I never got an email from you! It's been a good six hours now. My email is leonard spock at g mail (dot) com
(I broke it up to avoid automatic email gathering bots.)
Awesome post. It's been fun watching you progress from "What's the biggest blade I can possibly buy on a traditional?" to genuinely enjoying the elegance of a typical traditional blade.
Honestly, I was surprised at how much I came to appreciate smaller blades. It's been fun EXPERIENCING the change! I find myself pretty content with my assortment of modern locking knives, and now I have this strong desire to have a traditional knife to match each one... I'll have to explore the brands you mentioned in the rest of your post (omitted for the sake of brevity) and I appreciate hearing from someone who was in the same position not too long ago.
I think I'll wait until I'm pretty comfortable and a bit more well-rounded in my knowledge and experience before I branch out into other brands. Queen / S&M has a few that interest me, and Case has a catalog of models that is so extensive that I couldn't even begin to muddle through it yet. Not being a collector (in that I either use or sell my knives - no safe queens! No safe, either...), I'll have to do a lot of looking around and gathering of knowledge so I can make some wise choices from the get-go. Something tells me I'm in the right place to get that kind of information and experience
One thing I've come to appreciate -very- quickly is how personable the GEC distributors are. More often than not, I can just chat with them directly - which means that ensuring a mechanically sound knife is just a brief exchange away. I've just yet to build up to that! Anxiety issues, man, they're weird.
Some really great photos kamagong
For real. I dig that "primary carry," from the patina to the very intricate stag. Also, if someone showed up to my place with that "for social visits" setup, I would immediately know who I would be talking to for the majority of the visit
Never let go of your first knife Comeuppance
I'm glad to see you've settled down nicely here.
It's basically irreplaceable - aside from it being my first traditional knife, it has the same dimensions and blade as the knife in the picture that got me started on all this in the first place, AND it's a sort of unofficial limited run with brass pins and liners. It would take a lot for me to trade or sell that... More than anyone would bother to offer, so it's pretty damned safe
Besides, it's a knife I only came to through the help of you guys. How could I ever part with it? It had sentimental value
before it even arrived.
Considering you're no stranger to modern knives made by Reate with excellent fit and finish and the cost that comes along with them..(that's as much as I will discuss moderns here
) I would suggest you branch out sometime into customs. There are some makers I think that would be right up your alley.
THAT is going to take some working up to. I'm still in the trial and error phase of figuring out what I like and don't like - but, I'm pretty sure it's an eventuality... I think I'm going to be looking for a long-pull clip point with pinched and lined flat bolsters and butt caps (much like the Washington Jack) with something akin to abalone - but in a rich, dark blue or purple, with brass pins and liners, in CPM154, VG-10, or something along those lines. I could just go crazy and have the bolsters made out of Zirconium to top (and bottom) it all off... That's a ways down the road, though, financially. I still have to make sure I have enough for emergency expenses, sending my parents off on that couples retreat I gave them for Christmas, rent, an upcoming move, a new computer and external HDs... Man, I should start donating plasma.
I like Case, many of their vintage knives are the one's people on her used in the past or their parents did as well. Nice fit and finish and jigging. For the price though from the dealer/first hand market..you won't be getting better than GEC in my opinion. It's hard to top without spending a bit more.
Of course, dress knifes are generally my customs, beater..I cannot recommend an Opinel no. 7 enough. Convex edge and thin stock make it the best buy you'll ever get for 10$ sub.
That or a farm and field bullnose in micarta. I personally like a custom frontpocket bowie by Gene Wiseman, one of my favourite users that I use to break down cardboard and misc.
I STILL haven't owned or handled an Opinel. I'll have to add that to the list to look at those if the delrin bull busters don't work for me! Thank you for reminding me of those - I've been eyeing a Opinel #8 Garden Knife and a Slim 8 in Bubinga for a bit now. I'll probably grab one of those and a Mora in the same go-around.
