All American knife pattern.

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ElCuchillo

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Stockman, Peanut, Barlow, Trapper, Muskrat, Congress, Jackknife... too many to name. What knife pattern do you guys think is THE traditional all-American slip pattern?
 
Interesting question! A lot of slipjoint patterns seem to have originated in Europe. Many were made there for the American market. Are you asking for something that was created here, or something that is/was most commonly used but not necessarily created here?
I can see this discussion going on for decades!! Yeehaw!!
 
Hmmmm...... more like what pattern is most ASSOCIATED with us. For example, Navaja, and I think Spain. Stilletto, I think Italy. Tanto, I think Japan. What knife pattern screams AMERICA?
 
Viva La Bowie!
But the original question specifies a slip joint, I believe!
 
While I know they aren't totally American, I think the Barlow is one pattern that reeks Americana. From Mark Twain's inclusion of it in his stories to the countless times someone has remarked that their granddad, dad, uncle, or some other carried a Barlow.

The Stockman probably comes in close behind as might the Trapper.

Then again, the Buck 110 type has been an American icon for several decades now.

Heheh, this should be interesting.
 
I'll second the stockman/trapper/ and the every popular 110.
if push comes to shove i'd go with the stockman. later,ahgar
 
The Barlow at one time was probably the most common, given the number of them around. It's the easiest pattern to build an extensive collection with. If that's valid evidence, I'd have to go with that. More recently however, a stockman is pretty ubiquitous, soooo.........I can't decide yet!
I think I'll call the knife companies tomorrow, and ask them what they've sold the most of!
 
I'd go with a vote for the barlow as well, only because of an article I read years ago in a Knife World magazine. It was an article on the knife factories of the 1800's and the John Russell company records were quoted. From the 1860's on, the most in demand pattern of knife shipped west was the barlow. This popularity extended into the 20th century thru the depression years.

By comparison the numbers of bowies was really quite small. Not everyone could afford or want, or need a bowie, but every homesteader, rancher, workman, needed a pocket knife. The cattle knife, and later stockmen did not have the production numbers of the barlow. Apparently there were more farmers and workmen of various types than cowboys.

Even in the 1940's and 50's when I was growing up, the barlow was still the main knife of working men in the lower wage bracket. They were a comon sight back then.
 
The 3 blade Stockman would be my first thought, but jackknife does make a great point about the Barlow.

Tough call!
 
While maybe not the most popular in terms of numbers sold, I think the trapper is an uniquely American pattern. There is not really anything quite the equivalent among traditional Sheffield or German knives as far as I am aware.
 
You know what would support your arguements really really well? PICTURES!!! That would help alot, I think. Yes, that would definitely help alot.
 
Another vote for the Barlow if we're talking slipjoints and Bowie if we're talking fixed blades.
 
ElCuchillo said:
What knife pattern screams AMERICA?
Click to expand...
Fixed blades,of course,Bowie. :rolleyes:
Slippies? I'm going with a Texas Toothpick,probably more Barlow's though.
Not a production,Case,etc. but a custom and a nice example by Sunfishman. :thumbup: :cool:

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Doug
 
PhilL said:
Another vote for the Barlow if we're talking slipjoints and Bowie if we're talking fixed blades.
Click to expand...

I don't know, Phil.

The bowie got the glory and the rep, and theres no argument that if you ask any joker off the street to name a knife from the old west, the bowie would come out of most mouths. Heck, Its been the star of a couple of movies, from Alan Ladd and on.

But starting with the mountain man era and the need for a skinning/trade knife, again the large butch knife. The John Russell company comes out again in many records of trading posts orders. Well after the heyday of the mountain man was over came the hide hunters, the buffalo hunters. The Russell company sold a bunch of their skinner and Green river patterns for years till the animals were near wiped out. A Green River knife in trade was worth a horse to an indian. The Russell Green river knife was so popular that the English knife companys even copied the marking for the indian trade.

And most people heading west for a start of a new life busting up the sod, were not well off people. Like the plain saw finish bone handled barlow, the Russell butcher knife was a staple of supply as well as having a couple extra for trading. They needed low cost/effective tools for the job. Settlers, army scouts, hide hunters, all used the John Russells company knives.

Thats alot of Russells knives sent west in the 1800's.

I just wonder if there were more Russell green river knives carried around in homemade sheaths, or even nicly beaded sheaths, over the period from the 1830's to the last days of the frontier, than bowies.
 
jackknife, no doubt about it, the Green River is a classic.

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But nowhere as well known as the Bowie knife in all it's many designs.
 
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