Beast of a knife sometimes you need to go traditional

cchu518

cchu518

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Last night I met my wife's uncle and grandfather for the first time.
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We were sitting in the backyard of my mother in-laws when I whipped out my UK Pen knife to cut a pickle. Grandpa Donald looked across the picnic table and beamed a huge smile when he noticed that the UKPK dispatched the pickle just from pressing down on it with its scary sharp blade.
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He asked me if that was a flick knife and I said "no its a modern slippie see...check out the half stop".

He then meticulously produced an old Schrade 60T lockback hunter. It was dark and that was what I thought I had read on it. The tang stamp said something to the effect of Schrade+ USA on it or something to that effect.

The handle was thick and heavy for its small 5 inch closed size and the blade had to have been at least 4 inches. It was a very stout design and different from the slim Buck 110s that I have handled in the past.

I kept thinking to myself that this thing was a beast of a knife and if it were one hand opening it would be the kind of hard use knife that all the modern guys would want to sport such as the ZT's.

Grandpa Donald who is 87 said that he like to keep all of his knives scary sharp. The Schrade in 1095 steel he said was sharp even though he hadn't touched it up in 6 months.
 
Hey man! I have to say Grandpa is always right! The older guys who carried the Buck 110s and Schrade old timers , case lockbacks and sodbusters used the crap out of those knives. They were more concerned with whether or not the blade was sharp than if it had Ti scales or assisted opening. Also they wound never use a folder to "baton" a tree- or try to "spine whack" their knives to see how good the lock was. To them they were tools and used them for what they were designed.
The knives of today would just be considered expensive "crap".....as my great uncle pointed out to me this weekend after I told him what I paid for my leafstorm. I got a good deal too! Hey, he asked. I dont think he meant it to be rude, he just would never pay over 20 bucks for a knife. Just a different way of thinking back then. I have found my grandfathers knives to be almost unusable due to over sharpening down to a nub in some cases and mostly "used up". You are right in saying that the old style knives were beasts, they took tons of abuse! I have found myself looking for 110s and GEC's in the exchange. Something about the simplicity of an old design that draws you in....On a side note, there is a 110 custom on the exchange that is made of Ti and it is sweet!
 
Hard use knives like ZT exist today because there is presently a hot market for big, heavy, titanium RIL knives with increasingly high tech blade steels.

Hard use knives from the past existed because people needed to use them. Hard.

I personally would prefer a traditional style "hard user" to a modern trendy one because at least I can cut things with it, and sharpen it without specialized equipment. Then again, I tend to focus on results rather than theoretical banter on what makes the hardest ever use knife so awesome that nothing else will be better for at least two weeks.

Now, I have to ask you, you said "The handle was thick and heavy for its small 5 inch closed size..." Crikey, what do you consider to be a large closed size??
 
Please keep the comments positive.

There are lots of positive comments to be made about traditional designs.

There is no need to be negative about modern designs.

 
I definitely think I want to pick up a vintage 60t now. So I was saying the materials in the k ice made the handles very heavy and I was surprised. The handle was also pretty thick for all of its Sebenza-ish compactness. All in all it was a medium/large folder for me. But it was so compact and pocketable at the same time. So even though it has a nice four inch blade it was very compact and easy to carry unlike some of the newer designs out there. The boxiness of the handle also gave it a great hand feel.
 
I think it is great that your grandpa appreciates your modern folding knife as well as liking the traditional style hunting knife.
 
He loved it. He asked if it was a Buck and I said no. But I went to the car and grabbed a Buck Vantage that I had put a zip tie on so that it would wave open. He smiled when I flicked it open from my pants and said that he would have to show me the automatic stilettos that he pucked up in Italy one of these days!

I'm not disparaging on any designs BTW. I like moderns and traditionals!

Grandpa Donald BTW said that he liked the 60t because its bolster could double as a hammer punch in case any trouble were to come his way.
 
I see people talk about the hard use knife, but I don't think I'e seen any knife be used, and abused like the Buck knives they sold in the PX's in the 60's. They sold for something like 12 dollars, and there were hardly any GI's that didn't have the black pouch on the belt when I was in. Now, add in how dumb can a 18 to 20 year old be with a knife? I saw them beat on, pried with, sawed on ridiculous material, but few ever broke. The 300 series seemed to be even better at absorbing heavy use.

I don't know how many farmers got the job done with a simple stockman or barlow in their pocket, but I would guess that in the 1940's and 50's, more real work got done with a slip joint than you would think. Very under estimated knife.
 
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jackknife said:
I see people talk about the hard use knife, but I don't think I'e seen any knife be used, and abused like the Buck knives they sold in the PX's in the 60's.
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There are many of those old Buck 110s around and being used daily. A buddy of mine carries a ~50 year old 110 that belonged to his father in-law. It never sat in a drawer all those years. It has been carries and used. To this day, nothing is wrong with it. Bomb proof, I'd say. Never were my cup of tea, but that's my problem, not the knife's.
 
I find myself carrying at least one traditional and one modern folder at all times. Mostly my GEC #15 Radio Jack and a Spyderco PM2. There are things that the modern folders do much better than traditionals but slicing/cutting is not one of them. Stabbing and puncturing tough materials is what the moderns do best. Buck 110 does that very well but try opening that one handed while standing on a ladder. Traditionals are also much more sheeple friendly and like it or not that is a consideration for me when in a work environment.
 
Good for you and your wife's Grandpa. Sounds like you found a common bond over something that transcends time, a sharp knife. I'm carrying a modern (Caly 3.5) and a traditional (Jr. Sodbuster) today. I maintain an appreciation for both traditional and modern solutions to most outdoor gear and tools. Sometimes I feel like using waxed canvas, wool, carbon steel, stag, bamboo rods, etc. and other times I feel more like Gore-Tex, super steels, carbon fiber and graphite. Then there are those times when I just mix it up like some kind of futuristic pioneer. :)
 
I think part of it might have been that, while pocket knives were just used, rather than cared for - they also were more inclined to carry a fixed blade, for heavy use.
 
I vaguely remember doing a post a couple of months ago comparing Buck110 with Schrade 6OT.Side by side pics and weights .On phone right now so no ide how to link the opost but the Schrade slightly outbeefed the Buck I think.cheers.
 
My Great Uncle used this knife in the 60's and 70's and it was handed down to me. It ws the only knife he owned for 20-30 years. He used it for everything around the farm from cutting okra off the stalk in the garden to cleaning the horses hoofs, many times in the same day.
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Love traditionals. Also like modern folders, sometimes it's not apparent but I think a lot of modern knives do draw from the traditional hard use knives like 110's and sodbusters
 
I'm going to have to search for that post meako!

BTW does the 60t come in double bolsters ink ow it was dark but I recall it having brass? bolsters on both ends.

Still a lot of steel left on that one too Halestorm! It makes me question why I have so many knives lying around. Lol.
 
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USE 'EM!!!! Then leave them for the kids/grandkids with some HISTORY instead of spending life as a safe queen.
 
As a carpenter I carried a folding hunter in my pocket. Mind you, I made most cuts with a Stanley knife.

But when I needed a longer blade, when I had tough work to do, I reached for that hunter.

I used the same knife from apprenticeship to retirement. It’s still in good shape.
 
cchu518 said:
I'm going to have to search for that post meako!

BTW does the 60t come in double bolsters ink ow it was dark but I recall it having brass? bolsters on both ends.

Still a lot of steel left on that one too Halestorm! It makes me question why I have so many knives lying around. Lol.
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The 7OT had double bolsters. 6 was the same size, but only had bolsters at the pivot end (bareheaded).
 
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