Match the fit and finish to the knife

[Amos Iron Wolf]

Looking at the photo below and concentrating on the spring to liner fit and the finish/fitting on the springs and bolsters on the right side of the pic, can you tell which one is

1.) Canal Street

2.) Schrade USA

3.) Chinese made Remington

All are trappers.

So match em up. Try to focus on the criteria.
(Top knife to bottom in the pic)

A. =

B. =

C. =

 

[berzerker]

1 B

2 C

3 A

 

[waynorth]

A= China
B=CSC
C=Schrade

 

[Broos]

China
Schrade
CSC

I cheated by basing my Schrade geuss on something else

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

Good eyes there fellas. The knives are:

Remington China made trapper

Canal Street Cutlery 213234 Trapper in D2

Schrade 97OT Buzzsaw Trapper from the end of days.

While the scale to liner fit on the Schrade looks gappy, it is just the dark color of the inside surface of the Delrin scales. The fitting on this 'End of Days' knife is really superb both between the liners and the springs, and the liners and the scales. In fact fit is tight all around on it. The blade is very sharp with no wobble. Which is probably why Broos picked the Schrade as the CSC. The Schrade is better fit. Less polish on the metal, but better fit overall. The CSC has a little better finish overall though.

So, I'm not in awe over my first CSC, but it should be a first rate carry knife.

 

[Gramps]

My old eyes see :
- Surprising precision milling and fit in the Chinese Remington.
- Typical beefy construction in the "authentic" Schrade...they weren't in every average "Joe's" pocket throughout the 60's, 70's and '80 by accident.....and you could find'em in almost every hardware store across the nation for less than $20....the Uncle Henry's would cost you about $9 more ! The saw cut delrin handles on the Old Timers may have not been particularly fetching,
but the carbon steel blades would cut like nobody's business....and that night you could bring the edge right back up to shaving sharpness on your bench-stone in minutes. OK...enough about Old Timers...from this Old Timer !
- The CSC looks sloppy and unfinished, from the photo.....I'm certain from another angle there is much to admire !
It would be interesting to add a present day WR Case to the comparison......from what I can tell, these days they're pretty good . Have you all seen the dark red jigged CV models....for about $40 you could put a fairly handsome American made carbon steel slipjoint in your pocket, and I believe, have a pretty fair "user"......but why the heck don't they make a CV dark red in the canoe pattern ???.....I'm with waynorth; I like to carry a canoe.They're "easy" on the pocket.

...just my 2 cents.......and with inflation, worth less than a penny !

-Regards to everyone !

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

Gramps, both that Schrade 97OT and a blank scaled SC550 stockman, also an end of days production, both show superb fit and finish. Maybe I'm being picky, but one of the first things I look at is the fit and finish between liners, springs, and scales. That Chi-made Remington, as you noted, has some solid fitting there. The action on the Rem is a bit weaker than I like. Sadly, the Remington and the CSC feel about the same, with the exception that on the CSC it takes a bit more push to start the knife closing. So the springs hold reasonably on the CSC when open.

I kind of use the two Schrades as a standard of fit. I expect that type of fitting on a higher end knife, but I don't see it. I realize that once you start polishing things can get rounded and dipped. However, I consider being able to get a nice polish without sacrificing the fitting to be what separates the masters from the wannabes. To be fair, the jaggies on the CSC in the above photo are scanner induced. But there is some gapping there. Looking at my Boker Candy Stripe stockman the Boker also has very nice fitting.

Here is a comparison of a 2005 Case Bluegrass Trapper with the CSC. I scanned them vertically to try and eliminate the jaggies. I apologize as the scanner is a bit dirty. I need to pull it apart for a good cleaning sometime soon. The scratches on the Case are real and the brass liner has tarnished some from having carried it unsheated in my pocket plenty of times.

I actually paid more for the Case, but that's because it was engraved by a gentleman in Kansas. The going rate on the regular Bluegrass Trapper is in the $40-50 range. Which is what I got the CSC for on ebay.

The Case has a little better fit than the CSC and a better action. On the flip side, the CSC is D2, seriously sharp out of the box, verses the Case SS. Not to say the Case isn't sharp. Though if comparing CSCs regular steel we're basically talking 420HC on the Case, and some kind of 420 on the CSC. The CSC has a nice rounded finish to it though and is a little better carry than the Case, though the Case has seen a fair bit of carry. It would be interesting to compare a Case Pocket Worn trapper against the CSC.

I'll have to agree with Gramps that with a new production Case you get a real good balance of knife and money. The CV stuff is excellent. To be honest, I can't complain about the SS stuff either. I have a Bone Stag Russlock that came shaving sharp with great F&F. I've carried and used it a bit and the blade holds an edge well. I think you get the best value for your dollar in a new Case. Especially when I see people talking about how many times they had to send their Queen/S&M/CSC back to get one that was right.

I've been lucky so far that out of seven Queens, two used, only one has been disappointing. I have a S&M trapper coming in today so that will make three S&Ms. I'll have to let you know how the new one is. The other two are Charlie's SFO harness jacks and we already know those are darn fine knives.

Okay, I'll shaddup now.