Recommendation? US$40 Toothpick Knife

T

Titan

Joined
Jan 21, 1999
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Hello. My sister who's living in the US is coming over next month and I really want to get a very traditional looking toothpick knife, preferably with stag or bone handle. I'm looking at Amazon and see a lot of really interesting Case and other options.

Can the Forum help me decide on which is the best choice available on any online stores for not more than US$40? Please post any leads or tips (no links), if okay with Admin.

Thank you so much!
 
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You're only real options for a new American made toothpick in your budget are Case, bear & sons, and possibly utica kutmaster.
The bear & sons knives I've handled were decent but I've heard the utica kutmasters can be sloppy sometimes, so the case would be your best option.
 
Are you looking for one of the very small (3" closed length) Case Small Texas Toothpick knives? Or something a little bigger? Do you care if the blade is carbon steel or stainless? Is $40 a hard upper limit?
 
I see some Winchester 1924 models for very close to your price on a popular auction site. I typed in "Winchester Toothpick" to search. Not a huge toothpick fan myself, but of all the ones I came across (in your price range) while searching, this may be tops in my opinion.
 
Hickory n steel said:
You're only real options for a new American made toothpick in your budget are Case, bear & sons, and possibly utica kutmaster.
The bear & sons knives I've handled were decent but I've heard the utica kutmasters can be sloppy sometimes, so the case would be your best option.
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Looking at the two popular shopping sites I know, it seems Case is my best option with the limited budget I have. I can get synthetic handles (scales?), but I prefer natural. I'm a bit confused by the materials I read. Is there such a thing as wood bone? How can a wood have bone???
 
jc57 said:
Are you looking for one of the very small (3" closed length) Case Small Texas Toothpick knives? Or something a little bigger? Do you care if the blade is carbon steel or stainless? Is $40 a hard upper limit?
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I actually prefer the small ones as they seem to be the classics. The US$40 is a hard upper limit so either blade material or even bigger size is okay by me as long as its within budget.

I'm also considering looking at the used market, except I'm not comfortable with ebay as I'm not much of an online buyer, preferring to buy locally (here in the Philippines) for most purchases. Except in the case of traditional American knives, local market is limited to Chinese knockoffs.
 
Sabercat said:
I see some Winchester 1924 models for very close to your price on a popular auction site. I typed in "Winchester Toothpick" to search. Not a huge toothpick fan myself, but of all the ones I came across (in your price range) while searching, this may be tops in my opinion.
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Not familiar with the brand, but I'll check it out as well. I hope they're still made in the US. Thanks!
 
jc57 said:
Ok, thanks for the clarification, that makes it easier to shop for you. (Links are to BF Member Dealers).

A nice selection of Case knives here:
https://www.knifeworks.com/catalogs...sc&is_ajax=1&order=price&p=1&q=case+toothpick

I would strongly consider this Queen:
http://www.gpknives.com/queenamberstagbone16minitoothpick.html
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Extremely helpful, jc57! This will help a lot in my seach.

The Queen toothpick's features are really enticing (D2, stag, etc.). Wow.

Much appreciated, sir!
 
The Queen is "stag carved bone" meaning - cow bone that is carved to resemble stag. But I like the D2 steel, and for the price which is the same as a Case, it's a good bargain. IF you get a good quality knife. Never know when ordering over the Internet.

There's another dealer I have bought from who has an interesting selection and a few rarer ones. If you don't see something you like on Roger's site (Knifeworks) let me know and I can message you with another link.

If you want one in stag, they can be found, but above your price limit. I know of a relatively rare 2-blade Case Toothpick in stag that is available at a reputable dealer but it's about $70. The second blade is a pen blade. It makes the knife thicker, which makes it a little easier to hold but sort of defeats the purpose of a very slender knife. Depends on what you like, of course. Single blades in stag (from Case) are in the low $60s from that same site.
 
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Oh. Well at least it's real bone that Queen is using and not synthetic. Queen does seem to be an old manufacturer according to a cursory google search. Now I'm curious about its fit and finish, when held in the hand. I'm only comforted by the fact that it's still US made, so I'm assuming quality is better on average. Its a risk.

Case on the other hand seems to be a proven brand. Lifetime warranty won't matter to overseas customers like me as it's impractical cost-wise to send an item back for repair. So higher confidence in a brand is a plus. I'm surprised that Knifeworks has items I didn't see in the giant online store (which starts with A, hehe).

I'll keep looking around, sir. Once my sister confirms her flight to my country, then I'll make the purchase :)
 
Case and Queen both have long histories. Both can have the occasional fit and finish issues. I have three Queen knives that I am happy with overall, but only one out of the three is perfect. Two of my Queen knives are in the same Amber Carved Stag Bone (ACSB) and it is a very pleasing handle material, both to look at and to touch.

It's tough when you are getting just ONE knife, and you are overseas, and on a budget. So you almost have to have your designated buyer go into a store and handle the knives for you.

For me in the US, it's not a big deal if I have to send a knife in to the factory or return to the dealer. I would not want to deal with that if I had to ship overseas. Hopefully you will get a good specimen. GP knives might be willing to inspect the Queen for you before selling it to you.
 
jc57 said:
Case and Queen both have long histories. Both can have the occasional fit and finish issues. I have three Queen knives that I am happy with overall, but only one out of the three is perfect. Two of my Queen knives are in the same Amber Carved Stag Bone (ACSB) and it is a very pleasing handle material, both to look at and to touch.

It's tough when you are getting just ONE knife, and you are overseas, and on a budget. So you almost have to have your designated buyer go into a store and handle the knives for you.

For me in the US, it's not a big deal if I have to send a knife in to the factory or return to the dealer. I would not want to deal with that if I had to ship overseas. Hopefully you will get a good specimen. GP knives might be willing to inspect the Queen for you before selling it to you.
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I'm starting to do more research about Queen as its my first time to hear about the company; although in fairness, I'm just re-learning stuff about traditional knives. Stories and personal endorsement like yours and other forum members really helps a lot in terms of gaining confidence in a particular brand. Knowing that you own some, really is confidence inspiring.

The Queen model has the right look I'm looking for and although I admit I'm not much into sharpening knives, knowing that it's D2 which will hold an edge longer over Case's plain stainless steel, appeals a lot to me. It's definitely at the top of my list right now :)
 
Very helpful John :) Good luck in finding something Titan, sounds like you have the Traditional bug! ;) :thumbsup:
 
Titan said:
Looking at the two popular shopping sites I know, it seems Case is my best option with the limited budget I have. I can get synthetic handles (scales?), but I prefer natural. I'm a bit confused by the materials I read. Is there such a thing as wood bone? How can a wood have bone???
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If you see words like wood bone or barnboard bone it means that it's bone that's been carved to resemble old wood from a barn ...ect
There are lots of different types of bone handle materials, most of them are cow bone, but all are just different ways the bone has been carved.


One knife you might want to check out is peanut pattern, case has a few different models with natural handle materials that cost just under 40$.
One thing nice about the peanut is that you get 2 handy blades, and they're an all American knife pattern unlike others that may have originated in Germany or the UK.
 
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