Good first slipjoint?

3

3wolves

Joined
Dec 28, 2007
Messages
1,061
Hi guys,
I'm looking to buy my first slipjoint. (besides my buck when I was 5) It's gonna be a case with amber bone stag between 3-3.5 inches but I'm not sure which model. I really like the looks of the canoe, small texas jack and med stockman (the wider clip point version). Which would you reccomend? pictures would be nice as well.:)
 
That amber bone Texas Jack is a great knife.

You can't go wrong with any of 'em but I'd pick the TJ or the stockman. (Both have the same frame.)
 
the dark side:D:thumbup:
any of those sound great but i can give you an honest opinion on the medium stockman... My Yeller CV stockman always manages to stay in my tiny rotation and sees alot of use:thumbup: darn near perfect size and three blades. So i vote for the Med Stockman, i just wont tell my amber Jumbo stockman that i said that:)
good luck and enjoy your impending purchase
ivan
 
Do you prefer a thick knife or thin (scales, or the part you grip)?
Do you like wide blades or narrow?
Do you like thick steel (stronger) or thin steel (better geometry for cutting--slices like a lazer)?
Pointed blade for detail work, or more belly with less of a point?

If you can answer these, we can give you a better idea of what you may like. Any of those mentioned would be great, but a knife and how you use it are personal preferences, and we may be able to help you hone in a bit better based on your preferences or intended uses.
 
RobbW said:
Do you prefer a thick knife or thin (scales, or the part you grip)?
Do you like wide blades or narrow?
Do you like thick steel (stronger) or thin steel (better geometry for cutting--slices like a lazer)?
Pointed blade for detail work, or more belly with less of a point?

If you can answer these, we can give you a better idea of what you may like. Any of those mentioned would be great, but a knife and how you use it are personal preferences, and we may be able to help you hone in a bit better based on your preferences or intended uses.
Click to expand...

It doesn't really matter to me, exept that I much prefer wide blades with a good belly, all those 3 have that. I guess a thinner steel would be better seeing as I have alot of large "tactical" folders. This is just so I can get a feel for carrying a slipjoint as I have always loved traditional knives but never owned a good one. Some pictures of different angles would really help my decision though, even with scales besides amber bone.
 
If you like a wider blade with belly, look at a Canoe or Sodbuster pattern. The Canoe has a second, Pen blade. The Sodbuster has one blade. You might like a Harness Jack, but the second "blade" would be a punch--useful for poking and scraping, but not a blade.

A trapper or mini-trapper would give you a pointed clip blade, but also a second spey blade with plenty of belly.

If you check out Great Eastern Cutlery, you could get a Northfield or Tidiout #73 Scout with a clip and spey blade. I believe they also had a version with just the spey blade. I think it was called a beaver or something.

Google might help you pull something up. Good luck.
 
My vote goes to the Canoe. I love the Canoe pattern. Slim profile fits quietly in the pocket. Main spear point blade is big and strong, capable of alot of heavy cutting. The smaller pen blade is useful for more detailed cutting, although it in itself can handle bigger chores as well. Good to have that smaller blade when in the company non-knife folks/sheeple who only view them as weapons.
Canoe all the way.
 
Canoe would be a great choice. I'm not positive, but I think the Queen Canoes are on a single spring, while the Case Canoes are on a double spring. This means the Queen's would be thinner overall, and the Cases a bit thicker in the pocket & hand. Maybe someone else can chime in to confirm or dispel this. It's just another choice that can make the knife even more personal.

Queens generally come in D2 (tool steel), while you can get Cases in SS or CV (carbon steel). I think Cumberland Knifeworks and Collector Knives has a run of Queen Canoes in 1095 (carbon) if you prefer that combination.
 
When I started with slipjoints about all I had were tactical too, so I understand your question well.
You should get a sodbuster jr with the Carbon steel. Works great, under $20. Comfortable in the hand. It's my "go to" sausage and cheese knife.

On the other hand, maybe you should go for something far different from a tactical folder by getting something with more than one blade. Case Swayback Jack, red bone and CV. Heck of a slicer and great fit and finish. two blades. Plus it is just plain beautiful to look at, hold, enjoy the half stops, rub the jigged pattern. Get it!
100_0621.jpg


Or another favorite of mine the Cannitler!
D2 steel! Thick whittler main blade with the added utility of two extra blades!
100_0584.jpg


To sum it all up.... You have to buy a sodbuster, at only $20 it does what a knife should do, and does it well. You should get a Swayback jack or a Cannitler too!
 
RobbW said:
Canoe would be a great choice. I'm not positive, but I think the Queen Canoes are on a single spring, while the Case Canoes are on a double spring. This means the Queen's would be thinner overall, and the Cases a bit thicker in the pocket & hand. Maybe someone else can chime in to confirm or dispel this...
Click to expand...

The Queen is on a single spring.
It is not a light knife, as it has double bolsters and the main spear blade is quite robust.
The secondary pen blade is as thin as the main blade is thick.

The Queen is an excellent knife
 
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Blues said:
That amber bone Texas Jack is a great knife.

You can't go wrong with any of 'em but I'd pick the TJ or the stockman. (Both have the same frame.)
Click to expand...

:thumbup: +1

As Blue says...
The stockman with the same frame as the Texas Jack has a regular clip main blade and with the pen blade in CV (carbon)
http://www.casexx.com/DisplayDetailPage.asp?ProductCode=079

The other medium stockman has a thinner Turkish clip main blade, and a spey blade
http://www.casexx.com/DisplayDetailPage.asp?ProductCode=039

The regular clip feels more robust than the turkish clip, and I prefer a pen blade to a spey
 
I kinda like the looks of the Texas Jack, but one of my most favorite Patterns is the Stockman. IMHO if your pick is in CV then you really can't go wrong with any of the patterns discussed.
 
I went from tacticals right to a GEC stockman cuban and never looked back. Something about the simplicity of any equal end knife just eases my mind in comparison to the tacticals.
 
Do not take the word/opinion of anyone (including myself), go and look at each one, pick it up and handle it....then make your own decision.
 
no-one said:
Do not take the word/opinion of anyone (including myself), go and look at each one, pick it up and handle it....then make your own decision.
Click to expand...


Ya beat me to it, No-one, I was just thinking the same thing. I could sit here and sell you on the idea that the Canoe is the greatest pattern in the world. And I' be right. Someone else could boast about how the Stockman would be the best. And they would be right. Peanut, Trapper, etc, all the best because we all have our favorites. It's up to you and your personal likes/dislikes. Some choose pocketability over blade selection. Some choose a fuller feel in hand then pocketability. Some like multi blades, the more the merrier. Some like the secure feel of one blade. It's all individual, which is one of those things that makes slippies so cool. There's a pattern out there for everyone. Go out and handle some, see how they feel, and get the one that calls out to you.
 
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