The stag handled stockman, a gentleman's knife...

kamagong

kamagong

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2001
Messages
10,955
I recently started a thread asking for advice regarding the purchase of a stag handled stockman. I received a lot of help, not surprising considering the character of the participants in this forum. Most of tips I got directed me towards the Eye Brand line of slipjoints. I was a little reluctant at first because I have never seen an Eye Brand knife, but I trust the collective experience of the members here, so I placed an order last week for a Eye Brand stockman. I'm glad I listened to my fellow forumites. The knife arrived today and it's a beauty.

The knife I bought is the 3 1/2" stag stockman, EB-350DS. This is the first knife I've owned with stag. Stag never appealed to me before, but I guess my tastes have changed over the years because I find the material beautiful now. I don't know if Eye Brand uses European Red Deer or the more expensive Sambar, but I for one don't care. The scales are gorgeous either way.

The fit and finish on this knife is very good. Not great, but it is better than the Camillus, Boker, and Case knives that I've seen. One minor flaw I have found with this knife is that the pins are not perfectly flush with the scales. I don't know if this problem is inherent with stag because the ridges make it impossible to make the pins perfectly flush, but I don't consider it a problem.

All three blades came with a mirror polish. All of them had the Eye Brand stamp on the bottom of the blade, a nice touch. They were ground well, but had poor bevels from the factory. It took a while to get them sharp, but I'm still not sure if I have the edge I want on them. The blades were perfectly arranged so that when the blades are folded in the handle, none of them rub against each other, nor did they rub against the brass liners. They walk and talk well, although I wish they were a bit more snappy. The main blade has a little side to side blade play. It doesn't affect the knife's functionality in any way, but it is a bit annoying.

This is a substantial knife. The scales are thick, as are the springs. The whole package just exudes quality. I know that the stockman is a working knife that originated with the rough and tumble cowboys who tamed the West, but I can't help but think that this knife, with its classic design and its beautiful handle scales is the perfect knife to combat the everpresent sheeple infestation.
 
kamagong said:
One minor flaw I have found with this knife is that the pins are not perfectly flush with the scales. I don't know if this problem is inherent with stag because the ridges make it impossible to make the pins perfectly flush, but I don't consider it a problem.
Click to expand...

Eye Brand / Schlieper purposely finish their knives like that.
The scale pins are simply cut, then polished rather than being
finished down flush with the scale material.

Anyway, enjoy your knife.
Sounds like you really like it! :cool:
 
I've got that same knife, and it is a very nice piece of work. I think I did read that they do indeed use the European red stag, but is nice. I also had to sharpen the knife to suit me, but the carbon steel was not too bad to re-profile with my diamond hones. Its held a very good edge through alot of cutting jobs. Its a good looking a knife that it is very sheeple friendly. Its got some comments from women of all things, when I've used it in public. Their're intrigued with the stag handles. They always ask what is the handle material and like to feel it. Must be something universal about the appeal of stag!?

Good luck with your new knife, may it serve you well.
 
So jackknife, that's how you meet women!?!?
I'll have to try that; "Like to feel my stag?":D
 
kamagong said:
One minor flaw I have found with this knife is that the pins are not perfectly flush with the scales
-------------------
had poor bevels from the factory

------------------
I wish they were a bit more snappy.
------------------------
The main blade has a little side to side blade play.

-----------------------------------
Click to expand...


Ordering a production slipjoint without handling it first is always a gamble. The last two Case stockmans I bought had none of these problems but I was able to inspect them first.
 
Thank you, Kamagong.

I found your post very useful -- lots of objective information there.
 
kamagong said:
One minor flaw I have found with this knife is that the pins are not perfectly flush with the scales.
Click to expand...

Glad you like it, as rifon2 pointed out, that is not really a "flaw", just a manufacturing technique. You will see that not only on Eye Brand, but many German made slipjoints.

Enjoy your Stag slippie!
 
waynorth said:
So jackknife, that's how you meet women!?!?
I'll have to try that; "Like to feel my stag?":D
Click to expand...

No, my pick up days happily ended in 1971, and for my own good I stay devoted. With Karen having a portion of good Mexican blood, and the fact that we met at a pistol range where I was impressed with her marksmenship, I avoid making her jelious. She's near as good with that Smith and Wesson now as she was then. And being with me all these years she's got pretty good at sharpening a knife. I've no wish to wake up with anything a bit shorter than it was when I went to sleep.:eek:

Sometimes respect spiced with a little fear is good for a man. :D
 

Eye Brand 350-DS
That is a nice looking knife Kamagon. If they attract women I need to get one. This is a pretty good online vendor, for a lot of knives. Those Okies are usually good folks.

http://www.soonerstateknives.com

They make a nice Sodbuster too.


Eye Brand EB-99SDS

It looks like it could pull in a chick or two.
 
Congrats on the new Eye Brand Stockman! I think it'll really grow on you, even with the flaws you pointed out.

I can tell you from experience that if the blade play in the main blade annoys you, you can get it replaced. That's exactly what I did with a knife exactly like yours. I bought it from a private party on e-bay, not a dealer. So on the advice of some of our distinguished forumites I e-mailed Clarence Risner, who owns Eye Brand, and he had me send it to him, and he mailed me back a perfect replacement.

My experience with out of the box sharpness mirrors yours. However, I can tell you, once you get those carbon steel blades the way you like them, keeping them hair splitting sharp is a breeze. The Eye Brand blades are ground nice and thin and they really take a nice edge. Another thing I like about your knife is how beefy it is for a 3 1/2" stockman. It's a handful of knife, despite its short length.

Well enjoy it, and again congratulations!

Jim
 
Hmmm...get my knife replaced with a perfect one? Tempting, but I've already sharpened and used it. I wonder if Mr. Risner would still replace the knife. Probably not. I guess I should've waited, but I'm no collector. I bought this knife to use, and I could not help putting a good sharp edge on it.

I did indeed buy this knife from Sooner State. Good service, and definitely a company I would do business with again.
 
I just purchased the stainless steel stockman as I like the small pen blade on my stockmans. I hope I'm as happy with it as you are yours--We'll see in a couple of days. (Provided the wife don't throttle me too hard when she finds out!)
 
The Last Confederate said:
WOW, thawk that Eye Brand EB-99SDS is awesome!
Click to expand...

I have a 99DS, and it is quite a knife. When I ordered it from Knives Plus, I asked for well figured stag. They called me back and said they only had a relatively smooth one in stock, but more were on the way in a week or so. I told them to wait and pick the best figured stag when the new order came in. When I finally got it, I was impressed. Very deeply figured, with some popcorn.

Not only does it have a great blade, the saw works very well, too. It has very very strong backsprings.
 
Does anybody other than sooner state sell them on line? No problem with sooner state - heck I ordered from them yesterday, but just wondered if other models were available.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top