Just got my first Stockman!

[Crayola]

Well folks, it is a milestone event for me. My first knife was a very mini copy of a Buck 110 that my father bought me at the fair when I wasw little. ALmost all of my knives since then have been modern fixed blades, or tac folders. 2 years ago I bought my first SAK and I love it!! Cool! But still, I never "got" traditional blades. Small, look old, eh... not for me! Until I think it was a Doc pattern that I happenned to notice in a knife mag. I'm sure I had seen them lots, but one day I actually noticed it, and fell in love. So, I starded learning about all kinds of slipjoints and other traditional blades.

And today, thanks in no small part to Buzzbait't whittling thread and Gos' constant chatting about traditional pieces, I got a Schrade Old Timer stockman from WalMart! I sharpened up the sheepsfoot blade and man is it ever sharp. Laser sharp! This very fine knife will ride along with my Buck/Strider to do the finer chores, and to whittle. Stockmans are real fun knives to use!

So, YAY Schrade!

 

[Bastid]

You picked a nice one Cray. Hope you enjoy using it for years to come.

 

[Crayola]

Thanks Bastid!

Cool thing too is that I think I've found a bew kind of knife I want to collect. I collect fighters and military knives (well, that is what I tell myself! My collection is one, yes ONE knife!). But these slipjoints... there a zillion different ones. Brands, blade shapes, scale material, patterns, etc. And many of them are really inexpensive.

Thanks for all the info you've passed on to me, bastid!

 

[Mongo]

Collecting slipjoints? Whatareyacrazy? Yeah, too many patterns for one, and too many choices within each pattern. I bought one stockman once upon a time... now I have 5! Then I got a Dr. pattern. Now I gotta have a wharnie whittler, a canoe, trapper, the list goes on.
You will love your stockman... what a versatile knife pattern. They are sheeple friendly too. I like the carbon blades with 1095 steel. Takes a nice toothy edge. My others are Queens in D2. Not too bad... the first two were a chore to reprofile because they came kinda dull, but the later ones I bought came nearly as sharp as I like 'em. I guess they (Queen) have been listening to their feedback.
Have fun, Mongo

 

[Dr van Nostrom]

Nice one Crayola. You are off to a good start.The stockman is my favorite as a collector and a user. When I first started collecting knives I started to buy one of everything - I guess to see what I really liked. After I got my first stockman that all changed. I knew I loved slipjoints and particularly stockman. You may find in time you end up carrying only a slipjoint - a good stockman really can handle a lot of tasks.
I agree with Mongo, it is a slippery slope. Been collecting stockman for over a year now and recently bought my first Canoe. Now there's a nice knife....

 

[Bobwhite]

You picked a classic. That thing will last a lot longer than you think I'll bet.

 

[db]

Yeah Cray your doomed. I love my stockmans and out of all of them my OT still gets almost all the carry time. The new Queen D2 one is giving it a run for carry time however. You will be surprsed how darn useful the stockman is.

 

[glennbad]

An excellent choice, and the OT will not break the bank, or make you cry like a baby if you break it somehow.

I agree with most that the stockman is a great pattern, in fact, the tops in my collection. BTW, if you think those blades are sharp, get a hold of an older sj with carbon blades. I especially go after schrade waldens. Carbon is tougher to keep in shape, but IMHO, gives a better edge.(The carbon vs. stainless debate is one for the ages, and mostly a matter of preference.)

I, like yourself, started out with just one stockman, a schrade walden 3-blade that belonged to my grandfather. It was pristine, with little noticeable use. It was all downhill from there, as I now collect 2-3 each of a particular model I come across, all older ones.

Well, whatever brand you carry or collect, enjoy and use them.

 

[Don Luis]

Good choice. I got caught in the "whittling thread" too and just made a little spoon on saturday. I use to whittle a lot in my teens, some 30+ years ago, I had forgotten the feeling of the wood, the texture, the shape coming out ... nice.

That Schrade will serve you well, I´ve owned three Carbon Schrade stockmans and other than once breaking a tip from abuse they never gave me problems. I ended up giving two of them away, and replaced them with Uncle Henry (for the comfort of stainless, but 1095 is better for whittling), only kept one that belonged to my father in law, it´s all worn out because he never cared for it but I´ve taken it out of the drawer and will be using it.

You will want more stockmans, for whittling with fine edges and for EDC/utility with stronger edges, I don´t collect but have about a dozen.