Trapper - shocked at the quality

B

bradytx

Joined
Jul 9, 2013
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I stumbled upon a Moore Maker Texas Trapper today and I have to say I'm shocked by the quality. I emailed Moore Maker and they told me the maker of the knife was Utica Cutlery. Why do we not hear about them more often?

No gaps anywhere, the shields were fit perfectly, and the 1095 Carbon Blade will do just fine.

I didn't pick it up, but I think I'm going back tomorrow for it. Not a huge trapper fan, but this one is calling me, not to mention I'm from Texas.

Question is, why is Utica Cutlery not a big player in traditionals? I know they were founded back in 1910, but why did they fall off the map in today's traditional marketplace? In my opinion what I saw was better fit and finish than Queen and cheaper to boot. The head of Utica really needs to get the word out. Still shocked.
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mrknife said:
are they still around?
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They are indeed, I bought one of their Catskill Trappers in 1095, and it was a good looking, well made knife. Before I got to use it, I needed a birthday present for an older neighbor who had lost his pocket knife some time ago. He was very happy to get the new one.
 
It's because they're knives are often sloppy.
My only utica knives are 2 small kutmaster lockbacks, granted they're factory seconds ( supposed to only have slight cosmetic defects ) but I'm surprised they even got made. I just don't see how they could assemble a knife with so many issues. I'd pick one out by hand at a store, but would never order a utica knife online.
 
I have had 2 of their stockman. One was 3 5/8" slim type, and a 3 7/8" that was a little thick, but fit and finish was spot on for both of them. I was pleased. Both of mine were stainless.
Harold
 
If my memory serves me, and it may not, Utica today is not the Utica of yesteryear. Different ownership or different factory or something like that. I can't recall. Moore Maker doesn't make knives themselves, but they only use American manufacturers. Camillus back in the day, Utica, Queen, and I think Bear and Sons. I've owned a couple Camillus made ones, and they were nice, but I can't speak for any made from any other manufacturers.
 
They're still on Noyes Street in Utica. Some knives are made in China and some in Utica. Their catalog will tell you which. Search "Utica Kutmaster". Most of their business seems to be making knives with other companies' names on them.
I hope they have gotten over whatever it was that caused them to mix carbon and stainless in knives meant to be one or the other.
Their home-made knives are 1095 or 420hc. Last time I saw their catalog someone had messed up with cutting and pasting and left "1095 high carbon stainless".
 
I am familiar with Utica, but not Moore Maker. Being from Texas also, I will have to check them out when I get a break at work today:thumbup:
 
I speculate that Utica might be making the made-in-America knives for the revived Colonial.
 
Cool knives, but they seem to have gone up I'm price quite a bit since I last looked at them
 
This reminds me to get an Adirondack premium stockman. Very like the Case xx18 I like so well, but tempered a little harder.
 
Hickory n steel said:
It's because they're knives are often sloppy.
My only utica knives are 2 small kutmaster lockbacks, granted they're factory seconds ( supposed to only have slight cosmetic defects ) but I'm surprised they even got made. I just don't see how they could assemble a knife with so many issues. I'd pick one out by hand at a store, but would never order a utica knife online.
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Sound advice about any knife labeled a "second". If I were to buy any knife that was labeled a "second", from any maker, I sure would pick it out myself. I also think that it is certainly not very fair to judge a company's entire output by a "second." In my experience most "seconds" are dogs (and this was true of a lot of Camillus "seconds" back in the day). After all, second is a product which by definition did not pass QC at the factory.
 
Bartleby said:
Sound advice about any knife labeled a "second". If I were to buy any knife that was labeled a "second", from any maker, I sure would pick it out myself. I also think that it is certainly not very fair to judge a company's entire output by a "second." In my experience most "seconds" are dogs (and this was true of a lot of Camillus "seconds" back in the day). After all, second is a product which by definition did not pass QC at the factory.
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I'm not judging the company based on the factory seconds I bought, but on how many pics I've seen of poor examples. It seems like quality may have really picked up though which is good though I'd still prefer to buy in person.
The factory seconds I bought were only 4$ so I'm not upset, but I just don't see how a they messed up a step and kept going messing up on every subsequent step.
 
I like my Case Trapper. I read some here knock it for gaps and such. Mine does have gaps between the springs but it snaps closed just fine and opens solid, that's all that matters since I'm not a collector. I've never heard of Moore's Maker but checked out Utica. I'll stick with Case.
 
bt93 said:
I like my Case Trapper. I read some here knock it for gaps and such. Mine does have gaps between the springs but it snaps closed just fine and opens solid, that's all that matters since I'm not a collector. I've never heard of Moore's Maker but checked out Utica. I'll stick with Case.
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Moore Maker is a tool supplier out of Matador Tx, they have done SFO's for knives and tools. In the past they focused on plain American made working man's knives usually spec'ed with yellow delrin and carbon steel blades but often with a bit more attention to fit and finish. I have given some of these to friends visiting Texas (they are tang stamped "Moore Maker, Matador, Texas" making a nice souvenir of a trip to the stockyards for a reasonable cost). I believe they started out by using Camillus knives, until that company went out of business. A lot of their cutlery in the recent past has been sourced to Bear and Son, and I believe they were the first to have carbon steel blades on knives from that company. It is nice to see they are continuing to source from American companies, using Utica as well, and offering some fancier handles now.
 
scrteened porch said:
I speculate that Utica might be making the made-in-America knives for the revived Colonial.
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There is a strong family resemblance between some Utica and Colonial products . I have tried to research the Colonial 2205 Military Scout knife a bit, and based on what could be turned up on-line as well as measuring and comparing examples, I believe that the tooling used on this knife is very likely the tooling used on the version of the Boy Scout knife that was made by Bear and Son for a few years. Bear had claimed in an initial press release on their scout knife that the parts used in this version were to be made on tooling that had been used by Camillus. It seems more likely that Utica was the source of these parts for both companies, and I suspect Utica may also be the source for parts for current Colonial 2205. The Colonial 2205 is much better made than the Bear and Son scout knife examples I have handled, and gets a fair amount of pocket time.
 
This is a Klein Electrician's Knife (1550-2) model made for Klein by Utica. The knife is well built and solid. The blades are centered between the liners and there are no gaps along the spine.









.
 
Modoc ED said:
This is a Klein Electrician's Knife (1550-2) model made for Klein by Utica. The knife is well built and solid. The blades are centered between the liners and there are no gaps along the spine.









.
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Utica's Workman series of knives and their Klein branded equivalents have always struck me as being excellent value for money tools. Although somewhat displaced now by multitools, a lot of professional tradesmen used to swear by them, and many still do. I had not thought of the reason for my own good opinion until this post came up, but I have had one of the little 3 1/4" easy open jack knives with a coping blade dangling on my keyring for many years. I guess I really take its solid dependable reliability for granted. I have mostly used it for tasks that would likely damage one of the more expensive knives I carry or as a loaner, and it sure has held up well to such abuse. Never was much for looks, but it sure holds an edge.
 
That Texas Trapper is a nice looking knife, bradytx
My only experience with the Utica of today is a positive one. I picked up this trapper off the exchange a few years ago. I have to say that it is a well made knife with good fit and finish.
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