Does a pattern exist with just the spey and sheepsfoot blades from a stockman?

I

iandh

Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
340
I tried search and google before posting a thread, and haven't had any luck.

I've just recently gotten back in to slipjoint folders, and my favorite pattern by far is the stockman. I use all three blades, but most often use the spey and sheepsfoot. The long clip blade only gets used occasionally, usually for food.

I'm not sure if anyone here has seen electrician's cable jacket knives:

6FS014.jpg

A stockman is basically a folding version of the above knife, but with a spey and standard blade attached. That's why a lot of engineers/technicians such as myself love carrying the stockman pattern. It's really handy to have the sheepsfoot for cable stripping and opening packages, the spey acts just like having an x-acto knife scalpel blade, and the long clip acts as your standard pocketknife.

It would be neat to have a working knife, that had the spey blade on one side, and sheepsfoot on the other. If each blade was a little less than half the handle length, then you would only need a single spring design and no bent blades to fit them in, so the knife could be extremely slim.

Basically, you could use the thickness savings to make the knife very robust with thicker liners and bolsters, and combining that with the short blades for higher leverage, you'd have one heck of a rugged little working knife, that still had all of the class of a traditional folder. I suppose you could call it a highly modified muskrat, but I'm not sure that a knife this far from any pattern I've seen, could be called "traditional" even though it still looks like, and is, a traditional styled slipjoint.

Thoughts?
 
The closest approximation I can think of, would be a 'half-congress' pattern. Some, at least, have a pen blade at one end, and a sheepsfoot at the other end. Both blades on a single backspring.
 
Last edited:
Off the top of my head I can't think of anything that would really match what you're looking for, nor can I think of an existing knife that could be modified to fit your specs. The closest I can think of is a sturdy half-congress like a GEC 61. You've got the sheepsfoot blade, and the pen blade should suffice as your scalpel blade if you reprofile it thinly.

Other than that, I'm certain you can find a custom maker that'd be willing and able to whip something up.
 
I've seen some pics of old knives, with at least one broken blade that's subsequently been 'modified' into some other tool/implement. Might be interesting to see a stockman with the clip blade 'transformed' into something more useful to the user, according to preference.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Might be interesting to see a stockman with the clip blade 'transformed' into something more useful to the user, according to preference.
Click to expand...

Depending on how thick it is and how it's ground, maybe a ream or punch could be done from a standard clip blade. A saber grind would leave a larger chunk of full thickness steel for that compared to a flat grind or small hollow grind.
 
I've been thinking about getting into making slipjoints, I suppose this could be a good first project.
 
Planterz said:
Here's a thought. Find the beefiest stockman you can and send it to Don Seals to have the main blade and its spring, like what he did for TLARbb just with the other blades.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/836002-A-sowbelly-experiment...
Click to expand...

That is a good option... I was thinking it would be neat if the two blades were short enough that they could sit in line in the same cavity, without having to add extra thickness for a bend so that they can pass by each other when closed.

I suppose for now, I could have one modified, and then plan a custom.
 
A.G. Russell has one, called a "Reverse Congress". Their number for it is AN-1A. It's a pricey bugger, and more for collectors, but if someone decided to use it, it looks like it'll last a while.

~Chris
 
orca8589 said:
A.G. Russell has one, called a "Reverse Congress". Their number for it is AN-1A. It's a pricey bugger, and more for collectors, but if someone decided to use it, it looks like it'll last a while.

~Chris
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's the closest I've seen. :)

The less inexpensive version isn't painfully expensive, but it's getting close to the low range of what I could have a basic custom made for. I suppose I could buy the cheapest GEC cuban I could get my hands on, then modify it to only the two blades, and then regrind them shorter. I guess by the time I do that much work, I might be better off just making this into my first knife project.

The "perfect" version of this knife would be a long cuban style handle, and blades short enough that they woudn't have to overlap. That would get the closest to the form factor of the cable jacket knife I posted a picture of above.

Much like any old school gentleman would have a slipkoint in his pocket, any old school electrician would have a cable knife nearly identical to the one shown above, on his tool belt. It would be pretty neat to combine the two.



Another use for this knife, it would allow anyone who lived in an area that only allowed non-locking knives with blades under 2", to have a substantial and quality knife, with a handle big enough to be comfortable, yet still have blades and folding mechanism that were legal.





edit: Here's a Victorinox Alox that kinda-sorta fits the bill, but with too many blades in the wrong spots, and too short of a handle. Still a neat knife, the sheepsfoot on it would be super useful for stripping heavy gauge stuff.

vendor link removed per guidelines. you may post an image (instead) from the net as long as it doesn't contain vendor info embedded within the image.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi,
I had the long clip blade removed from a Case medium stockman by a chap on a British forum.
It is great to have a light knife in my pocket, it was done because I work on a very security conscious site.
Might be an ideal starter project.
Alternatively Roughrider make kits that you assemble yourself, these might give you a feel for how things are built, also they are cheap, so no money lost if you make a mistake.
Also might prevent you damaging a good quality knife.
Just my 2 pence worth
Take care
Graham
 
iandh said:
edit: Here's a Victorinox Alox that kinda-sorta fits the bill, but with too many blades in the wrong spots, and too short of a handle. Still a neat knife, the sheepsfoot on it would be super useful for stripping heavy gauge stuff.
Click to expand...

Closer to your needs than that one might be the Vic Pioneer Pruner. Its short hook blade could be modified easily enough to strip wire I'd think.
pruner.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I forgot to mention in my earlier post that there is a Rough Rider 'Carving Buddy' as well. On the Smoky Mountain Knife Works site, look for #RR565. I don't have one, because the handle is a little too long; if it was shorter, I'd probably have a couple of them. It might be a good inexpensive user until you find something more in line with what you need.

~Chris
 
Queen make this 4" Half Congress in D2 with Maple scales

This is a great working knife, with a robust sheepsfoot and very thin sharp pen blade
attachment.php
 
orca8589 said:
I forgot to mention in my earlier post that there is a Rough Rider 'Carving Buddy' as well. On the Smoky Mountain Knife Works site, look for #RR565. I don't have one, because the handle is a little too long; if it was shorter, I'd probably have a couple of them. It might be a good inexpensive user until you find something more in line with what you need.

~Chris
Click to expand...

Ok, I'll definitely check that out, thanks.


edit: I looked at it, and I think I could regrind the sheepsfoot to a spay, and then leave the hawkbill alone. That might just do it for now. The bolsters are a little funky, but it's so cheap, that I could really bash it at work and not feel bad. Thanks!

neeman said:
Queen make this 4" Half Congress in D2 with Maple scales

This is a great working knife, with a robust sheepsfoot and very thin sharp pen blade
attachment.php
Click to expand...

Hey, that's pretty darn close. I'm not a huge fan of the congress handle shape, but I could definitely live with it on a working knife.
 
I'm getting the remains of a GEC Cattle Rancher modified to make something similar. Only difference is that blades are still full length with the crink & overlap.

It's actually a byproduct of another project that took the GEC from three blades down to a single clip point. Then I got to thinking about what I would do with the leftover blades and spring. I got the idea to have a custom handle/frame made to house the two blades and spring. It's gonna be a pretty sweet EDC knife.

Forum member Pocketedge is doing the work for me. Materials are on order right now, so I should probably see it in a few weeks. I'll be sure to put up some pictures when it arrives.

-nate
 
Thanks, pictures would be great. The best handle design for this type of knife IMO is a straight one, like found in the cattle rancher design.

I've got a good bit of time to figure out how exactly I want to do this though, I've got a Tidioute Cuban Stockman coming in with Bumble Bee (black and yellow bone) scales, and it's gonnna need some good pocket time before anything else squeaks its way in there.
 
You could buy a GErman Eye 4 1/4" stag stockman and ask a member here to mod it for you perhaps.

This any use?

1-alone-closed.jpg


From Jim Steele. An even ender slip-joint designed specifically for carving.

2a-alone-open.jpg


7-in-palm-drop.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top