Best sources to learn all about traditional pocket knives

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GusSharp68

Hoist With His Own Petard
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Jun 9, 2021
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Hello Forum,

I’ve been searching the forums to try and learn as much as I can about traditional knives as I’ve come to appreciate them more and more. Having recently acquired a few of my first which I’ll post in another thread.

I can’t seem to find good sources that help identify all the different variations of handle patterns, blade shapes, history, etc. For example, trapper vs dogleg vs saddlehorn. Single vs multiple blade configurations. Congress vs stockman. Jack vs trapper. Is a Lanny Clip specific to the blade pattern on a trapper type handle, etc etc? Why might someone prefer a swayback vs a trapper vs a saddlehorn for example. What are key features that make a knife really well made. This I think I have at least some idea of, such as no gaps between the spring and liners, pinned shields, pin work, jigging quality, etc. Too many questions, I could post all day but you get the point.

I would welcome any good external links, books, YouTube channels or forum posts that would help fill in all the knowledge I lack as a beginner here. I found a good starter video, I think, here…


On a knife I recently acquired (should be delivered today) it’s described as a trapper but the clip point blade makes me wonder is this a Lanny Clip or just a trapper and if so how is a Lanny different?

View attachment 2044480View attachment 2044481
 
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The Lanny Clip is a specific pattern of knife designed by Tony Bose (Lanny was Tony’s friend) and it’s designed one way. If it’s not how Tony made it, it’s not a Lanny Clip. Look at the differences in the frame, size, blade lengths etc.

Bret Dowell Lanny Clip:
T2MWcnP.jpg


Bret Dowell Trapper:

v3hK4bn.jpg
 
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Jsega51 said:
The Lanny Clip is a specific pattern of knife designed by Tony Bose (Lanny was Tony’s friend) and it’s designed one way. If it’s not how Tony made it, it’s not a Lanny Clip. Look at the differences in the frame, size, blade lengths etc.

Bret Dowell Lanny Clip:
T2MWcnP.jpg


Bret Dowell Trapper:

v3hK4bn.jpg
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Thank you so the difference I see from the Chris Sharp I posted is that the handle doesn’t have the lanyard hole, Mine doesn’t have a bolster and has subtle finger bumps (for lack of better word). The clip point on mine seems pretty dang close to the ones on yours so I’m still not sure what the difference is.
 
GusSharp68 said:
Thank you so the difference I see from the Chris Sharp I posted is that the handle doesn’t have the lanyard hole, Mine doesn’t have a bolster and has subtle finger bumps (for lack of better word). The clip point on mine seems pretty dang close to the ones on yours so I’m still not sure what the difference is.
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Don’t get too hung up on little things like a lanyard hole. By design and pattern, it’s the overall shape and profile of the knife that counts here. Clearly the LC is a different knife from your Chris Sharp because your knife has a different frame shape and 2 blades, it can be as simple as that.

The Lanny Clip isn’t just a clip point blade design that makes any knife with it an LC if that makes sense.
 
Tony Bose was generous enough to share his designs with many knife makers and you’ll see different variations of Lanny’s clip all over the place.

Regardless, once you get used to it, you’ll definitely recognize the distinct shape and form of a Lanny’s clip. One thing as far as I know is that it only has a single blade.
 
GusSharp68 said:
I can’t seem to find good sources that help identify all the different variations of handle patterns, blade shapes, history, etc. For example, trapper vs dogleg vs saddlehorn. Single vs multiple blade configurations. Congress vs stockman. Jack vs trapper. Is a Lanny Clip specific to the blade pattern on a trapper type handle, etc etc? Why might someone prefer a swayback vs a trapper vs a saddlehorn for example. What are key features that make a knife really well made. This I think I have at least some idea of, such as no gaps between the spring and liners, pinned shields, pin work, jigging quality, etc. Too many questions, I could post all day but you get the point.

I would welcome any good external links, books, YouTube channels or forum posts that would help fill in all the knowledge I lack as a beginner here. I found a good starter video, I think, here…
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Levine’s Guide to Knives is an invaluable resource, and addresses the kinds of questions you are asking. Find a good used copy of the 4th Edition — you’ll be glad you did. 😉
 
JW225 said:
Levine’s Guide to Knives is an invaluable resource, and addresses the kinds of questions you are asking. Find a good used copy of the 4th Edition — you’ll be glad you did. 😉
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Excellent, thanks!
 
I second Jim's suggestion of Levine's guide, it's an excellent resource. Any edition is fine for research. I've been using the 5th edition for years since at the time I bought it the price of the 4th editions was astronomical.

Eric
 
The Lanny's Clip was a pattern that Tony Bose designed based on his friend Lanny's ideas. It's basically a trapper pattern with a single wide clip point blade. I believe it was around 4" closed. That's the best of my recollection.

Here's a Lanny's Clip Jr. (3.5") that Brent Cramer made for me. He got the pattern from Tony. It's CPM-154.
As was already mentioned the makers put their own spin on the pattern, while following Tony's basic idea.
nbi5vtX.jpg
 
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Another recommendation For Levine's Guide, I have a 3rd edition that's held together by rubber bands... might be time to find another. Levine's has a pricing formula that's interesting, but doesn't correspond to any pricing that I've ever encountered. The rest of the content is great for learning about patterns, manufacturers, and so forth.

Every manufacturer has slight variations on how they make their knives, your Trapper is a case in point. Knives can be misidentified, you see a lot of Copperheads being called Trappers, for example. Sometimes speys look like spear points. You see a lot of two spring knives being called whittlers. A Case Stockman is going to feel different than a Henckels Stockman, and so on. Don't worry too much about what you call something. My advice is to just buy what you like.
 
GusSharp68 said:
Congress vs stockman
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Handle shape. The Congress  always has a crescent shaped handle, with either 2 blades (sometimes called a "half congress") or (nowadays) 4 blades (in the past they had more. Then President Abe Lincoln carried a six or seven blade congress.) Most of the 4 blade made today have two Sheepfoot "primary" and two pen blade secondary blades.
Of the two, the "Congress" is the older pattern.
Legend has it, the pattern got its name because it was a popular knife Among (apparently bored) U.S. Congressmen and Senators, who used their knife to carve/whittle the armrests of their wooden chairs in chambers, while one of their cohorts spoke for several hours without saying a relevant word about the bill being debated. ... some things never change ... tho I suspect the congressman and senators of today are playing video games, surfing the web, or watching porn on their smartphone, instead of carving/whittling their armrest with their pocket knife while their long-winded cohort drones on and on, not saying anything useful. 🙄

The stockman can be a serpentine frame' equal end (if equal end  and it has a pen blade instead of a Spey blade, it is properly known as a "Cattleman" or "Cattleman's"; not a "stockman") or "sowbelly" frame. The "sowbelly" is usually around 3.75 inch closed. The serpentine can range from "peanut size"; 2 7/8 inch closed for the small, 3.25 to 3.625 for the "medium", and from 3 7/8 to 4 5/8 inch closed for the "large".
A true "stockman" always has three blades: Most commonly a full size clip point primary (the have been made with a spear point primary, however), and a half-length Sheepsfoot and Spey Blade secondary. They can be a two backspring (most common) or three backspring design. (Buck since roughly 2000, and I think Case also makes (or made) a three spring stockman, but I don't know the pattern number.

Personally, I like the large Stockman pattern.
I find the congress pattern uncomfortable after a short time during use.

Oh! The "Cattle Knife" is a little older than the "stockman". The stockman evolved from the cattle knife with the substitution of the pen blade with the Spey, and the serpentine frame.
 
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Regardless of owning these I’m really intrigued by all the history and learning about the designs, the makers. The whole craft in general.

I recently bought two (both swaybacks) in addition to the one I posted earlier. One is a two blade has been used a bit and I’ll need to try and repair the edges a little. Hoping I can work on them later today. I love the look of the swayback but it is a bit strange in hand though.
 
C Houston Price & Mark Zalesky published The Official Price Guide to Collector Knives, 15th Edition. It is dated as to pricing, but has a lot of good information and was pretty cheap when I bought a copy when it was published. There is plenty of general info in the book for a new collector and a good description of the many old brands out there. OH
 
Howdy.

I have been learning since I was a kid. As far as patterns and blade shape names it’s something you learn as you go.

I like trying new to me patterns.

So far I like the case 75 pattern 6375 stockman the best. I’m quite partial to Jack knives though. Like the schrade old timer 33OT, that is the letter o, not the number zero.

A Jack is generally a knife with two blades, both on the same end, a large and a small, build on a serpentine frame, like a stockman.

I like case knives and schrade mostly. Throw in a spicing of buck with a few others mixed in. But mostly I’m a case and schrade man.

I can tell ya what, I don’t care for the swayback. Not the frame, but the blade. I don’t care for straight edged blades for general use. When examining one in the store I loved it.

Oddly I have decided the case 6265 or 65 pattern folding hunter is one of my loves. When examining one in the store I had the other opinion. So it goes to show you, try it before you make a decision.

I generally prefer carbon steel but I tolerate stainless.
 
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