The MOST Useful 4" Serpentine Stockman

[Steven65]

Without doubt one of my all time favourite patterns. Here are a few of mine........

My Ken Erickson Hybrid (Photos by Ken Erickson)

 

[thawk]

My most useful - EDC

My favorite 4" Stockman

Custom handled Old Timer - Herman Williams

Schrade Walden 880 KON-KAV sabre grind

 

[rockgolfer]

Jeff, I'll put together a comparison shot tomorrow.

Ah no need my friend. I was in a bit of a hurry last night and rereading my post this morning I did not mean it the way its written. Was just trying to tease you about not including it from the start . I have been wondering why an 1/8 of an inch matters but I think I finally realize why it was not included. Though GEC calls it a stockman its really a cattle knife framed stockman. You are looking for stockman(true representations), not modified or stockman like knives. My apologies for side tracking the thread. Your first pick was a great shot and shows how subtle of differences their are in all those great knives :thumbup: My biggest worry with this pattern is how high the sheepsfoot blade sits in the closed position. From your group shot and others I am starting to see some patterns by manufacturer and it really helps me not buy every knife I see.

 

[rockgolfer]

Thawk....WOW, amazing bone on them Schrade's :thumbup:

 

[thawk]

Thawk....WOW, amazing bone on them Schrade's :thumbup:

The first one is a really nicely seasoned Delrin... thanks Jeff.

 

[rockgolfer]

It fooled me for sure

Schrade really was on top of their game back then. This thread is all kinds of bad for me and my wallet. Not to mention Stevens Erickson above, every time I see a pattern made by Ken I cant help but want it.

 

[black mamba]

Thanks for all the nice additions since yesterday, especially the Schrades. Steven, the one in the wallet is to die for!

Frank, tell us about your green one with the Federal shield. Interesting jigging on that one.

And Jeff, the lowest riding one is the Robeson MasterCraft repro by Queen. With it's slender long clip, the sheepfoot can stay low in the frame.

 

[Mink]

I find the four inch serpentine stockman to be just about the pinnacle of balance between usefulness and portability. Many knife users prefer knives in the 3.5 inch range for carrying, but these stockmen are slender and carry quite easily. With their combination of long and short, bellied and straight blades, they cover just about all bases. It is interesting to note the differences in blades, bolster treatments and scale materials available, and these are just the ones I own. Please post your own 4 inch stockmen, and point out which characteristics you like most.

From L-R: Moore Maker, Queen, S&M, Robeson, Rough Rider, Buck, Canal Street

The two most strikingly different ones here are the Buck, with it's sheepfoot at the odd end, and the Robeson repro, with the super slender clip blade. The Robeson and the S&M have a short, stout clip for their third blade, and the Moore Maker's is close to a pen. I like the long bolsters on the Canal Street, but wish they were threaded. Steels range from 440A > 420HC > 440C > ATS34 in stainless steels, and from 1095 > D2 in carbon.

The Moore Maker and the S&M are my favorites, but I enjoy them all. Let's hear what you think!!

Really like that green Robeson in the center. Seems like a very useful blade combo. Going to have to keep an eye out for one of those.

 

[rockgolfer]

That Robeson is very nice. I am just not the biggest fan of the Cali clip. Its executed perfectly on the 53(in my eyes) but I really tend to stay away from it. The Queen is the second lowest and a unique blade combo with a full clip :thumbup:. Now I just need to keep off the bay and such so I dont find one

 

[black mamba]

Mink, they made the Robeson in a red bone as well as the green.

Jeff, here are your comparo shots. It's not that the frame is 1/8" longer, but so much BIGGER.

 

[rockgolfer]

Well that really does put the size in check doesnt it. Its amazing how seemingly subtle differences from different frames make all the difference to us individually. I have not had a stockman in my possession since acquiring the 53 to compair. Thinking I am more of a cattle fan then a stockman fan . Thanks for your patience Jeff and I really did not mean to highjack the thread(though I did learn a lot). Carry on with all the excellent pics folks, dont mind me.

 

[Modoc ED]

I've stopped buying GEC knives (at least for now) because they are so big for their patterns compared to other brands patterns of the same name.. Just look at how nice and slim the CS is compared to the GEC in Jeff's (black mamba) picture. The CS is just as capable as the GEC but carries so much better thanthe GEC. It's not the 1/8" difference in frame length between the CS and GEC it the overall size.

Since this thread started, I've pocketed the 4" Schrade 80T Old Timer that I showed on page one of this thread to carry through at least thes weekend - maybe next week too.

 

[FTR-14c]

This is my entry level one and only.

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[markpmc]

Mink, they made the Robeson in a red bone as well as the green.

They also come in blue ...

 

[Mack]

They may look tired but that's only because they get used. A lot.

 

[black mamba]

That's great, markpmc, I've never seen the blue before!

 

[orca8589]

Here's a few of mine; some are sold and/or traded now. I had so many that some were never getting used, so I sold a few and generated some revenue for some new ones. (Don't worry - I still have enough serpentine Stockman patterns to last through my lifetime, and my son's and his kids, as well.

Top row: U.S. Schrade 8OT; U.S. Schrade 89OT; two Frontiers: #4432 with white Delrin scales & #4434 with black Delrin scales; Craftsman #95086 with wood scales & Craftsman (unknown #) with jigged Delrin scales - these two were made by Camillus or U.S. Schrade.

Bottom row: Sabre brand, made in Japan; Imperial Diamond Edge; original Remington [unknown pattern #]; Cold Steel WIP from Camillus factory auction; original Robeson with aluminum scales.

~Chris

 

[Gevonovich]

Queen

Primble

PAL

 

[300Bucks]

Here are my favorite Buck 301 Stockmen, a couple of elk scales from the mid-eighties. Elk is sometimes a odd scale material, like in these two examples one looks like it was soaked in man-made oil (likely is natural oil), which I am sure didn't happen. The other more pure dryer looking horn. These are the type of favorites you handle a lot at home but never carry for fear of losing them. I know, I know.....

300

 

[zippofan]

Man, that Moore Maker...and those Schrades!

These threads can be very expensive

Jeff, I think the green stockman that Frank has is a newer Utica, the jigging is pretty unique. I had a dark brown version, very nice knife, that I gave away as I have been carrying its smaller (3 1/2") brother more often. I have a 3 7/8" Utica premium that I carry too, very slim and disappears in the pocket.