Curious about the Congress pattern

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brianv

Gold Member
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Oct 23, 2012
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Please don't flame me. I'm new, sort of.

Tell me about the Congress pattern. Is the Congress dominating the forum knife poll for popularity or because one hasn't been in that pattern yet? Is it both? I will admit when I first saw the pattern it didn't appeal to me but I'm learning to like it. I don't own one yet and don't know if I will. I'm not a real collector as many of you are. I know also that blade choice can be quite personal and no one should be raked over the coals for personal choice but I just don't find the Wharncliffe blade appealing. That is not to say I don't see its usefulness. If your comments lead to other threads or pages I will go there to learn.

Thanks for indulging me.
 
The Congress is an interesting pattern. It took me a while to warm up to it. I now have 4 Congress pattern knives. Only one is easily carried however since the other 3 are 4 inches and over in size. The half Congress is different. Usually smaller with two larger blades and will be a nice 2013 knife...since it looks like it going that way.
 
I think it's dominating because it missed by a hair in the polls last year, so almost 50% of us are waiting for it to happen :). Plus a Congress Jack is something you don't see too often.
For me it's just the overall look of the knife which is appealing, with the slight S shape to it. I find the Wharncliffe blade very useful, but that's really a personal preference. (Maybe I'm a bit biased because the Congress has been my first true traditional ;))
 
well not sure why others like it, but i like mine because it's quite comfortable in hand (still trying to warm up to the sideways bar feel in the pocket that seems to come with any traditional) and it looks very classy but not so much as to limit it.
and sheepsfoot and wharncliffe blades really appeal to me for some reason...
 
The Half Congress or Congress Jack pattern to me were always a more elegant patterns, the slim profile and the reverse curve of the back spring always made look sexy to me which when you're talkin' politics ya gotta expect some degree of sex, so I think for that reason the name and shape of the knife are very apropos. ;)

Keep one thing in mind about the results so far in regards to the Congress pattern leadin' so far, when we did the vote on the 2009 Forum knife, the Barlow was not the first choice but because the boys were so close between the top 3 patterns we had a new vote and the Barlow was a runaway winner, so don't give up campaign's for your pattern choice post pics of nice examples debate the pluses and minutes of the pattern you like, ya never know, it could happen. :)
 
Please understand I'm not complaining about the pattern or its standing in the polls. Assuming the result fits my budget I'll buy whatever wins. I'm just curious about the pattern and from what I understand so far its standings in the poll reflect the near miss it received in earlier years rather than popularity among the people in this sub forum. And that is fine to me.
 
At first I thought the congress' aesthetics were awkward, but I've been warming up to them! I think I might pick up a couple of inexpensive ones to get the feel of them.
 
I remember seeing a two-blade Congress in a knife display case at the little drugstore near my house when I was about 10 years old and loving the look of it. I wasn't even sure why, but I did. I think it was thirty years before I ever bought one, though. I'm kind of hoping for a Congress jack this year just because I don't have one yet.
 
My most carried knife is a GEC #61 4-blade congress. At less than 4" it's very pocket friendly and the sheepsfoot blade has more than enough length for my daily cutting tasks.
 
I've found I like carrying a Congress though a slightly smaller one. The big boys can be a brick in the pocket!

This afternoon's carry is a Case 3 1/2" small Congress with mammoth covers, just came this week.

casesmcong2.jpg

casesmcong.jpg

I love the different sides :thumbup:
 
Brian.....


What really makes the pattern intriguing in not that it's a Congress, lets face it a 4 blade Congress knife would of landed flat............but that this configuration can attract two types of collector/users, the Congress and Jack enthusiast and when the main blade is opened the secondary blade is nearly non existent plus being built with a single spring it truly lends itself to a slim carry in hand and pocket. It also doesn't hurt that a Congress in this configuration hasn't been built by a English,U.S. or Germany manufacture since Fight'n Rooster's "Irish Jack" in the 90's.
 
The Congress pattern is mainly a Southern (by which we mean south-eastern USA) pattern. It's been around a couple hundred years. The pattern is a slight sway back with a little belly when the main blade is extended. It's most commonly found with four blades (two to an end) and, because of that, usually it has bolsters to both ends.

The pattern is very comfortable to use, and you can find several variations using the same shape. Blade shapes range all over the place. It's not uncommon to have a pair of one pattern on the same knife, and I've seen a couple with two pairs of indentical blades. You can find the same pattern adapted to a whittler (split spring), a Jack (both single or twin spring), or a Half (single spring).

Older knives seem to be smaller than current production. I don't know why. I have a 120 year old Congress Whittler that measures right at 3" that's a beautiful little knife.
 
I know that there is a lot of love for whittlers and congress patterns, it just never looked right to me, I could never get into them. I had a GEC half congress, which I traded back to the owner of the company.

This congress jack, with the wharncliff blade and pen blade secondary, are getting me going. I haven't been excited by many patterns, or knives lately. However, this one looks cool, and functional.
 
Did some searching on this forum - but didn't find the definitive answer I know is out there. Is the GEC Half-Congress a "single" spring folder?
 
qncygnnr said:
Is the GEC Half-Congress a "single" spring folder?
Click to expand...

It is, with half-stops.

I'm not a huge fan of 4-bladed slippies in general, and I wasn't sure how I would like the Half-Congress either, but it has really grown on me. It's a nice size, with two practical blades, and feels good in the hand. I've really warmed up to the aesthetics of it as well. I would buy another, with a wharncliffe if I found the right one.

imageauo.jpg
 
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