So I got bit by the traditional bug...

NjHart

NjHart

Joined
Jan 4, 2013
Messages
715
As the title may indicate I've been bitten by the traditional bug. I've always carried knives, long before I joined here- though bladeforums did broaden my horizon and lighten my wallet significantly, but going back to childhood I was drawn to the more modern knives. I posted for the first time in this subsection a week or two ago with a few questions and got some very helpful answers. I was intrigued and started carrying a traditional that had some sentimental value to me- mostly just to see how much use it got and how much I enjoyed it. Fast forward to last weekend and I was at a very nice wedding. A place that pulling a SNG from my pocket (though wouldn't draw huge amounts of attention in rural Texas) would be out of place. My 7 year old niece had a terrible horrifying problem- she doesn't have a dinner knife to cut her steak. I hand her mine from my silverware and she happily skips off. I am then left using my trapper to cut my steak. For lack of a better way of describing it, it felt wonderful. It improved my dinner (my knife was much much sharper than the dinner knives), it looked and felt great, and I had quite a few compliments on both the sequence of events and the beauty of my trapper. Pretty much from that moment on, I've been a total waste of space for researching what I wanted to get my hands on, and I discovered a couple of knife makers who I found absolutely brilliant. I spent probably an unhealthy amount of time researching Tony Bose and Jess Horn and looking at beautiful pieces that are significantly out of my normal price range. Then today, in an incredible bit of luck, a forum member here offered me Case Bose Millennium Trapper in trade for a knife I had posted- needless to say I was happy to make that trade. I'm way beyond giddy at what I have coming in now! I just had to share my overall happiness and excitement and figured this would be the place! Thanks for reading and I'll share a picture in the immediate aftermath of the wedding dinner the other night!

jqgv0i.jpg
 
Great story! Welcome to the world of the old classic folders, they're reminders of yesteryear and in fact make great companions even today. My GEC's are cherished companions that go everywhere with me, they're a part of my daily life.

Post up more pics when you get a chance :)
 
Thanks! As soon as I get the Case Bose in there will be gratuitous pictures rest assured. That folder is a Moore Maker that my dad gave me last Christmas. Perfection it is not, but it has gotten quite a bit of pocket time since he passed away. I actually have a few other traditionals from years and years ago that I should dig out (provided I can find them still) and I'll take pictures of all of them when I can. For abuse and heavy work (I live on a ranch and spend a fair amount of time outdoors) it'll be hard to displace some of my beefy modern knives, unless of course I get so hooked I have to start carrying a traditional fixed blade too, but I can say I've really enjoyed the act of using my trapper more lately. It's fun and frequently useful to be able to flip my Strider open on a moments notice and cut whatever I need, but you're right- the act of fishing out a more classic folder, taking two hands to open, and deliberately acting has a charm to it that is hard to replicate.

Edit: Also here is another picture! Both are Moore Makers. I, actually, have never been super sold on the brand, but I received both of these as gifts. They are probably the most common knife carried around where I live- especially by the cowboy constituency (so long as you exclude ropers who all seem to carry fully serrated spydercos for pretty obvious reasons).

xpr23b.jpg
 
Last edited:
Moore Maker makes a solid knife. Nothing spectacular about them, but they're good working tools. That large trapper of yours is a treasure coming from your dad.

I have one of their yellow bone sodbusters that I keep in my car for the rare occurrence I leave the house without a knife.

I also like your taste in pistols. Hard to go wrong with a 1911. :thumbup:

- Christian
 
kamagong said:
Moore Maker makes a solid knife. Nothing spectacular about them, but they're good working tools. That large trapper of yours is a treasure coming from your dad.

I have one of their yellow bone sodbusters that I keep in my car for the rare occurrence I leave the house without a knife.

I also like your taste in pistols. Hard to go wrong with a 1911. :thumbup:

- Christian
Click to expand...

Thank you for the kind words! The large one will forever be in my collection. I probably won't always carry it as often as I have been, but it is important to me and it's safe to say it'll be on my nightstand long after I stop carrying it every day. The Moore Maker's I've handled have a pretty huge range in quality since they have multiple manufacturers they outsource to. The large trapper was made by Queen and is pretty good in terms of quality (not perfect and I could nitpick, but let's just say it came with a little character of it's own). I've seen a pretty wide range, but they are genuinely beloved locally.

Also the 1911 was sort of accidental. I cleared a little space on my nightstand to take the picture and realize after that a little was in frame. I figured it was traditional enough to be ok.
 
NjHart said:
That folder is a Moore Maker that my dad gave me last Christmas. Perfection it is not ... They are probably the most common knife carried around where I live ...

xpr23b.jpg
Click to expand...

Today's Moore Maker's are manufactured by Bear and Sons and they are not your father's Moore Maker. For those hunting a Moore Maker, I'd suggest looking for an older one that was manufactured for them by Queen (first choice) or Camillus (second), and steer clear of the Bears.

OR, for a great working knife, look for something from Great Eastern Cutlery, or get a yella Case knife with their great CV steel.

Great post, by the way. Thanks, NjHart.

-- Mark
 
mnblade said:
Today's Moore Maker's are manufactured by Bear and Sons and they are not your father's Moore Maker. For those hunting a Moore Maker, I'd suggest looking for an older one that was manufactured for them by Queen (first choice) or Camillus (second), and steer clear of the Bears.[/I]
Click to expand...

Queen isn't making them anymore? I know Canal Street makes some now...

Utica also makes the lower-end ones as well as Bear and Sons.
 
kamagong said:
I also like your taste in pistols. Hard to go wrong with a 1911. :thumbup:

- Christian
Click to expand...

John Moses Browning was an amazing inventor. Imagine what he could have done had his interest been traditional knives! Today we re-create traditional knife patterns of the past. I wonder how he could have influenced/created different patterns that today we look back on?

RE: the OP--traditional knives have it all: history, purpose-build design, beauty of natural materials, cutting efficiency, economy of materials, and more.
 
Planterz said:
Queen isn't making them anymore? I know Canal Street makes some now...

Utica also makes the lower-end ones as well as Bear and Sons.
Click to expand...

Aha. Good points. I guess the bottom line, IMHO, is avoid the Bear-made ones. At best, they're way over-priced. And, as every other post here can attest, GEC is a great way to go when looking for a traditional knife that's made the way they used to make 'em.

-- Mark
 
Part of the traditional draw for me is finding old knives, (40-100) years old in serviceable to great condition for great prices, (usually under $20).

There are still a lot of old USA made knives to be found in yard sales and flea markets, one of the cheapest traditional to correct that are still around but getting harder to find in great shape are the old Colonials and Imperials.

Good luck on your journey into traditional land.
 
In particular... MooreMaker has a plastic handled lock back that looks exactly like a Schrade LB7/OT7. I would love to know who is making that for them.

Welcome to the club!
 
From what I can tell, if the model number ends in a U, it's made by Utica. If it's a number ending with a B, it's made by Bear, but make sure it's not ended with LB, because that would mean lockback. If it's inexpensive and there's no U or B, and it's inexpensive, it was probably made by Camillus before they shut down in 2007. If it's expensive and there's no letters, it was probably made by Queen. If it's expensive and there's a bunch of letters at the end, I'm guessing it was made by Canal Street. There's a lot of guessing and assumptions for some of their models, but chances are a specific model's maker can be narrowed down.
 
I would expect the Uticas to be satisfactory if not knock - your - socks - off. The Bears, well....

And as a fellow Texan, I am interested in where you are. I had never heard of Moore Maker (traditional saddle maker nomenclature as is the oval) or Matador. Apparently they are a big supplier of fencing tools and the like?
 
I am currently in the same boat your were in. I have always been a modern folder kind of guy and still am. However, I have been spending a lot of time in this sub forum for no other reason than to pass time at work and I was instantly bitten by the traditional bug. Unlike you, I have never even owned a traditional but have been around them very frequently, also being a fellow Texan ( deep southeast texas). So now the question is where to start. I'm really liking that trapper. Not tryin to hijack the thread. Just wanted to say hello and commend you on the knife.
 
Planterz said:
From what I can tell, if the model number ends in a U, it's made by Utica. If it's a number ending with a B, it's made by Bear, but make sure it's not ended with LB, because that would mean lockback. If it's inexpensive and there's no U or B, and it's inexpensive, it was probably made by Camillus before they shut down in 2007. If it's expensive and there's no letters, it was probably made by Queen. If it's expensive and there's a bunch of letters at the end, I'm guessing it was made by Canal Street. There's a lot of guessing and assumptions for some of their models, but chances are a specific model's maker can be narrowed down.
Click to expand...

Yes, the one I'm curious about is marked LB. Tang stamp says USA but is there still a chance that it's made overseas?

3101lbcomp.jpg


Oh wait... Now I see that Bear and Sons has frames with the same profile. Must be from Bear.


But dang... Now that I look, the drop point fixed blades from MooreMaker, Utica and Bear all look the same (unmistakably, the Loveless Schrade design). Huh?

Did Bear and Sons just end up with a lot of the Schrade tooling or patterns or this just classic R&D (as in, rip-off and duplicate)?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top