What are your preferences ? ( patterns, blade shapes, blade sizes ...ect )

[silenthunterstudios]

3" spear point blade with swedge and long pull, or a modified wharncliff blade similar to the Zulu with nail nick (my favorites for looks and utility), stainless steel preferred but only because I am a large guy in the mid Atlantic;

Secondary pen or coping blade;

Either worn jigged bone or micarta covers, with a Zulu style handle, liners with a lanyard hole (hole only for the single blade Zulus)

So, basically the 77 or Zulu/Tribal Spear...

 

[major_works]

I'm learning as I go with traditionals. I can't say I have really strong preferences at this point but I do know a few things that I don't prefer. I'll never carry particularly large knives. I love my Sodbuster Jr., for example, but I've refrained from adding a Soddie Sr. because I have a feeling I'd find it too big. That GEC 98 pattern? No way, no how. And I like the looks and shape of the Case Backpocket and GEC 23 trapper, but there again I think they're too big for me.

I also have yet to take to spey blades. Obviously they have their uses for the ranchers, farmers, etc., but I haven't really found any for them yet. My dog's female and already spayed. ;-)

 

[Ratbert]

That's a good question. I consider each one in its own category. It wouldn't be quite right to refer to either one as a Stockman. To support that theory, both patterns are also offered with blade configurations other than the "Stockman" blade configuration. Some Railsplitters have the "Moose'" blade configuration and there is a Railsplitter Whittler too. The Sowbelly is also offered in a single blade version. Both patterns retain their name regardless of the blade configuration.

Thanks...that makes sense. Good point about the single blade Sowbelly and the moose Railsplitter, as that was something I had not considered.

 

[SadSappySucker]

As far as patterns go, I would say aesthetically I gravitate towards the basic Jack knife or equal end/ pen knife. I like the symetry and simple shapes. The other patterns sure are purty, but the two listed get the most pocket time. The case peanut is the one serpentine exception. It's just so small that shape doesn't matter.
I strongly prefer two bladed knives, and a straight edge secondary is (almost) a must. This is great, because it sure does limit the knives I desire.
As far as overall size goes I've been leaning more towards the 3 1/2" or under lately. Unfortunately most of my pocket knives come in around 3 3/4" and they've been collecting a bit of dust lately.

 

[Sabercat]

A sharp blade of any shape gets the job done for me 99% of the time. I prefer knives that fit in my watch pocket to protect my knife from my keys, and my phone from my knife. That makes 3.25-3.5" the ideal size.

The 1% of the time that I wish I had carried a different knife is typically when I'm opening a clam-pack and could sure use a sheepsfoot or wharnie.

I can never decide between sheepsfoot or Wharncliffe being my favorite, so the combination of the two makes my ideal single blade (Northwoods Broadway).

The clip is my favorite curved blade, and ideally I'd like it paired with a similar sized straight edge. This makes the improved trapper or 77 Barlow the perfect set up. Unfortunately, GEC has yet to put this in a 3.5" package, so I find myself carrying the Case much more often. The #15 two blade is the perfect size, I just wish it could sport a slightly larger clip instead of pen blade.

 

[idahoguy]

The 2016 BF Harness Jack is about as pretty as a factory knife gets. For me, a knife without a sliver picker is seriously lacking. This knife makes up for the lack of a sharp point in the Indian River Jack with the beautiful, super useful awl. Wish there was a stainless version of it!

 

[Emspop]

I loved my schrade 33OT as a kid before I realized it was always defective.

Does case bend their stockman blades to fit them in the knife ?
Every low cost stockman I've handled had bent blades, and I'd be way more inclined to edc one if I could get an affordable one ( case or buck most likely ) that didn't have bent blades.

I always loved the sheep's foot on my stockman ( I hear my grandpa was the same way )
But won't buy one from rough rider as the blades are bent and the sheepsfoot doesn't have a perfectly straight edge ( my dad just got a RR sowbelly with these problems )

You are looking for a Buck. 303 is the " medium stockman" size st 3.25 closed and the 301 is 3 7/8 closed. Both very affordable and both 3 spring designs with 3 straight blades. In my humble and completely biased opinion the 303 is the perfect all around pocket knife.

 

[Hickory n steel]

You are looking for a Buck. 303 is the " medium stockman" size st 3.25 closed and the 301 is 3 7/8 closed. Both very affordable and both 3 spring designs with 3 straight blades. In my humble and completely biased opinion the 303 is the perfect all around pocket knife.

If the 303 is made in the USA, then it may be what I should think about getting.
( I look to Buck for affordable American made knives, not Chinese made knives )

 

[Emspop]

Yep made in the good ol USA


Clay

 

[knarfeng]

I loved my schrade 33OT as a kid before I realized it was always defective.

Does case bend their stockman blades to fit them in the knife ?
Every low cost stockman I've handled had bent blades, and I'd be way more inclined to edc one if I could get an affordable one ( case or buck most likely ) that didn't have bent blades.

I always loved the sheep's foot on my stockman ( I hear my grandpa was the same way )
But won't buy one from rough rider as the blades are bent and the sheepsfoot doesn't have a perfectly straight edge ( my dad just got a RR sowbelly with these problems )

It's called "crinking". Bending a blade to fit where it needs to be.

Case has a couple of stockman knives with blades which are not crinked.
The Case Sowbelly and Humpback stockman have offset blades instead of crinked blades.
The Case 4" Med Stockman is currently a three spring design, so it does not have crinked blades either.

 

[Old Hunter]

Here is a photo that illustrates what Frank described - three Case 6347 pattern Stockman pocketknives (from L to R, 1998, 1995, 1978) showing three backspring and two backspring construction - current Case construction utilizes three backsprings on the 47 pattern. Buck makes their current 301 Stockman and 303 Cadet the same way, with three backsprings (for at least for the last 20 years). Using three backspring construction all blades are straight and aligned on their own spring, when using two backsprings the Spey and the Sheepfoot have to be crinked to fit in the same area of the blade well and share the same backspring. OH

 

[TLARbb]

Deleted...

 

[Buzzbait]

I'm a scout pattern fan through and through. My first pocketknife was a scout. I hate hate hate losing knives, so I pretty much always attach a lanyard to the bail on my scout. The traditional spear point is a great do-everything sort of blade shape, so it works well for me. And the cap lifter is a tool that I always need readily at hand, as I'm a big fan of IPA. Punches/awls are always a handy item, and a decent can opener can be used as a package opener in a pinch. If the scout happens to have a secondary blade, preferably a sheepsfoot, then I'm in hog heaven. There's not much you can't accomplish with both a spear and sheepsfoot. The standard scout knife at 3 5/8" long is a great size for my hand as well as my pocket.

I'm not overly picky about cover materials. But since my scouts are usually suspended into my back pocket, I tend to go for more robust scale materials, such as Delrin or Micarta. Delrin is pretty easy to come by, since it's sort of the defacto standard for modern scout knives, but Micarta is truly a rare commodity on the pattern that seems to need it most. If my scout has bone or wood covers, I most likely use a belt hanger to suspend the knife into my front pocket.

I mostly deal in US made knives, although some European models occasionally appeal to me. Camillus, IMHO, made the best modern scouts (for a variety of companies), so I'm also a very big Camillus fan. My family has a few knife collectors in it, and we all gravitate toward Camillus knives. I live in Upstate New York, and lived in Syracuse for years, so my proximity to Camillus made it a natural brand choice for me to collect. Although I must admit that I'm loving GEC these days. They haven't made my favorite pattern in my favorite size yet, but hope springs eternal. Their recent foray in scouts, notable the Texas Camp Knife and the Beer Scout, are both positively exceptional knives.

A scout fan can't be too picky when it comes to blade steel. Most all scout are made from 440 series stainless or simple carbon steels. So I just try to look for as hard a heat treatment as I can get my hands on. GEC does really nice work with their 1095. I've also managed to find some more exotic steels from Queen in D2 and ATS-34, and Camillis did to a run of 154CM for AG Russell.

 

[Boonedoggle]

With both pocket knives & fixed blades, I prefer drop points, clip points, or spear points. For some reason, I really dislike swedges. I can't explain it.

For fixed blades, I prefer blades 4" or smaller. I dislike finger choils.

As for pocket knives, I love scout/camp patterns, with the "modern" style can opener.
I really like hobo knives as well.
Any other pocket knife, I prefer to be a single blade, with a comfortably shaped frame. Barlows, boy's knives, sod busters, trappers.

 

[Travman]

I'm a scout pattern fan through and through. My first pocketknife was a scout. I hate hate hate losing knives, so I pretty much always attach a lanyard to the bail on my scout. The traditional spear point is a great do-everything sort of blade shape, so it works well for me. And the cap lifter is a tool that I always need readily at hand, as I'm a big fan of IPA. Punches/awls are always a handy item, and a decent can opener can be used as a package opener in a pinch. If the scout happens to have a secondary blade, preferably a sheepsfoot, then I'm in hog heaven. There's not much you can't accomplish with both a spear and sheepsfoot. The standard scout knife at 3 5/8" long is a great size for my hand as well as my pocket.

I'm not overly picky about cover materials. But since my scouts are usually suspended into my back pocket, I tend to go for more robust scale materials, such as Delrin or Micarta. Delrin is pretty easy to come by, since it's sort of the defacto standard for modern scout knives, but Micarta is truly a rare commodity on the pattern that seems to need it most. If my scout has bone or wood covers, I most likely use a belt hanger to suspend the knife into my front pocket.

I mostly deal in US made knives, although some European models occasionally appeal to me. Camillus, IMHO, made the best modern scouts (for a variety of companies), so I'm also a very big Camillus fan. My family has a few knife collectors in it, and we all gravitate toward Camillus knives. I live in Upstate New York, and lived in Syracuse for years, so my proximity to Camillus made it a natural brand choice for me to collect. Although I must admit that I'm loving GEC these days. They haven't made my favorite pattern in my favorite size yet, but hope springs eternal. Their recent foray in scouts, notable the Texas Camp Knife and the Beer Scout, are both positively exceptional knives.

A scout fan can't be too picky when it comes to blade steel. Most all scout are made from 440 series stainless or simple carbon steels. So I just try to look for as hard a heat treatment as I can get my hands on. GEC does really nice work with their 1095. I've also managed to find some more exotic steels from Queen in D2 and ATS-34, and Camillis did to a run of 154CM for AG Russell.

I love your Scout collection. Now that I use a belt lanyard with a snap hook to suspend my Beer Scouts my front pocket this has become my proferred method of carry. I like how secure the knife feels and I like how the knife stays upright & out of the way of all other pocket items. So this has really opened me up to any knife with a lanyard.

GEC's new #35 pattern would be a nice size and shape for a scout pattern.

 

[JITDC]

Still trying to work this one out for myself. So far spear or drop point blades have been drawing my attention the most. The IRJ or 77 Barlow is about as big of a single blade knife as I can honestly expect to carry. But the 15's have seen some pocket time lately and their smaller size is extremely easy to carry. If the knife has a second blade then for me it has to be a straight edge. Brass liners, and equal end bolsters also seem to jump out and draw my attention quite a bit. The Northwoods Presidential is one of my all time favorite looking knives but its too large for practical carry in, at least for me. If they could shrink that down a bit to something in between a 15 and 77 I might be in heaven.

 

[Buzzbait]

GEC's new #35 pattern would be a nice size and shape for a scout pattern.

Definitely. It would be a dream come true. But I'm not holding my breath. By the sound of things, the Texas Camp Knife presented an undo number of challenges for GEC. Camp knives are absurdly complicated to produce, at the level of quality that GEC demands from their manufacturing. I really, really want them to make a full scout out of the #35 pattern, and would gladly accept a slight loss of quality to make it happen. But I don't think that GEC or many of GEC's customers would see things my way.

 

[ecallahan]

I'm more a fan of single blade knives around the size of the GEC #15 pattern. I like spear points but also I'm starting to like the clip as found on the 15's. Anything about 3 1/4 or under closed, 3 1/2 at the largest. My tastes seem to shift though as I look long enough at other patterns. Some that did not appeal to me in the past I like now. I've only gotten back into traditionals in the last year or so though. Feel like I'm coming back full circle.


Looking for GEC 15 - 151116 American Elk

 

[FOG2]

Myself single blade 3in. Or so Wharncliffe is my favorite knife. I carry one daily.

 

[TLARbb]

On a slipjoint, I like a pen pivot array, with a clip point main and a straight edge secondary. I'm not much for 2 blades on a jack pivot.

It's a shame, terrible shame, that I didn't get one of these. That's a really nice set up there, sir!

I guess it's one reason that I'm so fond of my mini copperheads. They are wonderful EDC pen knives.

Ed J


Ed J