Ive heard mixed things about case, great eastern cutlery i hear pretty good reviews on but i only see a few, queen im not sure how they are, i have victorinox and i like it. Good snap, fit and finish is perfect, nicely done. What say you about the others? Especially gec and case.
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top slipjoint making companies?
- Thread starter knifetoss
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Case makes a good knife. Steel is good for slip joints. I consider them some what of a "working man's" slip joint. Started out as a kid with Case knives and have always liked them. I do notice quite a few don't have the snap I like. So, I tend to only buy in person at a retail store.
GEC makes very good to excellent slip joints. Some would say that many approach custom quality. They primarily use 1095 steel which I prefer. I don't mind re-sharpening periodically. I think their problem is that they don't keep an inventory available and they produce a new model, it sells out, and you may not see a similar one for a year. Some of GEC's springs are too strong (hence "nail breakers"). They do loosen up in time. I like their traditional handle (scales) choices. Overall, I very much like their knives.
Queen/Schatt& Morgan are very good knives. They use D2 steel a lot which tends to hold an edge longer than 1095. They used to (or still do?) produce knives with an unsatisfactory edge and are essentially dull or not well sharpened when you receive them. They seem to be improving in that department. I generally buy their knives without hesitation. Love the Mountain Man.
Canal Street Cutlery makes good knives. I like them. Their branded knives seem to be more collector oriented than user oriented. I like them, but usually handle them in person before I buy.
Buck makes good slip joints for everyday use much like Case or similar to the old Schrade or Camillus produced knives in terms of overall quality. I generally don't buy Buck slip joints, but in part that is only because I buy the others first. If I liked a particular knife made by them, I would not hesitate to buy.
Kabar is selling slip joints again. These are made by Canal Street Cutlery for them (the copper ones). I have not purchased any, but would not hesitate to buy as I know Kabar stands behind their product line.
Bear & Sons: They make the Remington slip joints now. In general, I have not been favorably impressed by their branded knives. However the Remington branded ones tend to be a step above the regular production. My take on B&S is that they could make a much better knife if they wanted to and their overall quality is inconsistent from knife to knife. They seem to build knives for their market niche which is about like Case or a step above the Chinese made knives like Frost. I'd choose a Case knife over a Bear & Sons knife pretty much any day.
I carry a Victorinox swiss army knife and have for most of the last 30 years. I do occasionally carry a GEC or Queen/S&M slip joint. They are usually inside a leather slip in part because I favor larger slip joints or ones in the 4-4.25" closed length range.
GEC makes very good to excellent slip joints. Some would say that many approach custom quality. They primarily use 1095 steel which I prefer. I don't mind re-sharpening periodically. I think their problem is that they don't keep an inventory available and they produce a new model, it sells out, and you may not see a similar one for a year. Some of GEC's springs are too strong (hence "nail breakers"). They do loosen up in time. I like their traditional handle (scales) choices. Overall, I very much like their knives.
Queen/Schatt& Morgan are very good knives. They use D2 steel a lot which tends to hold an edge longer than 1095. They used to (or still do?) produce knives with an unsatisfactory edge and are essentially dull or not well sharpened when you receive them. They seem to be improving in that department. I generally buy their knives without hesitation. Love the Mountain Man.
Canal Street Cutlery makes good knives. I like them. Their branded knives seem to be more collector oriented than user oriented. I like them, but usually handle them in person before I buy.
Buck makes good slip joints for everyday use much like Case or similar to the old Schrade or Camillus produced knives in terms of overall quality. I generally don't buy Buck slip joints, but in part that is only because I buy the others first. If I liked a particular knife made by them, I would not hesitate to buy.
Kabar is selling slip joints again. These are made by Canal Street Cutlery for them (the copper ones). I have not purchased any, but would not hesitate to buy as I know Kabar stands behind their product line.
Bear & Sons: They make the Remington slip joints now. In general, I have not been favorably impressed by their branded knives. However the Remington branded ones tend to be a step above the regular production. My take on B&S is that they could make a much better knife if they wanted to and their overall quality is inconsistent from knife to knife. They seem to build knives for their market niche which is about like Case or a step above the Chinese made knives like Frost. I'd choose a Case knife over a Bear & Sons knife pretty much any day.
I carry a Victorinox swiss army knife and have for most of the last 30 years. I do occasionally carry a GEC or Queen/S&M slip joint. They are usually inside a leather slip in part because I favor larger slip joints or ones in the 4-4.25" closed length range.
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I have a 66 moose from GEC. It's a well made knife. The edges are a little thicker than they need to be but otherwise I can't find much wrong with it. I prefer the SAK for a working knife though. The only drawback to the alox sak is edge holding. If they upgraded to even 440C there would be no contest on which is the best IMO.
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I own more GEC made slip joints than any other manufacturer. Most are one of the GEC brands but some are special orders or branded Northwoods for KSF. At knife shows, if a GEC dealer is there, I will tend to purchase one of their knives at the show.
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I've become very pleased with the Schatt and Morgan knives bought recently. They have many patterns that appeal to me such as the gunstock series, Ruple and large quart barlows among others.
The edge geometry is easy to work with compared to some of the Queens. The D2 steel is tough to beat.
The edge geometry is easy to work with compared to some of the Queens. The D2 steel is tough to beat.
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The best two slip joint knife makers left are Great Eastern and the olbertz factory in germany that makes German Eye Brand.
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Me to. Have the large Gunstock and really like it. I need to check out their barlows. I tend to like a slightly larger knife than barlows, but I love the pattern. Hence I still buy a few.
The German Eye Brand knives seem rather difficult to find retail. Seems most are sold out.
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Case would be my top choice of current manufactured knives. Queen makes good knives too but virtually every Queen I've bought was dull as butter knives out of the box. Once sharp, they perform well. Queen builds Schatt & Morgan and Moore Maker's more expensive knives...also certain models for other companies. To clarify, I have no experience with the Queens from the current owners, mine are all older knives. I also like Boker's Solingen-made knives and all the Buck models I've used. SAK has been so ubiquitous with me over the years, I sometimes forget how good the knives really are. GEC gets a lot of positive comments on the forums but I haven't warmed up to either of the two I bought--just personal taste, I'm sure.
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Besides the ones already listed above, I have a couple German Bull Barlow's that are pretty decent quality. One in standard blade config (clip and pen), and one with razor as secondary blade. Next on my list to buy is one of Ka-Bar's copper dog head Barlow's. I also have a ton of Chinese slip joints like Rough Rider / Colt. It's hard to beat the quality for $5-$10.
afishhunter
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Based on sales world wide, Victorinox would have to be the number one company.
strategy9
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Aside from the usual suspects mentioned, vic, case, queen, gec, i'll reaffirm Boker (Tree Brand) makes some really nice traditionals.
Hen & Rooster, even since being bought by Frost, has still continued to make nice traditionals in both their Germany and their Spain facilities. Seems like one of Frost's flagship brands that they didn't allow to slip into complete disarray... Considering their Rough Riders are probably the best $10 cheapo's on the market, their H&R's a much nicer option, as the price reflects.
I also have a Russell Green River Works congress from Germany that is my main "user" for carving and such, and I must say it is very well made; sharp, holds its edge rather well, and the springs are nice and tight in both the half open, and open positions, snappy when closing... I like it a lot...
The bandaid is actually from the "snap" the other day, when just the very tip caught my finger like a nasty papercut.
Hen & Rooster, even since being bought by Frost, has still continued to make nice traditionals in both their Germany and their Spain facilities. Seems like one of Frost's flagship brands that they didn't allow to slip into complete disarray... Considering their Rough Riders are probably the best $10 cheapo's on the market, their H&R's a much nicer option, as the price reflects.
I also have a Russell Green River Works congress from Germany that is my main "user" for carving and such, and I must say it is very well made; sharp, holds its edge rather well, and the springs are nice and tight in both the half open, and open positions, snappy when closing... I like it a lot...
The bandaid is actually from the "snap" the other day, when just the very tip caught my finger like a nasty papercut.
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As some have already mentioned, both case and buck make really nice working man slip joints for relatively cheap. They are well made and most of their offerings are in stainless steel which may appeal to you.
Queen and GEC are higher end and I would recommend GEC due to their consistent quality.
Queen and GEC are higher end and I would recommend GEC due to their consistent quality.
choubbi
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Opinels are locking folders, so they don't fit the bill.
My current favorite slipjoint is my Spyderco UKPK, FRN handle and flat-grind leaf-shape blade. That's not a traditional-looking slipjoint though.
strategy9
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I realized that shortly after I posted it, (wondering why nobody else mentioned them, I checked), since I never owned one, nor have any desire to, I always just assumed they were slip joints, not twist locks. Now I know, learn something new every day.
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You should try one. You may just like it.
Case is classic, but massive production and everything that comes with that. GEC is the best there is, but produce low numbers of a large variety of models and have a larger focus on special factory orders.
GEC is awesome, get one. And you just kinda have to have a Case, too classic.
GEC is awesome, get one. And you just kinda have to have a Case, too classic.
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- Sep 3, 2006
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GEC and Queen
Personally I think Case makes garbage. The only good Case I have is one from 1999. I have a local shop by me and can inspect them in person and every single one I have held and looked at (about 15 different ones over the last year) has had crap walk and talk and way too much side to side blade play.
Personally I think Case makes garbage. The only good Case I have is one from 1999. I have a local shop by me and can inspect them in person and every single one I have held and looked at (about 15 different ones over the last year) has had crap walk and talk and way too much side to side blade play.