Sweet sweet pork belly (sowbelly)

Your son has good taste, Cory. Btw, that Ruple collaboration knife is the only modern factory made sowbelly that I've seen with that "Barbie" shield--very cool. It was not exclusively used on antique sowbelly knives but some folks have called it the "sowbelly shield". I think I've only seen 4 shields on antique sowbellies... acorn, Barbie, chubby Barbie (not an official name!), and federal. ...unless we include a few knives from Cattaraugus that had oval or circle shields.

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Barbie

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chubby Barbie

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federal

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acorn
 
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Ah, the Sowbelly. What a wonderful knife, and one of my favorite patterns! As you can see below, I'm partial to the Case ones, but the Northwoods (by Queen) is also a winner!

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That Ruple is a nice looking piece.

I am rather disenheartened with the 420hc, or other lower stainless alloys used on the S&M and most other sowbellies.

So I am basically resigned to finding a Winchester Black Box, Schrade Walden or older U.S. made...
Unless I find an old saddlehorn in carbon, I feel that the older carbon Sowbelly might be an end all, be all for me (aside from a Ruple or custom).
 
NJBillK said:
That Ruple is a nice looking piece.

I am rather disenheartened with the 420hc, or other lower stainless alloys used on the S&M and most other sowbellies.

So I am basically resigned to finding a Winchester Black Box, Schrade Walden or older U.S. made...
Unless I find an old saddlehorn in carbon, I feel that the older carbon Sowbelly might be an end all, be all for me (aside from a Ruple or custom).
Click to expand...

Bulldog made some with carbon steel... not positive what steel was used. The 3 and 5 blade Case Classic and 2 and 5 blade Moore Maker sowbelly knives are also made by Queen with 1095 like the black box knives. You should still be able to find the 2 blade or 5 blade Moore Makers sold retail. Supposedly Queen made 3 blade sowbelly knives with smooth bone and D2 last year. I never saw them anywhere except the catalog. A few years back Queen made a 2 blade with ATS-34. Technically, knives with less than 3 blades aren't sowbelly knives. They are premium jacks using sowbelly dies/parts. A sowbelly is a stockman with a big curve and a stockman is defined as a serpentine knife having 3 or more blades.

I have never seen a catalog or actual example of antique sowbelly knives from Schrade... haven't even heard it mentioned before. What collectors call "Schrade Walden" era would also be unusual. There were some sowbellies during that time (e.g. Shapleigh) but most had disappeared by that time. Off the top of my head, here are some of the brands that I've seen: Wostenholm, Remington, NYKCo Hammer Brand, Hibbard Spencer Bartlett, Bridge, Hart Razor Steel, T Eaton Co, John Pritzlaff, Pacific Hardware/Napanoch, Blish Mize, Thomaston, Norvell, Shapleigh, Ibberson

Be careful since there are a LOT of fake antique sowbellies.
 
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Some edits...

supratentorial said:
....I think I've only seen 4 shields on antique sowbellies... acorn, Barbie, chubby Barbie (not an official name!), and federal. ...unless we include a few knives from Cattaraugus that had oval or circle shields....
Click to expand...

Forgot diamond shield (Shapleigh)

supratentorial said:
....Off the top of my head, here are some of the brands that I've seen: Wostenholm, Remington, NYKCo Hammer Brand, Hibbard Spencer Bartlett, Bridge, Hart Razor Steel, T Eaton Co, John Pritzlaff, Pacific Hardware/Napanoch, Blish Mize, Thomaston, Norvell, Shapleigh, Ibberson...
Click to expand...

I forgot Case! There were antique sowbelly knives from Case before their modern use of the Bose pattern.

supratentorial said:
Bulldog made some with carbon steel... not positive what steel was used. The 3 and 5 blade Case Classic and 2 and 5 blade Moore Maker sowbelly knives are also made by Queen with 1095 like the black box knives. You should still be able to find the 2 blade or 5 blade Moore Makers sold retail. Supposedly Queen made 3 blade sowbelly knives with smooth bone and D2 last year. I never saw them anywhere except the catalog. A few years back Queen made a 2 blade with ATS-34. Technically, knives with less than 3 blades aren't sowbelly knives. They are premium jacks using sowbelly dies/parts. A sowbelly is a stockman with a big curve and a stockman is defined as a serpentine knife having 3 or more blades.
...
Click to expand...

Also there's a Primble 2 blade made by Queen with 1095. And there are some Cripple Creek sowbellies with some type of carbon steel.
 
Thanks for the heads up. Looks like my search can be widened a little.

I believe I saw a catalog once, but I am going to try to relocate it since you piqued my interest.
 
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This is my only sowbelly, a Case Pocket Worn in Antique Jigged Bone from 2003.
Make no mistake, this is one big solid knife, but I really like the way it fits my hand. The chunky sheepfoot is my favorite blade of the three.
 
supratentorial said:
Nice knives, guys. Mike, what are your thoughts on the AGR? I haven't seen one.
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The quality is good, typical of AGR. I would like to send it to you Jake, if you wouldn’t mind doing a full review and comparison to other sowbelly knives which you are familiar. Just message me your address, if you are interested.
 
LastRodeo said:
The quality is good, typical of AGR. I would like to send it to you Jake, if you wouldn’t mind doing a full review and comparison to other sowbelly knives which you are familiar. Just message me your address, if you are interested.
Click to expand...

I do appreciate the kind thought but it is not necessary. I value your opinion and I'm happy just to hear your experience with the knife. :thumbsup:
 
It has tight construction and there is no blade rub. The blades all snap to open and close with authority, but pull is on the lighter side, in the 4-5 range. I will take some additional photos, so you can see the fit & finish.
 
The sowbelly pattern really doesn't appeal to me, but I got this one for Christmas and since it's a pretty decent knife that provides some good utility I really can't hate it.

This bone looks absolutely nothing like a strawberry, but in general it doesn't look too bad so I can live with it.
 
Hickory n steel said:
The sowbelly pattern really doesn't appeal to me, but I got this one for Christmas and since it's a pretty decent knife that provides some good utility I really can't hate it.

This bone looks absolutely nothing like a strawberry, but in general it doesn't look too bad so I can live with it.
Click to expand...
That's one of the ones on my radar.
It seems that, while you may not love it at first glance, that it has proven to be a good knife.
Is the bone too dark for strawberry?
 
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