something like the Sebbie will be regarded as "traditional"?
 
Paraphrasing Associate Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart:

...Traditional Knives may be hard to define, but I know one when I see it...
 
A simpler but not necessarily conclusive way of getting a feel for traditional knives is to thumb through a copy of Levine's Guide (by way of example). It includes illustrations of many, many patterns and styles from around the world.
 
I guess my best plan is to simply line up what I think my traditional collection is, (when my new one arrives), and take a picture and post it here. I'm sure I'll soon be told what is, and isn't, traditional. :)


.
 
If your thread gets moved then you'll have your definitive answer. :D
 
I think the issue is different for different people, and in many cases there may not be a clear-cut line. Many knife patterns and designs, for example, have been around for a VERY long time, but are interpreted differently by modern manufacturers/makers. They use more modern materials as opposed to "traditional" materials such as carbon steel, stag, bone, etc. These new materials demand new manufacturing techniques. Then there are purely modern designs, some of which use traditional materials...hmmm. Complicated! :o

Personally, I tend to think of slipjoints and the like as traditional, even when made with modern materials. On the other hand, one-handed openers, assisted-openers, etc are modern, even when made with stag handles or carbon steel. Fixed blades are another beast entirely, since almost all fixed patterns are based on "traditional" knives. In this case, I think it is a matter of material.

Just my two cents.
 
To me,

Old patterns certainly evoke the look of a traditional knife.

So do certain materials (bone, stag, mop, MOTS, :D)).

to top it off:
"I would say anything owned by someone as old and decrepit as [I am] qualifies as traditional!
Click to expand...

Works for me too. :D
 
OldPhysics said:
Well, I'll be watching this Thread. I'm sure I don't really know what's "traditional" and what isn't.

Generally, if my granddad had it ... I just assume it's traditional.

By that standard, your Buck 110 is definitely traditional.:thumbup:

Or ... I'll just ask Bastid or Thomason.:thumbup::thumbup:
Click to expand...

By that standard, for me the Buck 110 is not traditional. Grandfather died at age 85 in 1954.
 
Great thread, lay out a bunch of different knives, get a mall ninja to look at 'em and the ones he ignores ...well most likely would be traditional:D
 
"Traditional" isn't just about how old the knife or pattern is, you also need to take different countries and cultures into account.

For instance, in Argentina, there's no such thing as a "traditional folding knife". All traditional knives are fixed blades. Old ranch hands think my folders are just expensive toys.
 
"Traditional", as it applies to knives, is defined by location and circumstances. At least, that's my take on it.

For me, where I grew up in North Carolina, almost everyone I knew would define a traditional pocket knife this way: a slipjoint pattern, 2.5"-4" closed (or maybe a little larger), with bone scales, no lock, and carbon steel blades, maybe stainless. For special events, maybe a MOP-handled knife.

But, in 1983 we moved to Montana, and almost everyone I knew there (even my friends in school) carried buck 110's, or clones thereof, all the time. Occasionally I'd see a slipjoint pattern, but it was accompanied by a 110 type. I knew several ranchers who carried a multi-blade slipjoint, but they also had a small fixed blade or a 110-type folder.

So, my impression was:
in NC - small, pocket slipjoint, no lock;
in MT, larger size, in a sheath, with lock.

thx - cpr
 
hunterfisher808 said:
get a mall ninja to look at 'em and the ones he ignores ...well most likely would be traditional:D
Click to expand...

I just caught that one! :D Now that's funny right there! (Funny because it's true . . . )

That's one nice thing about the Traditional forum - we don't have to worry about the 'captain-kill-'em-all-mall-ninja-wannabes' pestering us.

You know, if someone . . . uh, you know . . . happened to have, say, an Aitor Jungle King in their posession, say, would that, you know, get them banned from Traditional? Not that I have one. Noooooooooo. Not me. I'm just askin' is all. Really. ;)

thx - cpr
 
I just started looking at this forum recently and enjoy all of the coments. I make slip joints and lockbacks, not because they are traditional but because that is what I like.
I use to make liner locks because they sold so good but then realized I wanted to make knives for people who liked what I liked. May not sound good but feels good when they are finished.
Percy
 
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