Knife Terminology

Those are some really fine knives Charlie...awesome!

Here are a couple of variations.....


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Bill
 
:thumbup:Ok Charlie keep the info coming "veterans" and you got 32 hundred posts+:rolleyes: all you people have it going here I'm indebted to all in these forums Thanks soooo! much. :D
 
Stroker, I wasn't even paying attention!! 3200++ posts!
I gotta give something away!!
Thanks for the variations Lobo! A sowbelly, and a 5-blade!
 
This is a 'Premium Stock Knife' circa 1900 give or take a few years. Made by J. S. Holler of Solingen and imported by Adolph Blaich of San Francisco.

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Great Premium Stock Knife, s-k! You know, if all knives had similar markings, we wouldn't be having this conversation!!;)
How long is that one, please??
 
Thanks very much stockman and waynorth. It does make the identification process much easier :-). It is 3 7/8 inches long waynorth.
 
http://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/KeenKutter/KeenKutter.htm

I believe a fairly new entry on the Schrade collectors site... Larry Vickery's outstanding work. There are some reference pages regarding knife terminology, patterns, handle materials, shields, blade types, etc. in this Keen Kutter 1917 era catalog, and it compliments this thread nicely. I am finding it extremely interesting.

It is hard to believe there were so many patterns of hand made knives at that time. On the pattern example page there are 12 different jack knife patterns alone. This catalog is a testament to the old addage: "They don't make em' like they used to."
 
Nice reference thawk! Larry has done us all a great service with his website, an ongoing service I might add!
BTW, there is also a great KeenKutter book by Alvin Sellens called "KEEN KUTTER POCKET KNIVES" which has virtually all the Keens ever produced! Nicely printed and layed out. Worth the $20!
 
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Bolsters are the component of a knife handle that creates a heavier support for the pivot pin of the blade(s). They also protect the end of the handle from damage from an impact that could chip the handle material, as in an inadvertant drop. Bolsters are also part of the aesthetic appeal of a knife and are often decorated with special grinds and engravings.

Caps are a decorative and protective addition to a knife handle and are found on single blade and jack knives. As with bolsters, they help protect the end of the handle from damage. Caps are also treated in the same way as bolsters in the various ways that they can be made fancy
 
Good information, of course, and nice examples! :thumbup::thumbup:

I'm feeling some SERIOUS envy over that Stockman. What a beauty!!

Bill
 
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On the left is a dogleg jack with caps and bolsters and the same pattern in a barehead version is on the right. "Barehead" is synonymous with "no caps".

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Here is a single blade trapper shadow pattern. "Shadow" is synonymous with "no bolsters or caps".
 
Great knives Kerry.... I particularly like the jack knife. I always called them double bolsters butt the cap makes more sense. A knife with no bolster is a barehead as exemplified by this sinister looking knife.

oops!!! I stand corrected. Shadow pattern then.

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my english could be better... so,

did i understand that correctly: a sowbelly is a sub-category of the stockman pattern?

i know what a coping blade looks like. but what was (is) it used for? what does "coping" in connection with "blade" mean?

thanks,
hans

btw, very interesting and informative thread for a slipjoint newbie like me!
 
The "sowbelly" is actually a variation on the theme of the serpentine or premium stock pattern.

The blade configuration can vary. You can have a sowbelly "Moose" or a sowbelly "Stockman" by way of example.
 
brightred said:
my english could be better... so,

did i understand that correctly: a sowbelly is a sub-category of the stockman pattern?

i know what a coping blade looks like. but what was (is) it used for? what does "coping" in connection with "blade" mean?

thanks,
hans

btw, very interesting and informative thread for a slipjoint newbie like me!
Click to expand...
Hello Hans!
A COPING blade is usually a straight, relatively thin blade for use in shaving moldings to fit, in carpentry. When you join a decorative molding at a corner, for instance, to a achieve a good tight fit, you trace an outline of the profile on the piece you are fitting, cut it with a COPING saw, then trim it with a COPING blade for the final fit.
The thin blade helps you shave inside a curve for that final fit. You can also use files and sandpaper to help achieve a good joint, but an experienced finish carpenter can do it all with the saw and a coping blade, for a fit that is much superior to a miter joint, on complex (i.e: crown) moldings.
Here are some pictures of a Queen whittler with a nicely designed COPING blade.
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Those close-ups I do are brutal! Show every flaw! Note the "slip" near the choil on that Queen whittler. It won't affect the function; that knife has D-2 blades, and Delrin handles, and is ready to WORK, but that little ding wouldn't be acceptable on a custom knife.
Speaking of which, thanks for the definition work on Bolsters versus Caps, Kerry! Nice examples!
 
While we still have premium stock knives nearby, here's a knife that I think of as a derivative of a stockman. It has the same handle profile, and a clip master blade, and a spey blade which is a stock person's tool. But it only has one backspring, and is missing the third blade that would put it in Premium Stockman territory.
O.K, O.K, it's not a two blade Stock knife; but some reptilian part of my brain wants to call it that.
Schrade calls it a Texas Jack in their Catalog E published in 1926. So let's segue on into;
TEXAS JACKS!
Here's one, as defined by Schrade;
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Great Texas jack-almost looks like a moose pattern. Here is the Case version of a Texas Jack:
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BRL defines the Texas Jack or Moose as a large, usually 3 7/8" or larger knife with a heavy clip blade as the master and a spey or spear point as the secondary blade.
Most are based on the serpentine/premium stock pattern. (The heavy clip is wider/beefier than the elongated clip point blade that usually is found on a trapper.)

He also shows (in LG IV) a sowbelly Texas Jack by Primble with clip and spey blades which is essentially the same pattern as the "Moose" by Moore Maker.

BRL does not differentiate between the Texas Jack and Moose in LG IV, however Steven Dick, in The Working Folding Knife, attributes the Texas Jack moniker to those knives which feature the spear point, and the "Moose" as those featuring a spey as the secondary blade.
 
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