New to this traditional stuff....

C

cfoster2003

Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
441
Let me introduce myself, Im an American working in Kenya Africa for a year. Ive been here for about 6 months now and Im on the homestretch. I am doing EMT as well as missions work. Ive been into knives for most all of my life. All the knives I have and that I brought over here are tactical, Im talking Spyderco, Benchmade, Sniper Bladeworks, Cold Steel etc. I love them, there is just something about a hard use knife that gets my heart racing.

On that note, Ive had this recent urge to get into traditional folders. I dont know where it came from but I remember my dad and grand dad carrying old buck slip joints and Case. Ive honestly had no interest in them until now.

As fate would have it, a friend back home a few days ago gifted me with 140 USD. In my location here in Africa I can receive mail so I thought I would look into my first traditional. I have a good friend in Germany named Andy, he suggested I look at Hartkopf so I did. First of all Ive never owned a damascus blade but this one really caught my eye. It was right in my range and thought it was just beautiful. So, I pulled the trigger, he is going to send it to me. heres a link, (non BF dealer link removed, image inserted)
friedrich-hartkopf-solingen-rosendamaststahl.jpg

Anyway, I have more in my sights...never thought I would go this way but here I am. I want to get a Case, Great Eastern Cutlery etc. Thanks for reading, I hope to talk more with you all. Any advice or suggestions are welcome!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Welcome aboard.

If you have not handled many traditionals, you might want to find a retail outlet where you can hold many different models and sizes to determine what you like. If that can't happen in Kenya, wait until you can. Or you could look at some inexpensive Chinese brands like Rough Rider, Colt or Steel Warrior and get a sampling there.

The best advice I can give a new guy is to take your time. Do some research and try to decide what you really want. Unless you have limitless funds, you'll end up with bags and boxes and drawers full of folders like the rest of us.

There are many great brands all over the world. GEC is the hot one in the US now.

Enjoy.
 
Thanks for the advice, I'll do that for sure. I couldnt help myself with this first one so we will see how it feels. The only drawback with GEC that I can think of is the carbon steel in a jungle environment
 
cfoster2003 said:
Thanks for the advice, I'll do that for sure. I couldnt help myself with this first one so we will see how it feels. The only drawback with GEC that I can think of is the carbon steel in a jungle environment
Click to expand...

Do you live in the Jungle? You know, the guys who opened the West, just had carbon steel blades and that seemed to work for them. They really had to have survival skills. Besides, GEC knives are generally well built... just perform proper maintenance on them. :D
 
Carbon won't rust any faster than that Damascus. Which I can almost say with a certainty is a mix of carbon steels. Keep a GEC, or Damascus oiled properly, and you won't have a problem.
 
Yeah the area we are in is right on the equator, seriously I can go to the 0 degrees lateral sign...hahaha. But its a jungle environment and I was just concerned about rust. I LOVE GEC designs and hope to get my hands on one while Im over here, just dont really know where to buy and who would ship to me.

Woodrow F Call said:
Do you live in the Jungle? You know, the guys who opened the West, just had carbon steel blades and that seemed to work for them. They really had to have survival skills. Besides, GEC knives are generally well built... just perform proper maintenance on them. :D
Click to expand...
 
I'm not suggesting you buy a GEC now, or ever. I am saying they are the hot seller here. They make a line in stainless (440c) called Great Eastern. Their carbon lines are Tidioute and Northfield. All three lines are basically the same, except for the steel.
 
Welcome to the traditional club, I hope you enjoy your stay here. Like you, the draw of traditionals was a bit of a random occurrence. They just kind I grabbed my eye one day. Funny thing is tht I exclusively carry traditional blades these days. They are much closer to my core values and lifestyle :)

Like others have mentioned, take your time with your purchases. Get a feel for what patterns sing to you and when you buy a new knife carry it and get a real feel for what you like and maybe don't like. This will help you make a more informed collection.
 
Thanks a lot! One of my main problems is I bite my nails, I know, bad habit but it can make it challenging on some models.
 
Welcome aboard, Sir!

You made a great decision with your Friedrich Hartkopf and the damascus blade. Hartkopf is a very traditional cutlery here in Germany and they make very nice knives.

About getting another traditional pocket knife - I would also keep my eyes open on GEC or Case. But if you are worrying about rust at carbon steel blades you should try the Case´s in 420HC (they call them TruSharp or SS) or a traditional Buck knife. You can get a Buck and a Case at a nice price range, I think. And safe some money when you´re back home getting a GEC. All I can tell you - be careful - those little fellows are addictive :D

About nail-biting; I do this myself unfortunatelly too sometimes; mostly when there is a lot of stress at work. But it was never a problem opening a slipjoint knife - even with the stronges backspring. When it hurt, you should try to get a knife opener. If you do some search here in the forum, you can find a whole thread about openers.

I hope this helped a little :)
 
Thank you sir! Very helpful post. I will defiantely post pics of my Hartkopf when she arrives. Thanks again -Caleb

Humppa said:
Welcome aboard, Sir!

You made a great decision with your Friedrich Hartkopf and the damascus blade. Hartkopf is a very traditional cutlery here in Germany and they make very nice knives.

About getting another traditional pocket knife - I would also keep my eyes open on GEC or Case. But if you are worrying about rust at carbon steel blades you should try the Case´s in 420HC (they call them TruSharp or SS) or a traditional Buck knife. You can get a Buck and a Case at a nice price range, I think. And safe some money when you´re back home getting a GEC. All I can tell you - be careful - those little fellows are addictive :D

About nail-biting; I do this myself unfortunatelly too sometimes; mostly when there is a lot of stress at work. But it was never a problem opening a slipjoint knife - even with the stronges backspring. When it hurt, you should try to get a knife opener. If you do some search here in the forum, you can find a whole thread about openers.

I hope this helped a little :)
Click to expand...
 
That's a gorgeous knife. What a great entry into the traditional knife area.

Case makes some nice products. I have some of both the CV and SS models. I found from my limited experience that the CV models came with a better edge out of the box and were easier to sharpen. My SS models were more coarsely ground and seemed to have a significant burr or wire on the blades and took a bit of work to get them smoothed up and sharpened, but I don't especially mind that part because part of what I enjoy about the hobby is learning about sharpening and edge maintenance.

To keep the CV knives pretty I've been using very small amounts of WD-40 Silicone spray lubricant, which doesn't seem to leave an oily residue but it leaves a silicone coating that protects againt rusting. If you use your pocket knives for food prep you might consider using food-grade mineral oil (sold in drug stores as a laxative) or food-grade silicone spray. Not sure where you'd acquire those things in Kenya.

Those more knowledgeable may have other ideas for blade maintenance for your damascus.
 
Thank you jc57! Yeah this is my very first damascus blade, it says its stainless on the site but Im not sure how to maintain it. Thanks for the post and knowledge. -caleb
 
cfoster2003 said:
Thank you jc57! Yeah this is my very first damascus blade, it says its stainless on the site but Im not sure how to maintain it. Thanks for the post and knowledge. -caleb
Click to expand...

Well... I´ve just been searching through Hartkopf´s site. On the site there´s not too much info about their damascus steel - just so much, it´s forged by Mr. Markus Balbach who is one of Germany´s best damascus-smiths. There are several kinds of their damascus out there, some are stainless and some are not. I´ve even seen some G3 (the old german assault rifle) damascus blades made by Markus Balbach and used for the blades of their knives.

Just my .02 Cent
 
im starting to get into the traditional as well, i found a small "ranger" knife i had as a kid and started carrying that along with my new benchmade. since i love my new benchmade i had the ranger for dirty work. but now that ive carried it for a few days im feeling this craze coming on to buy a nicer traditional.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I really REALLY want to get my hands on a GEC. The more I look at them on ebay and other sites the more I need one. I especially like the sunfish model, as with most things the funds are lacking and Im halfway around the world!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top