Help me find my ideal slipjoint

[Noddy]

Just to add that though I have castrated exactly zero livestock in my life, that spey blade is the one I use most - keep it really sharp and - like javelin says - you have a perfect scalpel - give it another go - a thousand and one urban uses - and I like it for cleaning fish and taking plant cuttings - my favourite happens to be on a 4" Bulldog sowbelly

 

[Will Power]

Aside from being only one backspring, these Queens could be two to consider.

The secondary blade on both knives is a pen blade, but the half-congress has a much slimmer pen (around 3/8 inch from spine to cutting edge, where the canoe is about a half inch).

The half-congress has half stops where the canoe doesn't.

These two take up 95% of my EDC time.

I like the size of those Queen Half Congress, and having single spring only is a particular attraction. Can't seem to find one in anything other than that BEM which I don't favour, pity!

There are some Large Stockman that come with a punch/awl instead of a spey blade, a useful option. Half Whittler gives you a Spear or Clip and Pen on a single spring, an underrated knife.

 

[Planterz]

You'll have a hard time finding a big stockman without a spey blade. A nice big Schatt & Morgan gunstock stockman is a nice knife. IMO the spey isn't much different than a pen blade that size. You can always reprofile any blade. Smaller stockmans tend to have a pen or awl blade as their third blade.

Well, I've come across one that would seem to be perfect for me, but it looks like it doesn't exactly fit my "readily available" requirement. Seems rare to begin with, and is probably sought after by many people.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8918321&postcount=5630

Just to add that though I have castrated exactly zero livestock in my life, that spey blade is the one I use most - keep it really sharp and - like javelin says - you have a perfect scalpel - give it another go - a thousand and one urban uses - and I like it for cleaning fish and taking plant cuttings - my favourite happens to be on a 4" Bulldog sowbelly

I've pretty much done just that with the spey blade on one of my grandpa's old 70's Imperial Frontier stockmen. Took the edge down to a very narrow angle to make it scalpel-like (but not without missing the irony of making scalpel out of a blade that technically is a scalpel). If I get "stuck" with a stockman with a spey blade, I'll probably grind down the spine (or have a professional do it) to narrow the tip down into something pointier.

 

[Planterz]

Can anyone tell me the bladelengths on the GEC #53 (tip-to-kick and/or tip-to-bolster)?

 

[Railsplitter]

Can anyone tell me the bladelengths on the GEC #53 (tip-to-kick and/or tip-to-bolster)?

#53 Muskrat
Tip-to-kick 2 11/16"
Tip-to-bolster 2 15/16"

#53 Cuban Stockman
Cilp blade same as Muskrat

Sheepsfoot blade
Tip-to-kick 2"
Tip-to-bolster 2 5/32"

Spey blade
Tip-to-kick 1 9/16"
Tip-to-bolster 2"

 

[Planterz]

Much appreciated, thanks.

 

[navihawk]

Schatt has a 4 inch whittler that is said to be "built like a Sherman tank" with a pen and small clip like the one you had a link to.


Picture borrowed from site

 

[Mack]

Schatt has a 4 inch whittler that is said to be "built like a Sherman tank" with a pen and small clip like the one you had a link to.


Picture borrowed from site

He had said in the original post "no soft 420hc", That said, how is the 420 that Queen uses on the Schatt and Morgan line?

 

[Planterz]

He had said in the original post "no soft 420hc", That said, how is the 420 that Queen uses on the Schatt and Morgan line?

Agrussell lists it at 56-57Rc, whereas Case's Tru-Sharp is listed at 54-57, so it looks like on average the S&M should be a bit harder (giggity).

I'm undecided about going with a 420HC S&M. I'm sure it'd be "enough" for anything I'd want it to do, it's just that I expect more for the cost. I suppose I'd have to read some testimonials about how it compares to Case's stainless.

Does anyone know how hard the 440C is on the GECs?

 

[cj65]

You need a moose knife, like the one on the bottom. It is either 4 or just under 4 inches with a spear and a clip. It has 2 back springs.

This one is a bulldog 1996, with stainless blades, at least that is what it seems to be. I love the pattern. I also have a Schatt Moose. I really like big blades. I tend to use the clip more than the spear.

 

[neeman]

Agrussell lists it at 56-57Rc, whereas Case's Tru-Sharp is listed at 54-57, so it looks like on average the S&M should be a bit harder (giggity).

I'm undecided about going with a 420HC S&M. I'm sure it'd be "enough" for anything I'd want it to do, it's just that I expect more for the cost. I suppose I'd have to read some testimonials about how it compares to Case's stainless.
...

S&M on their pampletes list as 56-57Rc.
I have a very positive experience with the S&M 420HC
The steel constantly across different knives holds a very good edge.
I can get shaving sharp, and it stays working sharp for a good time

Also the Queen Canoe and Half Congress are excellent single spring knives, each one is quite different from the other

 

[TLARbb]

Well, I've come across one that would seem to be perfect for me, but it looks like it doesn't exactly fit my "readily available" requirement. Seems rare to begin with, and is probably sought after by many people.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8918321&postcount=5630

I see you have run into the same situation most of us here have run into and that is that Elliott has the knife we are looking for. You know I'd rather visit Elliott than any museum. The stuff he shows on here is just jaw-dropping.

Also, coming to this forum for "help" in selecting a knife is definitely drinking from a fire hose. Some nice options have been listed, but the question becomes - how are you now to decide??
Ed

 

[Planterz]

You need a moose knife, like the one on the bottom. It is either 4 or just under 4 inches with a spear and a clip. It has 2 back springs.

I don't really see the purpose for this knife, at least in my hands. Sure, the blade styles are different, but the actual curves of the edges are extremely similar. That's why I'm looking closely at the Furtakers, because you get both a curved blade and a straight one.

S&M on their pampletes list as 56-57Rc.
I have a very positive experience with the S&M 420HC
The steel constantly across different knives holds a very good edge.
I can get shaving sharp, and it stays working sharp for a good time

Thanks for the input on S&M's 420HC. There's some patterns of theirs I like (there's a Moose with a clip and wharncliffe, and a nice looking Congress) but wasn't considering because I was wary of the steel. Obviously I'd prefer a File and Wire ATS-34 S&M, but finding one in the pattern I like seems as likely as winning the lottery. Thinking about it more, I suppose I wouldn't mind slightly softer steel on a knife like this if it means I can get a finer, razor edge, and with less effort - and keep the harder, longer edge-holding steels on my tactical folders.

Also, coming to this forum for "help" in selecting a knife is definitely drinking from a fire hose. Some nice options have been listed, but the question becomes - how are you now to decide??

Definitely a lot of suggestions to sort through, but that's a good thing. You've all been very helpful and welcoming.

In addition to one or 2 high quality slipjoints, I also plan on getting a Case John Deere model to honor my grandpa. Sure, the yellow or green bone is kinda gaudy, but my grandpa was forever a John Deere man. From the combine that took part of his finger off when farming in his youth, to the riding mower he used into his 80s, it had to be a Deere. At his funeral the flowers were yellow and green. I know he had a John Deere promotional stockman (no idea who made it); it wasn't amongst the knives I received after his death, so I'm betting it was probably buried with him.

The yellow handled Case John Deere medium stockman has a pen blade rather than the spey blade, so I'm kinda leaning towards this one, if the size suits me (I'll have to check out the sizes at the knife store at the mall), or either the green or yellow large stockman. The large stockman has a spey blade with either color, but I figure a larger blade will give me more to work with. Or maybe the medium stockman or small congress in Stag (but these are kinda expensive for the steel they have).

 

[mostho]

GEC Furtaker Trapper.

great knife