Recommendation needed.

A

aarya

Joined
Jun 21, 2006
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514
Hi everyone.
I need a recommendation for a slipjoint knife.
I'm not really particular on patterns, but it should have atleast two blades, and i'd prefer if the steel was stainless, and better than 420HC. I'd use it mostly to whittle, and it'd live in my pocket all the time. (Which is why i want a pretty hard steel, and stainless.)
So, to recap:
What would you recommend as a woodcarving slipjoint, with atleast two blades, one large and one smaller, in 440C steel or better.
And hopefully, not over $150 in price.

(In my eyes, 440C is the lowest grade i'm willing to go, as i want it to keep a pretty good edge without having to sharpen it every 10 minutes. Better would be, 154CM, ATS34 or S30V.)

Hope some of you can help me.
 
I like using a Congress pattern for much of my whittling. The actual "whittler" pattern as well.

Queen makes both in D2 which is near stainless and certainly holds an edge with the big boys. It will not be quite as stain resistant however.

They may have some ATS-34 models in their Schatt & Morgan line and some of our members should be able to fill you in on those as well.
 
I actually have a Queen Stockman in D2, and it hasn't stained much when carrying it in my pocket. But i find the D2 rather... Well.. I can get it as sharp as anything, but to me, it doesn't stay that way for too long. That may very well be a mistake in how i sharpen it though. (I use a fallkniven dc4.) That's why i want something a tad more fine grained.
I have an A.G. Russell Funny Folder in ATS34, which i can get scary sharp, and it stays that way for quite a while, when doing some light whittling. And it just seems sharper than the D2. (Taking into account the different edge geometry ofcourse.)
 
Other than the edge retention, I can't fault your reasoning whatsoever. (Could be the heat treat on your particular stockman. I've heard of stranger things happening.)

I like fine grained steel as well. (AUS-8 always impressed me in that regard, and 12C27 will take a fine edge as well but they won't hold them like ATS-34, CPM-154, 154 CM etc.)

I'm sure you'll get some great recommendations here. Sounds like you know what works for you.
 
AG Russell has a Gent's Pocket Carver, reverse congress, that might fit the bill. It's a really nice knife.
 
Queen's D2 is fantastic for whittling. It is a tool steel that, properly treated, will hold an edge a loooong time. It has just 1-2
2% less chrome than a true stainless steel, but it is very stain resistant. Be forwarned, it's best sharpened with either diamond hones or waterstones. It is so wear resistant that it takes a long time to sharpen with conventional stones.

A Congress pattern is great for whittling if you are looking for a dedicated whittler. They can get heavy in the pocket with those four blades though. I personally prefer something lighter. A Jackknife pattern has two blades, a clip (usually) blade as it's large (master) blade, and a pen as the smaller blade. It's easier on the pocket, and you can get it from Queen in either a serpentine or dogleg pattern. It's my preferred whittler. You should be able to find them in ACSB (Amber Carved Stag Bone), which is beautiful, or in BEM (Bird's Eye Maple) which is less showy but makes for a nice thin, lightweight knife.

I'd avoid Schatt & Morgan's 420HC. I've tried it and it is soft for whittling. You might find something in ATS34 though, which is quite nice. S&M has high standards for fit and finish.

Good luck whatever you get, and let us know how it works out. :thumbup:
 
Robb, the OP's Fallkniven DC4 is a small diamond and ceramic sharpener.
 
Blues said:
I like using a Congress pattern for much of my whittling. The actual "whittler" pattern as well.

Queen makes both in D2 which is near stainless and certainly holds an edge with the big boys. It will not be quite as stain resistant however.

They may have some ATS-34 models in their Schatt & Morgan line and some of our members should be able to fill you in on those as well.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup:

I have the two bladed Congress, which is much lighter to carry.
The Sheepsfoot blade is stout for heavy cutting, but is is quite thin which makes for an easy edge to maintain.
The pen blade has swedges, which gives it a very stout point for digging into the wood.

Try leaving the main blade with a courser grind (not use the ceramic on the DC4) as it will give it a toothier cut, which you might find cuts better.
 
Thanks for the suggestions thus far!
As for scale material, i'm not picky at all. Heck, it could be cheap plastic, and i wouldn't care. I don't want a showpiece at all, which makes it rather frustrating.

I've even been thinking about making my own from a kit, but i've not been able to find a kit with proper stainless steel. Which turned me onto maybe getting some blanks cut for me, so i can grind them myself. But as i have to send it out to get heattreated, and it's not really economical with just one knife.... Well.. Money is always an issue, for me anyway.

I'll try to snap some pictures of the type of woodcarving i do, where it will be obvious why i want a piece of steel that stays sharp.

As for a toothier edge, it's not really an option in whittling. You'd want as polished an edge as possible, to make controlled and good cuts. Unless it be your own flesh you're carving.
 
I've now managed to snap a few pictures of a few of the carvings i've done so far.
Hopefully this will give you guys further ideas about what kind of knife might be good for me.

The carving inspired by the Easter Island stone heads, and the eye-thingy, i did only with a straight knife.
The spoons and the fish, i did most of the work with a straight knife, but did some small work on the fish, and the hollowing out on the spoons, with a flexcut carvin' jack.

First, a picture of a few small spoons i've made. (And yes, that is an inch-tape measure. The smallest spoon really IS that small.)
spoonies.jpg


Two pictures of a fish. (Supposed to be a salmon.)
Exceedingly difficult to convey the depth of the carving in a picture, but it did start its life as a square block of birch, so alot of material was removed.
fishy1.jpg


fishy2.jpg


Head, inspired by the Easter Island stone heads.
head.jpg


Freeform fantasy carving, made up in the spur of the moment.
eyething.jpg
 
Nice carvings......

You mentioned maybe trying a kit knife..... you might try Jantz knife supply.
IIRC they have a couple of slipjoint kits, I think they are stainless..... you could then use any handle material you wanted.

www.jantzsupply.com

the Honey Creek Trapper.... 4" closed, two blades
the Cinnamon Bear Stockman.... 3 7/8" closed, three blades

I would call to ask the steel used in these kits to make sure it meets your needs though.

They have a few others but smaller.

Hope this helps.

JJ
 
Nice carvings aarya, this is a little more than wanted pay, but this knife would last a very long time and has the ATS-34 Blades. Click here if you think you might interested..

Another line with CM-154 blades here.....
 
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Thanks for those two suggestions d.parker.
A tad more than i'd like to pay, indeed... But.. Well, we'll see how long they are available. Definately bookmarked though. But do they ship to Norway? I don't see anything on their website, so i guess i'll shoot them an email, if i stumble onto the cash.
Any other suggestions/recommendations?
 
Great Carvings! I love to whittle. Its a wonderful stress reliever. :)

It sounds to me that you need, (a) to focus on production slipjoints made using ATS-34. The other premium steels previously listed are adorning knives probably north of your budget. Having stated that, there are numerous choices from Case-Tony Bose and Queen-Schatt & Morgan that feature ATS-34. I would look to the secondary market for the best price on these. And, (b) if you are patient, not too pattern picky and are a good hunter, you can find some great deals out there. Especially now in the current economy where their are many more folks than you would typically see selling they're knives for some much needed cash.

Anthony
 
I'm surprised the D2 doesn't hold its edge well enough as I really like the ones I have.

If you're willing to try D2 again, Queen definitely has some reasonably priced patterns in D2. Another one is Canal Street Cutlery's Cannitler (A Whittler in a Canoe frame). I have 2 of those (One in mastodon & the other in ram's horn), both in D2.

If not D2, someone listed a link to some Cases with CM154 (Shepherd Cutlery also carries some of those). I would think those would be great. I have a Case/Bose collaboration Dogleg Jack in ATS-34 that I absolutely just love. The ATS-34 holds its edge as well as ANY of my "tactical" folders in similar steel (ATS-34 & CM154).

I think the Case/Bose collaborations might be higher than your price point, but you can alway look in the members F/S Forum, you never know. IIRC, they started the Case/Bose in '99 & used ATS-34 until '08, when they changed to CM154.

I look through the knives on "collectorknives.net" quite a bit, & I "think" I've seen some nice ones in ATS-34 & possibly 440C. Some Sandvik, too, but as stated, that might not have the edge olding you're looking for.

As for patterns, I like Jacks, Trappers, & Barlows for 2 blades, but I would think having 3 or more blades would be better. The Stockman, of course, is a good choice, but I would think the Whittler & possibly the Congress patterns would fit the bill better. I've have & have had several different Whittlers & really like thm. I've never had a Congress, but I think that's a pattern I need to try.

Good luck with whatever you get.
 
I've found a small whittler in BG42, so i thought i should ask what you guys think of that steel. I have a Boker whittler in the same size, but in whatever carbon steel Boker uses, and i like how it sits in my hand, and the size of the blades. So i know the size is good, but i've never had a knife in BG42. I've read up on it, what i could find atleast, and it seems to be a steel very similar in composition to ATS34 and such. Either way, i think i'm going to buy that one, as soon as i can scrape together some money.
 
BG-42 is outstanding stainless steel! You won't be disappointed. One of the top two or three (stainless) steels imho.
 
If you found a Whittler in BG42 thats a brand name and has a solid heat treatment you are going to be quite pleased. :thumbup:

BTW, What knife are you referring to??
 
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