Schatt and Morgan Lockback hump whittler

[mike Berkovitch]

This Schatt and Morgan lockback hump whittler made after old Remington pattern from the turn of the century or a bit later. It was produced in 2008 in limited production of 350. It measures 3 5/8" closed and has three blades, master clip point blade that is locked by the lockback mechanism and non locking pen and coping blades. The scales are attractive amber jigged bone and the double bolsters are both pinched and fluted. All three blade came factory sharp almost hair shaving, though could use a little bit of extra sharpening for those who need their knives super sharp. But the knife cut around the garden with no problems at all. The pull of the spear and coping blades is about 4 on the scale of 10 and about 5-6 for the clip point due to the use of the two springs to support its action. The locking is released by pushing the back button, and the press is somewhat hard but becoming slightly easier with time and the help of WD-40, but this might not suit anybody. The fit and finish of this knife is on the high end side except a shallow nail nicks which is not comfortable to the short nails fellows, I really wonder why they did it this way. One more thing which is picky, I admit, is the bronze color shield that doesn't suit the NS bolsters. All in all a very attractive pattern, great f&f with one problem - the stiff button of the lockback. Personally I fell in love with this one
Here are some photos:

Mike

 

[DennisStrickland]

certainly a nice one & the clip blade really has an unusual shape. i wonder if this pattern would'nt be pretty expensive to produce in america. no offense to our chinese friends but this looks tricky to do with our labor costs.--dennis

 

[Will Power]

Thank you for a fine review.

It always pleases me to see knife companies trying out an obscure or neglected pattern. This is a highly individual knife and I find it attractive, i particularly like the scales and pin arrangement. Dennis is as usual, spot on, it must be a complex and costly knife to produce. Lockback Whittlers can be very tricky knives to get just right. Mike, I'm sure the lockback mechanism will 'run-in' a bit with some use, it's beter it's stiff than sloppy anyway. You could try a matchstick with a small dab of vaseline or grease in there. I have a Schatt Premier, an English Jack it looks very nice but the F&F is lacklustre, gaps and significant wobble annoy.

 

[mike Berkovitch]

The uncommon pattern was the the first thing that caught me By now the lockback mechanism became much more easier to press due to the extensive use. This knife costs around 90$ , so not that cheap but I believe it is fair price. I've seen 3 or 4 Chinese brands that produce lockback whittlers and their price is much lower. I know nothing about their quality but I didn't like the design. Mike