Quick question BEAR & SON ...

C

CorpsmanUP!

Joined
Jun 11, 2007
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356
Are these decent knives? I noticed the local Ace Hardware is selling a purdy stockman, trapper, and peanut in rosewood. They look great in the case but I haven't molested any yet to see about blade play and such. I also don't see you guys posting pics of any when you show off your slippies which made me have to ask first before I bought one.
Thanks for your advice,
Doc
 
One of our local hardware stores got these Rosewood ones in to replace Schrade knives.

I bought one to try them out, and it was a good solid knife, but I had to go through 9 of them in the store to find it, the first 8 had horrible flaws, from poorly fit scales to sloppy weak backsprings.

For me at this point, Bear's are in the "buy only in person after inspection, but do not order online" category.
 
Thanks TLC I shall inspect it before I buy it. I've wanted a stockman now for sometime but don't want to order a knife online, I'd like to buy it in person however I just couldn't bring myslef to buy that chinese made BUCK stockman at Wally world.
 
Don't own any Bear knives, although I'll probably buy a Moore Maker to give them a look.

I really only posted to say: Semper Fi, Doc!
 
OOH RAH! Dan
Ps. My granddaddy was a Marine on Iwo. I always tell him- when the Marines talk about a few good men they are referring to their Corpsmen. ;) He will be 90 end of the month.
 
That kit is AWESOME. I'd like to do a comparison of then and now. I don't see any quick clott or morphine ;)


LOL The black sheep huh? When I was in Corps school I wished to God I had joined the USMC - until I was attached to them. I absolutely LOVE being a Corpsman- who hates the NAVY go figure.
 
Ironic. My grandfather, 91, is a WWII corpsman. I hear your phrase "When I was in Corps school" about weekly. He was at New River, which is now LeJeune. I got to retrace his steps there.

My other grandfather was a destroyerman.
 
The local Cenex store just started to Carry Bear and Son, they had the Rosewood and the Stag handles. Picked out the Large Stag handled stockman and maybe got lucky with the first one I choose but it is a great knife, fit, finish and super sharp---impressed me.
 
i have purchased a couple of bear&son knives, a single blade peanut and a small lockback. both were a bit sub-par with the fit and finish, but i didn't think to check through all of them to get a good one at the time.
 
I have a small oak stockman.
The quality is so poor that I am quite attached to it.
I have a real sense this is hand made!!!

If this was made in not in the US, we would all jump up and down and say a typical example of...

Also I will not buy Moore Maker that are made by Bear.
 
I only have one that I got as a freebie. It's a tiny lockback, 2 1/4" closed, 1 5/8" blade, 440C (I think), looks like ebony scales. F&F is okay but nothing spectacular. Lockup is tight, sharpens up nicely. If I could pick one in person, for a good price, I'd consider them.

Frank
 
neeman said:
Also I will not buy Moore Maker that are made by Bear.
Click to expand...

How can you tell the Bear-made Moore Makers from the Queen-made ones? I've had my eye on a buffalo, but haven't taken the plunge yet.

I bought a damascus Bear a few years ago and wouldn't buy another, at least not unless I could handle it in person.
 
Currently, the Moore Makers from Bear have a 'B' appended to the model number, the Queens do not. For example, 5200B vs 5200, trapper made by Bear and Queen respectively. The knives measure the same length, but for all I know there may be design differences.
 
I have a small one hand opening lockback. For the most part, fit and finish is a bit crude. The blade grind was laughingly crude, and the mystery steel is pretty soft. This thing could easily pass for a gas station point-of-sale Chinese trinket, if it weren't for the "Bear MGC USA" stamp on the tang.
 
Definitely look them over before buying. Apparently, material quality (heat treat, etc.) is good, fit and finish is lacking big time. I haven't found one yet that didn't have serious issues. It's sad, really. Everyone I talk to says with Schrade & Camillus gone, the opportunity is HUGE for Bear to really step up.

Bear is also making official boy scout knives now (Camillus used to), and according to the folks at the local BSA store here, people aren't very happy with the prices being charged for Bear knives, with the quality what it is.

thx - cpr
 
I kinda wish I'd read this thread before I got my Moore Maker 3300 working stockman; OTOH I'm glad I didn't. In my noob ignorance I never could figure out how Camillus turned out such a sloppy piece of stuff, except maybe somehow as a last-minute slapdash job on the last day they were open. When I went back after reading this, and saw the 3300B stamp on the tang, it all became clear at last:o.
The blades weren't just not sharp; they ranged from very dull to actually rebated like a stage sword:eek:. One of the bolsters stuck up so far above the liner that I finally got out a file and took off enough metal so that it's just a little noticeable now. The scales aren't flush with the bolsters anywhere. The tangs look like they were never polished at all. Compared to Rough Rider or even Steel Warrior, the fit and finish is a poor third.
OTOH, it's made of good quality materials and is sturdy and has no blade play. I got out my dad's old 1950s-vintage India stone and put as good an edge on the blades as my abilities (or lack thereof) permit, and it stays sharp with only an occasional touchup. The size and weight is perfect, and I carry it lots more than any of the better finished slippies I have - maybe because I'm not afraid I'll ruin anything pretty:rolleyes:.
The late Bill Martino of HI used to say that the knife picked the owner, not the other way around. He was talking about kukris, but this stockman is as individually hand made as anything forged on a dirt floor in Nepal, even if the workmanship on the MM/Bear isn't as good. It made me work to make it useable, and it actually gets used. Worth the money? Cheaper than hiring a personal trainer to get me off my duff:D.
 
dan97526 said:
Currently, the Moore Makers from Bear have a 'B' appended to the model number, the Queens do not. For example, 5200B vs 5200, trapper made by Bear and Queen respectively. The knives measure the same length, but for all I know there may be design differences.
Click to expand...

The Stockmans are different, looking at the photos on the Moore Maker site and on ebay.
 
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