Stockman vs Scout pattern

M

mudguard

Joined
Aug 2, 2013
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309
Best utility, carriable, durability and overall usefulness..?

PS: by Scout i mean boyscout type of pattern single blade, awl, can opener..etc
 
I think that's highly contextual, depending on what jobs you're doing and what other tools you have available.

IMO, the spear point is an incredibly useful general purpose blade. Great for working wood, making scoring cuts and spreading food. In contrast, the clip point of the traditional stockman has less belly and more precise tip, better for small game cleaning and piercing cuts.

Beyond the main blades, different tasks (cutting and otherwise) will determine which is more useful. Different people will make that decision differently.
 
It's a pretty one sided contest if sheer utility is the deciding factor. The scout, with it's basic assortment of tools will win out, and while the stockman is no slouch, it can't do what a scout knife can. I think this is the little thing that is the ghost behind the SAK popularity; it's just too useful to deny. I carried a stockman for many years as my main edc, but I had a SAK around to help out. We live in a very technological society, and a loose screw, a minor problem with some malfunction in a piece of gear, very often can be fixed with a little finagling if you can get into it. Not to mention a heck of a lot of cans and bottles are still not pull tab or twist off tops. Without a scout, a person has to carry additional items to deal with them. The P-38 and Sear's keychain screw drivers take up valuable space that some people don't like to give up. I admit it is nice to have everything i one package. Look at how many people have bought those Leathermans of all types.

But in the end, it comes down to taste. As I type this, I'm in Texas with no SAK in sight except for the little classic on my keyring. But I do have the P-38 and Sear's 4-way in my wallet. So far so good. I'm sure many people have went pretty far with a stockman or barlow in a pocket and no tools. That's why there's 31 flavors of ice cream. My main complaint is that nobody is making a modern scout knife. I mean like the old Camillus or Imperial with real jigged bone scales and good carbon steel. The SAK has all the sex appeal of a Maytag clothes drier.

Carl.
 
Durability? Depends on the maker really. There are too many knives out there to answer this question.

When it comes to utility and versatility the scout/camper wins hands down. It's basically a SAK with charm. In addition to the blade there is an awl, bottle opener, screwdriver, and can opener. I've never used mine to open cans, but I've used the screwdriver often enough. The awl can be used to strike sparks off a ferro rod and the bottle opener is indispensable during barbecues. On the other hand I hardly use the secondary and tertiary blades on the stockman. I pretty much just use the clip main. Having realized that I now prefer single blades over my original favorite the stockman.

When it comes to carryability both the scout/camper and the stockman grade rather poorly. Both designs tend towards heftiness. Not a problem if carried in a coat or pack, but more than I want to carry in pant pockets.

- Christian
 
Three good posts to put some meat in this otherwise empty sandwich!

jackknife said:
My main complaint is that nobody is making a modern scout knife. I mean like the old Camillus or Imperial with real jigged bone scales and good carbon steel. The SAK has all the sex appeal of a Maytag clothes drier.
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:thumbup: :D
 
Good topic, mudguard! I've gotta agree with jackknife - scout-type for me (Vic Farmer, actually). I hardly ever use a blade enough to dull it before I can get back to a sharpening stone, so three blades is overkill for me. I believe Carl carries a small diamond sharpener in his billfold so he's got that base covered anyway. Can always strop it on your jeans or belt if need be, too. The versatility of a scout-type knife is just too great to pass up.
 
This is a good topic, because these are my two favorite patterns....

If I'm deployed, or rambling around in the truck, or hiking, working around the house or a neighbor's ranch, I've got both on me or close by.

I've got several SAKs and old Ulster & Camillus scout knives, so I'll throw one in the truck or in the pack.

But usually I've only got a stockman on me. Got my particular uses for each blade and it's also just fun to fiddle around with them. Following Carl's excellent advice a few months ago, I got a Sears 4 way from the auction site, and rummaged around the garage and found my old P-38. P-38 is in the wallet, but the Sears 4 way went on my key ring. '60s vintage, with the old school Craftsman emblem, it is smooth and well made, doesn't dig or have sharp edges; it's much better than the one I bought new a year ago from Sears.

One time I definitely have a scout knife--after a hot day in the yard, with the lawn freshly cut and the charcoal lit in the grill, I use that old Ulster or whatever to open that first beer...good stuff!
 
jackknife said:
My main complaint is that nobody is making a modern scout knife. I mean like the old Camillus or Imperial with real jigged bone scales and good carbon steel. Carl.
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Thankfully though Carl, these knives are still readily available on the second-hand market at reasonable prices.
 
Just came in from a Boy Scout campout to take the youngest to a football game. Knife on my belt - Victorinox Trekker. Knife in my boy's pocket - Victorinox Hiker. The boys so far have used their knives to make wood shavings for the fire starting competition. You could do the same with a Stockman pattern. BUT... my oldest used the tweezers to get a splinter out of a younger kid's hand. I used the saw to trim down some wood for the firepit. A good SAK or Scout knife is great.

Of course I have a GEC Half-Congress in stag in my pocket because I'm a knife-nut. :)

Well off to the Gordon Co. Championship football game, then back to the woods. :)


P.S. Still waiting for GEC to make a Scout pattern.
 
Scout knife.

In social situations, on hikes, camping, or working on projects, the diversity of tools is always more useful in a scout knife. Fortunately, colored alox from Victorinox spices up an otherwise surprising dearth of variety of scout pattern knives. It would be sweet to see Queen come out with some bone handle scale and D2 blade options.
 
jackknife said:
.......The SAK has all the sex appeal of a Maytag clothes drier.
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NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! "The horror...the horror..."
SAKALOX_zps58c1595c.jpg



9 out of 10 ZOMBIES agree this is "Dead Sexy"! :D
ApocGreen_zpsc49712ea.jpg
 
Depends on your daily needs and what else you already carry. I never need to open cans or bottles unless I am at home where I have dedicated tools for the purpose. I also already carry a small multitool which covers most of the non-blade utility tasks I encounter on a daily basis. So a Case Medium Stockman (in one of several patterns) is my most frequent carry.

If I were only going to carry a single tool to cover all of my needs, a Victorinox Alox Pioneer, Electrician, or Cadet would probably fit the the bill better than the Stockman.

And no matter what Carl may tell you, an Alox SAK is plenty sexy.
 
Scout pattern has the best utility and overall usefulness. I'm rarely caught without one type or another. SAKs need not be sexy simply because of their utility.

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Wenger%2520Highlander%2520Open.jpg

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@SAK guy, thanks for the input, I am about to start a thread asking people to show off their SAKs (I'll check and see if it doesn't already exist), to prove that they do indeed have some character - an old Wenger with the original shield, or old cross red alox...

Schatt and Morgan have just released a new scout knife with stag scales that looks pretty nice. I think AG russell will rerelease a scout pattern soon. It would be nice if the traditional companies could make some convincing scissors and other tools for the modern world. GEC makes beautiful thin ground blades with perfectly even edges, but any other tool that they make, no matter how simple (cap-lifter, woodsaw, horse-shoe scraper, fish scaler), is usually barely functional.
 
fatcorgi said:
Schatt and Morgan have just released a new scout knife with stag scales that looks pretty nice.
Click to expand...

Thank you sir, for putting this on my radar. That thing is just beautiful. Time to sell a knife or two because I must have one.
 
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