Perfect Pairs (from your Traditional collection)

[JonMcD]

Some knives are just made to complement each other. And some days you throw two completely illogical knives together just because that’s the way the wind’s blowing.

But if you had to come up with the ultimate traditional knife pairing from your collection, what would it be? Why?

Perfection can crop up in many different scenarios, so let me give you a few of mine as examples.

For the typical day at the office...
GEC 86 for apples, boxes, fidgeting, ogling, and anything that comes at you. Clip...check. Sheepsfoot...check.
SAK Pioneer to add a spear blade and that all important craft beer cap lifting assistant.

That’s a good pair.

For a day a day sweating it out on the tractor...

Stockman + TL-29. Nuff said. Dominant workers. No redundant blades.

Sunday day Of rest...

62 EPC for that gentleman’s precision and a stockman that reminds me to “slow down, breathe, and hope.”



How bout you?

 

[JohnDF]

A perfect pair for me would be two knives that serve different roles.
One would have to be small to medium and serve as my all-around "public friendly" cutter.
The other would have to be a medium to large knife, with a locking blade, to serve as my "rough job" knife.
I would also prefer one of the knives to have a straight edge blade and the other knife to have a bit of belly.

So, I think these two pair up perfectly...

 

[BP_]

Here are a few. I like this idea, sometimes I’ll do the same when I’m choosing knives for the day. Typically I carry one consistently, with a second rotating blade. But I like the idea (and had recently been thinking about) complimentary knives for carry. Wether it be folding or fixed, city or country, ranching or hunting.

Buck 305 & 309. Great little complimentary 2 blade folders. And small! Wish they still made them. Maybe they’ll make a comeback at some point.


Buck 687 mini vantage, (and a @Horsewright belt- highly recommended ) and the BF Buck 301 with 2 blades. This one is a great all around combo, one of my favs when it comes to pairings. The full size vantage, especially the recent BOTM with S30V steel, is also a great one to interchange.


And of course I wouldn’t be complete without at least one 110 pairing. I figured I’d throw a Case in the mix, the peanut is a cool little knife. The 110 is actually a big part of a lot of the 2 knife complimentary combos I have. This one is a lightweight aluminum frame with ebony scales.


Cool thread.

 

[afishhunter]

Large stockman and a Scout/Camp knife.
No redundant blades. It's a pairing that has served me well for over 55 years when faced with "normal" tasks.

For over 40 years, I paired them with a Buck 110 or Old Timer 7OT.
Recently, I started to pair the stockman and Scout/Camp knife with a two blade slipjoint folding hunter. Another good to perfect pairing, at least for me. :.)

 

[JonMcD]

A perfect pair for me would be two knives that serve different roles.
One would have to be small to medium and serve as my all-around "public friendly" cutter.
The other would have to be a medium to large knife, with a locking blade, to serve as my "rough job" knife.
I would also prefer one of the knives to have a straight edge blade and the other knife to have a bit of belly.

So, I think these two pair up perfectly...

I really like the small/medium + medium/large logic. A Lambsfoot with a 23 takes care of it in style.

Here are a few. I like this idea, sometimes I’ll do the same when I’m choosing knives for the day. Typically I carry one consistently, with a second rotating blade. But I like the idea (and had recently been thinking about) complimentary knives for carry. Wether it be folding or fixed, city or country, ranching or hunting.

Buck 305 & 309. Great little complimentary 2 blade folders. And small! Wish they still made them. Maybe they’ll make a comeback at some point.
View attachment 1409152

Buck 687 mini vantage, (and a @Horsewright belt- highly recommended ) and the BF Buck 301 with 2 blades. This one is a great all around combo, one of my favs when it comes to pairings. The full size vantage, especially the recent BOTM with S30V steel, is also a great one to interchange.
View attachment 1409153

And of course I wouldn’t be complete without at least one 110 pairing. I figured I’d throw a Case in the mix, the peanut is a cool little knife. The 110 is actually a big part of a lot of the 2 knife complimentary combos I have. This one is a lightweight aluminum frame with ebony scales.
View attachment 1409154

Cool thread.

Pairing a diminutive peanut with a large knife seemed silly when I first started carrying two a day, but the more I start to use a watch pocket knife, the peanut is a no brainer. Nice Bucks!

Large stockman and a Scout/Camp knife.
No redundant blades. It's a pairing that has served me well for over 55 years when faced with "normal" tasks.

For ever 40 years, I paired them with a Buck 110 or Old Timer 7OT.
Recently, I started to pair the stockman and Scout/Camp knife with a two blade slipjoint folding hunter. Another good to perfect pairing, at least for me. :.)

No doubt. Not much a stockman + scout combo can’t whip.

 

[BP_]

Here’s another extremely attractive combo. And quite useful. Two of my favorite carry/use knives together. And the black handles compliment each other very well in my opinion. S30V on the Buck Vanguard, 154CM on the custom.

 

[JohnDF]

A Lambsfoot with a 23 takes care of it in style.

Thank you, Jon.