Texas pocket knives, first impressions.

You have to get out in the country to find any aspects of the real Texas culture and real Texas people. And both are still around. Unfortunately, most of the cities in Texas have become yuppiefied and about as goofy as the cities up north. I guarantee you that out in the country you real find real Texas people and the men will be wearing a Mooremaker style sheath with a trapper---and always a trapper---in it.
 
Carl, You need to drive down to Kreuz Market in Lockhart and get some BBQ. No sauce and no forks. As a result, you'll see lots of guys working their brisket and sausages and ribs with their pocketknives. Food and knife knut heaven!

-- Mark
 
JK,
I visited a hardware store(Wilson Hardware)here in Fl.used to go in there when I was a boy & look at the Case knife display.Well it's owned by a Pakistani now & Case has been replaced by "junk"! Well....so much for going back in time.....!
Jim
 
trey999 said:
Try Round Rock Doughnuts, you will love it. And not much in the way of pocketknives around here. If there's a Case outlet, I've never seen it.
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Yeah, you are right. Its in Branson, getting my vacations confused. Picked up a Case CV chestnut bone Swayback Jack on clearance. How could I forget that?!?

Now that I think about it... got a yellow rose #76 gunstock jack from a really nice Texan (thanks again John) the day I got back from SA.
 
Hey Carl, you're in America's Yorkshire!! But with taller hats, and (probably) better cuisine! ;) :D :thumbup:
 
jackknife said:
So, We've been here in Georgetown Texas for 25 days now, and it's been a busy time. Closed on a house, did the home inspection, lining up some contractors to get some things done before we move in and stop living at my sister in laws place. Being a knife nut, and a traditional knife nut at that, I've been looking about to see what people are carrying. Strange trip so far. Making friends with the flooring guy, I've run into a few traditionals. I haven't seen any pocket clips on folks around, and I've been looking. The floor guy's son came out and did the measuring for the hardwood floors, and he took up a piece of the old carpet to see how well the cement slab was finished off as far as leveling was concerned. The son took out a very well used looking old Buck 301 stockman and uses the sheep foot blade to cut the carpet with. so far, so good.

Roaming around the town square, I saw a few antique shops, so perused for used pocket knives. This is Texas, By God, so I guess I was expecting some nice old stockman's, maybe some trappers, or at least some nice old barrows. Nope. Nada. The nice lady at the antique shop and a couple trays of old pocket knives. It was a little disappointing to see old no name junk, and a LOT of old Victorinox advertising knifes. Mostly classics in assorted colors and company advertising. Not even a sodbuster in sight. I know Georgetown is a bit, for lack of a better word, gentrified, but it seems mostly like any town U.S.A. Very few stetsons in sight, or even cowboy boots. Mostly ball caps, shorts when hot, athletic shoes, and a few flat caps. Lots of pickup trucks, but just as many Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, and Subaru's running around. Down in Austin, it seems almost a bit hippy. Lots of young people with dyed hair, and piercings. Contractors still carrying Husky brand utility knives.

The local Tractor supply store has a nice pocket knife display, with one side some assorted Case brand knives for sale, like yellow sodbuster and peanuts. Other side was some pocket knives from a large Asian country that seem to sell well judging by the empty spaces in the case. The Ace Hardware has a few case, some Taylor made Schrade's, and Rough Rider knives. One middle age gentleman saw me looking in the display case and remarked how he liked his Rough Rider pocket knife. He was wearing well worn cowboy boots and beat up looking Stetson, but I saw hime get in to a Subaru Forester outside. Hmmm? Maybe it was his wife's car.

At the local gun shop, they have a display of all the modern stuff, with lots of black plastic and bead blasted blades. Lots of black guns. Not very many wood stocked lever actions insight, nor single action revolvers.

I'm gonna keep looking around for some good traditional knives, while I drive around in my 14 year old Toyota Tacoma and a Remington peanut in my pocket. Can't wait to get down to San Antonio to checkout some my old haunts, and go shooting with Karen at the range where we met. I told Karen to make sure she had a knife in her purse, in case we had to share a doughnut. She just smiled and said "Okay."

The search will go on.
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Welcome to central Texas. It's been a few months since I was there, but Winkley's Trading Post at the intersection of State Highway 29 and County Road 200 on the west end of Liberty Hill (which is 15 miles west of Georgetown on SH29) had a display case with a bunch of Case knives. I would assume that Winkley's in Bertram (10 miles further west on SH29) would also have a selection.

And then 10 miles further west on SH29 is Burnet. That's an example of a string of small towns in your area.

Almost all of them have some # of "antique stores" where there occasionally some good traditionals pop up. Many of the small towns around central Texas have "antique stores", gun shops and junque shops where you can find a variety of traditionals in various states and prices. Before the internet, you could find some nice "used" knives for reasonable prices. Now, most of them use fleabay to set their prices. But sometimes they're open to haggling.

In some of the small towns, the shops are only open on weekends. Example, Bartlett, about 20 miles NE of Georgetown has 4 or 5 antique shops that are only open on weekends but the gunshop is open M-F, but closed on the weekends that the owner runs off to gun shows.
 
I never expect to find anything of special value in an antique store. If a good traditional does show up, sharp eyes will cherry pick it out in an instant. And why expect country folk to be carrying your version of traditional just to make a new comer feel all warm and nostalgic when modern one-hand opening folders work better in the real world.
 
[A brick and morter] just west of Austin has Bokers and Benchmades and some locally made customs.[a sporting goods chain] has a good selection of Cases knives and other more modern folders. Your best bet for older used traditional folders is to hit one of the gun shows. The ones in San Antonio are bigger than those in Austin and Killeen and are frequented by some knife dealers with huge collections of everything old and new.

Lastly MooreMaker knives are made in Matagorda TX. If you are ever up in Goldthwaite, the local general store there in town carrys them along with some Case and other traditional folders.
 
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Carl, you seem to be out-of-zero a bit. I'm sure given a little more time, you can get dialed right back in. I too, and making a big change in location, from a nice house in a golf course community to what will probably be my "retirement" home in a mobile home park on Lake Dora in Mt. Dora, Fl. Mixed in with transplants from the "North". I think a very interesting cultural exchange in the making. I did find out about a Case dealer that looks to be pretty well stocked nearby. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. I'm trying to settle in on just a handful of users and not a shoebox full!
 
Sidehill Gouger, I don't believe Carl is expecting anyone here to do something just to make him feel welcome. As has already been stated, outside of the urban areas here, most do carry traditional pocketknives.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Regards,
Ron
 
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glocktenman said:
++ Lots of great custom slipjoint makers in Texas too.
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Carl, check out Tracy Larock, he made that Lanny's Clip I showed you.

And, you made it out of Maryland. Not to VA or PA, but to Texas. Now you must convert the faithful from the tac knives to traditional ;).

In regards to using modern one handed folders, leave your one hand opener at home for a week and use just slipjoints. The "depoloyment" convenience of a frame lock/axis lock/liner lock/backlock/midblock etc, is gotten at the loss of a thinly ground but not weak, blade that cuts better than most one hand openers I've used.

Moore Maker's knives are made by Queen, Utica and a few others. Moore Maker makes their own leather products I believe, but they do not make their own knives.
 
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Rwc53...... Can you relate how ANY pocket knife would be useful in that occupation and why one would be as useful as the other? How would they be used?
Thanks!
Rick
 
To be honest I have had much better luck with Traditional Knives in Pawn Shops rather than antique shops. Most antique stores are not catering to men looking for knives, but for women looking for home décor and furniture. Now Pawn Shops are a little better for knives that I have found. Also look for more western looking pawn shops for better results, or local pawns. EZPawns and the like will have less selection because they like electronics and such. Pawn shops are where its at for Traditional Folders.

Just snagged this 40's era Queen Slim Trapper at a Pawn shop in Waco called Rodeo Pawn (cool place) over the weekend. As well as an older Craftsman scout pattern with carbon blades at another Pawn shop close to my work. Have also picked up a few case knives as pawn shops over the years.
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Oh yeah, sidehill, I forgot to add. I have found plenty of nice knives in junk malls/flea markets and antique stores. I have either gotten a good building wide discount on a knife I cleaned up, or I have haggled with the dealer. Antique dealers now know that you like, collect and use knives, and on top of that, they like to haggle on a price. They may not come down much, but if you do it the right way, you can learn a little bit and have a good time too. A lot of people don't have time for it, but I am only beholden 40 hours a week to my employment, and outside of work, just to three Labradors.

This is in the central MD/PA corridor though, but I haven't found it to be much different in the wider mid Atlantic area. If you're in the NW USA, it might just be that Charlie/waynorth got to all of the antique stores first ;).

I've found in the mid Atlantic that pawn shops only carry junk knives, I've only found a few traditional knives.
 
Flea Markets are also a good bet. Have picked up a few older traditionals that need some work for cheap. Flea markets will probably get you a better price, but you have to look harder. That would be my first choice for knife hunting, but you have to be willing to put some work into a knife to get a good price. Also Case knives usually carry a premium. Not so much on other brands, so that's a plus.

I'll see if I can get a pick of all my current Flea Market and Pawn Shop finds and post is here for fun. I am based north near Ft Worth, so obviously your area could be better or worse. But there are ways to find cool knives in TX. You just have to know where to look.
 
Pocketfisherman said:
[A brick and morter] just west of Austin has Bokers and Benchmades and some locally made customs.[a sporting goods chain] has a good selection of Cases knives and other more modern folders. Your best bet for older used traditional folders is to hit one of the gun shows. The ones in San Antonio are bigger than those in Austin and Killeen and are frequented by some knife dealers with huge collections of everything old and new.

Lastly MooreMaker knives are made in Matagorda TX. If you are ever up in Goldthwaite, the local general store there in town carrys them along with some Case and other traditional folders.
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I don't believe Moore Maker has never made knives. From what I have read and was told by a dealer, they contract manufacturing to knife factories who put the Moore Maker brand on them. They used to use Queen and Cammilus and IIRC they replaced Cammilus with Bear.
 
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Welcome to Texas Carl. If you ever get the chance make a weekend of it and come up to Canton, Tx. for some good east Texas fun. Canton has one of the largest flea markets held on the weekend of the 1st Monday of each month. If you can't find it here then you did not look at all of it. LOL. No kidding, you will find more used, and unused traditionals than anywhere else I have been.
Harold
 
brownshoe said:
I don't believe Moore Maker has never made knives. From what I have read and was told by a dealer, they contract manufacturing to knife factories who put the Moore Maker brand on them. They used to use Queen and Cammilus and IIRC they replaced Cammilus with Bear.
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That is correct, they never made their own knives but many in Texas---and probably other places--- think they do. And they also use Utica for some of their knives.
 
bucksforus said:
Welcome to Texas Carl. If you ever get the chance make a weekend of it and come up to Canton, Tx. for some good east Texas fun. Canton has one of the largest flea markets held on the weekend of the 1st Monday of each month. If you can't find it here then you did not look at all of it. LOL. No kidding, you will find more used, and unused traditionals than anywhere else I have been.
Harold
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:thumbup:
Canton is awesome. We used to go every other month, the animal side was the best part
 
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