It's a great time to be a slipjoint enthusiast.

kamagong

kamagong

Joined
Jan 13, 2001
Messages
10,970
I recently received one of the 2011 Schatt & Morgan Heritage jacks as a present. A single spearpoint 1095 blade with ebony covers and Norway Iron bolsters, this knife is a beauty. Upon receipt, I took the jack out of the box and gave it a quick rubdown. As I placed it next to my Northfield Scout, it struck me that these are the good ol' days if you're a fan of traditional knives. Right in front of of me were two pocketknives of recent vintage, with quality steel blades, premium handle materials, and most importantly, made the way they used to be.

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A decade ago getting knives of this caliber was a pipe dream. The vast majority of slipjoints had blades of low-end or mystery stainless. Handle materials were mostly cheap synthetics. Camillus and Schrade were on their last legs; Case was still in its doldrums. Even the custom slipjoint market wasn't as lively then as it is now. Tony and Reese Bose were already making near-perfect knives, but Kerry Hampton hadn't even ground a blade at this point and Ken Erickson hadn't yet hit his stride.

Contrast that with today. It seems like most everyone has taken it up a notch. Not only has the Internet made it possible for new companies to make a name for themselves, even old and established marques like Case and Queen now offer knives that appeal to the more discriminating consumer. No longer do they assume that we will just gratefully accept whatever they decide to foist on us. They have now learned that some of us want better than a knife that is made by the lowest bidder. Inexpensive knives have their place, but I'll take the pretty one every time. I'm glad that we now have plenty of choices.

- Christian
 
I'm in full agreement with you! 10-20 years ago, being a traditional enthusiast would have been painfully difficult, not to mention expensive if you prefer quality. Glad to see production knives of this current quality.
 
I'm right there with you, Christian. Due to the internet, we have access to more knives than I can ever remember. I know most here are of the vintage to remember when the pocket knives you had access to were the ones in the Sears catalog, or the few knives on display in the sporting goods or hardware store.

Now we can type in the model we want from a certain maker, specify the covers, then read reviews (amazing how many folder reviews come back to BF!) to see how the run of the knife came out. "in hand" shots, and in some cases reviews from folks we know and trust.

And thanks to BF, I have found three dealers that stand 110% behind their products, so I can buy knives I have never seen in person over the 'net with great confidence.

A good time, indeed.

Robert
 
That's a very elegant knife Christian.

Things have certainly changed for the better (in the US at least), there are obviously many factors, but it was a lot harder for small cutlery businesses before the age of internet, not just in terms of finding custom, but knowledge, services, etc. I'm sure Bladeforums has had a part to play in changing things for the better :thumbup:
 
I agree with you my good man. I am lucky to have been born at just the right time to always have had the goood stuff, so to speak. Your post makes me realize just how good I have it. Thanks. And thems some beauties for sure!
 
Yes, I believe you are right. Hopefully, we can continue to live in these 'good ole days'. I really like the S&M Heritage jacks. I've been carrying the rosewood version single blade some lately. It is comfortable to the hand in use and pleasing to the eye in a simple elegant way. One knife that I like a lot is the GEC conductor, but don't own one yet. It is similar though maybe a bit smaller than the S&M swell center jack I have that I like so much.

We have a lot of patterns out there and GEC in particular has been/is great at introducing new "old" models for us to buy. It's indeed a good time to be a traditional slipjoint enthusiast.

Ed J
 
The awesome thing is that this trend isn't limited to slipjoints. Carbon steel laguioles, Nepalese khukuris, handmade puukkos from Finland - the internet has expanded the market for sharp, shiny goods of all designs and getting what you want is just a few keystrokes and mouse clicks away.

- Christian
 
Christian, you are right!

So, lets make hay while the sun shines and get in more quality knives:D:thumbup:

I've got the Clip version of that Queen in ebony, really decent knife all over. Feels so good in the hand, a major quality which is often overlooked I think. I'm keeping a keen eye out for a Rosewood version in spear myself. Just in the past week the Post Office yielded up some treasures. Northwoods Forum 08 knife in exceptional stag (many thanks to an important member who sold me this) a replacement for one lost in a flood. Then a GEC Tidioute Half-Whitt in Pickle Green Bone, very nice single spring Wharncliffe with flawless action and fine finish. Back at the end of the last century, or even ten years ago you would be VERY hard-pressed to find knives like these except vintage ones. The last offerings of Schrade & Camillus were frankly not very good at all, GEC did not even exist. Now Queen is in new hands (hands that know the soul of Traditional knives not just the image) GEC continues to offer new patterns and CASE has produced a number of desirable patterns too. Like you say, custom makers are emboldened by this awakening both in interest and discrimination over quality in Traditional pocket knives.

Hurrah!

Thanks, Will
 
Interesting points all Christian, especially the fact that the internet has helped both sides of the equation...A wise Mfg. can very quickly get a finger on the pulse of what is liked, or disliked about their product from places such as this. And for the consumer / afficionado, info about knives that they might never have known existed is freely shared and readily available. In the old day's if one was lucky enough to stumble upon an old or "special" knife at fleamarket or estate sale, it was a happy day indeed. Local markets carried what the purveyers percieved would sell in their area. These are truly wonderful times to be a knife enthusiast...

BTW, Love the looks of that S&M...I've been chicken eyen' those in a catalog...
 
Christian,
very nice insight. I can't compare today with the past, at least not on American traditionals...but I do believe it's a good time to be a slipjoint enthusiast. Still, for the very same reason, I expect the near future to be even better. :rolleyes:

Fausto
:cool:
 
quattromori said:
Christian,
very nice insight. I can't compare today with the past, at least not on American traditionals...but I do believe it's a good time to be a slipjoint enthusiast. Still, for the very same reason, I expect the near future to be even better. :rolleyes:

Fausto
:cool:
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I can 100% agree with Fausto´s statement. Queen is (hopefully) coming back to their old quality of knives after the change in ownership, for example.

What Christian says, that without the internet much people wouldn´t be able to discover knives from anywhere. Be it american knives in Europe or european knives in the US - this can be moved to whole world and moved to any product around.
Without the internet and its plattforms many of us would have not found any new hobbies and activites. This is one main point in the whole subject.
 
I can remember just how hard it was 20 years ago trying to find a good sheath maker, heat-treatment, or (for example) a particular type of resin-bonded wood laminate. We always wished that there was some kind of directory, but certainly nothing existed like that in the UK. Everything was just word of mouth. Now it's just so easy with the internet, and of course that's the same for other minority interests (sadly) and services :thumbup:

It also means that knife-makers know they’re going to get paid for their services. Twenty years ago I was trying to sell the (strangely novel) idea in Sheffield, that if cutlers produced high quality work, they’d get paid accordingly, that they didn’t have to constantly cut corners and do things ‘on the cheap’. Unfortunately though, some of those manufacturers have learned they can hike their prices up to ridiculous levels without improving on quality at all. If there’s a future for quality knife production here in England, it certainly lies with the (currently) small number of custom makers working in the face of very restrictive (arguably repressive) knife laws. Strangely though, despite the long tradition of cutlery here, quality knives and their appreciation, are still in their infancy, and this can lead to some behaving like schoolgirls looking through shop windows, and shelling out any amount for whatever is fashionable and shiny this month. Not to pick on any one knife or maker in particular, but I was looking at one small UK website yesterday with a very nice selection of knives, but the UK Custom section was just full of copies (or ‘clones’ as they prefer) of Alan Wood’s Woodlore knife, with the original selling at a staggering £650!
 
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kamagong said:
I recently received one of the 2011 Schatt & Morgan Heritage jacks as a present. A single spearpoint 1095 blade with ebony covers and Norway Iron bolsters, this knife is a beauty.

dsc1148j.jpg
Click to expand...

Christian: Any chance you could post a pic of that gorgeous S&M in the closed position? I'm curious about how much tang sticks up.

-- Mark
 
Well observed, Christian!
We are indeed fortunate.
The main thing is the knowledge that gets shared here.
When we can compare experiences, and products, we can all make informed and satisfying decisions!
A Golden age, really!!
 
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kamagong said:
Here you go Mark. The tang sticks up a fair bit.

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- Christian
Click to expand...

Thanks, Christian. Sort of a bummer (for me) since I have this thing about not liking knives where the tang sticks up like that. In the open position, it's GORGEOUS, though. I have the same issue with the A.G. Russell Rancher -- great knife, but I really wish the back corner of the tang didn't stick up so dern much. Contrast the S&M and the Rancher with the Victorinox alox Soldier and you'll see where I'd like the tang to be.

Anyway, to sort of bring this back on topic, you're right: These are the good ol' days for us fans of traditional knives! :thumbup:

-- Mark
 
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