The Medium Round-Bolstered Stockman

black mamba

black mamba

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Oct 21, 2009
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One of the most versatile, pocketable traditional knives of all time is the medium serpentine stockman. Nominally 3-9/16 inches closed (mine vary by +/- 1/16"), they have plenty of blade to accomplish nearly any task needed. They also tend to have close to hidden tangs, which along with the round bolsters make them very pocket friendly. The blades sit nice and low in the frames, so that the grip with different blades out for use doesn't change much. Altogether, one of my favorite traditional knives to carry.

From left to right: Marbles in amber stag bone, RR in brown sawcut bone, RR in tortoise acrylic, RR in armor hide bone, RR in burnt stag.
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The same five knives, pile side.
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Please feel free to post pictures of your own medium stockmen (even square bolstered), and speak about the finer points which make them desirable to you.
 
My favorite Stockman is the Buck 703.

I bought a Buck 703 in the mid 80's and I just loved that knife like nobody's business. It was my all time favorite knife and then one day we parted ways. I think I liked the shape of the handle and bolsters more than anything else but I also liked the satin blade finish and the wood handles. The fact that it's a Buck knife played a big part in my attraction to it as well. I was in the military at the time and everybody and their brother had a Buck 110 or 112 in a sheath on their belt. I wanted something a little different and the 703 really caught my attention.

About 20 years or so later I decided to try and find another one. By that time they were discontinued but still not too hard to find. I have three of them now and the one in the pic is my most recent 703 purchase. It's a 1986 model with three backsprings. (Buck switched from two backsprings to three sometime in 1986)

To this day I have not come across a Stockman that I like better. The Case Humpback Stockman and the GEC Calf Ropers come close but the Buck 703 is still my favorite Stockman pattern.


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Yup, It's hard to beat a 3 3/8" - 3 1/2" stockman for an almost perfect blend of functionality and carrying comfort. In this pattern, I particularly find myself drawn to the earlier Cases (before they went up to 3 5/8" and subsequently widened them as well).

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I find the 3 1/2" stockman just a tad too small for my liking but I agree that they have enough blade to accomplish most any task. I like a 3 5/8" stockman ok but prefer a stockman of 3 7/8" or 4" much better. More important than size (in a knife anyway) is the stockman pattern.

Top to bottom: 4" 6392; 3 7/8" 3347; 3 5/8" 3318

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Those are some really nice looking knives Jeff. The RRs are looking better and better.
 
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Since sleeping on my above post, I got to thinking about my 3 1/2" Calf Roper so I've decided to slip it into my pocket this morning and carry it for the next few days. Maybe you guys have something after all so what the heck.

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Here are my only two Medium Stockman, one is round bolstered and one is squared...

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Kind regards
Andi
 
These are all 3 9/16 inch medium frame Schrade stockpersons except for one yellow 3 1/2 incher, and just for fun there is an old Remington. They are all different, either inside or outside, and represent about 2.004 percent of the possible different Schrades to be collected in this size.

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I've been carrying that little 3 1/2" GEC Calf Roper Stockman pictured above for the better part of this week and it's working out ok. I still find it a tad small but I've managed to do whaterver I've needed to do with a knife with it.
 
Case puts the 47 series in the medium stockman catagory all though at the large end of it. Jeff I feel the same way about my 47s, they just carry so good and work the same....
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