Need Help - Have No Idea What Specific Knive(s) I'm Seeking

L

leghog

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Aug 10, 2013
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Need some specific makers and models. I have no idea what to search for.

-Equal end with round bolsters a must.
-Prefer production vintage user or contemporary user vs collectable.
-Prefer 2 5/8" - 2/7/8" closed. Will consider up to 3 1/4" closed, but that's getting into "too big" territory for me. Nothing over 3 1/4" please.
-Two opposing blades. One or two springs. Single spring preferred.
-Delrin or bone. Delrin preferred. No wood. No acrylic. No stag.
-Stainless or carbon. Stainless preferred.

What do terms (makes, model #s, names) do I need to use in search engines?

For current production, I'm considering the GEC Conductor and White Owl, but would rather find something from the old Camillus, Schrade, Ulster, etc. plants regardless of whose name is on it.

Thanks much.
 
Case Eisenhower comes to mind. Have you tried the catalog sticky? TsarBomba has posted some Camillus catalog pages toward the end of Coop1957's "59 and never needed[...]" thread also. I don't remember if they include penknives.
 
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Queen also makes an equal end 3 1/4 pen knife, I don't recall the pattern number but I have one in pearl.
 
If you perform a search on an auction site, I think the term
"equal end" knife
will get you the best set of hits to refine so as find your other requirements.
 
OP just a note, that the GEC White Owl, whilst being Equal End, is outside your dimension limit, it's a medium knife at near 3.5"/9cm. Outstanding pattern mind.

Pity it HAS to be Equal End as Sleeveboards could be included profitably.

Here's an I*XL that might interest you with a GEC 83 lockback

IMG_4021.jpg


Here's another Sleeveboard, A Queen No.3 in Buff Horn/D2 with a GEC Conductor (they also come in stainless with bone) Not so much blade on the Queen compared to the GEC though but a tidy snappy knife.

IMG_3186.jpg


Schatt Keystone have a very small 2.5" Half Congress but they're stag, maybe bone ones exist too?

Regards, Will
 
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The Case 132 pattern Baby Butterbean might fit your criteria. It's basically a tiny Canoe pattern. I've never really considered it an equal end knife but the ends are equal and basically round. 2 3/4 inches closed, available in stainless steel and yellow or orange delrin if I'm not mistaken. Numerous bone options as well.

Just for grins, I happen to have this little Parker knife that fits your criteria but I wouldn't have a clue where to find one.

 
A Case 01 pattern is an equal end (rounded bolsters) pen knife with a spear and a pen blade, 2 5/8" closed. I have a Case XX 6201 in jigged bone that my Dad and I used for years. The 01 pattern has many variations. It's one of the best small knives I've ever used, a very attractive pattern in my opinion.
 
Almost everything is going to be a little bigger than your dimensions. GEC's small-medium single-spring equal-end patterns are all either 3.5" or 3.25". I have a Winchester that's 3.25" and slender, and it is a small knife, even for my small hands (for a man.) My Case Swayback Jack is the same 3.25", but because it's fatter and broader, it carries and fills the hand like a bigger knife. You're definitely looking at Peanut territory. Bearing in mind that a penknife (as opposed to jackknife, like the Peanut) will mean a somewhat shorter main blade... You're basically looking for a GEC #09 Esquire, but in equal-end rather than sleeveboard configuration. The Esquire is a beautiful knife, but it is very tiny. Most manufacturers compromise in the interests of useability and versatility, and make their thin, small penknives a little longer in the interests of allowing blades long enough to be more useful, and a handle long enough for a good grip. The Peanut is so useable at its small size mostly because it is a jackknife so is wider and gives better purchase for fingers.

Not trying to dissuade you, small knives are awesome. Just saying that your options will be more numerous if you are willing to consider 3.25" as more typical rather than as a maximum.
 
Schatt & Morgan have a 3 1/4" equal-end whittler/mini muskratt that is available in bone (the black knife below). For a no-nonsense workhorse there's the victorinox pocket pal or secretary.

6Uq80yi.jpg
 
The problem I have with the Case Senator/Eisenhower and similar knives, is that you don't get a long blade and a short blade so much as you get a longer and a shorter blade, both of which are kind of medium.
 
You might look for a Shadley Senator. I used to have one in Red Bone and have seen several since. It is the perfect fit for your description. The one I had was full custom but I know he has made some mid-tech knives for Plaza Cutlery and others. You might post a WTB somewhere and be surprised. You might check in with Gene Shadley directly and see how long his list is, and by the time you come to the top you will have the extra money together.

There are several that I have seen in the Exchange including this one from over a year ago. Mine was exactly like this one.

DSCN0814.jpg
 
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