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- Jan 13, 2003
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These may have already been reviewed here, but I'll offer my initial observations...
Interesting that there is a current thread for the redbone stockman right now. These are the Taylors that are now being made by Camillus or Bear & Sons. At least they are not imports...
I have always been a sucker for a medium stockman with a turkish clip blade. This was the pattern that got me started as a lad, when I received one that had belonged to grandfather. So, I saw these on ebay, and decided to pick one up. For $36 with shipping, a little steep for my tastes, but I pulled the trigger anyway.
My initial thoughts upon receiving it were that it looked fairly solid, the green bone popping out at you. Nice overall look and feel to the knife. And the original plastic tube packaging, reminds you when they all came like that. (Good marketing, that's how they get the unsuspecting buyers).
There is no pattern number on the knife, only on the paper insert to the tube, which says "SCW 11897G". As we know, this is a clone of the 897 pattern.
It has the scandalous Walden tang stamp:
And the "Everlastingly Sharp" logo on the main blade:
Is it just me, or are the turkish clip blades on these much skinnier than the older ones?
So I started to inspect it, interested in the fit and finish, and how it might stack up to the past. My initial feeling on this knife is, it reminds me of the Rough Rider stockmans. They look good at first, but then you start to see things that pop out at you.
The snap on the clip is pretty good, better than I had remembered on the 897UH, but this one has noticeable blade play. Quit disappointing for a brand new knife. The sheepsfoot had good snap, and slight wobble, but not as bad as the clip.
The spey is ridiculous. There appears to be tension from the backspring, but no snap. There may be something rubbing that is keeping it from snapping up good, and in defense, perhaps a bit of oil and some working in might help. But regardless, the action on this spey is unacceptable from the factory.
The greenbone is nice, and the shield is deeply inset, so much so that when I turn the knife on its' side, I can't see the edges of the the shield at all. Probably 1/32" in from the surface of the bone.
I have always heard that bone can be tricky to work with. Maybe that's why I am seeing what looks to be a crack running from one pin towards the corner of the scale by the bolster. Hopefully you can see this in the pic:
However, this takes the cake for me. Look at the sloppy finish angle on this bolster end:
I realize a hand finished knife will not be perfectly symmetrical, but you should also not be able to see such a disparity.
Sharpness out of the box is okay on the clip and the spey. The clip will slice copy paper fairly easily. The angles on the grinds look fairly even. The sheepsfoot, however, is so dull I can push my thumb up and down it's edge with no effect. I guess that's not horrible these days; I have heard of some higher end production knives with dull edges out of the box.
I have no test data on edge-holding or other use, it is still new.
So, I'm not sure what I will do with it. I might put it through it's paces.
Anyone else had experience with these?
Glenn
Interesting that there is a current thread for the redbone stockman right now. These are the Taylors that are now being made by Camillus or Bear & Sons. At least they are not imports...
I have always been a sucker for a medium stockman with a turkish clip blade. This was the pattern that got me started as a lad, when I received one that had belonged to grandfather. So, I saw these on ebay, and decided to pick one up. For $36 with shipping, a little steep for my tastes, but I pulled the trigger anyway.
My initial thoughts upon receiving it were that it looked fairly solid, the green bone popping out at you. Nice overall look and feel to the knife. And the original plastic tube packaging, reminds you when they all came like that. (Good marketing, that's how they get the unsuspecting buyers).
There is no pattern number on the knife, only on the paper insert to the tube, which says "SCW 11897G". As we know, this is a clone of the 897 pattern.
It has the scandalous Walden tang stamp:
And the "Everlastingly Sharp" logo on the main blade:
Is it just me, or are the turkish clip blades on these much skinnier than the older ones?
So I started to inspect it, interested in the fit and finish, and how it might stack up to the past. My initial feeling on this knife is, it reminds me of the Rough Rider stockmans. They look good at first, but then you start to see things that pop out at you.
The snap on the clip is pretty good, better than I had remembered on the 897UH, but this one has noticeable blade play. Quit disappointing for a brand new knife. The sheepsfoot had good snap, and slight wobble, but not as bad as the clip.
The spey is ridiculous. There appears to be tension from the backspring, but no snap. There may be something rubbing that is keeping it from snapping up good, and in defense, perhaps a bit of oil and some working in might help. But regardless, the action on this spey is unacceptable from the factory.
The greenbone is nice, and the shield is deeply inset, so much so that when I turn the knife on its' side, I can't see the edges of the the shield at all. Probably 1/32" in from the surface of the bone.
I have always heard that bone can be tricky to work with. Maybe that's why I am seeing what looks to be a crack running from one pin towards the corner of the scale by the bolster. Hopefully you can see this in the pic:
However, this takes the cake for me. Look at the sloppy finish angle on this bolster end:
I realize a hand finished knife will not be perfectly symmetrical, but you should also not be able to see such a disparity.
Sharpness out of the box is okay on the clip and the spey. The clip will slice copy paper fairly easily. The angles on the grinds look fairly even. The sheepsfoot, however, is so dull I can push my thumb up and down it's edge with no effect. I guess that's not horrible these days; I have heard of some higher end production knives with dull edges out of the box.
I have no test data on edge-holding or other use, it is still new.
So, I'm not sure what I will do with it. I might put it through it's paces.
Anyone else had experience with these?
Glenn
