My personal experience trying a traditional

steff27

steff27

Joined
Feb 8, 2013
Messages
139
I just want to share this with someone, though I'll probably bore you.

My great-grandfather always carried a friction folder and he used no other knife for eating. Personally, I've used an Opinel and a SAK as a kid, and the last years I've been EDCing multitools and modern folders. I've never been quite satisfied with the blade geometry and resulting cutting performance of modern folders. I decided to try a traditional folder for a change and orderd a Boker stockman.

At first glance I liked the looks but on closer inspection found some off-putting issues with the fit. Shipping the knife back to the US wouldn't be worth it, thus I decided to make it a user. Cleaned the main blade and ate a couple nectarines with my GF:

DiO18mc.jpg

(Sorry for the poor phone pic.)

It felt perfect. I want to think this blade was designed for my ancestors to prepare and eat their snacks :) Long story short, I fell in love with this knife despite its imperfections.

In Bokers defense, I also ordered a Carvers Congress and this knife has great fit and finish!
 
Not at all boring! Other peoples' differing experiences are an invaluable aspect of this forum.

One oddity though: Since you live in Austria, can't you send the knife back to Böker in Germany, right next door??:confused:

You are right about the slicing&food prep, I recommend you try a single blade next time, I find them more comfortable in the hand and there are a lot of nice examples to choose from.....:D

Regards, Will
 
My experiance with slip joints has been that some are put together better than others. At least half of mine are not perfect but they perform just as well as the others.
I also enjoy the blade geometry of the traditional pocket knives and also feel a connection to times gone by when using them. I think alot of folks around here do so your in good company around here.
Since around the first of May I have been carrying a Boker Barlow that I won in a giveaway, thanks Matt, and could not be happier with it. That and my opinal have been scratching my traditional itch lately.
Thanks for taking the time to post a picture and tell us your story.
Jim
 
Welcome to traditional's, steff.:thumbup:

You are right in a way, the stockman was designed for a real use. That of a cutting tool for the working cowboy. Or stockman as he is sometimes called. The blade combination is designed to give a wide range of job capability, as well as nice thin blades that really do cut very well. Many of the traditional patterns have roots in an 1800's trade or pastime. Knives like stockman, cattle knives, trappers, sodbusters, and electricians knives all were hard working tools in an age where evbery knife was a 'hard use' knife.

Carl.
 
Thank you all for your kind words!

willgoy said:
One oddity though: Since you live in Austria, can't you send the knife back to Böker in Germany, right next door??:confused:
Click to expand...

Right, that would have been the way to go. In the mean time I've filed the kick of the main blade down because the tip was sticking out. Also sharpened it because the original edge was a bit too thick for my taste. I'll keep it now, it's certainly worth its price.

willgoy said:
You are right about the slicing&food prep, I recommend you try a single blade next time, I find them more comfortable in the hand and there are a lot of nice examples to choose from.....:D

Regards, Will
Click to expand...

A GEC Missouri Trader and a Schatt & Morgan Mountain Man are on the way :)
 
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steff27 said:
Right, that would have been the way to go. In the mean time I've filed the kick of the main blade down because the tip was sticking out. Also sharpened it because the original edge was a bit too thick for my taste. I'll keep it now, it's certainly worth its price.
Click to expand...
I think you did the right thing. Often, these tools need a little bit of "tweaking" to make them exactly how we want them (especially when it comes to low- to mid-range in price). Those little modifications are things that many (most?) of us would have just done ourselves, keeping the knife and using it, instead of sending it back.

Welcome to the Traditional section! Nice choice on your Boker stockman, and the other two you have en route are very nice knives also!
Alex
 
Be careful. You'll find that your traditional knives will start multiplying. Not sure how that happens. ;) :D But I've noticed that my formerly ultra-modern collection has become quite traditional-heavy, with around 50/50 ratio. When talking close to 75 knives, that's saying something.
 
Sometimes...often.... Stories are what makes the knife.

That is one of the things I love about traditionals--they just invite stories to them.
 
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