New to Traditionals; so many questions...

[sharkattacksw]

Hey gang,

I'm somewhat new to traditional knives. I've been carrying a Buck 503 for quite a while now and love it. I've also been carrying a Buck 703 as well. I think I'm turning a corner with regards to the knives I collect and the ones I carry. I think I'm past the PM2/tactical type of knife. I've had many of those types of knives before, but to be honest, I keep coming back to the small pocketknives of my youth and the type my Dad carried.

On to the questions:
1. What brands would you recommend to someone "new" to traditionals?
2. Do any of the new traditionals use modern steels?
3. Do any of the traditionals use modern materials and construction methods?

All input and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks for all the help you can offer in getting me going with my new obsession!

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Case is one place you could consider starting. I've picked up seven or eight in the past year and find that I enjoy the variety of patterns, cover materials, colors, jigging, etc. I know there can be inconsistencies in quality but I have only bought "in person" where I'm able to inspect the knife before buying and I haven't been disappointed yet. Case has been around for over 100 years so there's also the possibility of getting into collecting and hunting down vintage knives.

I have a Buck 703 that I bought in 1989 -- that's a great little knife! And more than once I've considered looking for a 503 as I really like the design.

 

[viper89]

When I went from the PM2/tactical knife traditional knives, Case was one of the first brands I tried., I had a medium stockman and later a swayback pattern. Now, I have settled with Great Eastern Cutlery which makes up most of my traditional knives because of their quality, designs, and fit/finish.

Some brands use modern steels such as Queen Cutlery and one that comes to mind immediately is the Lionsteel Roundhead/shuffler from CollectorKnives which is in M390. It's a traditional pattern with modern materials and construction (imo).

 

[Signalprick]

To answer question 2 and 3, yes lionsteel is producing 2 very popular models right now, the clip point shuffler and the spear blade round head. Benchmade has the Proper model. GEC/Northfield/Tidioute are highly popular and very well made. The TC and Northfield #77 are extremely popular but very limited and can get obscenely pricey on the secondary. Personally I'd rather buy a Case Tony Bose Collaboration or a custom than chase those knives on the secondary market esp. since they have basically the same finish quality as any standard or SFO (special factory order) GEC. Speaking of Case Bose, they are my personal favorite but they are expensive and can sometimes require patience and understanding. But they are backed by excellent warranty and any fit finish issues you might get with one will be made right by Case.

 

[Railsplitter]

You'll get a lot of recommendations for the LionSteel Euro Barlows and rightfully so. They are very nice and reasonably priced for what you get. Some nice handle options too.

Another collectorknives.net exclusive that will be coming out in a couple months is the Viper EZ Open pictured below. It doesn't seem to have caught on yet but that might be because it hasn't even been made yet. I think it's another option worthy of mention.

 

[jc57]

...
1. What brands would you recommend to someone "new" to traditionals?
2. Do any of the new traditionals use modern steels?
3. Do any of the traditionals use modern materials and construction methods?
...

1. Current production: Case, Great Eastern Cutlery, Buck, Victorinox.
2. Some. Case uses 154CM/ATS-34 in some models, and on their Case/Bose collaborations. Lionsteel has been doing some SFOs for collectorknives.net in modern steels.
3. Lionsteel.

There are probably others that I am not familiar with.

 

[Planterz]

Apologies of some of my answers are redundant by the time I finish writing this.

On to the questions:
1. What brands would you recommend to someone "new" to traditionals?

Case is probably the best place to start. They've got the most patterns, most variety in covers, and most history (practically uninterrupted) in the game. There's countless other brands, but the vast majority are either defunct or have been revived in name (often by companies that produce in China). Schrade, Camillus, even Queen. Plenty of these old brands can be found, but you won't have warranty service. The cheap brands like Rough Rider, Colt, Frost, Steel Warrior, etc are a good way to sample a wide variety of patterns without spending a lot of money (usually 1/4-1/3 the cost of a Case). You can "graduate" (or skip ahead) to Great Eastern Cutlery if you can find a knife you like that isn't sold out and price-gouged on the second market.

2. Do any of the new traditionals use modern steels?

Only a few, really. Lionsteel is using M390. Case, in the annual Case/Tony Bose collaberations use 154CM (ATS-34 in the past) (note: there's a lot of Bose collaborations that aren't this high-end limited edition line). Canal Street (defunct) used some 14-4 CrMo, but mostly 440C. Queen used a lot of D2. There's some modern traditionals by Benchmade, Boker, Spyderco,\ and others that use S-30V, VG-10, and others.

3. Do any of the traditionals use modern materials and construction methods?

Lionsteel, Boker, Fallkniven, and a lot of custom makers.[/quote]

All input and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks for all the help you can offer in getting me going with my new obsession!

Check out custom makers. Find a pattern you like, then find a maker to make it for you. If you like a titanium bolstered Lanny's clip in CPM-154, with TORX screws you can find people that'll make it. Yes, they're very expensive, but so is buying 15 Cases that you find you only sorta like and rarely use.

I'm somewhat new to traditional knives. I've been carrying a Buck 503 for quite a while now and love it. I've also been carrying a Buck 703 as well. I think I'm turning a corner with regards to the knives I collect and the ones I carry. I think I'm past the PM2/tactical type of knife. I've had many of those types of knives before, but to be honest, I keep coming back to the small pocketknives of my youth and the type my Dad carried.

I went the same path that you did. When I moved to AZ I began looking at high quality knives and discovered that here I can buy, own, and carry autos and balisongs. I've owned bigass tactical folders, autos of all sorts, thousands of dollars in balisongs, etc. Now I only own one auto, a couple balisongs, and a precious few "modern" folders that I bought several years ago (and none since). Pretty much all I buy these days is traditional knives. I find that they're more honest and pleasing to use than a cold, soulless knife in black G-10 and beadblasted titanium.