Slip joint knife from the flea market

DaleW

DaleW

Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
2,194
I dropped by a local Sunday flea market while running errands today. There are usually a couple sellers with TSA confiscations and other used knives. One was there and he has a few multitools out, but no knives. I asked why he didn't have the usual layout of SAK's. It's a real hippy affair and evidently they don't like him having knives out, but he handed me a whole tub of SAK's to look through. There was a citrine colored (that's yellow to me) Vic Classic SD in really nice shape and I found a Buck 373 Trio Blade Stockman in the bottom of the tub. I got both for $15, which wasn't a give-away, but I felt like it was a fair deal.

Anyway, I got home and cleaned the pocket lint out of the Buck, ran it over a crock stick, polished up the scratches a bit, and gave it a shot of oil. I have an old Camillus army knife and an old Boy Scout knife that are family keepsakes, but I haven't really paid much attention to slip joints in a long time. It's really a sweet little knife and I think it's a good candidate for a pocket backup to a larger knife on the trail for cookin' and general cuttin' chores. It's certainly light enough (1.9oz) and I wouldn't be adverse to putting one in a PSK. You're not going to baton firewood with it, but it would make a fuzz stick in a hurry, clean a fish, etc. With 3 blades, it would be hard not to have one sharp or the right shape for the job.

I can see why collectors like slip joints-- 10,000 variations, decades of manufacuring, all kinds of scale materials, etc. And there is the nostalgia factor--- it just a classic little tool that men are supposed to have, y'know?. It was a nice eye-opener.
 
There was time, not too long ago, when a man (or a boy) wouldn't leave home without a knife like the Buck Trio (or Schrade Old timer, etc. etc.) in his pocket.
I have an old Case Scout knife in near new condition that I would love to give to my grandson to pack in his pocket as all men once did, but political correctness would probably have him up on charges of carrying an offensive weapon.

I like old slip joint knives, they have a whiff of the "good ol' days" about them.
 
I was going to buy one of those this weekend; I really wasn't impressed. I was at Wally World and was looking at the various classic Bucks, because I've been wanting a traditional folder for some time. The only thing that really turned me off was that the back springs were frighteningly loose on ALL the ones I tried out. My SAK has tighter springs! Don't mean to highjack the thread but that just really bothered me.
 
Stockmans are great tools. I have carried one for thirty years. In the woods paired with a big bolo knife. If you practice making figure 4 dead falls the stockmans are just the thing to do more intricate carving.
fedaykincmndr: Buck apparently has two lines an USA made ones and an off shore line. Of coarse the US made line is still Buck quality.
 
Slipjpoints and traditionals are not just nostalgia, they are very useful pocket friendly back-ups as you point out.
 
I think you could have one of these with you your whole life and it would serve 99.12523% of the things you would run into

That is just a rough estimate btw.

TF
 
I have a 373- mine was one of the very earliest ones, and I happened to get slightly better steel and handle scales- though even the new ones are very decent knives for the money. Despite being imported, Buck still stands behind them with their lifetime warranty. New retail on those is about $15. They are decent knives none the less.
 
Dale, check out the "Traditional folders and fixed blades" forum under the general heading. Alot of great picks and people that post over there. I think you've got the slip joint bug now, but spend some time over there and you'll really get hooked. Congrats on the nice find.
 
fedaykincmndr said:
I was going to buy one of those this weekend; I really wasn't impressed. I was at Wally World and was looking at the various classic Bucks, because I've been wanting a traditional folder for some time. The only thing that really turned me off was that the back springs were frighteningly loose on ALL the ones I tried out. My SAK has tighter springs! Don't mean to highjack the thread but that just really bothered me.
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This one clicks in like the lock pins in a vault door. I have no idea where it falls in the production history, but it's a user-- I just couldn't drop big dollars on a pocket knife and have it abused by change and keys or lost. It's not so much that it's a Buck of a certain model as it is the ultility of this style of knife. This is purely an impulse purchase that taught me something.
 
I carry a Case trapper as my main blade a lot of the time, and I have never felt under knifed.

knife5.jpg
 
troutfisher13111 said:
I carry a Case trapper as my main blade a lot of the time, and I have never felt under knifed.

knife5.jpg
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SPeaking of Case Knives, I bought a medium stockman for a female co-worker of mine for Christmas 2 years ago. Some Air Force SP confiscated the one her dad gave her 20 years earlier. I felt bad for her and being the knife guy that I am ( cheesy pun, I know:o ) I helped her out. She uses that knife all the time on her farm and it just keeps on going. When it comes to quality slip-joints Case still makes one of the best IMHO. One of the only slip-joints I own is a Ka-bar stockman, another good one. -Matt-
 
Its a K&M matchcase. Right now their web page is down, but it should be up soon. Excellent product, very well built, and serves its purpose well. Its one of my favorite pieces of gear! Don't get the Knock offs, buy the real K&M.
 
My first knife was a hand-me-down 2-blade slip joint. I tell myself it was some cheap copy, because it's long since lost and I'd feel bad if it had been a nice Case or Schrade. :o I remember really liking the small sheepsfoot blade for fine work.
 
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