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- Feb 9, 2005
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- 181
Colonial Hand Crafted Trapper (T305B)
Review by David Bowen
One of the driving forces that helped forge our great country is the craftsmen and designers that have created cutlery for everything from military uses to the food preparation industry. The cutlery industry has always had a spot in industrial America, however not too many companies can stay in business due to the high demands on quality with a retail price that fits the customers wallet. I have read about the founding of many different cutlery companies such as Case, Schrade and Buck; it’s fascinating to watch one mans skills and dreams become a force that has an impact on the community both local and abroad.
The Colonial Knife Company like the others has very humble beginnings and up to the eighties and nineties they were a company that was associated with pocket knives that were “made for the working man”. Colonial did indeed do just that, they produced a decent pocket knife that the average working man could use on a daily basis on his job and be able to rely on its performance. Some people look upon Colonials products as cheap or junk because they were not designed like most high quality folders. Colonial’s Ranger series for instance had back springs that were not even I most cases and the bolsters were either stamped out and part of the liners or they had bolsters that simply crimped onto the liners of the knife. The knives were able to be manufactured as a reasonable price and held up well to the work they were given. I have an old Colonial Ranger Stockman that isn’t Case quality but it made with carbon steel that will hold an edge longer any stainless steel that was in use at the time. Aside from peoples opinions Colonial did indeed produce knives that as their company slogan says “Knives that helped build America”.
Aside from the lower class of pocket knives that they made they also had a higher quality brand of pocket knife called “Old Cutler”. They featured solid bolster construction and attention to detail that was closer to that of other companies in the cutlery business. Colonial has created a new series of knives that are Old Cutler quality and I believe revival of this company will be a success with its shift in going more to the quality pocket knife, now that people these days are paying attention to quality as well as price. Especially those people who collect and buy old traditional patterns of pocket knives that in this day and age seem to have faded somewhat in the public eye. People thought that Colonial never produced high quality cutlery because no one really saw the good stuff that came out of them, I personally didn’t see an Old Cutler till later on in life after owning many Rangers and Anvil brand knives by Colonial. As Colonial rises back from the ashes like a phoenix they have hit the ground running with a new product lineup and more on the drawing board. I see Colonial’s future as a very bright if they can get themselves back into the marketplace and advertise, demo and push to introduce the new Colonials to the public. With enough drive and determination anything is possible.
Alright, I’ll get off my soap box and get down to brass tacks. All of you are thinking, just quit with the history review and give us the review. But I believe that you have to understand a company’s passion and roots to appreciate the product they represent. Colonial’s new line is a collection of lock backs and a traditional pattern style Trapper; all featuring “hand crafted” construction and real jigged bone handles with nickel silver bolsters. I have in my possession Colonials new T305B Hand Crafted Trapper. The trapper is roughly the same size of traditional pattern that we are all familiar with a 4” handle and the quality is defiantly better than anything I have seen before out of Colonial. The clip and spey blade came razor sharp with a steel of 440 stainless steel like they are using in the rest of their Hand Crafted Series. The Springs on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the strongest snap) I would have to say are somewhere around a 5 or a 6, not a nail breaker but not an authoritive snap like were are used to hearing with Case knives, probably more along the lines of my Schrade TRT that was available for a limited time. Construction is quite solid and fit and finish is pretty darn good. Jigged bone handles have always been a good handle material, giving the user a decent grip on the knife while in use. This trapper is everything I expect from a trapper knife and performed very well in the week of testing that I have put it through. The knife is “almost” perfect, the only things that bothered me about it’s construction is the bolsters and the bone handles were not flush with each other creating a seamless fit between the two; but rather there is a difference in height of the scale versus the bolster and vise versa. This is very minor and just a cosmetic flaw that I have nit picked about but it does not affect its performance. Also one of the pins that hold the scales and the liners together is poking its head through the inside of the knife where the blades reside. The blades do not touch the pin and the pin is not out enough to interfere; merely out a little like someone tapped it in too much and didn’t realize.
Colonial has done a fantastic job on this trapper and I hope they continue to produce more traditional patterns that just the trapper and lock backs. I recommend this knife to anyone who is interested in purchasing one of the new knives from their line up and want a knife that will not only serve them well but their sons and hopefully generations down the line. I applaud Colonial on their efforts and I hope that all their hard work will pay off in the year to come.
Hope you all liked the review,
David
Review by David Bowen
One of the driving forces that helped forge our great country is the craftsmen and designers that have created cutlery for everything from military uses to the food preparation industry. The cutlery industry has always had a spot in industrial America, however not too many companies can stay in business due to the high demands on quality with a retail price that fits the customers wallet. I have read about the founding of many different cutlery companies such as Case, Schrade and Buck; it’s fascinating to watch one mans skills and dreams become a force that has an impact on the community both local and abroad.
The Colonial Knife Company like the others has very humble beginnings and up to the eighties and nineties they were a company that was associated with pocket knives that were “made for the working man”. Colonial did indeed do just that, they produced a decent pocket knife that the average working man could use on a daily basis on his job and be able to rely on its performance. Some people look upon Colonials products as cheap or junk because they were not designed like most high quality folders. Colonial’s Ranger series for instance had back springs that were not even I most cases and the bolsters were either stamped out and part of the liners or they had bolsters that simply crimped onto the liners of the knife. The knives were able to be manufactured as a reasonable price and held up well to the work they were given. I have an old Colonial Ranger Stockman that isn’t Case quality but it made with carbon steel that will hold an edge longer any stainless steel that was in use at the time. Aside from peoples opinions Colonial did indeed produce knives that as their company slogan says “Knives that helped build America”.
Aside from the lower class of pocket knives that they made they also had a higher quality brand of pocket knife called “Old Cutler”. They featured solid bolster construction and attention to detail that was closer to that of other companies in the cutlery business. Colonial has created a new series of knives that are Old Cutler quality and I believe revival of this company will be a success with its shift in going more to the quality pocket knife, now that people these days are paying attention to quality as well as price. Especially those people who collect and buy old traditional patterns of pocket knives that in this day and age seem to have faded somewhat in the public eye. People thought that Colonial never produced high quality cutlery because no one really saw the good stuff that came out of them, I personally didn’t see an Old Cutler till later on in life after owning many Rangers and Anvil brand knives by Colonial. As Colonial rises back from the ashes like a phoenix they have hit the ground running with a new product lineup and more on the drawing board. I see Colonial’s future as a very bright if they can get themselves back into the marketplace and advertise, demo and push to introduce the new Colonials to the public. With enough drive and determination anything is possible.
Alright, I’ll get off my soap box and get down to brass tacks. All of you are thinking, just quit with the history review and give us the review. But I believe that you have to understand a company’s passion and roots to appreciate the product they represent. Colonial’s new line is a collection of lock backs and a traditional pattern style Trapper; all featuring “hand crafted” construction and real jigged bone handles with nickel silver bolsters. I have in my possession Colonials new T305B Hand Crafted Trapper. The trapper is roughly the same size of traditional pattern that we are all familiar with a 4” handle and the quality is defiantly better than anything I have seen before out of Colonial. The clip and spey blade came razor sharp with a steel of 440 stainless steel like they are using in the rest of their Hand Crafted Series. The Springs on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the strongest snap) I would have to say are somewhere around a 5 or a 6, not a nail breaker but not an authoritive snap like were are used to hearing with Case knives, probably more along the lines of my Schrade TRT that was available for a limited time. Construction is quite solid and fit and finish is pretty darn good. Jigged bone handles have always been a good handle material, giving the user a decent grip on the knife while in use. This trapper is everything I expect from a trapper knife and performed very well in the week of testing that I have put it through. The knife is “almost” perfect, the only things that bothered me about it’s construction is the bolsters and the bone handles were not flush with each other creating a seamless fit between the two; but rather there is a difference in height of the scale versus the bolster and vise versa. This is very minor and just a cosmetic flaw that I have nit picked about but it does not affect its performance. Also one of the pins that hold the scales and the liners together is poking its head through the inside of the knife where the blades reside. The blades do not touch the pin and the pin is not out enough to interfere; merely out a little like someone tapped it in too much and didn’t realize.
Colonial has done a fantastic job on this trapper and I hope they continue to produce more traditional patterns that just the trapper and lock backs. I recommend this knife to anyone who is interested in purchasing one of the new knives from their line up and want a knife that will not only serve them well but their sons and hopefully generations down the line. I applaud Colonial on their efforts and I hope that all their hard work will pay off in the year to come.
Hope you all liked the review,
David
