Backpacking/Climbing Knives of the 1960s, 70s and 80s?

Shaldag, this is great stuff. Was Holubar the only place to get SAKs in the 70s? I'm wondering if SAKs came into the states primarily through mountain shop importers before jumping more mainstream to reatail sporting goods (camping) stores.

Also, do recall if they carried Opinels in the 70s?

I known that Early Winters sold Opinels and trying to get a sense of what other mountain shop types carried them.

Thanks for the connection to Holubars.
 
I can't for the life of me figure out how the Buck 110 got so popular.
It's a great design except for the blade geometry- HORRIBLE. Hollow grind with a big fat chunky chisel ground edge...huh? Whose idea was that?
Now I can take it to the shop and make a knife out of it. Back then, ugh.
Before that (1971) I had a Buck drop point fixed blade that was from heaven- 4 1/2" blade, beautifully thought out, synthetic scales, they hit it out of the park with that one.
 
When Buck first started using 440C blade steel, that alloy was considered brittle. So used thick edges. All the the Buck 440C blades had that geometry. At least all of mine do.

Now in actuality, since Buck was running 440C at ~58HRC it was not brittle. But it did have that reputation because early makers ran it in the 60's instead of the high 50's.
 
A little off topic, but Jack Black, your description of a one hand opener friction folder has me really intrigued as I love friction folders. Any drawings or pics that you can point me to?

Great thread by the way. Proof of the importance of knowing your market. I read a very similar discussion about higher-end men's clothes, btw.
 
pinnah said:
Shaldag, this is great stuff. Was Holubar the only place to get SAKs in the 70s? I'm wondering if SAKs came into the states primarily through mountain shop importers before jumping more mainstream to reatail sporting goods (camping) stores.
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I recall the Davis-Monthan AFB BX (Tucson AZ) stocking SAKs in the mid '70s; I'm reasonably sure they were available at other BX/PX facilities during that timeframe as well.
 
bemo said:
A little off topic, but Jack Black, your description of a one hand opener friction folder has me really intrigued as I love friction folders. Any drawings or pics that you can point me to?
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I'm afraid not, I've discussed it with our Sheffield experts on other threads, and not been able to discover anything. It was sold as 'The Original One-Handed Knife' I believe, came packaged on pale blue and white card. It had a dark-coloured handle, with what was called by some a 'swing-top' blade. The blade I think was a Sheepsfoot about 3" long, and it pivoted by means of an extended tang about an inch long, with the corners rounded, curved slightly I think to increase fricttion, and with the name of the cutler stamped on the extended tang. They were quite popular with workmen. Unfortunately, I am unable to recall who made them. Hope that's of interest and wish I could provide more information. If I ever come across one on my travels, I'll snap it up in a shot!

Jack
 
Liberando said:
I recall the Davis-Monthan AFB BX (Tucson AZ) stocking SAKs in the mid '70s; I'm reasonably sure they were available at other BX/PX facilities during that timeframe as well.
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Awsome. Thanks

Am I right to think that a PX in the 70s would carry SAKs, Buck folders (and the like), Buck fixed blades (and the like) but not traditional slip joints (Camililus or Schrade or simalar) nor Opinels?
 
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I recall in the 70s that a SAK was going to be my Dad's "big" Christmas present. There was the decision of Wenger (we admired the scissors) or Vic. Dad wanted a philips instead of corkscrew and liked the Vic saw. We were looking at Hoffritz (I believe, a mall store in any event) and a local discount house that had a standard selection of Victorinox mostly with corkscrews. He settled on a rather unusual one: it was 96mm? (step down from the largest frame) with the tools of the huntsman, but phillips head instead of corkscrew. It was a very poxketable size, but proved to be heavy. It had no keyring so he bought a pouch.


I would love to have that knife because it was cool and different and it was Dads of course. But it disappeared in his end days. He may well have given it away to a maintenance guy at his retirement facility.


Point being, reminiscence aside, that by the 70s SAKs were fairly widely available in Dallas, TX. Not just backpacking stores. But I do think the fashionability of backpacking brought them to a different audience.
 
pinnah said:
This is very interesting and helpful. Thanks!

I believe Opinel does their Carbone at around 56RC (sort of soft, imo) while Schrade (who owned Ulster) did their 1095 at a reported 58RC (pretty high).

Any idea what the Ulster 1095 is? My sense is that is somewhere in between the two. I've not really noticed the edges folding, but then, I beat on my Opinels in ways I would never beat on an Ulster (on account of the weak joint, mainly).

Someday, I may get around to trying an old Camillus scout. I hated the Cubbie I got and passed to my young son. I'm just too fond of the shape of the Ulster spear. <- Big hint to GEC, who really should make a camper.
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I have a couple of 'Old Timer' Ulster barlows; no idea what vintage. Don't see anything to indicate they're any softer than Schrade's 1095, as they seem to hold their applied edge pretty well. BUT, I've yet to see any 1095 blades that seem to take as fine an edge as the Schrade blades. I'm constantly wondering if grain size is playing into it; that's what primarily determines how fine the edge will be. So, aside from RC hardness, the purity of the steel and the heat treat/quench might make a difference. Grain size grows while the steel is hot, before quench. And how soon the quench is applied (and how soon/fast the steel cools) affects what the final grain size will be. All of this is what I (hope) I understand from reading about the topic, anyway.

David
 
pinnah said:
Awsome. Thanks

Am I right to think that a PX in the 70s would carry SAKs, Buck folders (and the like), Buck fixed blades (and the like) but not traditional slip joints (Camililus or Schrade or simalar) nor Opinels?
Click to expand...

Pinnah, excellent question, as I am actually exercising my gray cells now! Yes, the PXs/BXs of the '70s would definitely stock Bucks of all kinds. I recall making a bee-line to big display case each time I visited. The SAKs weren't as prominently displayed. I'm having trouble recalling any Camillus or Schrade products from that era...they may have been there. Case knives, perhaps? Memory is a bit foggy on this point. But I'm sure there were some non-Buck traditional knives available.

Off-base, at Kmart, I recall the Western knife display (always with that big Bowie Knife!) and an Imperial display too (Kamp King, the king of knives!).

Opinel: In the '70s, I don't recall a store on- or off-base selling them. But your posts jogged an ancient memory, circa '77 or so. Dad got orders for Alaska, and I joined the scout troop on Elmendorf AFB. One day, in the quartermaster's room of our scout building, I found a big Opinel folder behind some junk...can't say for sure what number it was, but it was no doubt the biggest Opinel made. Fellow scouts and I had never seen a knife like that before, and surprisingly, none of them had any interest in it, so it was mine. It was very simple but strong and effective knife. Wish I still had it!
 
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