Educate me

digitalurbancamo

digitalurbancamo

Joined
Nov 28, 2012
Messages
520
I am starting to get more and more interested in collecting and using traditional knives as of late. I know lots about folders and fixed blades but sadly I haven't much experience with slip joints and traditional styled pocket knives. I just ordered my first real traditional knife, Great Eastern Cutlery: Tidioute - #15 Sawyer Day's Work - Saw Cut Saddle Brown Jig Bone - Spey Blade. Anyways I got to thinking about it and I don't really know what the classification is on these types of knives so I was thinking that perhaps one of you could explain. Could somebody explain (preferably with pics) all the different types of knives and how I can distinguish them from one another? IE peanut, stockman, swayback, toothpick so on and so forth. Any help would be well received and appreciated :D
 
Well I'm quite new to the slipjoint scene myself but from what I've seen Case in particular tends to name their knives for the patterns. The pattern is what really designates a knife to a specific classification if you will. The Tidioute you just ordered is technically a barlow. So from there a safe assumption would be as far as GEC's are concerned, all pattern #15's would be some form of barlow. I find it is interesting to research the historical origin of each pattern and the original purpose of each blade chosen for the pattern. My favorite pattern to collect is a trapper. In GEC lingo pattern #23.
 
Here is a basic chart for Case, most pattern names carry over to other manufactures, some are unique to Case, as for Gec they get creative with the names of their patterns,



There are plenty of resources on the internet, so you should be able to find any info you are looking for with a basic search, you could also search the forum for specific pattern info, I'm sure something has been discussed about each pattern at one time, company sites have plenty of info also

Pete
 
When I got started actively collecting pocketknives a few years ago I got myself two reference books; Blades Guide to Knives and their Values and Official Price Guide to Collectors Knives (Price & Zalesky). Both books have a tremendous amount of information in them to include drawings of blade types, discussions of patterns, and pictures of more knives than you can imagine exist. Treat yourself to a few good books and read - you will find quite a bit of enjoyment in the study. OH
 
I like looking at original old sources like maker and jobber catalogs. This is 1930 Simmons Hardware.

1z4vltk.png

fxx84i.png


c.1930 Winchester blade charts from Union Hardware.

1621nvs.png

2isfk8m.png
 
Congratulations on your Sawyer Barlow. That's one of the knives near the top of my wishlist.

I just became interested in traditional slip joints about two weeks ago and have been doing a lot of research. In addition to reading this forum I've learned quite a bit about the different patterns by simply studying some of the larger distributor/dealer websites. For example, our own fellow forumite "okbohn" (website KnivesShipFree) has a well organized GEC page that shows examples of all of their patterns. These same patterns, while not universal, are fairly common across the brands. They may be called by different names but the profiles are similar.

What I've found the most challenging is categorizing the different brands into a "pecking order", if you will, in an effort to understand which are desirable and which are cheap junk. Many of the vintage brands and names that were once renowned (or at least acceptable) are now owned/copied by junk knife makers. Many knife maker companies changed hands multiple times over the life of the brand and quality often rose and fell with those changes. I'm still trying to get a handle on this. So far the only thing I know for sure - you seldom go wrong with GEC.

Good luck in your search! You've started off well.
 
dogstar said:
That's a tall order.

Check out this link: http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ Pay particular attention to the "knife dictionary," and the "articles and research" menu. There are photos and descriptions of many patterns.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I am finding this useful indeed.

Old Hunter said:
When I got started actively collecting pocketknives a few years ago I got myself two reference books; Blades Guide to Knives and their Values and Official Price Guide to Collectors Knives (Price & Zalesky). Both books have a tremendous amount of information in them to include drawings of blade types, discussions of patterns, and pictures of more knives than you can imagine exist. Treat yourself to a few good books and read - you will find quite a bit of enjoyment in the study. OH
Click to expand...

Just ordered both those books on your recommendation.

Stich2442 said:
Here is a basic chart for Case, most pattern names carry over to other manufactures, some are unique to Case, as for Gec they get creative with the names of their patterns,

http://i1364.photobucket.com/albums...F-2830-4AC1-A513-FA2554FC55E6_zps7cbtcd51.jpg

There are plenty of resources on the internet, so you should be able to find any info you are looking for with a basic search, you could also search the forum for specific pattern info, I'm sure something has been discussed about each pattern at one time, company sites have plenty of info also

Pete
Click to expand...
This was extremely helpful. Thank you so much brother.

Codger_64 said:
I like looking at original old sources like maker and jobber catalogs. This is 1930 Simmons Hardware.

http://i61.tinypic.com/1z4vltk.png
http://i61.tinypic.com/fxx84i.png

c.1930 Winchester blade charts from Union Hardware.

http://i59.tinypic.com/1621nvs.png
http://i58.tinypic.com/2isfk8m.png
Click to expand...

Combined with the other chart provided that should about cover exactly what I needed to know. Thanks so much for providing this for me.

addylo said:
Congratulations on your Sawyer Barlow. That's one of the knives near the top of my wishlist.

I just became interested in traditional slip joints about two weeks ago and have been doing a lot of research. In addition to reading this forum I've learned quite a bit about the different patterns by simply studying some of the larger distributor/dealer websites. For example, our own fellow forumite "okbohn" (website KnivesShipFree) has a well organized GEC page that shows examples of all of their patterns. These same patterns, while not universal, are fairly common across the brands. They may be called by different names but the profiles are similar.

What I've found the most challenging is categorizing the different brands into a "pecking order", if you will, in an effort to understand which are desirable and which are cheap junk. Many of the vintage brands and names that were once renowned (or at least acceptable) are now owned/copied by junk knife makers. Many knife maker companies changed hands multiple times over the life of the brand and quality often rose and fell with those changes. I'm still trying to get a handle on this. So far the only thing I know for sure - you seldom go wrong with GEC.

Good luck in your search! You've started off well.
Click to expand...

Thanks bro, I'll be sure to post pictures on its arrival. Good luck to you as well on your new addiction ..... I mean hobby. I look forward to seeing your collection as it grows.
 
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