Knife Terminology

[El Lobo]

Nice knives Blues...:thumbup::thumbup:...beauties!!

How about a Slimline...Slightly Serpentine...Single Blade...Trapper

Bill

 

[Blues]

Nice one, El Lobo.

I got one of these from a forum compadre who was nice enough to have Tom Krein put a super edge on it first. (The image is just the generic knife, not my knife.)

 

[waynorth]

I KNOW someone has an old Case stag trapper!! And someone also has a mini (07 pattern?). Drag 'em out here guys.
Those big'uns are cool, Blues! And Cargill's knife is nice also, Bill!
I've been lying to you guys! I do have a trapper after all. It was in my trade roll, headed for Oregon. I just forgot!

 

[smiling-knife]

Would this knife be considered a single blade 'trapper' ? It is 5 inches closed made by Graham Clayton of Sheffield circa 1990.

 

[waynorth]

I would say yes. Especially since it is easier to say "trapper", than it is to say "flared bolstered swell center regular jack"! That's a big one! Nice knife s-k!

 

[smiling-knife]

Thanks for the response waynorth. It has some similarities with the Schrade 97OT.

 

[El Lobo]

S-K...

Where did you get that knife???
That is an unusual knife my friend. Here is a 97OT...

http://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/newOT/pages/97OT.htm

Still a cool knife sir, and maybe one of a kind. But...???

Bill

P. S.
Just caught me off guard. No harm/malice meant in any way. I apologize if it looked like that.

 

[smiling-knife]

Hi El Lobo and thanks for the response. No malice or harm at all perceived on my part. It looks like a one-bladed version of your knife. I bought a small lot of 10 knives that worked out to a few pounds each and this was one of them. There were two Schrades in the lot, this and an all white-handled stockman too. I don't know much about schrade knives so did not realise this one was unusual.

 

[waynorth]

The Whittler!
Generally, the term Whittler refers to a type of construction of a pocket knife. Made for work, it usually has some size, although there are several "Sunday" knives that share the configuration, in a more delicate format. I will leave it to you my friends, whether to call them whittlers, or not!
Most whittlers have two backsprings, with a large blade at one end of the knife, riding on both springs, and two smaller blades riding (one each) the other end of the springs. Much more difficult to fit together than a simple Jack, a whittler showcases the cutler's art, and was often a premium purchase.
Several handle shapes were used for whittlers; serpentine, sleeveboard, equal end, balloon and more.
Sometimes a long slim wedge separated the backsprings, like an extra liner. Others were constructed with parallel springs, and a few with tapered springs (much more rare).
Here are some modern Schatt&Morgan takes on the Balloon whittler;

Here are some more Balloons, with a slim sleeveboard at the bottom;

These two show you the difference between parallel and tapered backsprings, both without wedges;

These final pictures show you old and new Case serpentine whittlers, with wedged backsprings, and incidentally show a Redbone comparison (don't get distracted now)!

So if you have any interesting variations, please post them! There are tons more that fall into this category.

 

[smiling-knife]

I like the whittler pattern. You have many very nice examples waynorth. Thanks for showing them. I don't know if this is unusual but it is a nice pearly sleeveboard whittler IMO.

 

[waynorth]

Real nice, s-k! A gentleman's (woman's) whittler. What's the length on that one, please?

 

[smiling-knife]

Real nice, s-k! A gentleman's (woman's) whittler. What's the length on that one, please?

Thank-you for your feedback waynorth. The knife is 3.25 inches closed.

 

[waynorth]

Perfect for the opera! Thanks s-k!

 

[stockman242]

Great knifes as always.
waynorth, nice essay and documentary pictures on the whittler pattern.
And I just love the wedged/tapered backsprings, I wish case would still make them.

 

[smiling-knife]

This is a Victorian Corn Knife. It was used for cutting the corns on one's feet.

 

[thawk]

The corns put a nice patina on that one S-K. Looks to have done quite a few feet in it's day.

 

[waynorth]

Nice knife s-k! I would call that a curved regular Jack. The "corn" blades are usually thin and very sharp, and scare the bejeezus out of my toes!!!

 

[ken erickson]

Charlie,

Do you think that "corn" blades by and large were hollow or flat ground?

Ken

 

[waynorth]

Ken, I only own one, and haven't seen too many. Mine is a salesman's sample, so I think it has the factory grind. It looks flat with a straightedge held against it, and feels flat to the finger.
What is unusual is it is ground to a zero edge! Tony Bose pointed that condition out to me on some blades he sent me to CF and CE! The blade has a perfect wedge cross section, except for the barest honed edge. As a result, it cuts like a razor, but is probably relatively fragile, compared to other pocket blades.
I'd love to know what the Rockwell is. Does anyone know how hard razor blades are?
Maybe a "corn" is the same.

 

[Rivit]

I haven't checked this thread in a while and I just reread the whole thing. Here is the stag Case trapper Waynorth asked for. - Dan