Does your production Stockman have perfect build quality?

E

effer

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Feb 13, 2009
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I have 3 stockmans from 3 different manufacturers all three have some blade rub from opening and closing. From all that I read, I understand that it is a very common thing with this pattern, especially with sowbelly . What is your experience? Have you found your perfect production stockman?
 
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No doubt. My perfect production stockman is the GEC pattern #53 Cuban.

The main blade is the most useful blade of all, the slender clip blade (they call it a muskrat clip).
The secondary sheepfoot is low to the handle and nick on the mark side, so easy to pull.
The third spey blade is nice and thin, so you can get it RAZOR sharp, for special situations.

At 4-1/8" closed length, it is about the biggest knife I can carry comfortably, and has lots of cutting power.

I own 20 of them, and none has a blade rub of any kind. Plus, they now come sharper than ever (new process).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Get one of the new release ebony #538311, you won't be sorry.

EbonyCuban.jpg
 
I think this is pretty common across manufacturers, but I have found some are better than others. It is a tough problem to avoid when you have two blades opening across from one another in close proximity on the same spring. This is made worse with long, thin blades and when there is wobble at the joint. This is my experience from best to worst:

Buck: I have several that have almost zero blade rub. Very impressive.

GEC #66: very, very slight rub. Interestingly, my Tidioute model is tighter with far less rub than my two Northfield versions.

Moore Maker: I have a large stockman and smaller version that both have moderate blade rub

Case medium stockman CV: rubs like a champ, makes it difficult to open the pen blade with the rub against the sheepsfoot; ok for a work knife for me
 
black mamba said:
No doubt. My perfect production stockman is the GEC pattern #53 Cuban.
...
I own 20 of them, and none has a blade rub of any kind. Plus, they now come sharper than ever (new process).
..
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Get one of the new release ebony #538311, you won't be sorry.
Click to expand...

That is interesting, because one of those three stockmans that I have is GEC Cuban. Sprey blade does rub a bit against sheepfoot. Also mine was not all that sharp (not a bid deal).
 
I'm sorry you got one with a hitch. If you bought it from a reputable dealer, maybe you can exchange it for another.

Even with a slight blade rub, it's the most useful pattern I've ever carried, and I carry mine a lot.
 
Three of my stockmans are perfect. No blade play, no rub, no gaps, great snap. Case, Schrade, Voss Cut Co.
 
Buck 301 for me...

It has 3 separate springs... one for each blade... so no rub between them.

Plus I love the sheepsfoot blade being on the opposite side to the main blade... personal preference.

Size is adequate, and you can get a version with diamondwood scales... quite nicer than regular plastic ones.
 
black mamba said:
I'm sorry you got one with a hitch. If you bought it from a reputable dealer, maybe you can exchange it for another.
Even with a slight blade rub, it's the most useful pattern I've ever carried, and I carry mine a lot.
Click to expand...

The thing is that I didn't really discover it for quite some time. The blade rub is not bad on either of my three stockmans. All three knives have great "walk and talk". That minor rub is purely cosmetic thing. On GEC it took me longer to discover because the finish of the blades is sort of satin, not mirror. I also I didn't open the smaller blades all that often because of the strong springs. When I started checking around I discovered that it is more common than I thought with this pattern and lots of GECs have this as well. Many owners don't even notice is right away because they don't carry them and don't really use them, just collect the patterns that they like. At that point I realized that I don't want to send mine anywhere just to get another one with the same thing or maybe even worse. I really like the pattern and just keep buying stockmans from time to time, wondering if I ever get one that is perfect (I know I could get a custom).

It actually surprises me a little that you say that you have 20 production stockmans and all of them are perfect. I might try another cuban later.

Rosh said:
Buck 301 for me...

It has 3 separate springs... one for each blade... so no rub between them...
Click to expand...

That's cheating :D
 
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My best production stockman is an old Camillus Sword Brand stockman. 2 springs and absolutely no blade rub.

Blade rub is very common amongst 2 spring stockman. I collect stockmen, I have about 25 of them from various manufacturers. Offhand, I would say that about 75% of them have blade rub of varying degrees.

I must point out that I do not have a GEC yet, will have to check them out.
 
CASE Large Stockman in Amber Bone cv works well for me. Don't notice any rub, no gaps or wobble and it sharpens up like a monster....talking of which, it's a bit too monster to carry in the pockets.... I suspect the bigger the Stockman the less rub is likely, just a theory mind.
 
black mamba said:
No doubt. My perfect production stockman is the GEC pattern #53 Cuban.

The main blade is the most useful blade of all, the slender clip blade (they call it a muskrat clip).
The secondary sheepfoot is low to the handle and nick on the mark side, so easy to pull.
The third spey blade is nice and thin, so you can get it RAZOR sharp, for special situations.

At 4-1/8" closed length, it is about the biggest knife I can carry comfortably, and has lots of cutting power.

I own 20 of them, and none has a blade rub of any kind. Plus, they now come sharper than ever (new process).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Get one of the new release ebony #538311, you won't be sorry.

EbonyCuban.jpg
Click to expand...

I completely agree, and I have the same knife.

All I can say is, 20 is enough, leave some for everyone else! :D
 
I'm waitinng for a bumble bee 2011 stockman too, I'm excited about the new process, some of the ast gec's really surprised me, as good as some customs

I have 2 2010 ones a rancher and baron, both have blade rub between the sheepfoot and clip as to open the sheepfoot you have to press it against the clip, maybe the new one fixes this with the niche on the right side
same on 2 case stocks, 3 7/8" and 3 5/8", always the sheepfoot that contacts the clip, the other 2 are fine IMO

Maxx
 
I have 9 stockman knives, including 5 #53 Cubans. Some of them do have blade rub but only 1 has it bad enough that it affects opening the blades, a Rough Rider small stockman. I'm not too concerned about the minor blade rub as it'll get cosmetic imperfections if you use the knife anyway. On the RR, I can't open the spey without opening the sheepsfoot first because of blade travel and the match striker nail nicks. Its a spare, loaner knife that I keep in an unlocked drawer at work and don't use much myself (when I do, its the clip or sheepsfoot) so the imperfections don't bother me at all.
 
I have two dozen Stockman patterns (but no GEC's yet), in several variations, and almost all of them have blade rubs. All have been used pretty hard, so I don't mind the scuffs & rubs.

~Chris
 
The simple answer is that no knife, custom or production, regardless of price is flawless. Excellent?, yes. Beautiful?, yes. A joy to own, use and admire?, yes. Perfect? No. (Close?, yes.)

The very best makers will readily tell you that. And that should tell you all you need to know.

The rest is a matter of degrees...and that is where you find what is acceptable to you and what is not.
 
My Schrade 61OT, USA spey barely touches the brass liner. The blades are good and tight. My Queen large stockman has no blade rub. The blades are good and tight.
 
I've never worried about a little blade rub on a production knife (stockman or otherwise). If a blade is so misaligned as to make opening/closing difficult, that's another matter. But if the rub is just leaving a little scuff on one of the blades, no big deal. It's a working knife, after all.

I pretty much expect at least some rub on stockman knives with two springs and krinked blades. Some makers are producing them with three springs (current Buck 300 series, and the current Case '47 pattern). I'd expect the 3-spring versions to do better.
 
The more production traditionals I buy, the less picky I get. They simply aren't the "fine toothed comb" version you get from a custom maker.

As long as it seems that the manufacturer made a reasonable effort to achieve proper fitment and functionality, I am happy.

There's a lot that goes in to making a multi-blade knife function "perfectly", and I think even the very best in the game may have to throw away a blade occasionally because it did funny things during heat treat.

Modern materials are both predictable and unpredictable at the same time... you can calculate the shrinkage of a metal after heat threat, but you can't calculate whether that particular piece is going to come out of the heat treat bananna shaped.

edit: I'd like to add, too much sterility robs personality.
 
All the ones I have or about are good as it gets in production SJs, just a slight and mean so slight rub at the very tip of the spey blade on my two sowbelleys. The other three just don't rub or I don't know how to detect it! I agree with what David said! My two nearly new 47s just don't rub that I can see.
 
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