Classy Slipjoints (Stockmans, Trappers, etc) Question

Can someone call up these companies and tell them to please lower their prices a bit please? =P Was thinking I'd be able to drop ~$30 on a pocket knife with some no-frill natural handle... But it would seem that the lowest priced one I'd be interested in is $60 =( Unless of course I wanted to go with some overseas knife (for some reason I've psyched myself into the 'Hey, let's try to buy mainly American made!' for my near future purchases O.o

Would also like input on the Buckers - are they any good? :)
 
Can someone call up these companies and tell them to please lower their prices a bit please? =P Was thinking I'd be able to drop ~$30 on a pocket knife with some no-frill natural handle... But it would seem that the lowest priced one I'd be interested in is $60
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Check out the Case knives available at Shepherd Hills Cutlery. Search the site for "CV" and you'll get a list of every non-stainless model. Here's one example, price $44, http://www.casexx.com/DisplayDetailPage.asp?ProductCode=039 or this little beauty for $40: http://www.casexx.com/DisplayDetailPage.asp?ProductCode=6987 .
A bit more than $30, but not as high as $60.

Like anything else, when shopping on a tight budget it pays to be patient and watch for sales/closeouts.
 
Thanks for those =) Will definitely keep them in mind.

I have no idea which kind of pocket knife / blade styles to get... Is there a general "Get this as your first" style for people to get? I know different blade styles serve different purposes - but in urban EDC there isn't too much call for specific blades all that often (for me at least) O.o

And what do the knife names (stockman, peanut, etc.) refer to exactly? Handle shape? Blade type combination? Length?
 
And what exactly do the knife names (stockman, peanut, etc.) refer to exactly? Handle shape? Blade type combination? Length?
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All of the above. ;)

Here's the page at Shepherd Hills where all of the current Case patterns are shown in silhouette for comparison:
http://www.casexx.com/PatternPageFH.asp

Is there a general "Get this as your first" style for people to get?
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Nope. I'd say the most common "First Knives" are stockman and barlow, but there's no 'rule' about it and no wrong choice. I'd also guess that most peoples' first knives were simply whatever their grandfathers happened to give them, a nearly-universal event with a strong element of randomness. My first was a 34OT Old Timer from Schrade. My son's first traditional American pocketknife is the Case medium stockman I listed above (boy is only two years old, so he cannot give a coherent review yet).
 
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I figured as much about the sizes. But I wasn't too sure about the blade combinations; I could have sworn I saw some variances here and there while browsing (e.g., a stockman with clip/sheep/pen instead of clip/sheep/spey). Maybe I was just mistaken. Thanks for the link =)
 
Lock1454 said:
Looking at this knife, it says it has mohogany jigged bone handles... What exactly does it mean? Is it wood? Is it bone? So confused =(
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Jigged bone is just that... bone. Usually cattle bone, I think. The "mahogony" in this case just refers to the color, a dark brown. ;)
 
Lock1454 said:
I figured as much about the sizes. But I wasn't too sure about the blade combinations; I could have sworn I saw some variances here and there while browsing (e.g., a stockman with clip/sheep/pen instead of clip/sheep/spey). Maybe I was just mistaken. Thanks for the link =)
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You're probably not mistaken. There are all sorts of variations in patterns depending on who made them and when. Most knife patterns have a 'standard' blade selection, but again there are no 'rules' that a company must follow.

For instance, consider Barlow knives. They have a distinctive handle shape with a single bolster and a "jack" blade arrangement - meaning all blades pivot open from the same end. The most common blade arrangement is a two-blade knife with a spear blade and a pen blade. But you'll also find many single-blade Barlows, Barlows with clip blades, and some recently that wear a bolster on each end.

I hope that's perfectly clear now. ;)
 
Lock1454 said:
And another question; what do the knife names (stockman, peanut, etc.) refer to exactly? Handle shape? Blade type combination? Length?
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Try this for starters===>
http://www.simplysarasota.com/KnifeCollector/PocketKnifePatterns.html

Or get
official-price-guide-to-collector-knives.jpg
 
What makes Slippies so special is the variety of the patterns and handle material.

You can dream about a blade combination and a handle material and you will find it in a slipjoint pattern.

You want a stockman with a clip blade with two smaller spey and sheepsfoot blades in a 2 3/4, 3 1/4, 4 or 4 1/4 size?
You want a Canoe 3 5/8" with a heavy spear blade and a thin pen blade on the back?
A Congress 4" with a large sheepsfoot and a small pen blade on the back?

You want the handle material in Stag, bone, wood, ebony or MOP?

You want the blade in SS, D2 or carbon?

So when you buy a Slipjoint you can choose what ever fits your needs or wants...
 
I have several SAKs and I just can't seem to get enthused about carrying them. I appreciate the consistently high quality, the well-designed tools, and the broad range of designs, but they are boring. If it were possible to get them with different scales, I'd be more likely to carry them.

The traditional slip joints have more character and appeal, at least to me.
 
Why a slippie instead of a SAK? Why not both? And why all the different names?

Ok...I'll try to shine my little light on this. First the different patterns, rather than trying to explain each one I will simply add a link that will save me an hour of typing.

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/wr_case/patterns_alphabetically/index.php

This link is to Case Patterns but unlike tactical knives slip joints share patterns among all the various makers. In other words a trapper will pretty much always be the same pattern no matter who made it.

Why all the different pattern? The different blade shapes often will have specific function. As already mentioned the whittler pattern has blade designed for shaping wood, the stockman will have blades orientated towards the work a cattleman might do, the hunter pattern was made for dressing game, and so on. Of course you can use the knives for what ever you want, I doubt most of the folks who carry a stockman have ever castrated a young bull making him a steer. Usually you pick a pattern that appeals to you in size, number of blades, and blade shapes. There are folks who own mainly stockmans while I prfer trapper pattern....just personal choice. Also the different sizes do come in handy depending on how you are dressed, for example many of us don't wear that big hunter in a belt sheath going to church, rather we will slip a small peanut in out pocket instead.

Why not a SAK instead? As I said many carry both but a SAK with a full sized blade tends to be a bulky knife. Of course there are exceptions, the Cadet for instance is a very thin SAK which still has the basic tools...main blade, opener, screw driver, etc. But with a slip joint you can go smaller and still have a real knife unlike the little SAK Classic which doesn't have real cutting power and is best suited for fingernail management.

And of course their is the issue of aesthetics...slip joint are just plain good looking. With the variety of patterns and scale materials available today some are true functional works of art.

Someone else has already listed the major makers of slip joints in the US so I won't relist them but I will add a couple...

Amhearst Cutlery...very nice higher end semi custom slip joints
Bear and Sons...limited selection of patterns but nicely made
Buck...not all are US made so check before buying
Northwood Knives...among other patterns they are producing the Scagel reproductions...very nice knives.

And of course there are numerous customs, our own forum member make and sell some wonderful slipjoints right here in the forum and quite often at bargain prices.

Try a slip joint sometime if you never have, the smaller pattern will fit easily in the pocket without bulging or poking, and folks won't recoil in fear when you use it.
 
Ohhh thanks for that link Absinth :) Although I appreciated the earlier links as well, this link served me the best (I do better with short and concise lists like that).

I'm looking at Case's mainly (plan on ordering from either knifeworks (surname etched on blade mayhaps) or knifecenter) and they seem to be the most extensive selection. A good bit of the other brands mentioned aren't carried by the sites or within my desired price range which has possibly risen to the $50ish range. However my problem now is... I'm a bit apprehensive to get a bone handle. It just seems a bit morbid and creepy to me heh. Not too much of a wood selection and the other nice natural materials have higher price tags :\
 
I don't see bone being morbid but then I eat steaks too...lol. If you want to keep the price down, have carbon steel, and avoid bone try one of the Case yellow derlin in CV steel.
 
Oh it's highly hypocritical of me. I eat as much steak as the next guy and his best friend... Combined ;P I just think it might be irksome to carry a knife made from actual bone - but for some reason I don't find the idea of stag handles to be too bothersome... Weird!

Yet another bleh question... Stainless or not? People tend to prefer the non-stainless blades due to tradition and performance right?
 
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Lock1454 said:
Yet another bleh question... Stainless or not? People tend to prefer the non-stainless blades due to tradition and performance right?
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high carbon steel {non-stainless} takes an edge easier and holds an edge longer than your typical stainless steel. so performnce would be a good assumption on your part with your question posed above. may i ask what pattern you have decided on at this point?
 
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