Picked up a couple new traditionals this weekend

[Smaug]

The RussLock, Peanut, and Kershaw Leek were waiting for me when I got home from work Friday evening. Here are my first impressions:

RussLock
Very nice. This and the Peanut are my first two Case knives, and the fit and finish is quite good. In the case of the RussLock, it is not quite as good as it should be, considering the price of the knife. I bought it as a Dark Red Bone color. The side with the shield is kind of a medium red, which is fine. But the flip side is much closer to pink than red. There's a spot on the edge of one scale of that side where the dye never even made it. It doesn't bug me enough that I'll be willing to part with it and pay shipping to send it back to Case. But it does bug me enough that my next traditional knife will probably be a Buck. The one-handed opening takes a bit of practice, as the back spring is quite firm. I consider that it can be opened one-handed, but not quickly. Not in the same league as the old Spyderco Delica that is shown alongside it. Everything is polished to a high gloss, and the fit is great. Everything lines up like it should.

Peanut
Also very nice. On this one, the dye job on the scales is better, but there's a bit of a rough spot at the edge of one of the center rivets. It is already wearing down from two days of carrying. I really like this knife, and I have to admit that it's purchase was partly inspired by jackknife's romantic posts. As a kid, my first knife was a similarly-size Imperial from my granddad. I whittled a LOT of sticks to points with that little knife. I think I will carry this one this week to work, and see if I miss a larger blade or tools or one-handed opening. I suspect if I miss anything, it will be the tools, rather than the other two. Below the Peanut in the images below, you can see my little Ryko, which is a Spanish knife, if the guy in the gas station who sold it to me wasn't lying. The fit & finish is not as good as that of the Peanut. The edges aren't softened quite enough, but they have done a better job on the scales than Case did. No rough rivet edges or uneven finish on the Colobolo. Also, it is a single blade design, and it has a brass liner lock! The spring action is nice and tight too. The blade is 440A stainless. For shame, Case. For the difference in price, there should be no comparison. The Case should win, hands-down.

Leek
I won't talk much about this here, except to say that it is a very nice knife. No issues at all with fit or finish, it is every bit the equal to the Spyderco Delica and the Bradley Kimura shown at the top in the one photo. The SpeedSafe assisted opening with the tab on the back of the blade is just brilliant. They should have left off the thumb stud altogether.

 

[johnny twoshoes]

Well, the peanut will probably be the favorite collectively, but they are all very nice.
That Russlock looks great, I would like one just to take a picture, they see so interesting to me.

That Peanut has some beautifully matched scales on it, it's a good one. I would drop it in the pocket ASAP, get that patina going. :thumbup:

Awesome knives and thanks for sharing.

 

[jackknife]

"I think I will carry this one this week to work, and see if I miss a larger blade or tools or one-handed opening. I suspect if I miss anything, it will be the tools, rather than the other two. "

Smaug, I think if the peanut is not actually too small for your hand, you may find you really don't miss the larger knives as much as you think you will. I know that I miss the tools of a ask more than I miss bigger knives, so I just carry few items in my wallet to make up for it. As far as the cutting jobs I get faced with in the wilds of modern suburbia, a pointy 2 inch blade seems to be enough. I've taken to having my dad's outlook on it. If I'm in town, my peanut is good. If I'm going off in the boonies hiking or camping, then I have my woods stuff with me, that happens to include a sheath knife, or small machete in the pack.

Right too for the job.

Besides, the womenfolk think a peanut is cute. You'll never get any grief over it.

Carl.

 

[Humppa]

The peanut is small, but not too small. As Carl and Johnny already said. I like mine. Carry it often, but the mainthing is, you have a knife and don´t realize it. Until you need it, then it´s in you hand. Imo a great pattern. The blades are dangerous. Like scalpels, so they are on my peanut. Be carefully not getting bitten by that little fellow.

Kind regards
Andi

 

[zippofan]

After buying one Peanut and carrying it for awhile I was hooked. At first I figured it would be too small, but as I bought a BSA model I figured if I didn't use it much I could give it to one of my boys. Now I carry a Peanut most days of the week, ended up with 4 (so far), and if my boys want one they can buy one themselves

As an aside, prior to getting the first Peanut, my EDC's were either SAK's or a maybe a Kershaw (including the Leek, great knife) or Spyderco.

 

[Smaug]

Smaug, I think if the peanut is not actually too small for your hand, you may find you really don't miss the larger knives as much as you think you will.

I felt it was too small at first. But then I realized that it is so sharp, I don't need a four-fingered grip on it. Just like the Classic I used to pocket carry. But with that one, there was no "back-up plan" if I let the blade get dull. This actually has a much better grip than the Classic. With the Classic, I can only get two fingers on it, and there's no texture to help out either. So this is actually a better cutting tool, which helps make up for the lack of tools.

I don't need tools as much any more, as I have tools at my desk at work and also spread around at home. So we'll see how it goes!

 

[jackknife]

It's all a matter of perception.

It always feels too small at first, but if you really think about it, how much heft and size do we need in a pocket cutting tool?

If it's sharp, a three finger hold is all that's needed. My own thinking was changed a great deal after watching my better half use a classic, or should I say torture a classic, for almost a year. Karen was responsible for my own experiment on using the little classic, and it changed the way I thought about pocket knives. If it's used as a knife, not a sharpened pry bar, chisel, bush tool, or buffalo skinner, a small three finger cutter is okay. So far, I've cut open burlap sacks that have been sewn shut, heavy plastic bags, mulch bags, rope, twine, all kinds of string, cardboard, fish bellies, foil seals on brake/power steering fluid and antifreeze jugs, cut off ends of caulking tubes, and whittled lots of hot dog sticks for grandkids. The little 2 inch peanut blade has so far seemed to be enough for most quick pocket knife type of jobs, and the three finger handle was enough.

The peanut pen blade is almost the exact size of the blade on a classic, so a back up blade is right there if you need it. I've done most of the above named jobs with a classic as well as a peanut, so I know it works. Give it a chance, and you may well become a convert to the cult.

Carl.