Traditional slip joint

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kidcutlery

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Aug 18, 2013
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Whats up guys. Living in New York City, Im very limited in the type of knives I can carry. Im interested in buying a good traditional slip joint knife but I'm not very familiar with good traditional knife brands. Im interested in either a German or US made knife. I think the style of knife i want is a stockman, but I'm not sure if thats only with case knives. Im wiling to spend around $100 on one but thats not my limit. I was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction.
Thanks a lot gents

mike
 
There's quite a few types of traditional knife patterns, all with different blade shapes and handle materials. Spend some time in the "What traditional knife are ya totin' today?" thread and see what you like :)
 
Take a seat and take your time to have a look at the "what's in your pocket", "old knives" etc and see what brands and patterns float your boat. Getting into traditional brings you back to a time where people took a little time to enjoy the little things in life ;) welcome to these forums and I hope you enjoy your stay. I highly recommend you take the time to read Jackknife's tales and get immersed in the world of the old time pocket knife :)
 
One of my sub-100 dollar favorites, that's a stockman, is the 301, or 303 Buck. They lack aesthetics, but are very practical IMHO. Zytel handles, more often than not, though they've started to offer them in rosewood. Buck's 420HC is very serviceable, and takes a mean edge.
 
I second the recommendations above, you may start off liking a stockman but may gravitate to all sorts of different types of knives once you check out some of the above mentioned threads. But if you want a straight up recommendation for $100 I would recommend the great eastern cutlery #81 abilene stockman knife, a large 4 inch knife with excellent finish. Very similar is the queen large stockman, it has D2 steel, which is an exceptionally tough steel.
 
Stockman is a great pattern any many companies do them well. Not being from there I am not sure of the knife laws in New York City but that seems like where I would start as I would hate to help get you into trouble.

The good news is that you can find stockmans in all sizes.
 
kidcutlery said:
Im interested in buying a good traditional slip joint knife but I'm not very familiar with good traditional knife brands. Im interested in either a German or US made knife. I think the style of knife i want is a stockman, but I'm not sure if thats only with case knives. Im wiling to spend around $100 on one but thats not my limit.
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In your price range, you can't beat a Great Eastern Cutlery 66 Calf Roper stockman, or 68 Buckaroo stockman. Both are very pocketable at around 3.5" closed, and pocket friendly, with rounded bolsters. Most GEC knives come in 1095 carbon steel. If you'd prefer stainless, they do offer some but you may have to look a little harder. Or, have a look at the various medium-sized stockman models from Case, Buck, Queen, Canal Street Cutlery, and Boker.

Good luck with your shopping, and please be sure to let us know how it comes out.

-- Mark
 
From NYC I inferred 'office work'. I carried a Case Med stockman (3.5") for nearly 10 years. It never bothered anyone. I realized that I really only used the sheepsfoot blade so I moved to a GEC #61 for office carry. Does anything I need it to do my environment, including dealing with a smoked half chicken over lunch.

If you're in a trade, it should open up a few more options ala a medium frame sodbuster, trappers, etc. Do you have specific restrictions like the UK ( no lock blades, blades less than 3") in NYC ?
 
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You are going to go through a few knives before you find the one. I still like accumulating knives, but the one for me seems to be the Zulu jack pattern. Those are a bit higher $ wise than what you're looking for. My suggestion is that you go to the Knife World website and sign up for their free three issue subscription. Then, if you like the newspaper, buy a subscription. Check out some knife books in town, there has to be about a hundred used book stores in NYC, you will stumble on some knife books. Also, you can check the local library book sales for knife books, and any discount chains in the city.

Removing any trade or office environment from the equation, a small jack, similar to the Huckleberry Boys knife, should be perfect for use and size restrictions. Queen makes a small stockman, I got one and later gave it to my baby sister. Other than not having a sharp edge, it was very well made :confused:. Right now I'm carrying a Schatt and Morgan premium stockman from the Heritage line, I would try to find one of the jacks from the 2011 line, or if you can, cherry pick through the 2012 cattle/stock series. It also sounds like the Case swayback jack or swayback gent would be a perfect choice for an office or trade. I had one and in the search for better and greener pastures, I sold it like a fool. Lots of great patterns out there from Case, Queen, Canal Street and Great Eastern.
 
CJZ said:
There's quite a few types of traditional knife patterns, all with different blade shapes and handle materials. Spend some time in the "What traditional knife are ya totin' today?" thread and see what you like :)
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I second this.
 
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