Helping a friend find a knife (stockman ?)

mnblade

mnblade

Joined
Feb 7, 2000
Messages
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Guys: A guy I know is looking for a stockman to buy. To be honest, he was just looking for ANY knife, but I quizzed him and showed him some pics and some of my knives to whittle down just what he wants. He's kind of an old school guy (no SAK or one-hander for him) but does not want carbon steel and doesn't want anything too terribly hard to sharpen (I think D2 drive him nuts).

Anyway, here's what he's wanting: A stockman in the neighborhood of 4" or under, with rounded bolsters and quality (read: not Case) stainless steel. Doesn't want to spent more than $50.

Ideas?
 
Go to ebay and find a USA made Schrade Uncle Henry 897UH for sale and have him buy it, the price will be well under 50$. This knife fits your description to a T.

P.S.

Don't ping Case knives in such general terms unless you have specific cause, I'm tired of it. I have 17 Case slipjoints,spanning a production period of over 35 years, and NONE of the are bad in any way that could lead me to agree with your statement about Case quality. I've seen less than perfect Schrade's, Camillus's, and Boker's and have come to understand that these are mass produced, factory made, modestly priced products and there will be flawed models that make it to the market. It has always been this way and probably will remain so for all mass produced knives(and other products as well). I used a Case SS trapper a few weeks ago to field dress and skin a mature 10 point buck and the knife "worked" just fine and the deer didn't even complain when I told him I was using a Case knife. If you have a problem with a specific knife, Case has excellent customer service and will even repair old knives to the best of their ability, even models that are decades old.
 
In the spec's and price range you mention I would look at either the American made Buck's in 420hc, or the Wal Mart imported Buck's in 440c. They'll come in at half the price of his max or less.

After that you can check out Queen's, Case or an original Schrade. Boker has some 440c slips out there that may merit investigation as well.

I like Buck's 420HC and found it works well, and the knives are readily available.

About the whole Case debate; I too have found most Case knives I've owned or held were of good quality. My "specific" beef with Case is the scandalous way they have gouged their collector base with their ATS34 line of knives. That type of behavior from a manufacturer is predatory towards a loyal customer base of often un-knife-educated consumers and is a shame. To date, not one Case aficionado has been able to explain to me why Case can justify selling a knife at 5-7x's the list price of a non-ATS model for a 50 cent upgrade in steel. (keep in mind, I'm not talking about the Bose line, but even those prices are ridiculous)
 
Settle down, OTguy. Case makes some fairly good knives, but based on my experience (and on the many posts I've read here) their "surgical" stainless is not terribly great. If he didn't mind carbon, I'd steer him towards a Case CV knife.
 
cpirtle:
I too was recommending a Buck (301 to be exact). Alas, he prefers rounded (very rounded) bolsters. So far, OTGuy's suggestion of a Schrade 897UH is looking good. But at just 3.5" maybe a tad small.
 
mnblade said:
cpirtle:
I too was recommending a Buck (301 to be exact). Alas, he prefers rounded (very rounded) bolsters. So far, OTGuy's suggestion of a Schrade 897UH is looking good. But at just 3.5" maybe a tad small.
Click to expand...

They did make a bigger one--I think it is the 885UH. It's about 4" closed and you can find them on ebay.
 
Didn't mean to sound so riled up earlier, I was in a state of mid-caffination at the time, now that I'm fully caffinated things are better.

Both Case and Buck use 420HC for the stainless USA made models. Buck, thanks to Mr. Bos(?) heat treat, probably has a little bit better edge holding than Case. This would hardly be noticable in everyday use, ecspecially if regular edge maintenence is practiced. I've found that most mass production steels,(420HC, 440A, Sandvik12C, AUS6) behave more or less the same in regular use. You will not be ill-served with any quality made knife with these steels in everyday usage.

That being said, enjoy the hunt for the new knife and let us know what you decide. If you get a chance later, let us know how your friend likes his new knife and how it works for him.
 
Sears has two wood handled stockmen for sale.
Here and Here either for $19.99, the first one being 4" closed and the second one being 3 1/4" closed. The description of the second one says their blades are 420HC. For the money, both might make a nice set. My old one from 1982 (4" closed) has the same bolsters as these and even though they aren't rounded aren't hard on the pockets or uncomfortable to carry.
 
I can vouch for those Sears knives that yam linked to, I have them and they are real straightforward working knives. They are contracted from Camillus and they are 420HC.
 
I have to agree with OTguy on the Case SS issue. In day to day use it would be hard to tell a real big difference in steel. In fact once you reprofile the edge you will get a very nice cutting blade. Over on "the other" knife sight a very nice and knowledgable fellow who goes by the handle of Stgmike88 did a great review of a Case SS blade compared to some of the others. It was the sodbuster SS model and he did some heavy duty cutting with it. It was just fine.
 
885UH is the one. Good sized stockman with Schrade+ (440A if I remember correctly). The only downside is the delrin scales.

I just bought one of these from the same seller, who seems to have had several of these knives.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Schrade-Natural-Bone-Special-Edition-Stockman-Knife_W0QQitemZ6585473457

Schrade+ steel and bone handles. I won my auction for a little over $32. Haven't received it yet, so I can't speak to quality, but it sure sounds like what you're looking for.
 
>>>"The only downside is the delrin scales. "

=========================

And the not-so-rounded bolsters. Thanks anyway. It is a nice looking knife indeed.
 
The 885UH (Uncle Henry) has delrin scales.

The "special edition" knife I linked has bone scales. The bolsters aren't rounded off, but they certainly aren't as square as some I've seen.
 
The problem with the UH is that it has carbon steel springs. If I buy a stainless knife, I don't want to have to maintain it other than sharpening and oiling joints. Springs included. Besides, that's where my sweaty mitt goes and is the most likely place to rust. Case puts stainless springs on even their CV knives and I think Queen does too. Bummer!
 
littleknife said:
Hen & Rooster, Stag, 3 3/4", $50

http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e...201&SearchText=Stockman&Mode=Text&SKU=HR403DS

Henckels Twin, 4" in stag: $50

http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e...ge=221&SearchText=Stockman&Mode=Text&SKU=HL3S

in picked bone: $40

http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e...=221&SearchText=Stockman&Mode=Text&SKU=HL3MHG

My guess is, that both Solingen stainless and 420 stainless are a German equivalent of 420HC.
Click to expand...



I can't speak to its quality, but 39.99 from smkw: a colored cooler shield version that comes in a few colors hen and rooster
HR343CBBCR.jpg
 
Virtually all of the lower to mid priced commonly available knives use either 420HC or 440A for their blades, including Case, Buck, Camillus, the former Schrade company, etc. SAK's are supposed to be Sandvik 12C27 or something close, which is about the same carbon content as 420HC or 440A. Older Queens were supposed to be 440C, then later 440A. For anything short of a "super'' steel, these all work fine, and I would choose based upon other qualities, such as handle material, blade grind, and fit and finish. I can't figure out why people are having such a hard time sharpening D2, I have no problems with it so far in two Queens. Find the guy a nice jigged bone large stockman from any of the reputable makers. Personally, I wouldn't write off the D2 Queens, as you can get a knife with one of the so called "super'' steels for no higher than many of the other brands.
 
Dijos, my friend, you are a bad influence! ;) My buddy was all set to order a $29 Camillus yellow jacket until I e-mailed him the link to the Henckels that you posted. Says he's going to get it. Thanks. I'll pester him for a layman's review after he's had a chance to tote it a bit.

Thanks for all the tips, guys.
 
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