Moore Maker #5304 Stockman - 4.5"

C

cliff355

Joined
Apr 19, 2003
Messages
1,232
This past week I received a #5304 Moore Maker Stockman from www.cumberlandknifeworks.com. It came two days after the order was placed, which is typical for this dealer.

This Stockman has the smooth bone handles and is aparently made by Queen. Blades are exactly the same length as the Queen Cattle King, but have a different shape which I find more appealing. Also, the handle is 1/4" longer than the Cattle King when closed. Walk and talk is good, and the knife is very well finished.

One thing I noticed is the tangs do not stick far enough out of the handle when folded to cause a problem. On typical Queens, I usually have to round them off a bit with an India stone to prevent wear and tear on the hands.

If you have ever been put off by the description of the "yellow bone" handles on these Moore Makers, there is no need for hesitation. They are not "high viz" yellow by any means, and if anything make the knife look more like an antique.

The smooth handles, low tang protrusion and round bolsters make this the most comfortable slipjoint of this size I have handled so far. I'm new to the 1095 carbon blades, but they take an absolute razor edge and appear to hold it for an acceptable while.

Anyway, I highly recommend this knife and dealer if you have been looking for a big stockman. I'm mighty pleased.
 
Yeah that is one hell of a stockman. I purchased over a dozen Moore Makers from Cumberland, most for my collection, including the 5304 in jigged yellow bone.

I have picked several of them as EDC's, including the 5-blade sowbelly (Moore Maker calls it the serpentine).....awesome knife, comfortable to carry despite its thickness having 3 springs for the 5 blades. Feels great in the hand which is the allure of the sowbelly design.

The 5304 is the finest large stockman made today, IMHO.

I find that the 1095 steel in the Moore Makers is a little tought to sharpen (as it should be, for proper edge holding it should be hard steel)....but it takes a finer edge than I can get on the Queen D2 or 420HC.
 
knifeaholic said:
Yeah that is one hell of a stockman. I purchased over a dozen Moore Makers from Cumberland, most for my collection, including the 5304 in jigged yellow bone.

I have picked several of them as EDC's, including the 5-blade sowbelly (Moore Maker calls it the serpentine).....awesome knife, comfortable to carry despite its thickness having 3 springs for the 5 blades. Feels great in the hand which is the allure of the sowbelly design.

The 5304 is the finest large stockman made today, IMHO.

I find that the 1095 steel in the Moore Makers is a little tought to sharpen (as it should be, for proper edge holding it should be hard steel)....but it takes a finer edge than I can get on the Queen D2 or 420HC.
Click to expand...

Knifeaholic, what do you use to sharpen the Mooremakers? I have found on some of their knives--the bigger ones--it is a little difficult to sharpen them, but really not a big deal. I don't know why the bigger blades should be more difficult to sharpen as it should be the same steel in all of their models.
 
cliff355 said:
This past week I received a #5304 Moore Maker Stockman from www.cumberlandknifeworks.com. It came two days after the order was placed, which is typical for this dealer.

This Stockman has the smooth bone handles and is aparently made by Queen. Blades are exactly the same length as the Queen Cattle King, but have a different shape which I find more appealing. Also, the handle is 1/4" longer than the Cattle King when closed. Walk and talk is good, and the knife is very well finished.

One thing I noticed is the tangs do not stick far enough out of the handle when folded to cause a problem. On typical Queens, I usually have to round them off a bit with an India stone to prevent wear and tear on the hands.

If you have ever been put off by the description of the "yellow bone" handles on these Moore Makers, there is no need for hesitation. They are not "high viz" yellow by any means, and if anything make the knife look more like an antique.

The smooth handles, low tang protrusion and round bolsters make this the most comfortable slipjoint of this size I have handled so far. I'm new to the 1095 carbon blades, but they take an absolute razor edge and appear to hold it for an acceptable while.

Anyway, I highly recommend this knife and dealer if you have been looking for a big stockman. I'm mighty pleased.
Click to expand...


The 5304 is a great knife. What you will find is that on the Mooremaker stockmans with the round bolsters, the tangs do not stick up very far. On the other hand, on the model 5302 with the square bolsters, they do stick up enough to be a problem. I carry my 5303 in a sheath anyway, it is a bit bulky to carry in a pocket.
 
Pickupman;

I can get the "basic" edge on a Moore Maker using a coarse/fine Norton India stone followed by soft arkansas....it does seem to take a LOT of strokes.

Getting the final edge to "scary sharpness" I had to resort to a extra fine DMT diamond hone.

Interesting that I had the biggest problem putting the edge on the small blades, like the secondary blades on the whittler pattern.
 
knifeaholic said:
Pickupman;

I can get the "basic" edge on a Moore Maker using a coarse/fine Norton India stone followed by soft arkansas....it does seem to take a LOT of strokes.

Getting the final edge to "scary sharpness" I had to resort to a extra fine DMT diamond hone.

Interesting that I had the biggest problem putting the edge on the small blades, like the secondary blades on the whittler pattern.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info.
 
pickupman said:
Knifeaholic, what do you use to sharpen the Mooremakers?
Click to expand...

Pickupman:

I profiled and sharpened on a DMT fine/xtra fine diamond stone - one of those with the plastic holder with rubber feet. The edge bevel was reduced quite a bit since I don't do really heavy cutting with pocket-type knives, and final finish was put on with green honing compound and a leather strop/slipstick.

This process scratches up the "mirror finish" they buff on, but I don't care much for all that shine and would have sanded it off anyway.
 
I have four moore maker stockmans (horn handled ones made by camillus for them). I use a leather barbers strop, works wonders, and keeps the blade nice and pretty :D !!!
 
rev_jch said:
I have four moore maker stockmans (horn handled ones made by camillus for them). I use a leather barbers strop, works wonders, and keeps the blade nice and pretty :D !!!
Click to expand...


Rev;

I bought one of the small stockman patterns in horn, wanting to use it as an EDC. The quality is super, but the horn handles are very thick and "boxy"....much more so than on any other slipjoint that I have owned. so much so that I won't be keeping it as a carry knife.

Wondering if I got a "fluke" or if yours are that way? Which models do you have?

Thanks
 
I have four of the 2301 stockmans. I think they are great! True the horn is smooth, but it has not presented a problem. As far as being "boxy", one of the ones I have, the handles are a little thick, but the other three are fine. Still the one that is thick, seems okay none the less. Still its a great knife! If you will not carry it for that reason, you really are cheating yourself from a great edc!!!

Have you tried carrying it for a couple weeks to see if you change your mind?
 
When I opened the box on my MM #5304 I took one look and said " that knife ain't no 4.5" long." And it for darn sure is not. Mine measures 4.386" long and that is a LONG ways from 4.500" long. This is -.114" from it's stated length
The CASE 4 1/4" CV stockman in my pocket measures 4.2915" long, or .0414" over it's stated specifications.
I always have to wonder about things like this though. If they're willing to fudge the length what else less obvious are they playing games with???
 
I think one factor that comes into play sharpening Queen made knives is the rather extraordinary thickness of Queen blades in a lot of patterns. For us slipjointophiles, you really have to lay that thick sucker near-flat to get the thin edge we're looking for. It's counter-intuitive to me and probably to you also.
 
Wil Terry:

Now that you mentioned it, I held mine up to a ruler and it looks about 4 3/8" rather than 4 1/2". I still like it though.
 
I'm pretty impressed my mine also. It is very well made, has an excellent edge on all three blades, and those shiny yellow bone scales are like none I've ever seen before from anyone else.
I had never owned an MM knife before so while I was at it I ordered this big stockman, the 5-bladed stockman, and the congress knives just to see what all the fuss was about. All three are beautifully made with a look about them quite unlike any other pocketknives I've ever seen before in 50+ years of carrying them and using them. One of these days I'll get around to picking the first one to start using on an everyday basis.
 
knifeaholic said:
Pickupman;

I can get the "basic" edge on a Moore Maker using a coarse/fine Norton India stone followed by soft arkansas....it does seem to take a LOT of strokes.

Getting the final edge to "scary sharpness" I had to resort to a extra fine DMT diamond hone.

Interesting that I had the biggest problem putting the edge on the small blades, like the secondary blades on the whittler pattern.
Click to expand...


Why are the Mooremakers sometimes such a challenge to sharpen? They are 1095 and RC 56 +/- it seems that they should sharpen up very easily. But, that often is not the case.
 
Really it shoudl not be. You should be able to strop it on leather. Sine your using a stone, could you be applying too much pressure to the blade? The blades are a low rockwell, so it really does not take allot of pressure to sharpen these.
 
I have found that a simple pair of ceramic crock sticks work great on my Moore knife. But that's only if you're interested in shaving with it. :D
 
WIL TERRY said:
When I opened the box on my MM #5304 I took one look and said " that knife ain't no 4.5" long." And it for darn sure is not. Mine measures 4.386" long and that is a LONG ways from 4.500" long. This is -.114" from it's stated length
The CASE 4 1/4" CV stockman in my pocket measures 4.2915" long, or .0414" over it's stated specifications.
I always have to wonder about things like this though. If they're willing to fudge the length what else less obvious are they playing games with???
Click to expand...


It is Just .025% difference..
 
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