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Getting into traditionals. Help me avoid being an idiot about it.

If you are set on buying several right now, the list you give would be a great way to start. I can't fault any of them.

From that list, I get the impression that you are interested primarily in small to medium slipjoints. If you can go a little larger, by far my favorite is the GEC 73 trapper. It's only 3 3/4" closed (shorter than your 301) but more solid.

After those four, you can expand and look at other options, like Queen, Böker or Eye Brand.
 
meako said:
Could I suggest a springboard into the land of stupidity? Of which I am undoubtedly the King.
The 2012 Bladeforums Traditional Subforum Knife.
That will scratch your itch like a Sabre Toothed Tiger whos just been to manicurist to get his claws sharpened up.
Click to expand...


Silly question, but where does one go to buy such a thing?
 
lambertiana said:
From that list, I get the impression that you are interested primarily in small to medium slipjoints. If you can go a little larger, by far my favorite is the GEC 73 trapper. It's only 3 3/4" closed (shorter than your 301) but more solid.
Click to expand...


Your impression is correct. I'm interested in small/medium slipjoints almost exclusively, at least right now. In fact, even the Peanut is right on my comfort zone of being too small. I already have and enjoy 58mm SAKs, so I really don't want any tiny traditionals. Same with larger folding knives. I'm pretty well covered on those, even if mine aren't traditionals.

I've looked at the GEC #73. It's a nice looking knife. I'm tempted, but I'm not sure it knocks the four I mentioned in the OP out of the top four spots yet.
 
Well, you have named some great patterns and some great companies.

As far as purchasing goes, it's hard to get a perfect knife every time. Shopping online is the easiest way, but there is a risk involved in everything. For me, GEC is the less risky of the other companies. They turn out better knives on a more consistent basis than a lot of the bigger companies. They are also very easy to deal with, should there be a problem.

I say go for the Case peanut, yellow CV is an excellent choice. Price wise, it's not bad. I can buy a couple yellow peanuts by the time I'm done filling the truck, so it's a not so expensive option. Mine had a few slight problems, but it was nothing I couldn't fix in the work shop, I have seen some perfect ones too. If you decide on a nut, I would start reading all of Jackknife's stories. They really do give that peanut knife some credence. There is a lot to learn with the little nut too, he don't mess around.

I don't yet own a Swayback, but I will. I got to check one out at an NRA show and it was fantastic in Fit and Finish. It was one of the best Case knives I have seen in a long time, I should have picked it up, but I was too cheap. It has a strong following from the other forum members.

The #56 Dogleg from GEC is a great choice. I had one in Stag, but I traded it. It was a perfect knife and a great size, but I never used it like I do my Ivory Bone #56 I won from Duncan. They have a great traditional feel, like something you would have gotten 100 years ago. Great pattern with some great scale choices. GEC's use of 1095 is also very nice. Their blades are very nice for holding an edge and getting sharp quick.

The Mini Trapper from Case is one of my all time favorite patterns. It's my vest knife of choice and a pattern I really appreciate. I don't use mine as much as I used too, but they are great knives too.
 
I love all my GEC's and bought too many, but that's another story. I was a Case man for a long time, which I discovered by accident awhile back when I was actively collecting Zippo lighters (hence the nickname). There is one Case that I have though that will never ever leave my collection, and that's the Swayback Jack in chestnut bone/CV. There's just something about it, I can't explain it, maybe it's because I like wharncliffe blades, or the color of the handles, or the patina that CV develops, maybe even the spring that wraps around the handle on the pen blade side, I dunno.

Since getting the Swayback I've discovered I really like the way the handle curves away, so much so that I went on to discover the somewhat similarly shaped Congress pattern and now own 5 of those in various sizes, number of blades, manufacturers and handle materials.

I have the other knives you mentioned in your original post, including a GEC 56 dogleg, a #85 bullet end, and a Case Texas Jack. The Swayback is my favorite of the bunch. Oh yeah, and I am a big fan of the Peanut too, and I also have too many non-traditionals, especially Spyderco's.
 
Queen make some lovely Jacks
I think at a very reasonable price point for their quality by comparision to other makers

The # 2 @ 3 1/4" in D2
this is in white carve stagbone, the new is in amber or Maple
attachment.php


The Dogleg @ 3 1/2" in D2
This is in delrin, the now is in Maple
attachment.php



The Doctor @ 3 5/8" in Ss
Availible in Amber bone and Maple
Also with a spat blade instead of the small pen, great for picnics....
attachment.php



Also their Gunstock which has a wonderfully wide blade, in Bone or Maple in D2 or they have in Delrin in carbon

.
 
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neeman said:
Queen make some lovely Jacks
I think at a very reasonable price point for their quality by comparision to other makers

The # 2 @ 3 1/4" in D2
this is in white carve stagbone, the new is in amber or Maple
attachment.php


Yes, this Jack No.2 is a very nice smaller knife indeed :thumbup: I like that WCSB you show, I only have the ACSB. Too bad they haven't released in in the latest Zebra Wood scales though.

Regards, Will
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Will,

Show your Dogleg @ 3 1/2" in D2 in WCSB that you have....
;)

We bid on it on eBay....

And the #2 Jack shown has this grey patina
 
ooh, forgot about the mini trapper! It's my second favorite pattern right now after the peanut, carried one for years before I was enlightened.
 
To me a traditional knife ought to come out of a traditional company.
I know there are some others / newer companies out there, such as GEC... but the thing is, I don't know anything about them. First heard of them in the last year (I know, I'm out of the loop.) Any Traditional collection in my mind needs to start anyway, with at least 1 from each of the traditional companies...

OT - almost got to have one; that is one of the OLD ones, not new creation... 34OT is about the most traditional knife I know of...
Buck - has to have a black handle for me...
Case -options are almost endless...

Growing up in a traditional farming / ranching community, it seems like those were the 3 that every young man aspired too. That's where I'd start.

God Bless,
 
Neeman thanks for posting those pics.

Those old serpentine jacks from Queen and Case are, to my eyes anyway, two of the most well proportioned and elegant knife designs ever produced. I love the simplicity and clean lines of those square bolstered jacks. Perfect. I was SO disappointed when Queen discontinued the 1095 line before producing it in that knife.

Dakota Dogman, that is an interesting point. The old brands do carry a lot of weight. As to GEC they are a pretty new company but the owner/starter of the company came out of Queen cutlery management and it doesn't get any more old school than that for American manufacturers. I've always thought that a couple of the Queen SFO lines were almost a precursor to GEC. The interest shown by knife carriers for the genuine stag/D-2 & bone/1095 lines (not to mention the limited S&M File and Wire lines) showed that the appetite was there for a higher end hand made knife. I am not at all sure GEC would even exist without them.

Will
 
Welcome aboard Mud Shrimp Moe; your from the fine little city I work in! I recommend the #85 and you might want to look at the #73 too!
 
Mud Shrimp Moe said:
Well, I've just ordered the Case Peanut (yellow, CV) and the Case Swayback Jack (chestnut, CV). And so it begins.
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Moe, one thing I like and respect about your choices is that you've picked different main blade shapes. I believe that different people groove to different blade shapes, so I think an important part of the exploration is to find those shapes that suit you and those that don't.

For example, I grew up carrying an old Ulster Boy Scout knife and that experience really set that blade in my mind and in my hand (literally) as being the "right" shape for me. I've owned slip joints with clip blades and try as I might, I just can't adopt to them. Through experimentation, I've also learned that I really, really like drop points too.

In your first post, you mentioned the GEC #85, so I thought I would offer my own reflections on spear points, which I really, really love. For me, I hugely prefer the slightly asymmetrical spear point used by Ulster (and other older US camper/scout makers, like Camillus and Imperial). The very tip is slightly below the center line of the blade. The blade also swells out to a fat belly, getting wider out towards the tip. In contrast, the standard SAK spear point is more symmetrical and straighter overall. From the pictures, it looks like the GEC is very fat but more symmetrical. And the Buck (which is hollow ground - meh) is asymmetrical in the wrong direction for my tastes. Here's a shot of my old Ulster as an example.


camper-leaves by Pinnah, on Flickr

One way you could extend your collection is to continue to select based on main blade. If you did, adding a spear point to the mix might makes sense to you, especially if you already have experience with the SAKs. You might find that different spear point shapes work better for you than the Vic style (I sure do).

Case makes *the* Canoe, imo.
The GEC #85 looks wonderful.
You can find old Ulster and Camillus BSA knives on the auction sites for under $20 regularly.

Just options to consider.
 
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