What are some of the better stockmans on the market today?

S

Stevenmw

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Apr 18, 2016
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Long story short, my dad gave me the old Case XX he carried around for probably a little over 20 years. Not in the best shape, but it works. I want to get him something to replace it. I don't want to get him another Case because I feel those are hit and miss today.

What are some of your favorites? I was looking at Schatt and Morgan and Queen. The Buck 303 is pretty nice. I just want to get him a quality stockman to last him into old age.

Thanks.
 
A Buck will last very well, just go to the local surplus, hunting, or outdoors store and handle it in person. Check for weak spring snap, gaps between liners and backsprings, bad blade rubbing, blade wiggle, and other stuff. If it isn't in good shape, ask to see another. Do the same with the Case stockmans. Buck has better QC in my experience than Case but YMMV. If you have the money, I would buy a GEC Dixie stock knife.
Queen has hit or miss QC too from what I've heard, but GEC is almost always spot on.


Connor
 
What size are you looking for? Stockmen can vary pretty widely from little 3" coin pocket riders to huge 4 1/2" monstrosities and everywhere in between.

Also, how picky are you being as far as fit and finish? If you really just want a quality stockman that will last him the rest of his life Case, Buck, Queen, and GEC will all cover that need very easily. When people report about hit or miss quality on some of these brands it's mostly because they're looking at them under a very different light than your average user would. I wouldn't hesitate to suggest any of these brands to somebody that's just looking for a knife to use.

Personally, I'd go with a Queen #9, #63 railsplitter, or #26 depending on what size he's used to carrying. Queen makes a great knife that'll last his lifetime and then yours afterwards. GEC also makes a great knife if he's OK with carbon steel that'll require some upkeep.
 
Also, take a look at Rough Rider and Colt stockman. They are very well made, good steel and inexpensive.
Rich
 
I would say Buck or Case. On the Case, it seems at least to me that the pocketworn seem to be pretty nice/consistent. That might give him a knife that feels a little old like his old one, but be an actual new knife inside and out.
 
queen or gec. was his old case stainless or cv (stainless is ss on the blade stamp). maybe get a nice older stockman that's already outlived at least one person?;)
thanks, Neal
 
Cory Hess said:
Personally, I'd go with a Queen #9, #63 railsplitter, or #26 depending on what size he's used to carrying. Queen makes a great knife that'll last his lifetime and then yours afterwards. GEC also makes a great knife if he's OK with carbon steel that'll require some upkeep.
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Any remarks on the Queen Cattle King?

@Neal I actually forgot the knife at home this morning. First day I haven't had it with me.. I'll check and let you know. I don't think it was stainless.

Edited to address Neal.
 
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Black box Winchester stock knives still new in box from 1988 are fairly common on the auction site. They are well made with bone handles and pinned shield, good steel and temper, made by Queen Cutlery for Blue Grass Cutlery on old tooling. They are on a par with old Case knives and the best part is they can be had for as little as $35 up to about $50; what a deal!!!!
 
gunstockjack said:
Black box Winchester stock knives still new in box from 1988 are fairly common on the auction site. They are well made with bone handles and pinned shield, good steel and temper, made by Queen Cutlery for Blue Grass Cutlery on old tooling. They are on a par with old Case knives and the best part is they can be had for as little as $35 up to about $50; what a deal!!!!
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I will definitely look into this.
 
JustinR said:
Can't beat schrade USA, can be found NIB still.
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I've got two Schrade Uncle Henry Senior Ranchers. One my dad actually got me at this general store in the town he worked in. He has some land out there and stopped in one day for something and saw it in the case for $20 and grabbed it. I love that knife. When my grandfather passed I found an identical one in his sock drawer. It has a different shield nad is probably older. The one my dad got I think was made in China most likely.
 
Stevenmw said:
Any remarks on the Queen Cattle King?
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I don't personally have any experience with the cattle king. I like the looks of it, and wouldn't hesitate to buy one if that was the size range I was looking for. For brands that have been listed, in the 4 1/4" range you're looking at the Queen Cattle King and Case xx75 large stockman. The GEC 81 can be found if you look hard enough and it's 4" and the Buck 301 is 3 7/8". I don't know what patterns Rough Rider has available, but I have no doubt that they make one in that range.

If you want as big as possible, GEC just put out a 98 cattle knife that replaces the spey with a punch and is 4 13/16" and Moore Maker sells a 4 1/2" stockman that I believe is made by Queen. The Schrade Lumberjack was also 4 1/2" and can be found without too much trouble.
 
Cory Hess said:
I don't personally have any experience with the cattle king. I like the looks of it, and wouldn't hesitate to buy one if that was the size range I was looking for. For brands that have been listed, in the 4 1/4" range you're looking at the Queen Cattle King and Case xx75 large stockman. The GEC 81 can be found if you look hard enough and it's 4" and the Buck 301 is 3 7/8". I don't know what patterns Rough Rider has available, but I have no doubt that they make one in that range.

If you want as big as possible, GEC just put out a 98 cattle knife that replaces the spey with a punch and is 4 13/16" and Moore Maker sells a 4 1/2" stockman that I believe is made by Queen. The Schrade Lumberjack was also 4 1/2" and can be found without too much trouble.
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No, I don't want anything huge. I was just looking at it caught my eye. Honestly 4 closed is probably a good cut off.
 
For a 4" range the Queen #9 or Schrade 8OT would be my first choices, depending on what kind of steel he prefers.

Queen's D2 holds an edge forever, but can be a bear to sharpen. It's also close enough to stainless as to make little difference in use.

Schrade's 1095 is quick to take a scary sharp edge. He'd have to touch it up more often, but it is super easy to sharpen. It is a carbon steel, so it will patina and rust if not maintained. The GEC 81 would be my second choice for carbon steel, it'll come in fancier handle options but other than that I couldn't justify the cost difference over the Schrade. You could buy him 4 or 5 8OTs for the cost of one GEC and the 8OT will perform just as well. They're pretty easy to find if you do a search for them. Get one that has USA stamped on the tang if you want the carbon steel. The newer Chinese models all have stainless unless I'm mistaken.
 
Schrade USA 8 OT is a great stockman pattern although it has delrin scales and glued in shield if that matters. Functionally, they are one of my favs.

The Schrade 8OT is about 3 7/8 inches, and there is also a smaller pattern. The Winchester black box is about 3 9/16 inches. I've been carrying the Winchester (model 3964 made in 1987 - had to look) and it is quite nice functionally and very pretty, although I took some 400 grit to the edge corners and re-buffed it to round it over just a bit for comfort. The bone jigging is excellent on most black box Winnies, and something you don't find on today's production bone.
 
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Thanks everyone. I'm at work so I can't look to far in depth at this moment. A lot of great suggestions. I was going through Queen's PDF catalog and I like that #9 Large Stockman and that Schatt and Morgan Stockman Pint.

Really appreciate all the suggestions. I'll get around looking into all of them by tomorrow.

Edited for spelling
 
Cory Hess said:
If you want as big as possible, GEC just put out a 98 cattle knife that replaces the spey with a punch and is 4 13/16" ...
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I love this big 98 pattern, and the cattle knife and whittler build is nothing less than fantastic. Truly impressive knife, and it fits and carries in the sewn pocket of my carpenter pants nicely!
 
If you're prepared to spend a bit more, then GEC's Dixie is a beautiful knife that is svelte and is not massive in the pocket.

Keep with CASE if you want a Medium in carbon with a Pen blade, Queen's No.26 is my favourite Small Stockman. Buck are well made but their sabre grind is not for everybody and I prefer them as a small knife, very tough and durable but not so attractive to look at.

Böker Germany make nice carbon knives, well worth a look and not too dear either.
 
Yes I forgot about buying NOS Schrade. I love the Uncle Henry 897, a very slim and sharp knife. Their stainless (Schrade+) is really good in my experience. The 897UH is more slim than an OT, with a California Clip main, sheepsfoot and spey IIRC secondaries.


Connor
 
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