So you're outfitting the hands on a ranch ...

rwc53 said:
Robert, I've spent some time in South America, and I know about the gauchos (and others who work Los Llanos), and their knives. Most I have seen have metal sheaths, metal-tipped and throated sheaths, or sheaths lined with wood...for a good reason. A very pointy blade can do dastardly things to your hide if you happen to get knocked off or bucked off for some reason, and it comes out of the sheath. And, as I clearly stated, what I wrote was from my experience, others' experience may differ. Just because South American horseman wear their sheath knives while riding, doesn't mean I have to do the same.

Regards,
Ron
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I just thought you were of the position that it wouldn't work well, I likely will still stick with my 110 in pocket as I have done and stand by that folder working for me when I was cattle rustling...but I dont do ranch stuff anymore, all the riding i do is purely for enjoyment.
 
One of these stockman pattens - probably the big yellow 4 1/2" Moore Maker - though the German Eye one, and the Ontario RAT one (which has an awl) are both corkers!

Or the good large sodbuster (probably the Moore Maker again)

The Farmer from SAK is a good idea but I find it a bit weedy

Best is the bottom one here from Herr W Kneissler - handmade and dirt cheap :)

02-Stock.jpg


wk2.jpg
 
I like that bottom knife as a folder, it looks like that needle would work to stitch up a wound or prolapse and also as an awl for punching holes in leather. I can't remember a need for a little saw, but having it won't hurt anything and could come in handy if it cuts on the pull.
 
Ed - I lived in your neck of the woods for 7 years back in the 70's and 80's. Bought Old Timers at the Ace Hardware over in Lander. Seems like I recall a knife case over at the Lander Saddlery. Used to sell plug tobacco there to Wally Call. Where did a guy buy a knife over in Riverton through the years, and what brands did the cowboys around Fremont County favor? I remember seeing a lot of knives everywhere, and a fantastic selection at Welty's up in Dubois. I only wish I would have collected knives back then.

Hope the flood waters on the Wind River are settling down.
 
JAlexander said:
Well, now. That's certainly a perspective. It really all depends what you're using the knife for, though. F'r instance, I've only ever used slip joints when I was castrating and earmarking calves, as well as any other surgical operation (abscesses, etc.). When I'm cutting baler twine off of round bales I prefer using a fixed blade with a rough working edge, because the grime in baler twine will wreck a really fine edge PDQ. As far as multi-tools go, no thanks, at least not for ranch work. I use high-tensile barbed wire, and the pliers on multi-tools won't touch it, plus the jaws on the multi-tool pliers aren't big enough to get a good grip on the wire.

If I were gonna start handing out knives to anyone who came to work for me, it would be a full size Case trapper with CV blades. I am a traditionalist, after all.

James
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:thumbup: James. Well stated.
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Edited for additional content..

I finally just finished up this thread and its a dandy. Great information in many of the posts in here. Great discussion idea by mnblade.

I reckon I should add my 02. here and say I am no real cowboy by any stretch but I have worked part time on a working cattle ranch and small farm here in Florida where I live for the last several years and I have learned a boat load in that time from the vaqueros who work the place and the owners. I have found if you're out away from the main compound and all you have is your pocket knife, I don't think you could do much better than a good & stout large (4) hi-carbon blade stockman folder with a clip, spay, punch and sheepsfoot. My own preference is an older Case 64047P. I also have an older Marbles sheath knife in my pack too. Having your fencing pliers are and absolute must in my opinion if you are out working as well, as there is always mending to do somewhere on the fence line. Our vet uses several sizes and varieties of Burdizzo instruments for the castration of the bovine, pigs and goats on the ranch. In my opinion its the least painful and sanitary method I've seen preformed thus far.


Anthony
 
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I had to look up Burdizzo, and now I wish I hadn't , my stomach churned and my eyes are watering at the thought :)

Great thread.

Thomas
 
Thawk: Thanks for the good wishes, so far so good.

I honestly cannot remember buying a knife in Riverton other than those special finds at pawn shops or a gun show. The new stuff just has little appeal to me.

The fencing tool is an absolute necessity. You have to do a little work on the new ones to improve function such as smooth out the hole above the pliers with a chain saw file so it does not put a sharp notch in the wire when you use it to take the slack out of a wire. The older ones were made that way.
 
In Florida we have "cow hunters" not cowboys; when you get away from the coasts and large city cancers, you will see their stock trailers with three or four saddled horses and a couple of dogs in the box; they hire out by the job. Herd dogs are mostly Catahoulas with a lot of bull mix for catch dogs. Most cow hunters are very proficient with our stock whip (10-14') and I have seen a moccasin easily killed with one. Not to be chauvanistic but our ranching culture is over 400 years old, the Arridondo Grant just down the road dates from the 1500's and was a working ranch back then.
But to knives; first off I would be deducting the costs from the hands pay if I supplied them. My personal outfit would consist of a leatherman supertool on the belt, a Buck stockman in shirt pocket and a KBar short machete strapped to the saddle. All are accessable sitting or riding and I can't think of a cutting job I couldn't do with them. I carry all three (substitute a Case, Queen or Mooremaker stockman for the Buck, heckl I own the place after all).
If this stirs any interest, look up cracker cows or cracker horses; you may be surprised that we really have history before Disney.
 
Thanks for the post Panicotr, and a piece of education. Live in Kansas, been around a lot of cattle. Never heard of Cracker Cattle.

Florida_Cracker_cow_and_calf.jpg


Nice looking stock, and an interesting story on their history.
 
panicotr said:
In Florida we have "cow hunters" not cowboys ...
If this stirs any interest, look up cracker cows or cracker horses; you may be surprised that we really have history before Disney.
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Thanks for pointing that out, panicotr. You beat me to it. I'm FL born and bred*. To some, "cracker" was a racial slur but Grandma always told me that cracker was a word for cowboy. If you enjoy tales of historic Florida (including cow hunters), I highly recommend reading "A Land Remembered" by Patrick D. Smith.


* Truth be told, Grandma was a snowbird. As a girl, her family moved to the swamps of Davie from Hartford City, Indiana in 1906.
 
I'm confused. Do those Burdizzos clamp on and your steer-to-be wears them for a while or does it clamp a ring on there or does it just pinch the cord in two. Whatever, how in the #$#%^ does it do that without damaging the scrotum?!? No, thanks! I'll make an appointment with the urologist if it ever comes to that.

Navihawk - out with your source! :D
 
I suppose I am being a bit daft but I have been suprised at the lack of bowie knives mentioned so far. I always assumed that a cowboy would have a bowie style knife on him.

If this was set in scotland and the farmer was outfitting his boys in the highlands.

folder - vic farmer
fixed - mora craftsman
essential - midgie net

both cheap and reliable
 
Excellent observation Moff 8! You don't see experienced hands packing Bowie knives.
They are for city folks and those who do not know any better who want to be cowboys
or get their picture taken!
 
Ed,

Great to you you here in the Trad forum. As has always been the case I really enjoy reading your words.

Gus
 
Thanks Gus! I do enjoy relavent discussions and note that I just passed my 2,000 post. No better place than on this form.
 
Ed Fowler said:
Thanks Gus! I do enjoy relavent discussions and note that I just passed my 2,000 post. No better place than on this form.
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Which begs the question, Ed, if you were outfitting the hands on a ranch with a laptop so they could post on the "Traditional Forum" while in the field...;)

Personally, I might have to go with a "tablet" of some sort since they don't "fold". :p

(Headin' into the Wind Rivers while the gettin's good... :D)


Great seeing and chewin' the fat with you at the show (as always), Ed! :thumbup:
 
sunnyd said:
:thumbup: James. Well stated.
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Anthony
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Thanks a lot, Anthony, I appreciate it. As I said earlier, I don't know much about the Burdizzo, not least because it's much cheaper and easier for me to use the method I already know, rather than learn a new one, or call in a vet.

And thanks for the insight into Florida cow culture, Panicotr. I had heard of Cracker cattle, though, because one of my good friends keeps Pineywoods cattle, and near as I can tell, they're pretty similar. It's good to get another perspective on the cutting tools, too. Do y'all do much roping in Florida?

James
 
Thanks again Gus and Elliot: Blade show was great times, look forward to next year and thank you for the good times.

MOFF8: your comment about the Bowie knives has been on my mind all day.

The Bowie knife is a thing of beauty, elegance of grace and an opportunity for individual expression of the maker and client. But she is the product of the dime novel which made it debut in the early 1800's. I have a special love for them but can not put them in the functional venue, by design they have too many limitations for general use. I remember reading an account written by a woman traveling with a wagon train, "We are well prepared to fight if need be, the men all have revolvers and Bowie knives." That the folks with that wagon train were slaughtered just a few weeks after her entry in her journal. The men of that train probably felt they were prepared by carrying the Bowie Knives, but when it came down to the wire they lost all.

The dime store cowboy feels he has to fight nature, and usually looses.
The real cowboy when in a blizzard or thunder storm hears the notes of a Rossini Overture and loves every minute of it. He proudly lives with nature and enjoys every minute of it. He sees everything and notes what is important to him.

The dime store cowboy hears a rattle snake and he kills it. He may use a 45 or rifle. He does this to prove to himself and others how great a man he is. It is the code of the dime store cowboy to kill all he does not understand.

The real cowboy realizes that the buzz of a rattle snake is not a challenge but a plea "Hey big foot watch where you are walking, don't step on me!" If you were a rattle snake on the ground and some big footed critter was walking up on you, you would first hide, then give warning if you felt threatened. The real cowboy realizes the rattler is as much or more a part of nature as he is and respects his presence. He teaches his dogs to avoid them and knows that his horses are already programed to respect the rattler.
The real cowboy knows that if he gets in a bind that rattler could easily provide him with a meal if need be.

He will love the lion, bobcat, porcupine and yes even the prairie dog. He will raise or pasture his horses in a prairie dog town because he knows that the horse will learn to watch his feet as any good horse does. He will not put pressure on a horse in rough country or a prairie dog town out of respect for both.

The dime store cowboy kills all he does not understand.
The real cowboy seeks to understand. He can watch a coyote sneak up on an antelope fawn and not intercede. He will also watch as a doe antelope stomps a coyote to mush protecting her young and will feel privileged to witness nature at her finest.

Instead of cutting his way through brush he will ride around it if he can, he will love every tree, every flower, every animal he comes across and never kill for sport, only when it must be done.

He will not abandon a friend or animal in trouble, he does not consider himself a hero, just does what needs to be done. When he fails he learns from his failure if he gets the chance to. Still he will remember those failures for a long time, along with the good times.

He will carefully outfit his tack to do the jobs he needs to do without any show, and do what needs to be done. The equipment and hands he chooses forms a paertnership that make for good times.

These are just a few thoughts that have been working me over since my last post, sorry to have derailed this post, but I could not help it.
 
Outstanding post, Mr. Fowler! Lot's of wisdom there for us all. There's so much "big hat, no cattle" mentality going on in the world today ..... it's refreshing to read your words. Thanks! :thumbup:
 
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