Sheepfoot blade on stockman knives

H

HFinn

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Sep 6, 2012
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I have finally made up my mind to get a stockman, most likely a Case medium size with stag handle. Also I found a suitable use for the sheepfoot: some people are gluing stickers with really offensive messages on the lampposts and the sheepfoot could be used as a scraper. No kidding �� I clean up the neighborhood with my stockman.

What do you use the sheepfoot for?
 
I think the spey would make a better sticker scraper. More angles of approach :) I use the sheepfoot for scoring tasks, opening packages, etc, which means it's also my most used blade on my stockmans (men?).

Congrats on the soon to be new knife choice, and good luck on your cleanup mission!
 
I use it for opening those stupid plastic clamshell packages a lot. Cutting tape.

You're right though. It does make a good flat razor blade like scraper if you have room to get it in the sit flat. I have used them as gasket scrapers before.
 
Same here. I use my sheepsfoot blades mostly to cut that pesky packing tape that is used to seal boxes for shipment. Other occasional uses are cutting string and nylon banding, among other things.
 
I use the sheepfoot as much or more than the clip blade on a stockman. The spey blade is the one that I use as a scraper since it's up to the task, I don't use it much for anything else, and I prefer not to damage the edge on the sheepfoot or clip blades.

Because of its shape the sheepfoot excels for starting a cut in the middle of something. And the relatively short length allows greater control for cuts that might be awkward with a longer blade. Lots of good uses ...cutting line or rope, cutting bandages from a roll, cutting tape off a roll, sharpening a pencil, opening packages, stripping wires, scoring, pruning, notching, carving, whittling, cutting tubing, etc

...and scraping stickers. ;)
 
I have a full size Case trapper and use the spey mostly as a food blade. The clip point is the general use blade. Therefore I planned to use the spey on the stockman for "clean" (food), the clip for "slightly dirty" jobs (whittling, opening packages) and the sheepfoot as a scraper (dirty job's).
 
Maybe the op should look at some congress style knives; they usually, except for Case knives, have two large sheepfoot mains. A very versatile combination usually, with a wide variety of secondary blades. Can be a bit wide for some, and you won't generally find one with long (2.75-3") blades but outside of that they seem to be ,ahem, jacks of all trades.👍
Neal
 
For sanitary reasons, I prefer not to use pocket knives for food. ..I've gotten used knives from other folks that had dried up peanut butter and jelly, bits of meat, and all sorts of other goodies caked inside the well and joint!! ...I usually have kitchen knives available if I'm eating. It's much easier to keep them clean since they don't fold. Also, I can run them through the dish washer. But I wouldn't hesitate in a pinch. I just clean it up well before and after. A spey blade on a trapper works well for food prep. On a stockman, I use the clip blade for food prep since it's longer.
 
Crazy Canuck said:
I think the spey would make a better sticker scraper. More angles of approach :) I use the sheepfoot for scoring tasks, opening packages, etc, which means it's also my most used blade on my stockmans (men?). !
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Agreed on both counts.

-- Mark
 
I have a Case 3318 in CV that I like a lot, and I've been thinking of getting one in stainless. But Utica's Adirondack premium stockman looks quite similar and is tempered harder.
 
I've found myself carrying a stockman more and more recently because the sheepfoot is probably my favorite blade shape. I work in an automotive parts department and I have a lot of stuff to open on a daily basis. I always have more than one knife on me, but I mainly use whatever traditional I have. I use the clip blade from time to time, but I always come back to what works best for me...the good ol' sheepfoot.
 
On a stockman, I generally use the clip for food, the sheepsfoot for work, and I save the spey as a really sharp backup.
 
Wire stripping, cutting pictures out of books and mags....:D cutting wallpaper to size when I was patching some small repair areas, taking cuttings from plants. Box opening. Opening bubble shells the sheepfoot is good at but far better is a small pruner, that bill shape just pierces clamshell with no danger.:cool:

How did I forgit, cutting a piece of chew from tobacco plug:D (somebody might still do that! :barf: ) Maybe even pipe reaming if you have a small Sheepfoot, but again, pipe smoking largely extinct it seems. Cuts a very nice slice of lime to go in my Gin & Tonic too.:thumbup:

Overall, a really appealing blade but I wish there were more on 2 blade knives as well. I have last year's Forum Knife and enjoy it for that and other reasons and a Schatt & Morgan Horticultural Jack which is Clip/Sheepfoot, this is an under appreciated combo in my view.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
On a stockman, I generally use the clip for food, the sheepsfoot for work, and I save the spey as a really sharp backup.
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This pretty much sums it up for me . The sheep riding higher probably has a lot to do with its frequent use .
 
I tend to use the sheep for cutting cigars, as well as opening blister packs. The sheep foot that I really use a lot is the one on my RR Improved Muskrat.
 
My Sheepfoot cuts all sorts of plastic clam packs and Nylon bands on paper boxes and opens packages. Spey is for cheese and summer sausage. My clip blade handles any cutting that needs a longer blade.
 
supratentorial said:
Because of its shape the sheepfoot excels for starting a cut in the middle of something. And the relatively short length allows greater control for cuts that might be awkward with a longer blade.
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What Jake said.
any time you need to press hard with a blade point, the Sheepsfoot excels. The harder you press with the point, the more it forces the knife into the open position. So piecing cuts become safe cuts. No locking blade required.

Anytime I start the cut in the middle of a surface, I reach for a sheepsfoot blade. That could be opening a box or a clamshell package or pretty much anything else.
 
knarfeng said:
Anytime I start the cut in the middle of a surface, I reach for a sheepsfoot blade. That could be opening a box or a clamshell package or pretty much anything else.
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Exactly this. :) For me it's most often packing tape and breaking down cardboard boxes into manageable pieces for the recycling bin.
 
knarfeng said:
...
any time you need to press hard with a blade point, the Sheepsfoot excels. The harder you press with the point, the more it forces the knife into the open position. So piecing cuts become safe cuts. No locking blade required.
...
Click to expand...
Great explanation of the physics of the situation, Frank. :thumbup: I can almost see the force diagram! :cool:

- GT
 
I ordered a Case medium sized stockman with amber bone covers and rounded bolsters. It takes a couple of weeks to get one where I live.
 
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