ElCuchillo
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Hey guys, just pickin your collective brain here. Can anyone give me a little history on the stockman pattern? Why the three blades, how old it is, etc.?
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Stockman question.
- Thread starter ElCuchillo
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Stockman: Also referred to as stock knives or premium stock knives.
Stockman knives are said to have originated from the cattleman's knife. They are similar in character, but are a bit less bulky. They always have at least two back-springs that support at least three blades. Some stockman knives have been manufactured with four and five blades, with the five blade versions having three springs. Case has manufactured a large variety of stockman knives each of different size and/or shape. The seven most popular patterns and the ones shown below are the 18, 27, 32, 33, 44, 47, 75, 087, and 92. Most stockman knives have a clip master blade along with a second and third blade consisting of one of the following: sheepsfoot, spey, pen, or punch. You will usually find that the smaller versions often have a clip, sheepfoot and pen blade, or clip spey and pen blade.
Stockman knives are said to have originated from the cattleman's knife. They are similar in character, but are a bit less bulky. They always have at least two back-springs that support at least three blades. Some stockman knives have been manufactured with four and five blades, with the five blade versions having three springs. Case has manufactured a large variety of stockman knives each of different size and/or shape. The seven most popular patterns and the ones shown below are the 18, 27, 32, 33, 44, 47, 75, 087, and 92. Most stockman knives have a clip master blade along with a second and third blade consisting of one of the following: sheepsfoot, spey, pen, or punch. You will usually find that the smaller versions often have a clip, sheepfoot and pen blade, or clip spey and pen blade.
waynorth
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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ElC, you need to buy Levine's Guide, the FOURTH edition only. I think the only place you can find one for sure is A.G.Russell.
http://www.agrussell.com/
You could probably Google it also.
$75, but worth it if you want to learn a lot of good stuff about traditional knives!
http://www.agrussell.com/
You could probably Google it also.
$75, but worth it if you want to learn a lot of good stuff about traditional knives!
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2005
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- 2,533
Regarding the classic stockman blade configuration, i.e. main clip blade and secondary spey and sheepfoot blades, my understanding is that the intended function of each was as follows, which also helps to explain why this pattern is called a "stockman":
Main/Clip: General utility
Spey: made for cutting flesh, most commonly for the purpose of neutering male livestock. On some old stockman knives, the spey blade actually has the words "flesh only" etched or stamped on it.
Sheepfoot: So named due to it's intended purpose of trimming and cleaning the hooves of sheep, horses, cows, etc.
This is PURELY anecdotal, since I've picked up these tidbits from various sources, but I've tended to accept this explanation because it sounds right to me.
Good question!
Main/Clip: General utility
Spey: made for cutting flesh, most commonly for the purpose of neutering male livestock. On some old stockman knives, the spey blade actually has the words "flesh only" etched or stamped on it.
Sheepfoot: So named due to it's intended purpose of trimming and cleaning the hooves of sheep, horses, cows, etc.
This is PURELY anecdotal, since I've picked up these tidbits from various sources, but I've tended to accept this explanation because it sounds right to me.
Good question!
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A charateristic of a traditional 3-blade stockman is a particular blade/spring configuration. A stockman will have the master blade on its own spring and the two smaller blades, one at each end, will share another spring. Traditional 3-blade whittlers, on the other hand, will have the two smaller blades on separate springs at the same end and the master blade will lie across both springs at the other end. I hope this makes sense. s-k