Elephant Toenails/Sunfish

M

Mr.Bojangles

Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
82
Howdy fellers. I'm looking for a current production, decent quality blade in this pattern with a price tag that won't make me reluctant to actually use it. I'm open to variations as well. Any suggestions are much appreciated.:thumbup:
 
If you can handle that Rough Rider is made in China, well they offer a very reasonable quality/price ratio.
I have not used these particular patterns from RR yet, but I have a handful of others and while not on the level of say a German Eye, they are really convincing at a low price. Hence you won't be afraid to use them. The (nicely sharp) blade is 440A - not high end but usuable.

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heres my 04 S&M Wildcat driller (more of a sleeveboard) but big honking mainblade, etc. Definitely a head turner if you open it around people, the sound means business:) Mine came decently sharp and holds an edge ok, i'd rather it be 1095 but i dont make the rules;)
got it delivered for around $90 including shipping, i havent seen a toenail for under a hundred and some go way beyond that
good luck to ya
ivan
PS the rough riders arent bad at all, they are great to try out a pattern without sinking a boatload of money into it, they come sharpa and FF are pretty good:thumbup:
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Another Vote for Schatt&Morgan. I have the ATS34 Baby Sunfish and it's just fantastic. Probably getting a little pricey and maybe hard to find. Haven't looked around for that kind of thing lately.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'll at least have to pick myself up one of the Rough Riders to try out if nothing else, and if I really like it, I'll probably spring for one of the GECs. I didn't know RR made one, and I didn't really want to buy a GEC and immediately start hard-using it. I've been wanting to try one of those out anyway. Maybe this will be the one for me. Like I said, it doesn't have to technically be a Toenail...anything similar is fine...sleeveboards, baby sunfish, etc. I'm just kind of intrigued by the idea of a thin, wide blade, and such a big slipjoint in general. I wanna run one through its paces and see if its really the hard working blade it supposedly once was. I'm sure my impressions will vary depending upon the quality of the knife I end up with, but I'm looking more-so for a general impression of what this pattern is capable of/will excel at. Keep the suggestions coming. Thanks!:)
 
The Toenail is a pattern that I was really wanting to try, so I picked up a GEC. I didn't want to use it right away, cause it was too pretty. So, I left it on my end table and fondled it until the patina started. Now it is a user! I love it. Very solid, and I love GEC fit and finish. Plus they are just an hour or so up the road.
 
I like the GEC toenails quite a bit. I don't consider $100 to be a lot for a good quality, solid, user knife, but some folks do. You get what you pay for- the GEC toenail is a stout pattern that is well built, and will hold up to hard use. If you just want to try out the pattern to see if you like it, Rough Rider would be a good choice. If you try the Rough Rider and don't like the pattern, you're only out $20 or so. However, if you try the GEC and decide you don't like it, you could probably sell it on the exchange and recoup some of your loss. You'd have to upgrade your membership first though.

The toenail is an impressive pattern. I'd never handled one before, when mine arrived I thought "Goodness gracious! It's like a cartoon knife!" My coworkers call it my "pocket hatchet". Once you get used to it, it's a great pattern- comfortable to use. It definitely gets noticed!
 
How big are those baby sunfish compared to a normal sunfish? That baby S&M on the top is very nice looking. I like the bolsters. I haven't seen bolsters with the S&M name on them. Cool!
 
I've got a GEC/Northfield Toenail in banana peel bone, which I can't praise highly enough. Two days ago, I was unpacking some filing cabinets from their cardboard shipping boxes and accidently tried to cut through an XL steel staple. I thought, "shit that's the end of that edge." Well, the edge was a little duller, but no nicks. A little while on the sharpmaker, and it's better than ever.
 
YayILikePie said:
Just kind of curious, but besides use as a rope knife, what tasks do sunfish excel at?
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Being awesome, mainly. :D The sunfish/ toenail is a flashy knife. But it is capable of heavy work. I would rank my toenail as the beefiest, toughest slipjoint knife that I own. It will take on any cutting task that its blade length can handle. Toenails were specifically designed to be batoned, so it would stand to reason that they would excel at that. And anything that requires a master blade with PLENTY of belly. :thumbup:

Also, in a pinch, the Toenail would make one heck of an improvised kubaton/ fist load. I certainly wouldn't want to be smacked with one.
 
Cut an apple, then a hunk of cheese, then spread peanut butter on some bread, then shuck an oyster. Yeah, they're that cool.
 
I would no doubt use one of the GECs if I got one. They sure are perty, though. Batoning it might be a little tough. I'm enticed by the baby sunfish as well. How much of a size difference is there? That may make a more practical edc for someone such as myself. Is S&M the only company making the babies?
 
I picked up a baby Toenail by Rough Rider two or three years back. Okay knife, but the small blade was beyond nail-breaker, I needed pliers to get it open. I did a little surgery and got it down to a managable level.

If you really want to try one for use, send me your address and I'll send you one of my user Case toenails.
 
glocktenman said:
How big are those baby sunfish compared to a normal sunfish? That baby S&M on the top is very nice looking. I like the bolsters. I haven't seen bolsters with the S&M name on them. Cool!
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The baby sunfish is the same size as a reg. canoe. The normal sunfish or elephant's toenail is around 3/4" larger. It's a big robust beautiful knife! Stunning sunfish Rick!
 
I was looking at some sunfish for sale and found that marbles also make them. How are marbles? I've heard of the brand but have no experience with them. The prices on them are a bit more than some of the rough riders I found. Thanks for the info on the baby sunfish!
 
got me thinking all kind of thoughts, like ending my yearlong spending freeze, the Walnut Northfields toenail with the double pulls may just prove too much for my willpower
thanks
ivan
 
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