Case Trapper - Why am I so excited?

L

L2bravo

Joined
Jun 14, 2013
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So I've got a ZT 0550, and a Benchmade 710 on their way to me. I've got a few good knives, and like everybody else, I like more. Which brings me to todays buy.

I bought a Case trapper, in the old skool yellow. I had these when I was a kid. It has about a 3'' clip and spey blade on it. So I went home, and sharpened the two blades to razor sharp, with two different profiles.

The point I make is; why am I so excited about this knife? Yes it's cool and all, but nothing remotely like the other stuff I buy. It was like $40 bucks. I buy knives far more expensive than this, that could survive anything we all could throw their way. Is it just because this knife invokes the little boy in me? Or what?

Let's hear other's opinions about this!
 
I have a bunch of folders ranging from a CRK Umnumzaan to a number of Benchmades. There are some days that I feel like carrying nothing more than a Stockman. I don't really know why, maybe it's feeling a connection to the past or something.
 
It could be that the traditional knives make us feel a closer link to our ancestors. I know I often think about times spent with grandparents when I'm using my traditional knives. I have modern knives but I like my stockmans and trappers better. Reminds me of a time when things were simpler and things moved at a slower pace and besides that you hardly find many modern folders with stag and bone scales.
 
L2bravo said:
So I've got a ZT 0550, and a Benchmade 710 on their way to me. I've got a few good knives, and like everybody else, I like more. Which brings me to todays buy.

I bought a Case trapper, in the old skool yellow. I had these when I was a kid. It has about a 3'' clip and spey blade on it. So I went home, and sharpened the two blades to razor sharp, with two different profiles.

The point I make is; why am I so excited about this knife? Yes it's cool and all, but nothing remotely like the other stuff I buy. It was like $40 bucks. I buy knives far more expensive than this, that could survive anything we all could throw their way. Is it just because this knife invokes the little boy in me? Or what?

Let's hear other's opinions about this!
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I bought a little Buck 303 the other day. Personally, I like knives of all kinds. It is fun to have some new technology but it is also fun to have a foot in the old school stuff. That 303 just feels right. I've been carrying it and a mini-grip all day. A little something of each. Fun. Any well made knife is easy to get excited about. ;)

I've got quite a few traditionals and like them as well (sometimes better!) than the newer stuff. Just the way it is.
 
Thanks guys, I think you helped me solidify the idea here. I think it is rocking the old school knives, that makes me feel like I did when I was 12, instead of being 40. It's just a timeless classic, and they are still cool. I don't know if I want to trade it for my Adamas, but the level of cool to me is the same. Be it a $40 Case, or a $200 Benchmade.

One thing that is cool, is the fact that Case is stil made here I believe. Old Timer, Buck, Uncle Henry, and the such, were all made here at one time.

In the neighborhood I grew up in, there was an old drugstore. A remnant left over from the 50's. Little diner, bar, barstools and all. It was like stepping back in time, (this was the early 80's). They had an Old Timer display case there. In there, was the greatest treasure I ever saw. It was a fat bladed skinning knife. I wanted it so bad. It was like 35 bucks, I was 12. I worked like hell raking leaves, mowing grass, and stuff, up and down my street. I bought that knife, and still have it today. I never saw one like it before, or after. Ahhh.....the memories.
 
If you don't carry a knife for so called "self defense" reasons, a slip joint is pretty much all you need. That's why I carry a SAK. The Trapper (prefer the large Trapper) is my favorite slipjoint pattern. I have one of the yellow handled Cases around here somewhere along with four or five other ones.
 
22-rimfire said:
If you don't carry a knife for so called "self defense" reasons, a slip joint is pretty much all you need.
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Bingo! If you use your knife to cut stuff, most anything will do. But, technology has to push forward and we have to invent new tools, and new ways to use them. For some of us, we enjoy doing things the old fashioned way.
 
The case trapper was my first knife. I still have it. Cant bring myself to get rid of it. Congrats on the purchase.
 
I recently burnt out on the latest, greatest, pre-ordered, limited, unobtainium bladed cnc built modern knifes and bought a couple of yellow cases, small and large trappers. Since then I've ordered and am enjoying some GEC and Canal Street pieces and dug my oldies out from their roll-up carrying case. I'm retired now and on a fixed income so may end up selling off a bunch of moderns to feed my new direction.
 
You know, there is a whole sub-form here devoted to traditional knives like your Case Trapper and other brands and knives that give us that feeling of having something with a rich history in your hand.

Drop by and say hello. Just be careful, there are so many patterns, handle material options, and quality manufacturers that you'll end up with more traditionals than you were planning on!

I have several modern knives but for the most part I carry a Case slipjoint of one kind or another every day. And as a side benefit, using them in public rarely draws any attention.
 
Well now. As a Traditional Forum moderator I may be a bit biased, but I find that a lot of the time the thinner blades on traditional pocket knives are often more useful than the larger wider blades on modern knives when it comes to everyday cutting jobs. And a multi-bladed knife allows for great versatility in a small package. I carry both modern and traditional knives most days. I seldom have need of the modern.

All that being said, the Case Trapper pattern is one of the hand friendliest patterns I've ever found. It fits in the hand so well. A delight to use.
 
Alright, settle down now all you old farts. I wasn't trying to start on old fart hate fest on tactical knives! I'm only 40 , but have an old soul, and like things of those years gone by.

Yes, there is something sexy about a "trapper" design knife. It gives you a really thin spey point blade, that can easily be made into a razor. And a clip point, that is a good bit thicker, and can be used for ''tougher' work.

I am a fireman (20 years). I am on a ladder truck, and we do a lot of the "heavy" work. Rescue, stuff, and such. I am always using my "not so nostalgic" knives on duty. There is a real need for my owning knives like that. I also have a shop that I own/work at. I cut a lot of cardboard, and such. Again, I use a heay knife for a lot of that.

Remember back in the day? A guy that needed a "big" knife, for things I just listed.......Buck 110 was the answer. Lol

Call me bat%^&* crazy, but how cool would it be if: Somebody like Benchmade, made a modern day "Trapper XL"??? Made it with newer steels, and G10 scales. I think they would sell the daylights out of them. If they made them like that, and they came in under $70. I think they would not be able to handle the demand.
 
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I just received my first case a few days ago. It is a mix of old and new,a Case Humpback whittler with G10 scales. I to am new to traditional knives and about the same age as the OP. L2bravo,I think part of your happiness is probably reliving part of your childhood through that trapper but the other part is that traditional knives are just plain cool! I have even thought about carrying ONLY a good old pocket knife:eek: I have not done it yet but I thought about it:D I have had a traditional knife in my pocket along with a modern style knife for the last year or so. It is a slippery slope I warn you! You look at that innocent little traditional knife and think it is only 40,70,100$ and it seems so cheap compared to modern style knives. The next thing you know you have 25-60 of the little guys and the price creeps up on you just like the Ti frame locks did. lol. A pic of my latest traditional
9180070486_c253db239f_b.jpg
[/url] Case XX Humpback Whittler by pokeyoureyeout, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
L2bravo said:
Alright, settle down now all you old farts.
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Just remember, the last stage before "sage" is "old fart".
That makes me almost a sage.:D

L2bravo said:
Call me bat%^&* crazy, but how cool would it be if: Somebody like Benchmade, made a modern day "Trapper XL"??? Made it with newer steels, and G10 scales. I think they would sell the daylights out of them. If they made them like that, and they came in under $70. I think they would not be able to handle the demand.
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Queen uses D2. They are starting a line of blades with Micarta covers. Might be just the thing for you. D2 ain't the latest and greatest, but it works good for me. (And I'm a steel junky with modern blades in all sorts of PM alloys.)
 
Well, they don't hold any nostalgiac merit to me, but the first time I saw one of those yellow trappers I just had to have one. I never really even liked most traditional style patterns before either, but I don't know... Something about it stood out to me, they're a knife that's just very nice to look at, stylized yet still very practical and they're excellent cutters.

I'd like to get another one some day as well. I bought one in 2010'ish, and the handles came flat instead of rounded... I want to get some of the older ones I've seen.
 
knarfeng said:
Just remember, the last stage before "sage" is "old fart".
That makes me almost a sage.:D



Queen uses D2. They are starting a line of blades with Micarta covers. Might be just the thing for you. D2 ain't the latest and greatest, but it works good for me. (And I'm a steel junky with modern blades in all sorts of PM alloys.)
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Who is this Queen you speak of??? I love D2! Please tell me more, old fart. Seriously, I want to know!
 
L2bravo said:
Alright, settle down now all you old farts. I wasn't trying to start on old fart hate fest on tactical knives! I'm only 40 , but have an old soul, and like things of those years gone by.
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I'm a young fart (33), but like you I now get more enjoyment out of an honest slipjoint than a "tactical" knife. I've owned a Benchmade 710, a Spyderco Military, various autos including Severtechs, Microtechs, and a Sandshark. Knives like the large Sebenza, Striders, and ZT 0560 or Tilt don't really do much for me. My collection of many Benchmade, Spyderco, and Microtech balisongs has dwindled down to 2. But my $50 Case mini wharncliffe trapper, or 40 year old Case stockman, or a Sodbuster styled knife from GEC (Bull Nose or Hayn' Helper)? Love them! Oddly, I get more satisfaction out of opening and closing one of these than I do flipping a balisong or firing open an automatic. Nicely dyed bone or well matched stag has much more personality than G-10 or sandblasted titanium. A patina is prettier than black oxide or DLC.

A Porsche 996 or Jaguar XK will obviously outperform a car that's 60 years older, but few cars are sexier and classier than a 356 speedster or E-type roadster. Sure, they don't have all the modern bells and whistles, and they require more maintenance, but they're far more interesting and will turn more heads - at least the right heads.
 
L2bravo said:
Who is this Queen you speak of??? I love D2! Please tell me more, old fart. Seriously, I want to know!
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http://queencutlery.com/

Queen is unfortunately known around here for making good knives with bad edges. If you buy one that will actually cut you, consider yourself lucky. That said, once you put in the effort (often a lot of effort) to give it a proper edge, it'll cut and cut and cut. Referring to their D2 blades. Queen also makes knives under the Schatt and Morgan name, and make and have made knives for many other companies and under other trademarks. They're one of America's oldest cutlers that are actually still around (and not closed down with their names sold and resurrected as Chinese made garbage).
 
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