Im going strictly traditional for a month and need some suggestions.

jlfletcher83

jlfletcher83

Joined
Dec 22, 2006
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After talking to my dad over Christmas I have down a pretty solid idea of what my grandpa carried. A Case slip joint, pliers, and some type of 3-4 inch carbon steel fixed blade. My Dad is almost 70 and Grandpa was well over ninety when he died and that was 10 years ago. He spent his life in the oil field and working on a ranch in southwestern Oklahoma. I remember the Case yellow medium Stockman but Dad said that was his church knife that became his EDC as he advanced in age and was not working as much, Dad said his actual EDC was bigger but he doesn't remember the pattern. He also owned a Buck 110 that he occasionaly skinned a dear with if he remembered to bring it on the hunt. As I stated in a previous thread he probably did more physical labor in a month that I will in my whole life. So I am going to try to carry a slightly modified version of his set up for a month, and I am going to start this on January 15th to give me a couple weeks to get the gear together. Some modifications for the urban enviroment mainly that the pliers will be supplanted by a Leatherman Skeletool, but I will not use the knife blade on it. The Case knife may rotate but I will not use any folder but Case slipjoints in CV because thats what Grandpa said was the best knife steel ever. I reserve the right to cheat in the kitchen, and if I need my car emergency kit their is a Blade-Tech Responder in there but its only for emergencies. The fixed blade is the problem Dad says it looks like a TOPS wolf pup with a straight handle. So I really am sort of lost I need some suggestions from you fine individuals as to what fixed blade I should carry, and its probably going to have to be housed in Kydex because of my enviroment it must be kept concealed. But I am open to suggestions and I am excited about getting this together. I think the month with tools like Grandpa's will be a an awesome learning expierience and I will definitely keep it updated here.
 
I think you need a Case Trapper in CV for the back pocket and a Case Peanut in CV for Sunday go to meeting uses.

trapperpeanut.jpg
 
Nice project here,keep us informed of events.

I second a CASE Slimline Trapper, a really useful yet lightweight knife, you can get cv ones in red-bone too. Small Texas Jack in Amber Bone cv would be another credible option too.There are many more, Copperhead is quite a big knife that Böker at least does in carbon, not sure about if CASE does.

Fixed blade could be a bit more tricky as I think it should be functional and cheap in price, so a no nonsense MORA in carbon housed in a kydex or plastic sheath should suit you.
 
willgoy said:
...Small Texas Jack in Amber Bone cv would be another credible option too....
Click to expand...

I got one of these for Christmas and love it. I also love the Mini-Trapper and Peanut.

for the fixed blade, how about a Boker Subcom fixed blade? Not carbon steel, but a good looking knife. For a carbon steel fixed blade I would go to RagweedForge.com and look around for something there. Maybe one of these with a custom sheath: http://ragweedforge.com/trade-fr.jpg the one on the top is only about 5" overall and $26.
 
this a neat project. i look forward to your review. my great grandpop died in 1971 at age 76 and use to carry a marbles woodcraft on his hip and a case stockman in his pocket. i wish i had his knives now. good luck.
 
I've been carrying a Case Jr Soddie, with stainless steel blade. It was purchased at Lowes for $18, a few minutes stropping on a loaded leather belt got it shaving hair.
 
As said
Small Texas Jack in Amber Bone CV
Or
Stockman in Amber Bone CV, it comes as the same pattern as the Texas Jack but it has a sheepsfoot and a pen (instead of a spey blade)
I like stockmans as it has the best combination of blades.
There is a good usable length blade and two very usable smaller blades. And as the blade shapes are so different you get a lot of usage from it.

Case XX Item # 079
AMBER BONE MEDIUM STOCKMAN CV
Case Knife Pattern Number: 63032 CV


the peanut / slimline trapper is a good combination, if you want to carry two.
You get a long blade and two smaller blades, but in two knives.

the soddie is a larger thicker work knife
 
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Good post!

Our grandfathers were hard working men, and they used knives as tools. For the hard working tool role, maybe try a small sodbuster in CV. Lightweight for its size, it carries well in jeans and docker style pants. I've known some hard working types who use the heck out of soddie, and it gets it done.

But most of the knives I remember from the 50's was the ubiquitous 2 blade serpintine jack, about 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 inches in size. It was sort of a generic pocket knife of the day. I think for every stockman, or trapper, or other pattern, I saw a couple serpintine's for each one of any other pattern.

You could always try a simple barlow. Alot of men carried one for a go-to knife for over a hundred years.

Barlow, soddie, medium stockman, all would make a good edc.

And then there's the peanut.
 
im gonna go with a nice amber bone cv trapper, stockman, or texas jack. all three knives will serve you well for the coming month and are just plain ole nice to look at.
 
If your just going to carry one, you gotta go with the Sowbelly, you can sharpen each blade to a different angle and degree of sharpness and have a work horse of a knife that will do it all.

IMG_3241.jpg


If your going to carry two, add a Peanut to the Sowbelly :D

IMG_3237.jpg
 
So far I have picked up the yellow CV trapper, soddie jr, med stockman, and slimline trapper. I am going to pick up a few more patterns and see which one I like best. I still need to narrow down the fixed blade.
 
jlfletcher83 said:
So far I have picked up the yellow CV trapper, soddie jr, med stockman, and slimline trapper. I am going to pick up a few more patterns and see which one I like best. I still need to narrow down the fixed blade.
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That's a fantastic start thus far. I've favored Trapper's and Stockmans over the years because of the versatility.

What model # Case Stockman have you chosen? And what kind of sheath knife were you leaning towards, custom or production?

Anthony
 
It looks like you are getting some good suggestions on the folders, but coming up empty-handed on the fixed blade. The problem isn't coming up with a knife that will work, it is coming up with something with a kydex sheath. I have a couple to suggest, but first, have you considered a fixed blade in a pocket sheath? Derek at Knives Ship Free offers the Bark River line of knives and has pocket sheaths that will fit several of their models, including some carbon steel knives. It is also pretty easy to do up a sheath with a clip that will ride inside the waistband. Now for some possibilities:

-The Ontario RAT-3 comes with a black plastic sheath and is a good EDC knive.
-RAT Cutlery also sells a RAT-3
-The Marbles Sport is a nice knive, but only comes with a leather sheath.
-Moore Maker makes a drop point hunter in 1095, but it only comes with a leather sheath.
-The Kabar Becker Necker BK11 is a very good knife that comes with a hard sheath.
-Queen made some fixed blades in D2, but they have leather sheaths.
-The Dozier knives are D2 and come with kydex sheaths. There are a few places that keep them in stock.
-The Northwoods Drop Point is A2 but has a leather sheath.
-If you look over in the Knife Maker's For Sale section here on Bladeforums you will find a bunch of knives that meet your criteria.
-You could also check on the Wilderness & Survival Skills sub-forum (under Tactics & Training) to see what folks there might recommend. There are a lot of carbon steel fans in that forum.

One final thought - you may want to double-check to make sure carrying a fixed blade concealed is legal where you live.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions pope, yes they are OK here in Kansas to carry concealed as long as they are under 4 inches.
Sunnyd the model stockman I picked up is the 3318 CV medium stockman yellow handled, I think its great. As far as knives dad says grandpa's was a custom made by a local maker in the 40's and given to him as a gift by one of his brothers. He says it resembles a TOPS wolf pup in blade shape but no coating and totally different handle. I might buy a custom but I really do not want anything coated. If I could find a knife with a good leather pancake sheath I wouldnt have to go with kydex. Either way thats why I gave myself time before I start this project, so I could sort everything out.
 
jlfletcher83 said:
After talking to my dad over Christmas I have down a pretty solid idea of what my grandpa carried. ... I am going to try to carry a slightly modified version of his set up for a month, and I am going to start this on January 15th to give me a couple weeks to get the gear together. ... The fixed blade is the problem Dad says it looks like a TOPS wolf pup with a straight handle.
Click to expand...

I think it's mostly important to keep to the spirit of what your Grandpa carried and why. What did he use the fixed blade for? You've stated that he worked in the oil fields and on a ranch and probably did more physical labor in a month that you will in your whole life. Given that, is there any reason to think you'll need a fixed blade at all? If your Grandpa did a job like yours, would he have continued carrying his, or would he have put it in the drawer except during weekend outings in the woods, fishing or hunting trips, etc.?

Also along those lines, was your Grandpa the kind of guy who would have gone and spent a bunch of money on a new knife just for some one-month experiment? I know mine carried only a two-blade jack for years and would have thought my penchant for acquiring knives as much as I do to be a sign of being not so right in the head. :D

Cool experiment, btw. Keep us posted.
 
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Well mnblade you make some good points, if grandpa was still around to ask him it would make things much easier. He carried his fixed blade after he stopped working except to church, so I am not what he would have done at my job.
 
How about a Marbles Trailcraft, Plainsman or Cowboy knife? Both are smallish, fairly traditional belt knives with carbon steel blades in somewhat the shape maybe that you are looking for?

If you can stand the yellow handles, then maybe a Moore Maker Drop Point or Spear Point Hunter? They are a little smaller, quite a bit cheaper, but still a nice carbon steel blade and somewhat traditional in appearance.
 
Shcrade Sharpfinger or 156OT. Both come in carbon and can be outfitted with kydex. BTW I went strictly traditional for a month...that was about 10 months ago. I ain't gone back.
 
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