American work knife

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
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So the Swedish have the mora, the french have the opinel, etc etc.. Just wondering what the american equivalent would be in your opinion?? Old hickory butcher knife and a buck 110 come to mind, for me
 
RescueRiley said:
So the Swedish have the mora, the french have the opinel, etc etc.. Just wondering what the american equivalent would be in your opinion?? Old hickory butcher knife and a buck 110 come to mind, for me
Click to expand...

Sodbuster?
 
I guess Bowie, Kephart and Nessmuk have to figure in there somewhere !
 
Schrade Old Timers and Marbles hunting knives. Unfortunately neither one are American any more.

So, I'll have to go with the Case folders, the Buck 110 and the Buck 119.
 
smallfixedblades.jpg

The Imperial (first one on the top)
Used to be really common once upon a time.
Thin and light like a Mora, full width tang, carbon steel that sharpens up real easy.
And when they were new back in the day they were really inexpensive.

I picked this one up on ebay back when i was on an Imperial kick.
I think a lot of old Imperials are underrated.
They had their cheap stuff but they had their good stuff too.

Also when i think U.S i think Bowies and Stockmans.
 
hanging out in the traditional forum i get the impression that stockmen were very common, as well as barlows and other basic slipjoint folding knives. i understand the sodbuster is a more recent pattern, though it is very similar to other age-old patterns like the opinel etc. the buck 110 is also relatively new, though it was an instant classic (quoted from "100 Great Knives).

i think that a hatchet/axe is also a classic American working blade...
 
The bowie and the slipjoints are very classic American knives. But my vote would go to the classic Russel Green River knife and numerous descendants. Even the Keppie has always looked, to me, a lot like a green river pattern.
 
I'd go with a Stockman or Barlow pattern blade. Buck 110 is way up high on the list too :) In the last century The Marbles Woodcrafts were pretty popular and often copied so the designs were available.
 
RescueRiley said:
So the Swedish have the mora, the french have the opinel, etc etc.. Just wondering what the american equivalent would be in your opinion?? Old hickory butcher knife and a buck 110 come to mind, for me
Click to expand...

I was thinking about this thread and came to the conclusion that perhaps, the American equivalent would be better defined by a non-American (and Canadian). It really comes down to how the rest of the world defines America, knife-wise.

Remember, it's us non-Swedish and non-French that are defining their readily-identifiable contributions. Perhaps we are too close to it and are aware of too many possibilities. Just a thought.

Doc
 
+1 for the Bowie. I think that is the first thing the majority of people think of when asked for an american knife.

OT: So what's it for Germany? Probably a stag handled Nicker?!
ilten
 
ilten said:
OT: So what's it for Germany? Probably a stag handled Nicker?!
ilten
Click to expand...

probably, and a mercator...
--
AN Old hickory butcher comes to mind, but I'd say stockman and a little fin are THE american knives.

Peter
 
tholiver said:
smallfixedblades.jpg

The Imperial (first one on the top)
Used to be really common once upon a time.
Thin and light like a Mora, full width tang, carbon steel that sharpens up real easy.
And when they were new back in the day they were really inexpensive.

I picked this one up on ebay back when i was on an Imperial kick.
I think a lot of old Imperials are underrated.
They had their cheap stuff but they had their good stuff too.

Also when i think U.S i think Bowies and Stockmans.
Click to expand...

I have that Imperial knife. Got it as a kid. It came in a set with a hatchet and SAK style knife. I still have the hatchet but not the folding knife.
 
I remember reading someplace, that in the period from 1850 to 1870, more Russells barlow knives were shipped than any other folding knife. The rough cut handles single blade one.

At one time the Russells Green River knife was worth a horse in a trade. They skinned alot of buffalo for sure.
 
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