Unpopular Knives?

Railsplitter said:
Nice score there, Jim!

I think the Case Pocket Hunter is a really neat little pattern but I rarely see any pics or mention of them.
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Thanks Rick !!!
I have a Case Pocket Worn Lock Back. I really like the knife but at only 3", it's a little small. A knife I like even more, but that is even shorter and sees less pocket time is the Case Peanut. While the Peanut is certainly not an unpopular knife, I suspect MANY are sold for collections only. I wish Case made a 3 1/4 or 3 1/2 Peanut ... then again ... why mess with perfection ;) ... or just buy a trapper I guess
 
BrotherJim said:
I like the Ebony too !!! It all boiled down to which had the most in stock ... the blood red.
So I "saved" an Ebony one for ya Shawn ;)
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That's very kind of you Jim, payday is tomorrow so I'll have to check if the one you "saved" for me is still available :D
 
Jeff and I are on the same page: If the Presidential had half-stops I'd own several.

Loved the Maverick, and I'm addicted to old Congresses.
 
GEC Executive Whittler. People are unsure about 4" long, think the thin wharncliffe and entire build are flimsy...

Beautiful, strong, a great worker and they disappear in pockets! It's one of the few straight sided knives I have that rate above the curvy knives I tend to love! If only the pen blade would have been a punch, but then even fewer people would have gotten it!!

On the flip side I have no interest in the GEC 15 pattern, outside of STR's models with saw nothing in that line remotely catches my eye, the lines don't work well for me I guess.


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BrotherJim said:
Thanks Rick !!!
I have a Case Pocket Worn Lock Back. I really like the knife but at only 3", it's a little small. A knife I like even more, but that is even shorter and sees less pocket time is the Case Peanut. While the Peanut is certainly not an unpopular knife, I suspect MANY are sold for collections only. I wish Case made a 3 1/4 or 3 1/2 Peanut ... then again ... why mess with perfection ;) ... or just buy a trapper I guess
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I've seen photos of your Case Small Lockback. Gorgeous knife with those Red Bone handles. Just a neat little design. I've thought of getting one myself on several occasions and I just might do so one of these days.

Regarding a larger Peanut, I have always thought that the 087 pattern looks a lot like a larger Peanut. Not exactly though. It's shaped a little different but the blades are the same (only larger) and I think it measures 3 1/4 inches closed. Probably the closest thing to a larger Peanut in the Case lineup. I only mention it because I have always, in my own mind, considered it to be bigger version of the Peanut.
 
You nailed it Rick !!! ... my little lock back is in fact Pocket Worn Red Bone. There's a good bit of tang rub on it (pile side). Detracts from the polished blade a bit. Even so, the tiniest bit of blade play side to side on lock up. Not a show stopper.

As far as a larger Peanut, the Marble's Mini Trapper 3 1/2" (new old stock I got yesterday) is a single blade with almost the same shape, blade and all (except the pivot bolster), just larger than a Peanut. It's working out REALLY well for me.
 
For me, I love the Queen Burke pearl gentleman's folders. BG42 steel blades, black lip pearl or abalone scales, file worked springs and liners on the doctor's model or carved black lip or white mop on the English gentleman's model. They are quite exquisite and unlike anything else made in a factory in generations.
 
For some reason the 54 three spring whittlers are unpopular. In a weak moment to raise funds for a purchase, I put the one below up on the exchange and couldn't give it away........well almost. I'm glad it didn't sell. These have sunken joints, so the tangs don't cut you when using. All three blades have half stops with pulls around a 6. The backsprings are thin, thus the blades start from thinner stock and all are very thin behind the edge. In one package you get a blade with belly, a fleshing blade, a blade that can pierce, and both the spear and spey have long flat blade edges for work requiring such. The spear is actually a monster pen (2 5/8" cutting edge-3" total). All this, in a package that is very close to the same width of the Moose knives that were just run, or the Cattle Barons.....speaking of unpopular-Cattle Barons are still available.....

Here is one of the two 54W's I have:

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Unpopular?? Love my presidential! :) First Northwoods I ever bought and convinced me to splurge on the Willamette Whittler (also great). The fit and finish is excellent, the walk and talk is satisfying and it has a strong pull, I'd say a six or a seven. No, it's not a super cool bohncliff, nor does it have the heat treat scale or long pull of the "rustic series" but it needs neither. The presidential is a slim, sexy carry and it has been my go-to edc for the last ~ six months.

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BrotherJim said:
Ya know, what the heck ... I just pulled the trigger on a Presidential. Fingers crossed ... the blades aren't too crossed Lol

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You're going to love it. I was pretty surprised Derrick mentioned it was unpopular. I love mine! It's been getting a lot of love the past week or so in the which are you carrying today thread with everyone posting pictures of theirs.

One I'm surprised still has a lot of stock everywhere is the GEC#9. Looks like an awesome little knife. Is it the size that makes it unpopular?
 
I wonder why GEC never made any more on the #13 pattern?
Not only as a congress pattern, but I could imagine a Congress Jack with a narrow spear main and coping blade. :thumbup:

 
Railsplitter said:
Nice score there, Jim!

I think the Case Pocket Hunter is a really neat little pattern but I rarely see any pics or mention of them.
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Ahem... Among my favorite small knives. I was just getting into them and then they go and retire the pattern. :(







A GEC pattern that I love but doesn't seem to get much love (and especially in the original releases are still on some dealer shelves) is the #12s in both Toothpick and Powderhorn Jack varieties. I have more #12s than any other single GEC pattern. Here are a couple pictured. The Powderhorn pictured is my most carried GEC.






Derrick, I like the Presidential fine, but Northwoods knives are usually a bit above my comfort zone, price-wise. If I ever hit the lottery though, we'll talk. ;)

I realize after I posted this that these two patterns look rather similar. However, the Pocket Hunters are about the size of a Case Peanut, but a bit beefier, while the GEC 12's are 4" closed, so up there with full-sized trappers and large stockman patterns, though the curved handle makes them carry much smaller.
 
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Nice little collection of Pocket Hunters, John. Thanks for sharing those pics. I particularly like the one in the bottom picture. What color bone is that. Looks a little too light for Bermuda Green.
 
The Northwoods Presidential was a knife I came very close to pulling the trigger on many times but was just concerned about blade rub after owning several of the earlier S&M, Queen made knives in Sowbellies and other patterns, from the early 2000s that had this problem. Sure did like what I saw though!
 
Railsplitter said:
Nice little collection of Pocket Hunters, John. Thanks for sharing those pics. I particularly like the one in the bottom picture. What color bone is that. Looks a little too light for Bermuda Green.
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I believe it is Peacock Appaloosa Bone. I had a penchant for that handle material at one time and acquired several patterns in that particular bone. I believe it was an SFO handle material used around 1999 - 2000 by one of the large Case retailers that we can't mention. They released a more recent run of it last year I think but I didn't pick up any of those. That was a "no box" purchase so I have to go by the tang stamp.

The other two are the "Vintage Bone" from 2001 or so, which is what Case's 6.5 Bonestag looks like if they don't torch it. I didn't mean to get two in that handle material, but I was bidding on two auctions at the same time hoping to win one of them and won both. The one with the scrolled bolsters was from the annual display-cased set that they released and was from a broken up set. The jigging on that one isn't that great (you can see the spin marks from whatever tool they use to try to create the stag-like jigging) but it's a nice little knife.

I had been considering giving one of them a "tea bath" treatment to get a nice color on the bone but that would mess up their value if I ever decided to sell them. That's why I hate that they retired the pattern. You don't make omelets from the last dodo eggs, so I don't want to carry hard-to-replace knives. I realize I need counseling, but that's how my brain is.
 
My favorite unpopular knife would have to be the canoe pattern, in all of its limited variations. There aren't a lot of them out there, and their blade selection tends to be very thin (you can have a spear and a spear, or a spear and a pen, or...well, that's about it.) I like looking at them, I like handling them, and were it not for the lack of blade variety I'd probably own a bunch. Admittedly the main pretty much has to be a spear to fit the profile, but why can't we have a little more choice in the secondary blades?

One of the patterns listed earlier is my least favorite unpopular pattern, the Congress. They're great to look at but just don't sit well in my hand. I have a 4-blade Muller and a 6-blade Hen & Rooster (both 2000 vintage) and they're incredible slicers, but I can't stand carrying or using them. They just seem "upside-down".
 
waynorth said:
A 4-blade congress is too much knife for a city-slicker like me.
But a 2-blade is just right!! Why carry around all that thickness and weight?
I can't think of when I needed more than two blades!
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My thoughts exactly
 
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