- Joined
- May 21, 2011
- Messages
- 3,132
Hi everyone...
A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing some big auction site and I stumbled upon an old Ka-Bar slipjoint that nobody seemed to have noticed. The only traditional knives I was familiar with (as in: held in my hand and used) were SAKs, Opinel, Laguiole and so on. Mainly European traditionals, so to speak. When I saw the little Ka-Bar slipjoint I thought it would be a good opportunity to get acquainted with traditional US slipjoints and slipjoint patterns. I got the Ka-Bar at a very low price and quickly received it. I was quite pleased with it. Eventhough there was not a lot of snap in the blades, it cut quite OK and it was small and unobtrusive. I decided to carry it for a couple of days and use it, and I started liking it. I went on the web and started looking around, reading about different patterns and such and thought it would be fun to discover another pattern. So on to the web I went, and I found an old, used Camillus in a Stockman pattern. I thought well why the hell not, so I got it -cheap again since it was used-. That led to my final purchase up until now, an old Case Jack knife that I also got for pretty cheap.
I'll start off with some pictures, and continue the story as we go.
So here's the first one. A Ka-Bar slipjoint, model number 1026. I already asked Tooj up in the Ka-Bar forums and it was apparently made with 440A steel. Not my favourite choice of steel, but for 5USD... I'm not complaining. According to him, it was made by Camillus a couple of decades ago. The handle scales are plastic (delrin?) and do not fit flush, but that's OK given the price.
As far as I know, it's a Jack knife, but I'm not sure if it has any more specific term to describe the pattern? Info welcome ofcourse.
Closed position:
Opened with main blade:
Close up:
Pen blade:
As I said, I liked it and ordered another US made slipjoint. Eventhough I'd love to discover the different patterns, I'm not able to just purchase Case knives, or GECs like it's nothing. Since I do not have the funds to do so, but I did want USA made traditionals, I kept looking at used knives. And so, I stumbled upon this older Camillus model number 67. Eventhough the pictures showed it was used, only until I got it in my hands I could see it was very well used. The main clip blade has been sharpened a lot, and the 'new' point even protrudes from the liners/scales. The fit of the scales is also rather poor, but that has perhaps developed over time? Anyway, couldn't care less -again because I got it cheap-. The sheepsfoot blade seems to be OK and has quite a lot of life in it. The spey blade has been used extensively as well. The steel is some nice carbon (1095??) and I absolutely LOVE the patina it has developed. I wanted to try this pattern out because I simply like sheepsfoot blades, and this knife has one in good condition. I like the blade, but because of the state it's in I'm probably not going to use it, and just keep it in the collection. Too bad the clip point is used that extensively. A 'complete' blade on this knife would have looked great! I really love the long horizontal nail pull and the false swedge. Again, additional information is welcomed (period of production, actual steel used,...)
Closed:
Opened with main blade:
Close up main blade:
Sheepsfoot:
Spey:
Then, about a week later, I was browsing the web again and since I really liked the Ka-Bar pattern, I started looking for similar ones instead of getting a different pattern. To my astonishment, I stumbled upon an older Case knife with pretty much the same blade configuration (Clip point main blade, and pen blade as a secondary). I won it, again for pretty cheap but more expensive as the other ones (almost 20USD). This blade arrived today and I was pretty much blown away by it. I know nothing about the steel used (info very welcome) and I'm not sure about the period of production (seventies?) so I can't say much about that. The pull on the blades and the half stops however, are very strong and secure, nothing like the two knives above! The knife is overall a bit larger than the Ka-Bar jack knife and is stupid sharp. I guess the previous owner convexed the edge (or is this the original grind?), but whatever was done to it, it really suits the blade. It slices like crazy. Anyway, this one will be in my pocket for the next couple of days -while trying not to cut myself since it has such a strong pull and snap ànd sharp blades-. I'm really pleased with this one, for sure.
The Case in closed position:
Opened with main blade:
Close up of the stamping:
Pen blade opened up:
So these are the 3 knives I welcomed in the mail the last couple of weeks and I really enjoyed the anticipation and their arrival. I'm going to cut back on expenses for now and just see how these guys fit me and to see if (more like: how much) I will like them. First I'll probably be cleaning them up decently and resharpening the blades that need it, so that will keep me busy for the near future.
I am fancying a Congress patterned blade though... But I'll stay strong and just wait a while for now
.
I hope you guys enjoyed it! Any comments and/or additional information on these blades are very welcome! I'd love to learn more about 'em.
Cheers,
Jerry
A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing some big auction site and I stumbled upon an old Ka-Bar slipjoint that nobody seemed to have noticed. The only traditional knives I was familiar with (as in: held in my hand and used) were SAKs, Opinel, Laguiole and so on. Mainly European traditionals, so to speak. When I saw the little Ka-Bar slipjoint I thought it would be a good opportunity to get acquainted with traditional US slipjoints and slipjoint patterns. I got the Ka-Bar at a very low price and quickly received it. I was quite pleased with it. Eventhough there was not a lot of snap in the blades, it cut quite OK and it was small and unobtrusive. I decided to carry it for a couple of days and use it, and I started liking it. I went on the web and started looking around, reading about different patterns and such and thought it would be fun to discover another pattern. So on to the web I went, and I found an old, used Camillus in a Stockman pattern. I thought well why the hell not, so I got it -cheap again since it was used-. That led to my final purchase up until now, an old Case Jack knife that I also got for pretty cheap.
I'll start off with some pictures, and continue the story as we go.
So here's the first one. A Ka-Bar slipjoint, model number 1026. I already asked Tooj up in the Ka-Bar forums and it was apparently made with 440A steel. Not my favourite choice of steel, but for 5USD... I'm not complaining. According to him, it was made by Camillus a couple of decades ago. The handle scales are plastic (delrin?) and do not fit flush, but that's OK given the price.
As far as I know, it's a Jack knife, but I'm not sure if it has any more specific term to describe the pattern? Info welcome ofcourse.
Closed position:
Opened with main blade:
Close up:
Pen blade:
As I said, I liked it and ordered another US made slipjoint. Eventhough I'd love to discover the different patterns, I'm not able to just purchase Case knives, or GECs like it's nothing. Since I do not have the funds to do so, but I did want USA made traditionals, I kept looking at used knives. And so, I stumbled upon this older Camillus model number 67. Eventhough the pictures showed it was used, only until I got it in my hands I could see it was very well used. The main clip blade has been sharpened a lot, and the 'new' point even protrudes from the liners/scales. The fit of the scales is also rather poor, but that has perhaps developed over time? Anyway, couldn't care less -again because I got it cheap-. The sheepsfoot blade seems to be OK and has quite a lot of life in it. The spey blade has been used extensively as well. The steel is some nice carbon (1095??) and I absolutely LOVE the patina it has developed. I wanted to try this pattern out because I simply like sheepsfoot blades, and this knife has one in good condition. I like the blade, but because of the state it's in I'm probably not going to use it, and just keep it in the collection. Too bad the clip point is used that extensively. A 'complete' blade on this knife would have looked great! I really love the long horizontal nail pull and the false swedge. Again, additional information is welcomed (period of production, actual steel used,...)
Closed:
Opened with main blade:
Close up main blade:
Sheepsfoot:
Spey:
Then, about a week later, I was browsing the web again and since I really liked the Ka-Bar pattern, I started looking for similar ones instead of getting a different pattern. To my astonishment, I stumbled upon an older Case knife with pretty much the same blade configuration (Clip point main blade, and pen blade as a secondary). I won it, again for pretty cheap but more expensive as the other ones (almost 20USD). This blade arrived today and I was pretty much blown away by it. I know nothing about the steel used (info very welcome) and I'm not sure about the period of production (seventies?) so I can't say much about that. The pull on the blades and the half stops however, are very strong and secure, nothing like the two knives above! The knife is overall a bit larger than the Ka-Bar jack knife and is stupid sharp. I guess the previous owner convexed the edge (or is this the original grind?), but whatever was done to it, it really suits the blade. It slices like crazy. Anyway, this one will be in my pocket for the next couple of days -while trying not to cut myself since it has such a strong pull and snap ànd sharp blades-. I'm really pleased with this one, for sure.
The Case in closed position:
Opened with main blade:
Close up of the stamping:
Pen blade opened up:
So these are the 3 knives I welcomed in the mail the last couple of weeks and I really enjoyed the anticipation and their arrival. I'm going to cut back on expenses for now and just see how these guys fit me and to see if (more like: how much) I will like them. First I'll probably be cleaning them up decently and resharpening the blades that need it, so that will keep me busy for the near future.
I am fancying a Congress patterned blade though... But I'll stay strong and just wait a while for now
.I hope you guys enjoyed it! Any comments and/or additional information on these blades are very welcome! I'd love to learn more about 'em.
Cheers,
Jerry
).
