Delrin vs Bone - User vs Mint

[neeman]

I would appriciate your reflections.

This whole question is about Queen knives.
I like Queen, both the steel and the quality.

I have a small Stockman in Black Cherry (delrin).
It has become my main pocket knife, there is not other knife that can push it out the way!
And it is dropped, scratched, and very sharp from mucking around with a diamond stone.

On the other hand I have a large stockman in Amber bone.
A really lovely knife, the way the light catches the translucent bone.
But to turn it into a user so it is scratched and worn?

Then there is the cost.
That is another 20 to get bone.
Same knife different handles.

I just got a Utility knife in forest edge brown delrin, no comparison to an amber bone.
But it is now sitting in my pocket, and I will not nurse it, I have another user.

I might be collecting, but I want them to be users.
And to have Bone Stag makes the knife much more beautiful, than delrin.

So how to buy a more expensive knife and still turn it into a user.

Any of this makes sense?

Thanks.

 

[sunnyd]

Sure it makes sense. You sound like me 30+ years or so ago.. Firstly, there is nothing wrong with derlin or staglon. I am EDC'n an old vintage Schrade Trapper right at this very moment that sports staglon scales. But,, there is nothing quite like the real thing--Bone, Stag, Ivory or whatever. That's why they make derlin and staglon, ect. to emulate the real thing!. Its OK.. Enjoy all your knives. Some will inevitably be Safe Queens others will be EDC bandits.. Just enjoy them all!!

 

[pauldulson]

Use the large stockman for best , you're only here once. You just know you are going to enjoy it !!

 

[VCM3]

neeman,
Go ahead and carry them all.If you think you are gonna be doing hard dirty work,take one of your most used users.
If the day is going to be lighter,take a pretty one.
I try to do this.I like to carry my knives,it bugs me,when I think about the ones I've not been carrying too much.
And the derlin and staglon is nice & tough,but the real deal has a real nice feel & look to it.
Just don't worry about it.Pocket knives(slipjoints),get a real nice look to them when they get a "pocketworn" look,from carrying and using (not abusing)
-Vince

 

[xbxb]

Well many of the guys here collect knives and they have safe ones that never hit the street. I had that same problem ( at least it was a problem for me) and a few years ago my head exploded one day. I took them all off of the shelf and started using them. I was much happier because I got to carry around some real beauties. I still carry all of my knives it doesn't matter who made it or what the material is. Most of the time now , when I'm home, I have a Schrade carbon steel muskrat or peanut in my pocket or a queen d2 steel jack knife-----OH!!--------Yes I had to sharpen the Queen, but I would have sharpened it anyway since I carry it and use it. I think some of the fellas here carry really nice knives everyday like Bose and some of the other fine makers. It will be interesting to see.

 

[jackknife]

Use the heck out of them all.

Up untill 20 years ago I had some safe queens, pretty things but never saw the light of day outside the house, let alone in a harsh dirty world.

Then one day I sort of woke up, realized I am a finite being and will only be here for a short time, and that time was getting shorter. I asked myself what the devil was saving these things for? My kids? They would just be some new in the box knives that I had never used, just hoarded, with zero personality or meaning.

I used them all, and rotated them on a regular carry duty. In time my family saw me use every one of them, and when I had my big downsizing last year, they all had particular knives they wanted because they would say things like "Grandad, remember when we cought that big perch, and you used that big sodbuster to show me how to clean it?" . Or my daughter asking "Daddy, if your giving away most of your pocket knives, I have dibs on that black handle one you showed me how to make a perfect hot dog stick with."

With daily use, they had become something with charater, and identidy. They had value to the family because they HAD been used, and had memories attached to them. If I had never carried them, and I passed on, my family would have found this cashe of brand new knives, still in boxes with narry a ding or scratch, and probably have thought "Huh, look at all these new knives. I wonder what we'll do with them, dad must not have really liked them, I never saw him carry any of these. Maybe we'll give them to a scout troop or something."

I think people in general like things with a history. I look at how the antique buisness is booming in this country, and the restoration and repair industry is going full bore. West Coast Classics charges 20 to 30,000 dollars for a full body pan up restored VW bug from the 60's or earlier, and they get it! The last antique gun auction I was at I was shocked at what old Winchesters were going for. You could buy a nice new custom , but people were buying. It's the history thing, as well as people are tired of new looking always shiny items that have zero charater. They'd rather have that old .44 than a new Cooper in a more effective cartridge.

Take those knives out and put some honest use on them. Your kids, and grandkids will apreatiate it some day many many years from now.

 

[65hoss]

I totally agree with Jackknife.
I inherited my grandfather's and dad's knives a few years back. Most of them had been users at one time or another. The used ones mean much more to me than the shiny never used ones.
I remember my dad using his Case Stockman SS black handles until they were just nubs left.

I have applied that to my own knives also. My family sees me using several of my knives regularly. My oldest daughter has watched me use and take care of those yellow handle CV Case knives. She told me already which one she wants one day.

My almost 2 yr old daughter loves to hold my Sodbuster or medium stockman and act like she is slicing an apple. Why? Because daddy does it.

To me, scratches, nicks and the like give them character that can't be replaced. A never been used knife is good for staring at. I can't see much use in that.

 

[mnblade]

I might be collecting, but I want them to be users. ... So how to buy a more expensive knife and still turn it into a user?

Man, it's just like jumping into a cool lake for a swim. Best way is to just plop in! But in this case, you just plop that sucker down into your pocket and head out for the day. Do this a few times and your baby will earn a scratch here or there. Eventually, it'll have lots ..... most of us call that character.

[BTW, guys: It's important to remember that, as a true investment, knives are terrible ..... in fact, any collectible is a horrible investment. If you're going to invest, buy good growth-stock mutual funds and let your money grow. Knife collecting may be fun, but it's not where you want to be parking your retirement money, if you know what I'm saying.]

 

[johnwaynesandw]

Jackkinfe, does that mean you have already picked the knives out that you want to give you your kids, and grandkids?

Do you take certain ones out thinking you will be with one kid and they see the knife you use. The next day you are with another kid and use another knife?


You sure are a smart fellow and I look forward to your post. You give me meaning on a lot of things. thank you for all your advise. .


Thanks,
John

 

[tsenn]

Neeman, Isn't that little Queen stockman in delrin a nice knife! It's so smooth, rounded, you can really get it sharp, and the fit and finish is excellent. Like I said above in another thread, I just wanted a carbon steel with bone handles, but it won't be an everyday user like the Queen. I just go back to the Bridge over the River Kwai at the end when he's just saying, "madness, madness"...

 

[jackknife]

Jackkinfe, does that mean you have already picked the knives out that you want to give you your kids, and grandkids?

Do you take certain ones out thinking you will be with one kid and they see the knife you use. The next day you are with another kid and use another knife?


You sure are a smart fellow and I look forward to your post. You give me meaning on a lot of things. thank you for all your advise. .


Thanks,
John

I've already given away most of my knives, guns, and other stuff to my kids, grandkids, two nephews and a niece. Karen and I had a really major downsizing a year ago or so, and we made up our minds that since we are not getting any younger that we wanted the pleasure of seeing their faces as we gave them the stuff.

When you get to a certain age, all the materialist possesions cease to have alot of meaning. I kept only what I really needed, plus one or two items here and there. As far as knives went, ALL of my own knives went to the family with the exeption of my Wenger SI and Victorinox cadet II, and a couple mora's. I only kept my cigar box that has the pocket knives of my passed on family. Grandads stag Hen and Rooster, dad's peanut, Uncle Mike's Camilus stockman that swam in the English Channel with him, my friend Paul's Case stockman he had on him when he was killed in action, and my old friend and co-worker Andy Warden's old Buck cadet, who passed away a few years after he retired from where we worked together for almost 20 years.

I did'nt plan anything as far as thinking about which child was going to be with me that day, just like alot of knife knuts I had a large accumulation of knives. Some days I was in a sodbuster mood, other days I was in a stockman mood.

What was interesting was that when I laid out the knives and told the family I want to give these to them, each person picked a particular knife that they felt special about because it was the knife they remembered from a certain dy and activity. For my now grown up daughter it was the Buck stockman that she has a vivid memory of a chilly day in the woods, sitting in my lap and her holding the knife while I supervised her whittling a hot dog fork to roast a dog over the little fire we built. For my elder son John, the special knife was the large yellow Eye-Brand soddie that when we were woods walking when he was about 12 or 13 and he was running down the trail and stumbled over a root. He twisted his ankle a bit, and I used the big soddie to make a crutch for him to lean on.

But without fail, each family member picked a knife that had a special meaning to them because we were doing something together and that particular knife was part of it. I guess it was the memory of the thing that made it a special knife for that individual.

I guess thats why it was easy for me to part with those knives, and just keep the family old ones. They have some very special memories for me of grandad and The Lady Anne, or dad and his thoughfull and carefull planning way of doing things. Or Uncle Mike with his disfigured face and crooked grin hauling in a full pot of crabs.

Its the memories that make the item special. If something sits new in a box in a drawer, it never developes anything.

 

[kamagong]

Nice to know that you share such wonderful adventures with your family JK. Just wondering, have any of your children and grandchildren called dibs on the family treasures? I'm talking about the old Hen and Rooster, seaman's knife, peanut, and Camillus stockman?

 

[Bastid]

I agree with what has been said.
Nothing wrong with the man-made materials, but bone and stag look better to me after a few years of carry. They "glow".

 

[kamagong]

I agree with what has been said.
Nothing wrong with the man-made materials, but bone and stag look better to me after a few years of carry. They "glow".

That's a good way of putting it. I picked up a new stag stockman half a year ago. When it arrived I wasn't sure if it really was stag. Although it was nicely ridged, it was bright white. The scales didn't look anything like the ones on the knives I've seen here. Well it's only been a few months, but the stag is starting to improve its appearance. It's darker and seems richer somehow. I can't explain it, but it looks much better than in its original "bleached " state.

 

[johnwaynesandw]

Jackknife, than you again for the responce. It is great to learn from your wisdom.



Thank you agian for all the info you share here with us on the forum.


Thanks again,
John

 

[jackknife]

Nice to know that you share such wonderful adventures with your family JK. Just wondering, have any of your children and grandchildren called dibs on the family treasures? I'm talking about the old Hen and Rooster, seaman's knife, peanut, and Camillus stockman?

Yes.

Our son John has a sail boat out at Annapolis, and loves all things having to do with the history of sail. He has dibs on grandads IXL sailors knife.

My grandson Ryan has dibs on the peanut of dad's, and thats good because in some erie way the genes skipped down and he looks and acts so much like dad, its kind of like having his ghost around sometimes. A very quiet watchfull and thoughtfull kid. He will also get the old woodsman. When I watch him handle it, it sends a weird feeling up my spine. Makes me wonder about reicarnation.

The Camillus stockman is going to go to my cousin Barrys son, who is Uncle Mikes grandson.

The Hen and Rooster is going to my granddaughter Christy, who in her teens has already been writing and has had a few things published. She wants to major in journalisim, and has already started a history of our family, and wants to go to Ireland this next summer for research. She loves the fine craftsmenship of the old Bertram knife, and she loves to carress the old stag.

Paul's old Case stockman I'm thinking of trying to find Paul's brother in Harlan Kentucky, to give him the knife.

Andy Wardens Buck cadet has become my edc. The other knives have become too important to carry around, God forbid I should loose one, so they are in the bittersweet cigar box, to be cared for till then.

 

[neeman]

Neeman, Isn't that little Queen stockman in delrin a nice knife! It's so smooth, rounded, you can really get it sharp, and the fit and finish is excellent. Like I said above in another thread, I just wanted a carbon steel with bone handles, but it won't be an everyday user like the Queen. I just go back to the Bridge over the River Kwai at the end when he's just saying, "madness, madness"...

Sums up the knife well, and the situation!

 

[neeman]

The Camillus stockman is going to go to my cousin Barrys son, who is Uncle Mikes grandson.

My uncle died young, and his son was little.
I was in OTC, and he gave me his Royal Engineers jack knife.

I am waiting for my uncle's grandson to become Bar Mitzah (13) and I will send him his Grandfather's knife.

That is delrin and a user!!!

 

[puukkoman]

So how to buy a more expensive knife and still turn it into a user.

Why have it, if you're not going to use it? Some things can be viewed as investments, depending on what they are and if you're that kind of guy...

The first scratch breaks the ice. "Salt" your knife. I think there was a thread about this some time ago... Once it gets its first blemish, the pressure's off - no compulsive urge to keep it pristine. To salt one's knife is to do something to it on purpose (drop it on the ground, whatever) to give it a first mark. If that helps you, then go for it.

Personally, I just put them into my pocket, and pull them out to cut things.