Congress with 4 different blades?

Planterz

Planterz

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I'd like to find a Congress, but I can't one that finds my picky requirements. As I may have mentioned once or twice (or 7 times), I don't like redundant/duplicate blades. But so far I can only find 2 that fit that definition, and one I still don't care for.

The one I don't like is a Boker. Most of the Bokers I've found have either twin sheepsfoot blades (large), plus a pen and coping blade (small), or they have a spear and sheepsfoot blade (large), but twin pen blades (small). The only one I've seen with 4 different blades has a spey blade, and ya'll might have already read how I feel about spey blades...

All the other congresses (congri?) I've found have at least one duplicate set of blades, if not both sets.

The one I've found that I do like is a Case medium congress. The large blades are a spear and sheepsfoot and the small ones are a pen and coping. I like the pattern. A lot in fact. My only trepidation is the steel. I'd prefer something better than what Case offers.

So who else, if anybody, makes a congress with 4 different blades, none of them a spey blade? I normally prefer stainless steel, but carbon is fine on this one; in fact, I think I would prefer it for this knife. 3.5-4" please.
 
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The only one I have without duplicate blades is a Steel Warrior. I am pretty certain Case does one, but I don't have an example.
 
I picked up a Schatt & Morgan Pennsylvania Congress over Thanksgiving that has spear, sheepsfoot, pen and coping blades. If I'm reading the etch right, the model number is 044 431. The one I have says it is one of 600, but there may be others with different scale material. It's a 4" or maybe a bit over.
 
yablanowitz said:
I picked up a Schatt & Morgan Pennsylvania Congress over Thanksgiving that has spear, sheepsfoot, pen and coping blades. If I'm reading the etch right, the model number is 044 431.
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I'm not sure how I missed that one, a major vendor's website that I keep poking around on has it in stock. Looks nice, although the green bone isn't my favorite shade.

Between the S&M and the Case in CV, I think I'd go with the Case. I still hope there's other options though.
 
I have an original USA made Marble's Congress in ivory paper micarta that has a main sheepsfoot, two clip point pen blades and a drop point pen blade. The steel is 1095. I've never been a huge Congress fan but I positively love this one.
These are increasingly hard to find but if you can I'll think you'll like it.
 
yablanowitz said:
I picked up a Schatt & Morgan Pennsylvania Congress over Thanksgiving that has spear, sheepsfoot, pen and coping blades. If I'm reading the etch right, the model number is 044 431. The one I have says it is one of 600, but there may be others with different scale material. It's a 4" or maybe a bit over.
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Like this? :cool:

2006 Series
A superb knife, the FF is outstanding

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That does look very nice. I might have to pick up both a Case and an S&M; one for work, one for play.
 
A spey blade is a pretty strange thing to put on a congress pattern - weird. A sheepsfoot main plus a short clip main with some nice belly would rock though - don't know of any made like that though. (Moore Maker has a congress with a short clip "pen" -- about as deep as the main blades, but shorter.)

I prefer all different blades on a congress too -- however, I've found that having two sheepsfoot main and two spear pen blades works very well in practice. Since the congress is equal ended, you won't know which end you've got unless you look -- and with two pair of symmetrical blades, it doesn't matter. You've got two straight edge blades and two pointy blades with belly - pretty good functional coverage.
 
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zerogee said:
A spey blade is a pretty strange thing to put on a congress pattern - weird.
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Google "Boker congress whittler" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Boker's website says it's "designed by a carver, for carvers". I'm definitely new to traditional slipjoints, but this is the first and only time I've seen a spey blade touted for whittling. Maybe because you're less likely to stab yourself with it?:confused:
 
I'd think you're more unlikely to stab yourself with a sheepsfoot. However, looking at how they dropped the point of the spey down, it'd be pretty easy to convert it into a spear blade. Still, weird.

However, it should be noted that the good ol' boys sitting around whittling and carving usually preferred a good 4 blade congress (or 6 blade is you're Lincoln - Abe loved whittling). They'd look at you funny if you tried to hand them what we now call "whittlers".
 
Planterz said:
. . . but this is the first and only time I've seen a spey blade touted for whittling.
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The spey is just about perfect for hollowing out the bowl of a wooden spoon when carving one for the camp table. (I've done that in the past.) Some spey blade tips are also good for using as a counter-sink occasionally in simple wood projects; I've done that when I don't want to chuck in a counter-sink bit; it's good for cutting dimples in wooden dice, too.

Planterz said:
Maybe because you're less likely to stab yourself with it?:confused:
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Nope. You can definitely penetrate your soft, feeble, thin outer bodily covering (aka: skin) with a spey blade. Wanna know how I know that? :p

~Chris
 
neeman said:
Like this? :cool:

2006 Series
A superb knife, the FF is outstanding

picture.php
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Yep, that's the one. Of course, mine isn't that shiny after riding in my pocket for a couple of weeks. It makes a great work knife.

Planterz said:
Google "Boker congress whittler" and you'll see what I'm talking about. Boker's website says it's "designed by a carver, for carvers". I'm definitely new to traditional slipjoints, but this is the first and only time I've seen a spey blade touted for whittling. Maybe because you're less likely to stab yourself with it?:confused:
Click to expand...

About the only thing I use a spey blade for is whittling, specifically hollowing out curved depressions like spoons and bowls. Nothing among conventional whittler blades works as well, even though I thought it was weird to see it on the Case Humpback Whittler.
 
One more. I carried one of these every day for about 15 years and it is extremely versatile knife.

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Similar is the Boker in Red Pick bone in carbon 3 5/8"
I like the double bolsters
I have sharpened one of the pen blade flat (a quick run over with a course stone) so it in now close to a modified Wharnie

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You can get the Case Congress in CV, which is a perfectly respectable carbon steel. However... the nail nick placement on the center two large blades is very poor; they're mostly obscured by the smaller blades, making it hard to open them.
 
randomlooker said:
You can get the Case Congress in CV, which is a perfectly respectable carbon steel. However... the nail nick placement on the center two large blades is very poor; they're mostly obscured by the smaller blades, making it hard to open them.
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Where can you find the Case CV Congress?
 
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