Traditional Knife Companies (Recommendations)

Big Case (chrome vanadium) fan here. I also like some of the offerings from Kissing Crane, Hen and Rooster and Boker Solingen.
 
So I've been off the knife train for almost a year now, and as things are for me, I'm back on. This year I'm starting out with a slipjoint faze. I just ordered a Black Vic Pioneer, and I've been devouring the traditional knife threads for a few days now. I have some opinions of modern manufacturers, but almost no knowledge of traditional companies. Would anyone care to throw out some opinions or rankings of the following: Case, GEC, Queen, Canal St, Schrade, as far as blade steels (is that even important for traditionals?), construction, fit and finish, durability, etc? Feel free to add any manufacturers that I haven't read about yet. Thanks a lot guys.
 
All those manufacturers make (or made, in the case of Schrade) really great knives.

I have no problems with any of the steel they use, but Queen's D2 is my favorite by far. It is very tough and holds an edge for an extremely long time under typical use.

The overall quality from all the manufacturers can be hit or miss. Personally I am kind of picky about the fit and finish so I try not to buy sight unseen, but that is virtually impossible for most of us on a new knife from a dealer for all but Case. And even with Case you really want to seek out a Platinum or Master dealer for the best selection (It's worth a day trip for a Master Dealer IMHO). I find GEC to be the most consistent of the current manufacturers by far, but I can't really speak for Canal Street from personal experience.

Schrade is tricky since the Schrade we most commonly refer to is gone, and almost all of the new knifes are low cost imports (nothing wrong with that, just FYI). You need to be careful if you want a new, Made in the USA Schrade knife. One notable recent USA Schrade (based on the review, and my experience with GEC in general) would be these GEC made Trappers .

The best advice I could give would be read more threads. Use the search feature to find all the info you think you need and then acquire a few examples of patterns you like from the various manufacturers. Above all else, you should try them for yourself to really appreciate them.
 
For the longest time, I was not the happiest with the Case knives I would get. SS was worthless, to me, and CV would rust if you looked at it cross eyed. Queen's steel was great, if you could find a knifemaker to sharpen the D2 for you (thanks again Scott). Great Eastern was an all around good knife, but watch out for those springs, you would lose some fingers!

As I have gotten over a lot of my "knife snobbery", I have come to really appreciate the slipjoints I have. The Case Bose line is about as close to a custom knife as I'll get for the forseeable future. I have a coffin jack coming today or tomorrow, and a Tribal Spear at home. The Tribal is a great knife, would make a great EDC if I wasn't so afraid of losing it ;). I also have a humpback stockman and Case Bose backpocket, both in SS, and a few passes on a strop, or a pair of jeans, and you are back in business (only complaint about the humpback is the hard to get to spey blade). Last but not least, my small peanut continues to amaze me at how useful it is (thanks again Carl for pointing me in the right direction).

Most of my Queen knives were dull or had a crappy edge. The recent ones I've picked up, including the Dan Burke collaborations, Schatt and Morgan (Heritage and File and Wire), and a canoe and Mountain Man slipjoint were all fairly sharp (popedandy, did you put those edges on the FW and DB's?). Most of them have great walk and talk, no bad knives in the bunch.

My first GEC was a very tight 73 trapper. It has loosened up over the years, and a few of my recent acquisitions were super tight to begin with. They have loosened up to a tolerable level. They do not appear to be striving towards "loosey goosey" either ;).

If you want a Schrade, go old school USA made. Great Eastern made a few of their's, but most Schrades are made overseas now, and are of poorer quality.

I would check out Bucks line of slipjoints. I found an old 301X with bone scales at a gun show, there are lots of variations out there. Stick with the older 440C, 425M and newer 420HC models. I picked up the small stockman and single blade pen knife bone scale set at Walmart, and saw that the steel is 420J2. Those two will go in the gift pile...

I had a Canal Street Canittler, a bad mistake to give it up. Very well made knife.

I have some of the older Remingtons made by Camillus from the 80's and 90's, and a fair amount of Utica and other older slipjoints. Take a copy of Levines Guide or the Blade guide, and find some old knives that are not in good enough condition to hide in a display case, but good enough to clean up and carry.

I am really slowing down in regards to my other two knife areas of interest, modern one handed openers and custom fixed blades. Don't see myself slowing down on slipjoints anytime soon.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. And thanks for moving my thread, I guess I hadn't dug far enough back to see this one. I'll keep looking at different brands and keep reading these threads. Right now my mental list is topped by the Canal Street Half Moon Trapper single blade. I know most of you guys like the jigged bone, but I'm really digging the smooth look of the Canal St, as well as the longer bolster near the pivot. I'm probably not going to pull the trigger on it for a while, and keep looking at other styles, but my finger sure is itchy... and I'm scared that one won't be enough. It's probable that my interest in modern locking folders is going to go on a back burner for a while.
 
The Half Moon Trapper is a nice choice!:thumbup: While some may argue that Canal Street's springs are a little on the soft side, you definitely won't be disappointed by the fit and finish or the quality of the steel.

Here's one in buffalo:

IMG_1735.jpg
 
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