Utica and Bear & Sons?

19-3ben

19-3ben

Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Messages
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Knifecenter is running its cyber monday sale, and I am seeing some good prices on Bear & Sons and Utica traditionals.

I searched up reviews to see fit/finish, HT, etc... and precious little came up recently. Both brands had reviews and discussions back in 2010-2013ish, but not a lot recently, and a lot can happen in a few years.

I dont expect them to be GEC quality of F/F, but can I expect them to equal a Case?
 
I have a sodbuster Bear & son with blue G10 handles that is very nice and welle made. Ultra lightweight.

Bear-bj3.jpg

The Utica Coffin I got with some good discount, maybe because the spey shows a little side play. But otherwise a very nice knive too. The box is nice as well.

Coffin-2.jpg .
 
Have no experience with b&s, but own some Uticas... They are okay, but can be more than usually spotty, and imo, best purchased in person where one can inspect. I feel they are not on par with Case. My best specimen from Utica is a fixed blade hunter. That one is a pretty nice specimen, but still not at the same level as a fixed Case. Just my opinion :)
 
My experience has only been with the older Bear's. The F&F on those were not good at all.--KV
 
I have a b@s small trapper. All is okay on it except there is absolutely no edge on the blades. Others I have handled in the past were the same. A couple weeks ago I looked at some more at the hardware store and they are a little better but I saw burnt tips and edges on some. And I mean still blue and brown were they got too hot. They didn't even try to clean it up. Personally I think I would want to hand pick one. I think they would be okay knives if you find a good one. Imho they are not close to Case quality yet. And it is possible that the examples I have seen at the hardware store are older stock. Just my thoughts.
 
That settles it. Thanks guys. Since this is an internet purchase, and by it's very nature, sight unseen, I am throwing in a couple extra bucks for something better that I am already familiar with. Case, Queen, S&M, etc...

I appreciate you weighing in.
 
Boker Appaloosa Trapper from Blade HQ it is... that's my CyberMonday knife. I have a couple Bokers and the ones actually from Solingen (not the Tree Brand ones that are made in China and then finished in Solingen) have impressed the hell out of me for the price.

I'll see if this holds up the standard of the other few I have.
 
Btw, on a related note, I still wonder if Utica is actually their own manufacturer of their USA made knives. Actually, I've even wondered if it was Bear & Son making them under contract. Kutmaster owns the Utica name. It seems that most, if not all of Kutmaster branded items, are made abroad and imported in. Their Utica branded pocket knives and fixed blade knives are, as far as I know, branded as USA made items. The thing is, the Utica factory in Utica NY has often been reported as being more of a warehouse/distribution center, and supposedly no longer a manufacturing plant. There definitely is a story to tell, but whether it's actually that the Utica factory is still one of the oldest remaining (and actively manufacturing) traditional knife makers, or they are simply just a name brand now, being made somewhere else in the USA.
A few years ago I purchased a two piece Kutmaster/Utica trapper set that commemorated their 100th year of existence. They are USA made, but whether made in Utica, or if they are pieces made elsewhere, I don't know. I looked for the answer to this Utica company question, but never got the definite answer. Since it seems that Kutmaster only has a small following for their Utica branded USA made knives, it would almost make sense to me that they would not run a manufacturing division on their own for them. Subbing them out may be the more likely senerio. Where Camillus and/or Schrade may have been ideal sources some years back for something like this to be done for Kutmaster/Utica, the current situation of limited makers left, may very well point to Bear & Son as the choice for such a thing.

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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Btw, on a related note, I still wonder if Utica is actually their own manufacturer of their USA made knives. Actually, I've even wondered if it was Bear & Son making them under contract.
Click to expand...
Based on my observation, knives produced by Bear & Son for others (e.g. Moore Maker, Remington etc.)tend to have a very strong family resemblance to models that are sold under Bear & son's label. The Utica slip joint folding knives don't resemble Bear & Son products as much as they do older Utica products. I am inclined to think that Utica produces small batches on their old machinery, or is assembling from old stock stored in-house. Hard to get direct evidence from either about sub contracting though.
 
Well, I ran into this today...
Utica Cutlery, the oldest continuous same site knife manufacturer in the US.

That is pretty cool!
 
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Both Utica and Bear & Son make folding knives and fixed blade knives for Moore Maker. So if Bear makes Utica knives, that would seem to be a bit of a round about way for Moore Maker to source knives.
 
Ah, didn't realize that Utica was making Moore Maker knives. You having posted the above, made me take a look at some of the knives offered by Moore Maker. They do have a fixed blade style that is definitely a dead ringer to the pattern used for this Utica fixed blade that I have...
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The Moore Maker that seems to be the same pattern as Utica's offering...

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