Stockman

[yobbos1]

Just committed the cardinal sin of the knife world. Broke my 340t prying open a paint can. The little guy is just plain indispensable so one hour later I'm sitting here looking at my brand new 340t and wondering; if this pattern was the most commonly carried pocket knife in the late 19th early 20th century, what was the standard size? I mean 3"5/8 is a great size in this day and age but I suspect a bit small for those who made thier living on the land 100 years ago.

 

[mnblade]

Well, I'm not convinced that this was "the most commonly carried pocket knife in the late 19th early 20th century." For my money, I'd say it was more likely a Barlow-type knife.

 

[Don Luis]

I´ve heard the Barlow was very popular from the late 1700s up to the late 1800s when it was the stockman, which is still strong.

I´ve seen a facsimile of the Sears 1902 catalogue, it has about 2 dozen pocket knives, most are two blade jacks, there are a couple of Barlows (English) and only one stockman, wich says "This is our most popular cattle knife" it seems to be about 4" closed and cost 90 cents.

There is a 4" closed two blade jack that is supposed to be for someone who wants a bigger knife.

There are also two automatics and one whittler pattern with locking main blade.

For more information you may want to check the Levine forum.