Looking for a more traditional carry knife

T

tique

Joined
Oct 28, 2000
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970
Howdy, title pretty much sums up what I'm looking for. I want to stick to production for now, but may venture into custom if I like it enough. I'm looking for a more traditional folder to add to the EDC rotation, just to get something other than a Ti handled tactical... I love the one's I've got, but something different might spice it up a little. I'm eyeing Queen right now as the lead contender, since I'm a fan of D2. My one catch is that I'm scared :o of slipjoints, so I can't bring myself to look at anything but the locking patterns. Had a bad experience a good while back that left me with a nice reminder of why I stay away from them.

What are the top end production traditional lock blades? Is Queen a good bet? I'd like to get one pretty quick, so I know if I want to spend some time seriously looking at some of the customs at Blade or not.
 
I'd like to suggest you take a look at a Spyderco Kiwi as a nice transition knife between tactical to traditional. It is in my opinion one of the nicest production knife made for the price, rock solid, excellent fit and finish, with a very positive sheeple factor.
 
The BUCK 110's and 112's are about as classic as they come. They are affordable so trying one out really isn't a big risk.
 
The Spyderco Kiwi is a good one. You may want to try an Al Mar Osprey or Hawk too.
 
Ok, you NEED a Kiwi. It's just so good looking!! :D :eek: :D

If you want a non-onehander though the Buck 110 or 112 is as classic as they come.

Why so afraid of slip-joints? I haven't carried a locking knife for the past two weeks. All you have to do is keep a finger on the choil and you're fine.
-Kevin
 
Since you've been looking at the Queen slipjoints, I'll put in my .02 for the Winterbottom Cattle King stockman. It's nice to look at, and on mine at least... all 3 blades came with a pretty decent edge. The size of the knife inspires confidence for just about any cutting task, and it's appearance is "tool-like" and therefor sheeple friendly. Out of all my slipjoints, this one is my absolute favorite. I like Queen's jigged black cherry delrin too... kinda neet to look at.
Two others that I have are also mighty nice... one is the Camillus carbon series stockman. It has faux jigged bone delrin handles that are kinda ugly, but I love the 1095 steel and the toothy edge you can put on it. It is more of the standard stockman size, yet more than adequate for your cutting needs. The other one is a Camillus swell center whittler with 1095 blades. A little smaller than the stockman, and makes a fantastic whittler. Too bad my abilities cannot do it justice.
I'll even toss in a little positive juju for my Opinel no. 8. Carbon blade steel that is flat ground with a convexed edge. This knife slices like the dickens!
Let us know what you get, and have fun on your quest.
Mongo
 
The kiwi just doesn't do it for me. I'm not a big fan of jigged bone, stag and wood are good, but the jigged bone thing never really caught my eye. Along the idea of the kiwi though, a Mnandi might end up getting the bid.

I'll have to look a bit into the Kellam knives. I am familliar with the name, but haven't had a chance to play with any of them.

Gotta love the Opinel's. I use a #8 down in the shop when working on sheaths all the time, it's an amazing knife for the price.

I got to play with some Queen's today. Hopefully I can find some more to look at before making a decision, but there was a Cocobolo Gunstock that was calling my name :) All the Queen's that I saw had at least servicable edges on them, perhaps not the best in the world, but reasonable for a factory job. The blade tension(guess thats the right word) didn't seem to be very uniform from knife to knife though, even in the same style. Some were pretty stiff, some had nice snap, some just felt kinda weak and mushy.

The fear of slip joints was a bit exaggerated on my side. I just have a nice scar from a whittling incident when I was a good bit younger. I don't even remember exactly what I did to cause the knife to close on my finger, just remember pulling the knife off :eek: instead of opening the blade back up and seeing lots of blood flowing, wasn't my brightest moment.
 
dylan_d said:
The Spyderco Kiwi is a good one. You may want to try an Al Mar Osprey or Hawk too.
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How are the Al Mars as far as QC go? Do you need to go over them yourself like slip-joints or is it safe to order them from a reputable online dealer like New Graham for instance? Thanks!
 
I wish I could tell you, but I've never handled one. I've just heard good things about them.
 
another vote for the Opinels....get one anyway, regardless of what else you got. Handy, dandy little knives....easy to make handle mods to, too. ;)
 
How about a hand made knife in use for hundreds of years at the price of a regular production knife? Look at www.laguiole-french-knives.com/ I've actually never seen one in real life, but did order one yesterday for a friend.
I'm familiar with the 12-c-27 steel (Sandvik) and it is excellent in my opinion.
They build your knife only on placing the order and it takes 2-3 weeks to build and 2-3 weeks to deliver via postal system. If I remember, each knife has over 150 separate steps, all done by hand, all regulated by a body of laws/regulations going back to the crusades. After I recieve the one I ordered yesterday, if I like it. I intend to order 5 to give as gifts at Christmas.
I'm not in love with the French but the knife was different enough to interest me. Best regards and have a great day.
 
tique said:
I'm looking for a more traditional folder to add to the EDC rotation, just to get something other than a Ti handled tactical... I love the one's I've got, but something different might spice it up a little. I'm eyeing Queen right now as the lead contender, since I'm a fan of D2. My one catch is that I'm scared :o of slipjoints, so I can't bring myself to look at anything but the locking patterns. Had a bad experience a good while back that left me with a nice reminder of why I stay away from them. [end quote]
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tique said:
Don't like slip joints, huh? How about a Barlow without a slip joint?

Barlow linerlock
Click to expand...
 
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