Sorry...it's one of those.

M

martinlutherbling

Joined
Oct 10, 2014
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457
Yeah, another "what knife should I buy" thread. Sorry! But there's so many traditional styles available, it's a bit overwhelming.
I'm new to traditional knives, but I recently bought a GEC #92 for a friend and I like it so much I knew I had to get a traditional of my own. I'd like to stick with GEC but I'd be open to other brands. I've got a few requirements.
-drop point or spear point blade shape
-single blade
-bone or stag scales
-3" blade give or take. No more than 3.5"
-liner or back lock is a big plus, but not totally mandatory
-lanyard hole
-<$100

The 92 would be perfect if it had a lanyard hole. The Vipers look awesome but I don't want a wharncliff blade. There's so many styles available...can you guys point me in the right direction?
 
#42 Missouri Trader would fit your requirements. It's a pretty hefty knife but ticks off all your boxes.

#72 Lockback if you want something a little smaller, but still a good sized knife.
 
Exactly the two I was going to suggest. A quick check and I was able to find both knives in bone and/or stag for under $100. The #42 is a drop point style blade while the #72 is available in a spear. Both have lockbacks.
 
Thanks for the quick replies. The #42 is definitely a bit too hefty for my liking, but the #72 is interesting. After considering it though a lock isn't that important to me. In fact I think the easy closing of a slip joint would be more convenient than a lock.
 
If a lanyard hole is a requirement I believe you're still limited to those models. If not you can look at the #15 boy's knife and #55 houndstooth. The #55 is available with a linerlock, but I don't believe either of those models have been made available with a lanyard hole. The #99 Farmer Lock has a lanyard hole, but has only come in synthetics. They're doing a run called the Wallstreet on the #99 frame, which will have bone and stag scales, but again no lanyard hole.
 
Cory Hess said:
If a lanyard hole is a requirement I believe you're still limited to those models. If not you can look at the #15 boy's knife and #55 houndstooth. The #55 is available with a linerlock, but I don't believe either of those models have been made available with a lanyard hole. The #99 Farmer Lock has a lanyard hole, but has only come in synthetics. They're doing a run called the Wallstreet on the #99 frame, which will have bone and stag scales, but again no lanyard hole.
Click to expand...

If the lock and lanyard hole aren't important than you can just get a single blade 92 too. But the 72 or 73 are pretty much exactly what you were looking for.
 
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Also consider a 56 Houndstooth Spear with liner-lock.
 
There were some #73s with lanyard hole and drop point blade. On the smaller side, you could get a Northfield White Owl. Yes, its only 3 1/2" closed, has about a 2 1/2" blade, has 2 blades and no lanyard hole but being a single spring knife, you get 2 blades for the size of 1 and the Northfields have a bail which you can attach a lanyard to.
 
I guess I'll look harder at the 42 and 72. Personally I think they aren't nearly as handsome as other designs, which is a bummer. Those 56's are great looking knives, and the 92 I got for my buddy would be perfection if it was just a bit larger.
So I take it things like lanyards aren't big in the trad world for a reason. My concern is that without a pocket clip/lanyard it will be more difficult to quickly grab the knife, and (much) more importantly I'll be more likely to lose it.
 
Lanyards aren't too common in traditionals as a rule. It's probably because they aren't too traditional. I doubt you'd find many pioneers or cowboys carrying a knife with a lanyard attached to it. For traditionals that do accommodate a lanyard, the bail seems more common than the lanyard hole. As for speed of deployment, traditionals aren't really geared towards this either. If you're in a situation where fractions of a second matter you'd probably be better served with a tactical knives. Traditionals are more for everyday life, where you can take the time to dig down into your pocket and use two hands to open your knife.

As far as where to find them, that's not something that can be discussed here. You can go to GEC's site and go through their vendors list or you can click my name and email me and I can suggest a couple vendors where I've been able to find these knives.
 
Edited my post. Bit of a learning curve with every new forum, but I appreciate you being cool about it.
As far as the "every second counts" situation, I'm under no illusions of using a traditional knife for that role. Or a modern knife for that matter...I'll save the knife fights for the movies.
I'm more concerned with convenience than deployment speed, and I'm most concerned about losing my expensive, smooth and sleek toy.
 
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I just responded to your email. In regards to losing your knife, you might want to look into a pocket slip. Some members here use them, though I never have. They will help the knife stay positioned how you like in your pocket and should prevent some of the slipping out problem. It sure wouldn't help the convenience factor though. This is all of course if you can't find one with a lanyard hole you like.
 
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So I've warmed up a bit to the #72 and #42, but now I'm thinking that for how this knife will be used a lock is more trouble than it's worth. In general this will be a fairly light use blade.
So what options are out there, besides the #47 for a slipjoint with a lanyard hole? As I mentioned before, the 47s look great to me but I feel that a wharncliffe blade isn't as versatile as a more orthodox style.
 
I don't know that GEC has made what you're now looking for. The single blade 23 and 73 were both made with lanyard holes, but they'll be linerlocks and the 23 is way bigger than what you're looking at. The bullnose has a lanyard hole and no lock, but have only been made in synthetics. I don't know of any others other than what's already been mentioned.
 
I had a 73 liner lock. FANTASTIC knife and I still regret selling it (but I was financing the purchase of the world's greatest harmonica mic).

-- Mark
 
So if anyone is interested I ended up going with a #47. I just love it...well made, great in the hand, and gorgeous. Now I think I'll need a pocket slip for it.
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