Opinions on Trapper pattern pocket Knives.

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mg357

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May 31, 2012
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Hello, i am seeking opinions on the Trapper pocket knife pattern.

the reason that i'm asking for this information is because i have seen a few trapper pattern knives.

for sale at my local bass pro shops and im thinking about buy of these knives.

btw if i buy one i will be using it for EDC and Whittling.
 
In my opinion, the trapper is an excellent pattern for EDC and is what I have been using everyday for two years now, but its not the best for whittling.

Thats why they made the whittler pattern specifically designed for, you know, whittling.

But you will certainly be able to cut some wood with a trapper pattern pocket knife, I'm sure of that. I'd recommend you pick one up :thumbup:
 
Knifeswapper has a real nice Tidioute in becote with a warncliffe secondary blade. That'll whittle wood.
 
The Trapper, beside its characteristic frame has a clip and spey blade.
I carried a CASE Trapper for some time as an EDC (the knife has now a better home in Switzerland) and I´ve used the clip blade frequently for EDC tasks and the spey for food prep. (this blade shape makes a perfect butter-smearing blade).

But for whittling I would also recommend a knife with at least one straight edge (wharncliffe or sheepfoot). There is a Wharncliffe Trapper out there, though.

But for conclusion, I would buy two knives. One for whittling (i. e. a Whittler :p ) and a Trapper for EDC. You can´t go wrong with that.
 
I'm with Humppa on this, great for EDC and sandwich prep (sausage and cheese with the clip, nutella and pate with the spey).
 
Of course there's whittling and there's whittling. I make pointed sticks, for which any knife will do. Some people make chains and balls in cages and working scissors, and they have different requirements.
I have a new Case mini-trapper with a wharncliffe that I love to bits- something of grail to me.
 
I'm not a huge fan of the standard Case 54 pattern trapper and it's clones. The GEC #48 and my old Bulldog are both 3⅞" instead of the more common 4¼" frame, and both are more serpentine as well. I like them a lot. Some examples:

GEC Elk stag and 440C
GEC48open_zps0f00d20c.jpg~original


Northfield Natural stag and 1095
NatStagOpen_zps105889d3.jpg~original


Bulldog Mother of pearl and German SS
SerpTrap.jpg~original
 
I'm a big fan of my Case mini trapper (07 pattern) as an EDC. Fits nicely in the pocket at 3.5" but still feels plenty sturdy for most EDC tasks and feels great in the hand.
 
A Case CV trapper was the first knife I bought when I got back into traditionals:

I love the heft of the full size version and with two blades I have the option of using one for food and one for other tasks. I sharpen sticks and make spoons with all my knives, the trapper works as good as any. But if I'm getting serious I go for my Schrade 8ot large stockman:

or my Camillus 72 "whittler":
 
I love Trappers and they are great for EDC, but not for whittlin', the blades are a little long, but it can be done. Trappers have a feel and a weight that just says pocket knife.

Peace
JustDave
 
They are a bit bulkier than what I like to carry, but I do own a bunch of 'em.

The two trapper knives I would absolutely recommend:
1- Original USA-made Old Timer knives. They had several trapper models in at least two different sizes and with a variety of blade combinations. Should be able to grab one off the big auction site for about the same $$ or less than a new Case knife.
2- Boker. The 'real' ones made in Germany with carbon steel blades. The deep washboard bone series and the beer barrel series come to mind. Price is around $50.

OTTrappers.jpg


60188316.jpg


Case has the prettiest bone, and they often make a good knife. But they also make so many poor ones that I won't buy them unless I can inspect in person. Should you be looking at a Case knife don't pay until you get the chance to look it over first. Especially check for blade wobble and look closely at the finished blade edge.

Good luck, and happy shopping!
 
I love trappers, they are definitely my favorite knife pattern. I edc a yellow case trapper, I don't really whittle a whole lot so I'm not going to be much help in that regard, but on the side of and edc, I would highly recommended a trapper.
 
Personally, I really like Case's mini trapper pattern. I love the clip/spey combo in the more pocketable 3.5" size.

Not sure it would be a great hard core whittler pattern though.
 
When I go hunting I always have a trapper in my pocket, usually in addition to a fixed blade. Trappers are a very handy pattern and you'd be doing yourself a favor by picking one up.
 
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