Purdiest Traditional

Jake as it's your thread, you should define the terms. Do you mean most aesthetically pleasing presentation of frame and blade, or best example of "wow" cover material . . . or a combination of both?
 
Jeff, Following the norm of the internet ;) I was intentionally vague and will leave it up to the reader to determine.

The manufacturers definitely place a lot of emphasis on cover materials. It is an easy way to create variation within large production runs and catalogs that change very little from year to year. Manufacturers want folks to buy multiples of the same pattern with different cover materials. And there are some incredible collections here on Bladeforums.

Is cover material what makes a knife beautiful? Or is it something else? Is it the pattern? The grinds? All of the above?

Some like embellishments like file work or engraving. Others do not.

Give YOUR opinion about what knife is the most beautiful and why. There is no right or wrong answer.
 
I love the aesthetics of the teardrop jack with a wide spear blade. I own many examples, but my "purdiest" favorite might be this tortoise-shell celluloid from Schrade-Cutco.

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Although I do not own one yet, I love the look of Crosscut Mammoth covers on traditional folders. Sorry, no photos.
 
Jake (and Jeff):

Something about the classic, flowing lines of the Wharncliffe blade and handle shape, just seem so graceful to me.

Ever since Jack showed this earlier Norfolk pattern in the Lambsfoot thread a couple of weeks ago, my thoughts keep returning to it.



I love nice materials as much as the next person, but it's really about the lines and the form with me first and foremost.

And if we're talking fixed blades, Bob Loveless's classic 4" Drop Point Hunter is very instinctively appealing in its lovely clean, understated lines. A perfect marriage of form and function. This one's by Adam Parker.



It'll be interesting to see what comes up here...
 
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I'm going to nominate the Buck 119 as my entry. It is a plain production knife, this one is certainly not a dressed up model with nicer handles and upgraded steel. However, to me this knife just looks right; it represents the image of the outdoors that I have carried in my mind since I was a boy. I've never carried this knife, or the other Buck 119 I own, they are too big for my outdoor needs, but the 119 is balanced perfectly in size, from the handle to the blade. Harder to describe why something is "Purdiest" than I thought it would be! Cool idea for a thread. OH

Buck_119.jpg
 
Pretty is definitely subjective.

But here is the one I think is prettiest. 4 1/8" of elephant ivory

Todds photo then mine.



 
OK, to my eye, this one has it all. One of the finest pairs of red stag covers I've ever seen, well matched, and nice and thin in the pocket but plenty grippy. The frame is pure classic, one of the most recognizable in the traditional world, and just the exact right size for me between pocketability and length of blade (3⅞" closed). The ornamentation is simple yet highly effective, with just the right touches of threaded bolster, long pull and cut swedge. Definitely the "purdiest" knife I own (thanks again, Brett).

RS_MHLB_zps5f1d79cd.jpg~original


RedMarkPile.jpg~original
 
When I hear the word purdy I think of gents knives. Something like this pearl serpentine pattern.

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Wow.....pretty can mean a lot of different things can't it?
these are some great knives!
I think this one's pretty....



 
When I saw the title of this thread, all I could think of was "Prepare to be Amazed".
Mark, is that acrylic like the tortoise shell?
 
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