It is usually in the General Forum that we hear talk of steel snobs with their super steels. In my case, it is quite the opposite. I went from someone who almost exclusively used stainless steel knives and never gave a single thought to the type of steel in a knife, to someone who now scorns stainless steels and can only enjoy a knife if it has 1095 steel. A sad tale.
I will hopefully turn 50 this year, so that means I graduated high school in 1984 and a Merchant Marine academy in 1988. That puts me in a generation that grew up on stainless knives. Im not some old timer that sat in a rocking chair on the porch of general store, whittling away with his old trapper. Carbon steel knives were around when I was a kid, but they were marketed less and less. I was aware of the difference between stainless and carbon blades because my Dad had one of those WWII US Navy stacked-leather handle, fixed blades that he kept in his workshop. It had a very dark gray patina with lots of pepper spots, so I knew that stainless blades didnt really rust and the carbon steel ones would.
My first knife was issued to me at the Merchant Marine academy. It was one of those stainless camp style knives made by Camillus and marked US. My mother then gave me a Buck sailors knife with a marlin spike. I used that Buck throughout my academy days and for several years when I started sailing on commercial ships. It was also during college that I acquired my first two traditional knives. I didnt know they were considered traditional knives, to me they were just jack knives. Any non-lockback folding knife was a jack knife to me at that time. I had purchased a Camillus Barlow and a Schrade 194OT (I still have them). I just sort of liked them and I wasnt even aware that they had 1095 blades. In fact, I was somewhat disappointed when they started to rust.
At the time, most American merchant seamen carried a lockback style folder, so I started acquiring some of those types of knives such as Uncle Henrys, Gerbers, Bucks, Kershaws, Browning, etc., as well as a couple of Leatherman multi-tools and SAKs. It was during this time that I realized that I sort of liked knives and I started to acquire more than I could ever use. Most seaman would only buy a new knife when they either lost or broke one. I wasnt a collector, but I liked to visit sporting goods stores when ashore and pick up a Buck or Schrade that looked interesting to me. These were mostly smaller gentlemen-style lockbacks. I was only vaguely aware of the different traditional patterns. When I was younger, I did know what a Barlow knife was (most likely because they were often stamped Barlow on the bolster) and I remember seeing knives in the glass display cases, labeled as a stockman. Since I grew up in Rhode Island and that isnt exactly cattle country, I remember thinking a stockman knife was a knife that would be useful to people who worked in warehouses and had to deal with stocking products or equipment. Embarrassing, I know.
It wasnt until around 2004 or 2005 that I started to get interested in traditionals. I guess I can thank the internet for that and I started getting interested in Case knives. At that time, they had gone from a company that made working-man knives to one that mostly catered to collectors, offering endless variations of bone handles. I liked Case mini-trappers, so I started buying every combination they had, ending up with about 30 of them. At this point, they were all stainless and I still never gave a thought to the type of steel used. I was a member of the Case Collectors club and spent a lot of time on their forum. This is where I would start to see posts of beautiful older Case knives with the red bone handles and 1095 blades. Perfect condition ones were terribly expensive on the big auction site, but I picked up a couple of non-mint knives here and there.
In 2006, I joined Bladeforums and thats where it all started to go downhill. Seeing all of the beautiful vintage knives here made me start looking for them also on the auction sites. I learned about many manufacturers that I had never heard of, Keen Kutters, Kutmaster, Robeson, etc. I also learned that Schrade had once made knives other than brown sawcut delrin handled knives. I couldnt afford the mint condition knives, so I started looking for diamonds in the rough, knives that had some rusting and pitting but had been sharpened little. I had bought a couple that were frozen shut with rust, but I enjoyed bringing them back to life as good users. I acquired some nice knives this way and I also got stuck with some turkeys that had no snap left in them.
When GEC started coming out with knives, I wanted some badly, but abstained for a few years because I considered them too expensive. I thought anyone that would pay more than $45 for a knife was crazy. A few years ago, I finally decided to take the plunge and then was upset for not getting in on them earlier, missing out on some great knives that can only be picked up on the exchange now, usually for much more than when new. GEC is pretty much all that I buy now but I still wont buy a knife that costs more than $100. I dont know when it happened, but when I look at my knife drawers that are full of stainless Case knives, I sort of shrug because they just dont do anything for me. The only thing I have against them is my snobbery of stainless blades. I have even started giving them away to some non-knife friends because they are obviously useless cutting implements and being non-knife savvy people, they wont know any better.
Ive used stainless steel knives my whole life without complaint, using them to cut countless amounts of rope, packaging, boxes, scraping off old gaskets, etc. I want to change and go back to a time when I never considered the type of steel used. I am going to try, but it will be hard going. I want to enjoy those knives again. Anyone have a similar tale?
Sorry for the long post from a notorious lurker who has only made 100 posts in the last ten years.
I will hopefully turn 50 this year, so that means I graduated high school in 1984 and a Merchant Marine academy in 1988. That puts me in a generation that grew up on stainless knives. Im not some old timer that sat in a rocking chair on the porch of general store, whittling away with his old trapper. Carbon steel knives were around when I was a kid, but they were marketed less and less. I was aware of the difference between stainless and carbon blades because my Dad had one of those WWII US Navy stacked-leather handle, fixed blades that he kept in his workshop. It had a very dark gray patina with lots of pepper spots, so I knew that stainless blades didnt really rust and the carbon steel ones would.
My first knife was issued to me at the Merchant Marine academy. It was one of those stainless camp style knives made by Camillus and marked US. My mother then gave me a Buck sailors knife with a marlin spike. I used that Buck throughout my academy days and for several years when I started sailing on commercial ships. It was also during college that I acquired my first two traditional knives. I didnt know they were considered traditional knives, to me they were just jack knives. Any non-lockback folding knife was a jack knife to me at that time. I had purchased a Camillus Barlow and a Schrade 194OT (I still have them). I just sort of liked them and I wasnt even aware that they had 1095 blades. In fact, I was somewhat disappointed when they started to rust.
At the time, most American merchant seamen carried a lockback style folder, so I started acquiring some of those types of knives such as Uncle Henrys, Gerbers, Bucks, Kershaws, Browning, etc., as well as a couple of Leatherman multi-tools and SAKs. It was during this time that I realized that I sort of liked knives and I started to acquire more than I could ever use. Most seaman would only buy a new knife when they either lost or broke one. I wasnt a collector, but I liked to visit sporting goods stores when ashore and pick up a Buck or Schrade that looked interesting to me. These were mostly smaller gentlemen-style lockbacks. I was only vaguely aware of the different traditional patterns. When I was younger, I did know what a Barlow knife was (most likely because they were often stamped Barlow on the bolster) and I remember seeing knives in the glass display cases, labeled as a stockman. Since I grew up in Rhode Island and that isnt exactly cattle country, I remember thinking a stockman knife was a knife that would be useful to people who worked in warehouses and had to deal with stocking products or equipment. Embarrassing, I know.
It wasnt until around 2004 or 2005 that I started to get interested in traditionals. I guess I can thank the internet for that and I started getting interested in Case knives. At that time, they had gone from a company that made working-man knives to one that mostly catered to collectors, offering endless variations of bone handles. I liked Case mini-trappers, so I started buying every combination they had, ending up with about 30 of them. At this point, they were all stainless and I still never gave a thought to the type of steel used. I was a member of the Case Collectors club and spent a lot of time on their forum. This is where I would start to see posts of beautiful older Case knives with the red bone handles and 1095 blades. Perfect condition ones were terribly expensive on the big auction site, but I picked up a couple of non-mint knives here and there.
In 2006, I joined Bladeforums and thats where it all started to go downhill. Seeing all of the beautiful vintage knives here made me start looking for them also on the auction sites. I learned about many manufacturers that I had never heard of, Keen Kutters, Kutmaster, Robeson, etc. I also learned that Schrade had once made knives other than brown sawcut delrin handled knives. I couldnt afford the mint condition knives, so I started looking for diamonds in the rough, knives that had some rusting and pitting but had been sharpened little. I had bought a couple that were frozen shut with rust, but I enjoyed bringing them back to life as good users. I acquired some nice knives this way and I also got stuck with some turkeys that had no snap left in them.
When GEC started coming out with knives, I wanted some badly, but abstained for a few years because I considered them too expensive. I thought anyone that would pay more than $45 for a knife was crazy. A few years ago, I finally decided to take the plunge and then was upset for not getting in on them earlier, missing out on some great knives that can only be picked up on the exchange now, usually for much more than when new. GEC is pretty much all that I buy now but I still wont buy a knife that costs more than $100. I dont know when it happened, but when I look at my knife drawers that are full of stainless Case knives, I sort of shrug because they just dont do anything for me. The only thing I have against them is my snobbery of stainless blades. I have even started giving them away to some non-knife friends because they are obviously useless cutting implements and being non-knife savvy people, they wont know any better.
Ive used stainless steel knives my whole life without complaint, using them to cut countless amounts of rope, packaging, boxes, scraping off old gaskets, etc. I want to change and go back to a time when I never considered the type of steel used. I am going to try, but it will be hard going. I want to enjoy those knives again. Anyone have a similar tale?
Sorry for the long post from a notorious lurker who has only made 100 posts in the last ten years.
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), a trapper in 1095 and a big congress with 4 blades all in D2. The variation in blade profiles (multiple sheepsfoots, multiple pens, a nice long clip, a stainless spear, and a carbon "one-armed jack" which serves as the spey) only adds to the versatility. I don't always consider the specific steel when choosing a carry, but I do pay it some mind when purchasing a knife that is intended to be a user. Still, in the end, a knife needs to be sharp and well-maintained, regardless of the composition of its blades. Advocating for one type of steel over another is silly -- it's best to just be knowledgeable in the various types of blade steels and use that knowledge to care for your knives.
