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

[Ramrodmb]

Case. And from a brick and mortar store where you can inspect in person. I would never buy another Great Eastern Cutlery knife sight unseen. I've bought several Rough Riders in the $10-12 range that had better fit and finish. RRs are not a bad way to scratch the "traditional" itch because you can play with several patterns for cheap.

Definately keep buying RR.
(less competition)

Mudshrimp,
Buy whatever you like, then as you gain focus, sell the ones you like least.
Mark

 

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

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.

Thanks, pinnah. I too prefer spear point blades to clip points, probably due to my extensive experience with SAKs. I also really love wharncliffe blades in folders. Clip points bother me for aesthetic reasons, although I do appreciate the one on my Buck 301, probably because it's just a rarity in my collection more than anything else.

I appreciate the recommendation on the Ulster. It's something I wouldn't have otherwise considered.

 

[pinnah]

Moe,

I would be interested to hear your feelings on the blade shape of the Ulster's after you've used your Wharncliff for a bit. My sense is that the Ulster spear point (Camillus and Imperial are close) is sort of between the SAK spear point and a Wharncliff or Sheepsfoot. I would like to hold a GEC spear in my hand, but I think I would end up passing on it as the pictures I've seen indicate that they're more symmetrical than I'm used to.

A word of warning about the Ulsters.... Many of the ones you see on auction sites were made using the Swinden Key type of construction. Generally, if you can't find a pivot pin coming through the bolster, it's probably Swinden Key. In any event, these have a bit of a reputation of loosening up and then being really hard to repair. Also note, the Ulster BSA knives and their non-BSA "Camper" version were sold at a very low price point back in the day. They were really crude inexpensive knives sold for cheap, right about the same level as your basic Barlow or TL-29 type "Electrician's knife". Compared to a Case, GEC or even an imported Rough Rider, an old Ulster will seem very crude. You'll notice in the picture of mine, there's a pretty obvious flaw in the main blade. That sort of thing just comes with the territory with those older knives of that ilk.

I don't mind the crudeness at all and in someway, it allows me the freedom to commit to using them more and worrying about them less. But, the fit & finish discussion is highly personal (and should be). Just wanted to alert you that the old campers/BSA knives generally won't have the fit and finish of a modern knife like an SAK or Rough Rider.

 

[bakerg2g]

Maybe you should buy a few new slip joints and a few old slip joints as well. Case Swayback jack, GEC Dogleg Jack. Then maybe
jump on a few old Remington, Schrade Cut. Co., Keen Kutter Jack knives, and everybody should have one old Cattle knife...imho.
Good luck and enjoy the sickness....

Jason

 

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

Maybe you should buy a few new slip joints and a few old slip joints as well. Case Swayback jack, GEC Dogleg Jack. Then maybe
jump on a few old Remington, Schrade Cut. Co., Keen Kutter Jack knives, and everybody should have one old Cattle knife...imho.

Is there any general advice on buying vintage models? I feel like a total babe in the woods. I might drop by the local flea markets and antique shops, hoping to find the old bucket of partially rusted slipjoints for single digit $. I'd be up to the challenge of moderate restoration on one as long as it's not too far gone.

But on auction sites, etc, I feel like a complete rube. I wouldn't know a good deal from a bad one.

 

[pinnah]

IMO, the auction sites are a horrible, terrible and inappropriate place to collect - as in, really collect. But, it's a fine place to dabble.

First, auction seller run the range from good to horrible, so buyer beware. I buy a lot of used bike stuff this way and it's mostly good and occasionally bad in terms of the seller misrepresenting stuff. Unless I'm very, very sure of something, I try to limit my expenditures there to small purchases so if they go totally sideways, I can just walk away with minimal loss.

Second, even with a good seller, it's really hard to get a feel for what you're buying with crappy pictures and text descriptions. There's always a bit of a roll of the dice. Some are great. Some not so great.

Third, there *are* opportunities from real steals out there. If you know more about the product than the seller, you can sometimes find mis-described items that are missed by other collectors and by the seller and you can walk away with good find for little money. Digital archives of catalogs are your friend here. I (am totally nuts and) download digital scans of old catalogs of bikes and knives and drift off to sleep at night by reading them on my iPod. It's a great way to "collect" for free in that the bits are free and I get peruse my "collection" of catalog scans. Great fun and it arms you with information. Collectors guides are a hard copy variant of this.

Fourth, there are really awful knife "mechanics" out there who regularly "repair" old knives by retipping broken blades, reblading old frames and otherwise fixing up old junkers and selling them as original. There is a whole sub-culture in the forums devoted entirely to spotting fakes on the auction sites and there's just noway I'm ever going to get good enough to do that.

All this taken together, my approach is to a) stick to brands I love enough to research and b) limit my prices to a number that I can live with if I never got the knife in the mail or it was a total throw-away looser. The brands I look at are Ulster, Old Timer (prices heading north) and Buck. My personal limit for an auction site purchase is a dirt-bag low $30 (including shipping).

 

[rinos]

Here's my current wish list:

Case Swayback Jack in Chestnut and CV
Case Peanut in yellow and CV
GEC #56 Dogleg - probably a Northfield in stag
GEC #85 Bullet End Jack - probably a Northfield ... something other than stag, just for variety

2 down 2 to go
but danger is in next wish list,and next,and next.....

 

[mblackfu]

Sodbuster jr (case) is always worth the $20 you will pay for it...... Go ahead and buy a couple of rough riders... They are great knives for the money.... I was a former tactical man ( i have around $2000 dollars worth) and now i only carry them on weekends ( along with a traditional)... I occaisonally get the itch for a new knife so the rough riders helo with my addiction..some other cheap slipjoints are from magnum, boker and sarge... The schrade slipjoints made by taylor brand are worth the money too.... Buy what you want and have fun using them

 

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

Well the Swayback Jack and the Peanut arrived today. Both CV. Both beautiful. The SBJ fit and finish is immaculate!

 

[chevy_racin]

Great choices Moe, the peanut and swayback are staples, IMO.
I Just got the dogleg jack and it is a great knife. It feels good in the hand.
The bullet jack is next on my list. I really like the look of the and functionality of the easy opening.

 

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

Holy oxidation, Batman!

Last night my kids wanted some apple slices and strawberries, so I sliced them up with the warncliff blade on my shiny new SBJ. The intent was not to "force" a patina. In fact, I immediately rinsed the blade, wiped it off, and left the blades open for about an hour to dry. I am blown away that there is already a patina on this blade. It's not as deep as some I've seen here, but then again it's not THAT subtle either.

My cell phone camera refuses to focus macro shots, but you can get an idea here, compared to the pen blade.

There's some reddish brown, purple and blue(ish) coloring.


I've peeled an orange with it since that pic. Again, I cleaned the blade well immediately afterwards.

 

[pinnah]

Patina on 1095 (or CV) might take some getting used to if you're experience has been shaped by inox SAKs and stainless tacticals. I grew up with both 1095 pocket knives and stainless Buck hunters, so have gotten used to going back and forth between them. There are 2 approaches with 1095 I think. The first is to keep the blades shiny. I find that a good tarnish remover like Blue Magic does a great job of removing tarnish and patina in no time flat. But, it is a petroleum based products with all the nastiness that involves if the blade will be used for food. Also, I find that non-patina-ed 1095 blades can impart more of a metallic taste to foods.

The other approach is to let the blade develop a patina, either forced or natural over time. I grew up with an Ulster BSA knife that quickly went dark grey and I just accepted that this was the way they were. Patina <> rust. It's different.

I know prefer my 1095 knives to have patina on them. Less work. Less taste problems (I keep them up with food safe mineral oil). And I've grown to prefer the look. Here are 2 of my favorite EDC knives. Both have patina and that's just fine in my books.


EDC by Pinnah, on Flickr

 

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

I have no issues with the patina. In fact, it's rather fun.

I just didn't expect that two minutes of fruit slicing followed by an immediate rinse and dry would result in a relatively dramatic patina. Maybe with lemons or something really acidic. I thought apples and strawberries were pretty mild. But I'm a newbie at this patina business.

 

[zippofan]

Congrats on your new knives! I have both and love 'em, the Swayback is darn near my favorite of all, it just feels right in my hand and in my pocket. I always like to have a "little" knife in my watch pocket, more often than not a Peanut.

Now that you have a Peanut, time to join the cult

 

[pinnah]

yellow mustard and apple cider vinegar also make fast changes.

 

[neeman]

IMO, the auction sites are a horrible, terrible and inappropriate place to collect - as in, really collect. But, it's a fine place to dabble.

........

My mileage has been very different and I have been very fortunate to have purchased some very fine knives at very good prices

 

[jerryd6818]

IMO, the auction sites are a horrible, terrible and inappropriate place to collect - as in, really collect. But, it's a fine place to dabble.

But I think you'll admit, you can't beat them for shear volume and variety.

 

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

Now that you have a Peanut, time to join the cult

Where do I purchase my robes and initiation materials?

I admit I bought a Peanut mostly because I can't stop hearing about how great they are here on BF. Before purchasing, my first instinct with that knife was that it is too small for my tastes. But unlike some popular knives I've dismissed, my mind kept returning to getting one. Carrying it today, I see some similarities in size and ability to the Victorinox Executive, a 74mm platform that is one of my faves by Victorinox. They're very roughly similar in size, but the Peanut is more robust. I love the subtle S shape of the body.