Swing guards

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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Feb 2, 2005
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They've turned my head recently. I saw some Buck, Marbles and Queen swing guards yesterday at an antique shop, and saw some at a gunshow on Saturday. I was ready to buy them both days, but didn't. The Queens were really beaut, but I just didn't like them. They're basically smaller Mountain Man lockbacks with swing guards. You get a double guard when you open them! Traditional tacticals?

Why didn't I get one:confused: .

Sort of a love hate relationship I guess...
 
Quite traditional. They were around long before "tacticals".

Case was producing them in the '20s and I would bet that there were some long before that.
 
I took a look at the Bose/Case proto's at Blade and really liked what I saw - a big 50L pattern aka "large coke bottle folding hunter lockback with swing guard".

I especially liked the big ol' slabs of pearl on one and the bone on the other.
They are about to start production from what they told me.
 
I may be wrong, but I think the next Schatt&Morgan File and Wire knife is going to be a Moss Green Lockback Swing Guard.
 
Here's a Canal Street stag swing guard. Nice fit and finish on this one, although that Bose/Case is a beaut! Marcinek, I think I've got a moss green CS swing guard around here somewhere, when I find it I'll post a pic.
Eric

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A buddy of mine is really into these, and has about a dozen, mostly Schatts.

I have a single Queen Cocobolo/D2. It's not bad, though it was typically dull. It's a lot slimmer than I expected, which is normally a good thing, but I think this pattern could benefit from a little heft. If only it were more like a Mountain Man with a guard.

I've also sorta gotten away from single bladed knives, but that's strictly personal.

-- Sam
 
Very nice Canal Street Eric..:thumbup: I still don't have a CS yet and seeing yours reminds me how much I need one..

I have only two File & Wire Tested Swing guards, but the Case/Bose Swing guards are on the wish list...

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I kind of question whether the small ones are much more than an ornament. I have owned quite a few, including some pushbuttons. Most of the time the pivot pin is so small in diameter that I have no faith it would hold up to any pressure.

The only really solid one that I have is on an old Hoffritz folding bowie knife. This knife has about a 3.5" handle and a 7" blade. It has a folding lock switch like the old flap style switch blade releases. The locking pin is about 3/16" diameter and the pin in the swing guard is about 2 or 3 mm in diameter. You carry this knife folded in a sheath with about 3.5 inches of blade projecting from the handle into the sheath. When you open the blade the guard swings out that the blade extends about 7" out of the handle.
 

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I had a Case blue scroll swing guard that I wished I had kept.

Here's an unmarked folding bowie that I think is German.

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And here's a Henckels swing guard:

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I'm not saying the guards on either would stop a wild boar from running up your arm, but they're pretty solid.
 
Sunburst and Mike, those are some beauties! I like these knives, they harken back to older times where one knife might be used for just about everything, and if one or two of those chores required fome kind of forward motion, the guard would offer some protection to your hand if it happened to suddenly slide forward. Here are a couple more, a ram's horn and that mossy stag bone I mentioned:

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Eric
 
I`ve got a Hen + Rooster BERTRAM Cutlery "Hound Dog Hunter", mid lock folder with a swing guard, double nickel silver bolsters, gorgeous stag scales, collectors series marked as 1of600.
Total length ~ 24.5 cm or 9.6 inches, blade length ~ 10,5 cm or 4.1 inches.
(Kind of monster folder. :D )

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What a cool thread, you sure have some beautiful knives folks, thanks for sharing them...

Sunburst
 
I keep thinking about getting a nice one, but the guard on the spine side prevents thumb resting.
 
Mike Robuck said:
SunnyD,

You've made my seperation anxiety worse.:(
Click to expand...

Holy Molly Mike!.

My Goodness Man that was not my intention.

The intention was to make the memory vivid and to bring back a pleasant thought of days gone by..

Now Son, on this light tackle, shake it loose Dammit!!:eek: ;) :) :D :D

All the best my brother, cause if I had two, I send one to you!!:cool:
 
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