Traditional Forum Knives Past and Present 2.0

[T. Erdelyi]

With the 2012 Traditional Forums Knife close on the horizon I figured I'd try a little experiment.

I look forward to these knives and this time of year, I love the process leadin' up to the actual knife and hate the wait afterwords, (just kiddin'), anyway here's what I propose, since I own all of the Traditional Forums Knives produced thus far and with the 2012 GEC commin' I've pulled out all the previous incarnations to carry as an EDC to keep me happy till the lastest one arrives in a few weeks.

What I'm gonna do is 6 knives 7 days, I'm gonna carry each of the forum knives in the order which they arrived, each 1 for 24 hours, I'll take pics and each day i'll try to post the comments and pics from that day.

At the end of the week, I'll tally the poll results, (oh yea did I mention there was gonna be a poll?) and the knife with the most votes will be my Traditional EDC carried till the 2012 GEC arrives.

Here's a pic of the current BFC Traditional Forums Knives, I'll start on Monday with the 2006 Canal Street Cutlery Ring Turner/Opener Pen knife.

Keep checkin' up on my post count as I'm commin' up on 11,000 post and will be hostin' a Giveaway very soon.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

The 2008 Northwoods Medium Stockman is my favorite outta them all, it's been carried the most so far.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

BTW if ya can't vote in the poll make your choice known in the post, I'll tally 'em all up at the end and post the results after.

 

[Rsmith_77]

i dont have any, but if i could go back in time, i would just love to pick up that barlow!

 

[T. Erdelyi]

The Barlow's been the second most carried of the six, the Stag was donated by an annonymous Forum member and it was gorgeous, it is the most visually appealing of the six to me, I love the feel of the Stag, the color and the overall F&F on that one.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

A few more pics before tomorrows knife slides into my pocket.

The 2011 EO Jack

The 2010 Ebony Moose

The 2009 Barlow

The 2008 Medium Stockman

Missing are the 2007 Canittler and the 2006 Twist Ring Pen.

Here's another pic with the two missin' forum knives.

 

[67nick]

Great thread /poll! :thumbup:

Tough choice but the barlow is the real looker IMHO.

 

[pertinux]

i dont have any, but if i could go back in time, i would just love to pick up that barlow!

I'm with you on that one.

I can't believe there was a Forum barlow, and that I missed it!

Fortunately, I missed it by three years (and not a few months...). That helps.

Great thread, Ted; I always love seeing your pictures of the Forum knives.

~ P.

 

[eisman]

While none of them are knives I would normally carry, the Barlow is the most appealing due to blade choice. I like the jigged bone on the EO a lot too.

Congress Jack for 2013! (Starting early)

 

[CellerDrummer]

That Barlow is beautiful..It was my choise.CD

 

[yablanowitz]

I missed the ring opener, but I have the rest. Of them, the Barlow has seen the most pocket time, and I don't particularly like Barlows.

 

[Peregrin]

I too missed the ring opener and have the rest. Although I don't carry it often, my favorite is the Barlow. Great stag, super fit and finish and D2 blades.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

With 28 people votin' so far, it appears that the double stamped Queen/Schatt Morgan Barlow has taken a substantial lead so far and the Canal Street Cutlery Cannitler with the mammoth bone scales is pullin' up the rear.

A little of my opinions so far, outta the box sharpness, the Canal Street Cutlery Twistring was the sharpest at an 8, shaved arm hair right off the bat, a little stoppin' and it scared the hair off my arm.

F&F on the blades was a 7, I would have liked it if they had broken the sharp edges of the backside of the blades a little.

The burnt Stag scales were warm and very well matched.

Backsprings were about a 5, without a nail nick it's hard to compare but walk and talk were about an 8, smooth and firm.

The medium Stockman came with the tips of all 3 blades burned from sharpenin' at the Northwoods factory, (they cleaned up quickly), sharpness was about a 4, it would cut twine and cardboard but paper and hair were outta the question until I rebeveled the edges and reharpened 'em on bench stones.

F&F were superb, I'd give it an 8, the scales and angles were more pocketworn, no gaps, scales were also very well matched and also very warm, backsprings were about a 5 on pull, very well proportioned for the size of the knife.

My only complaint on F&F is that the nail nicks could've been a little deeper, but walk and talk were an 8.

Now the Queen/Schatt Morgan Barlow, Sharpness outta the box was a 6, nuthin' 5 minutes on the bench hone couldn't fix.

F&F was a 9, walk and talk a 9 backspring pull was firm and smooth right where it should be for it's size about a 6 but the long pull nail nicks make it very comfortable and gives you positive feedback as you open and close the blades, I also like the nicks bein' on opposite sides makes it convenient for either right or lefthand openin'.

The scales, what can ya say about the perfect set of Stag? I love this knife and when I need a knife that's a little bigger than the medium stockman, this one rides with pride in my pocket, my only complaint on this knife was that the bolsters could've been shaped to cover the sharp edge of the tang that hit's the backspring when the blade is open because when the blades are closed they leave the sharp corner stickin' up past the bolsters, (this has been a problem with all the forum knives except the Canittler and the Twistring Pen).

I'll post more about the other 3 later.

 

[Will Power]

Last year's Forum Knife from GEC gets my vote. Why? Excellent fit&finish, nickel liners (also on the 10 knife) an interesting and rarer pattern in production knives and it slices so well.

Unfortunately my 08 Knife got lost in a kitchen flood earlier this year. i liked this too as I was lucky enough to get a good one from a Stag point of view.

 

[mckgreg]

Wrong Forum

 

[Invoice]

I only have three, from the Barlow forward. I was one of the unlucky ones with the Barlow. It had to go back twice due to F&F. I do love the knife but one the I go to on a carry basis is the ebony moose. It sharpens up nice and is a real working knife. My EO very rarely hits the pocket due to too many other knives that I would rather carry.

 

[comoha]

I voted the barlow. The embossed bolsters and great stag, no to mention the blade lineup made it an instant classic.

 

[IVANKERLEY]

i voted moose! even though it was by far one of my most dangerous openin knives, finally broke it in a bit, just love the whole look of it it looks right along side my old pre WW2 ebony knives. im a sucker for swedges and ebony, that stockman looks beautiful, IMHO the barlow wouldve been perfect with a pen blade wharnies are alright on certain knives, but i definitely wouldnt kick that barlow to the curb if i lucked into one
great thread and nice to see them all together
regards
Gene

 

[LX_Emergency]

That Barlow is the only one I regret not getting in on every time I see it. I remember debating it with myself while it was still possible....and now I'm kicking myself that I didn't get it.

 

[FLymon]

I thought it was going to be closer between the two front runners.

From a build quality (F&F) standpoint last year's knife is probably the best production knife I own. Certainly one of them anyway.
Had I gotten a better 2009 Barlow it probably would have got my vote though, I think it was the best pattern, yet anyway .