Looking to buy new stockman, opinions wanted.

Y

yam

Joined
Sep 17, 2003
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I'm in the market for a new stockman, nothing fancy and right around $50.00 (plus or minus). Closed length approximately 4", decent steel, handle material is last on my list of concerns, this will be a user so fit and finish should be decent as well. Speaking of the steel, it does not have to be the newest "super" steel, though it's ok to have it too.

My Candidates thus far are:

Queen Cutlery Cattle King model QN49CSB
Queen Cutlery Large Stockman model QN9CSB
Buck model 301 (US made, not the chinese manufactured ones)
Case Yellow Handle model 3375
Camillus Yello-Jaket model CM-711Y

I'm kind of leaning towards the Queen Cutlery knives as I have read some nice things about their quality and yes D2 is appealing (I have no problems sharpening D2).

Though there is something about the Bucks that really kind of gets me too, well ..... the US made ones do.

The Case and Camillus ones I'm kind of luke warm to.

Comments, opinions?
Mike
 
I recently picked up a Queen large stockman and really like it. The rounded bolsters make for a nice comfortable ride. Fit and finish is fine for a user. The main blade was ground way too thick for me, so I reprofiled it, which took a bit of work, but now it's very good. The other two blades were ground much thinner and were easy to sharpen to a much lower angle, which I recommend - the factory edge is very obtuse. I love the D2, it holds an edge way longer than my Bucks.

I notice that the Chinese-made Bucks are 440C rather than 420HC, but I don't know how good the heat treat is. If it's decent, then they might be worth reconsidering. I'm not even sure what steel my old Buck Stockman is, since I believe that they were all farmed out at the time I got mine in 1974. It seems to hold an edge about as well as my other Bucks with 420HC.

Gordon
 
Of the ones you listed, the Queen's would be my first choice.

If you don't mind the larger size and square bolsters, the Cattle King would be hard to beat, a Stockman that size can handle darn near any daily cutting task you encounter.


gaj999, if your Buck Stockman does indeed date from 1974, then it was a Camillus contract knife. But I have never been able to get a definitive answer as to what steel they use in them, mine perform well also, but I have always wanted to know what steel was used myself.
 
mnblade said:
Assuming you don't mind carbon steel (and let's face it ...... real men prefer it! ;) ) then check out one of these new Bokers.
Click to expand...

I have considered knives with 1095 blades. I don't have an aversion to discolored blades or sharpening more often. I have looked at the Camillus #63 and a few others. Man, the search is both fun and frustrating all at once ..... mostly fun though. Those Bokers look nice too.

Mike
 
I stopped collecting knives early this year, I only buy knives that I am going to use, except for stockman knives. I have a Cold Steel small stockman, two Schrades, a Case amber bone stockman and the Chinese Buck versions. My 301 Chinese version is a real champ, and I've looked at many brand new 301's before I just bought the Chinese versions because they were a bargain. I would go with the large Buck if you're going to use it. No idea what steel it is, but if the Chinese made ones are this good, I'd like to see what the US made ones are capable of.
 
Gotta put a plug in for one of the all time best stockmen, the venerable Schrade Old Timer 8OT, it fits your bill perfectly. Lots of them available on ebay, usually for alot less than 50$ in new condition. 4in. closed with 3 1095 carbon steel blades, its been a benchmark for working stockmen for years. If you go this route, be careful to get a real USA made Schrade and not one of the China madeTaylor-brands with stainless.
 
the Queens are really nice, but the #49 is really big. I think that camillus has a Gran'pa line tha should be close to the schrades. I've been interested about the camillus yello-jaket line also. Check out moore maker-Camillus and queen make their knives, so if they have a detail that you like, you know where they come from.
 
Yam:

I got a Cattle King recently in carved stag bone. This is an excellent knife, but it has square bolsters which tend to wear on the hands/pockets. Also, I have pretty well decided that the cocobolo scales are more comfortable in the hand than CSB. If I was going to get another Queen stockman, it would be the 4" Large Stockman (round bolsters) with cocobolo scales.

You may want to take a look at that Moore Maker #5304 also. Blades on this knife are exactly the same length as the Cattle King's though the handle (actually 4 3/8" by my ruler) is a hair longer. Also the bolsters are round and smooth bone handles feel very good in the hand.

The 1095 v. D2 question isn't really that critical. Both take about the same edge IMHO, and the D2 holds it a little longer while the 1095 strops up a little faster. Both are good, but right now the #5304 is what I'm carrying around with me. www.cumberlandknifeworks.com ships mighty fast and is about as cheap as I've found.
 
Check out German Eye Brand/ Carl Schlieper. I have a stag 4" stockman with carbon blades as my EDC. Great knife. The fit and finish may be a little rough compared to a Queen, but it is a solid knife that is not going to fail you.
 
I am also looking for a medium stockman +/- 3.5 inches. I think I may go with Queen. I currently only own one "traditional" pattern and that is a Queen large toothpick. I am looking forward to having a small traditional multi-blade.
 
Case's medium stockman is nice. Avaliable with amber bone or yellow scales with cv blades. :thumbup:
 
Of the ones you list, my first choice would be the Queen #9 (I usually have one of those in my pocket). If you like carbon steel, you can also look at Eye Brand, Case Cr-V, or Kissing Crane. The Kissing Crane 4" stockman is a great knife, and I like my Eye Brand stockmans a lot, too.
 
Ok, thanks for all of your input on this, all really good comments here. I have narrowed it down between two similar and at the same time different knives. They are the Moore Maker Buffalo Stockman #2301 (1095 blade steel) and the Queen Large Stockman carved stag bone handle QN9CSB (D2 blade steel).

They are both 4" closed length (perfect for me), both have the rounded bolters which will be a little easier for wear and tear on my pockets. From what I have read, both would probably be quality knives right out of the box (possibly a little sharpening but thats fine). Since I would have to order one no matter what I got, this is an important consideration. Their are no stockmans from any major manufacture within 40 miles of my house, one pitfall of small town life.

It now comes down to the blade steel. I have a Cabelas Benchmade Mini-Grip in D2 which I really like. Holds a nice edge for a decent amount of time and you can have a relatively thin profile if you want. I have a couple of carbon steel pocket knives and kitchen knives. I kind of like the discoloration that eventually befalls the carbon steel blades. It takes me the same amount of time to sharpen any of my knives. An EdgePro and never letting them get that bad in the first place helps me out here.

So fellahs, I want your gut, knee-jerk, emotional response without regard to logic or science. Which one of these should be my next stockman user? No explanation necessary, just blurt it out loud and proud.

Mike
 
Yam:

I would go with the Moore Maker. The Buffalo handled knives are made by Camillus as I recall, and Queen makes the bone handled ones. However, I like the way that horn stockman's nail nicks are set up. The clip blade has the nick farther down the blade which would make it easier to open. Also, the nicks on the clip and sheepsfoot blades are on opposite sides. On my yellow bone MM stockman, they are on the same side of the blades, and this limits how far you can adjust the depth of the sheepsfoot. If you drop it too low, the nail nick is covered by the clip blade.

You may not have this problem, but on every stockman I have received so far, it was necessary to file down the kick on the Sheepsfoot blade to keep it from sticking out like a shark fin. Very easy adjustment to make - if the kicks are located to allow it.
 
yam said:
So fellahs, I want your gut, knee-jerk, emotional response without regard to logic or science. Which one of these should be my next stockman user? No explanation necessary, just blurt it out loud and proud.

Mike
Click to expand...

Queen. I suspect that all of the responses will fall into the carbon/stainless camps. Personally, I'd prefer carbon if I could get it at RC 63-64.

Gordon
 
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