What is your "best made" production Slipjoint?

[Noddy]

This Schatt

Or this Queen/Burke grandaddy barlow

Or this Queen/Winchester moose

 

[Noddy]

I envy you that knife, kamagong

and not in a good way

 

[kdstrick]

My 4-blade GEC Cattle Baron in jigged Yellow Rose bone is outstanding even for a GEC.
As Elliott said above, four blades on two springs is difficult, and this one nailed it.
No rubs, no gaps, sharp edges, beautiful swedging, blades centered in liners, just really great.
The jigging goes all the way to the lined bolsters and the pins are just slightly proud, which I like.

Both sides match nicely and the blades and tangs sit low in the frame for easy carrying.

Lots of great looking slippies in this thread... but that Yellow Rose sure is pretty! GEC is doing them right...

Great pics.

 

[puukkoman]

Some nice knives have been shown. YOU think I am gonna drag a old Stag or jigged bone Buck out here don't you. Well, just to show you I am not a factory shill here on the forum. AND, because today I am in love with this knife. I present my best made knife, in my mind, for today.

Old Schrade Walden, Model 204, TL-29 style knife, looks like dark walnut with un-patinaed carbon blades. She is not brand spanken new but she is as good a one as you will likely find from that era. Made like a tank. Holding her is like driving a "Vista Cruiser". The 'Fisherman' shield turns my crank also............300Bucks

PS :Why a knife of this type would have Fisherman stamped on the shield is beyond good sense. I would think 'Tradesman' would be better suited.

Could it be a different interpretation of the same tools? Weren't most fishing reels held together by straight-slotted screws? I always use a dime to adjust my old reels, but that's probably because I didn't have a TL-29 until last month.

 

[jacknife]

Victorinox then Case then Boker.

 

[Bastid]

Considering that I brought one of these at Blade this year, I would have to agree. .

I'd have to say this is my "Best Made" slipjoint.... Old Remington
Jack knife (R155) Bone is perfect, Snap is excellent, Full blades
no blade wobble, No gaps. It's just built like a tank and looks
GREAT...imho.


Considering that I brought one of these at Blade this year, I would have to agree. .

Jason

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Could it be a different interpretation of the same tools? Weren't most fishing reels held together by straight-slotted screws? I always use a dime to adjust my old reels, but that's probably because I didn't have a TL-29 until last month.

I had the same thought, initially. I could actually see myself using that one to take down & tinker with some of my reels (most of which I think do have slotted screws). I'm pretty sure, in this case, the shield was likely swapped into it. The 'Fisherman' branded knife (pictured below), along with the rest of the Tradesman set, came out some years later (issued in 1981) than the vintage of the Schrade Walden knife. Wouldn't surprise me if the older Schrade Walden was originally acquired, with shield missing, by an avid Schrade collector, and perhaps another 'marginal' knife (worn, broken) in his collection was 'sacrificed' to the cause. I haven't found anything in Schrade Walden's line that had a shield labelled as 'Fisherman'. In my web searches, in fact, all of the 'fisherman' knives I did see with Schrade Walden's mark, were all the more typical toothpick pattern with secondary hook disgorger and scaler, but not specifically shielded as such. As noted earlier, the other Schrade Walden 204s all had unmarked shields.

And as 300Bucks alluded to, deliberately re-labelling a long-established electrician knife pattern as 'Fisherman' might not be received too well. Some might even see it as heresy.

 

[thejamppa]

My choice is:

Queen Dan Burke Small Barlow with D2 blades. Took me week to get edges reground from 25 degree per side into 20 and then smoothen and stropping it. Knife that was nearly perfect out of box but also knife I've seen most work in terms of reprofiling. I still need to finish stropping the wharnie blade. I have two of these one is intact in box and this is my user. Almost any GEC comes in term with this in quality out of box but this is my first truly amazing traditional slipjoint that dropped my jaw.

 

[Campbellclanman]

I have been trying to think just what is my best production knife.....this is a very hard question to answer.
My two favourites are my two GEC's, the serpentine, and my equal ender ...
Here is my beauty...

And my Serpentine, I have learnt a lot with this knife, more stropping than stone, this knife is near a perfect edc'er..

But how do you go past a knife that is made like this?, fit & finish is perfect, blades center perfect, the actions are spot on, I just love it too much to really use it, I am trying to break out of this..

But what makes this so hard is that the older knives are ( in my opinion) still the rulers for quality, I have a few earlier Case knives that are just perfect in every way, but for me, I tend to favour others only out of pure personal choice - my earlier cattle knives are just as good as any modern production knife today. Jasons stunning Remington is proof of this
...So I am trying to stop here with loading 400 photos
I will finish to say that this is my most favoured Chinese made production knife, I have to say this knife is made very very well, and a enjoy to use... I am suprised just how good this knife is

 

[cnas122]

This one hands down...

 

[Jug Johnson]

I've got a few others that are probably just as nice, but if I'm choosing one, I dunno why it wouldn't be this one:

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

My 4-blade GEC Cattle Baron in jigged Yellow Rose bone is outstanding even for a GEC.
As Elliott said above, four blades on two springs is difficult, and this one nailed it.
No rubs, no gaps, sharp edges, beautiful swedging, blades centered in liners, just really great.
The jigging goes all the way to the lined bolsters and the pins are just slightly proud, which I like.

Both sides match nicely and the blades and tangs sit low in the frame for easy carrying.

My only problem with mine is that the long pull is obstructed by the spey, and with me needing short nails I had to grind the top of the blade down. Not too much of a hassle but prevents the best made label.

My choice would be my Executive whittler instead. Great looking stag to me, 3 useful blades with a wharncliffe main, great snap, half stops on the small blades, the blade is nicely patina'ed and without etch now, pinched bolstered, split backspring. Thin and light, good enough for camping purposes.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j206/Julikris/Group shots/IMG_5860.jpg

 

[TLARbb]

I have lots of well made production pocketknives, but the best value I ever got in a pocketknife is the Case chestnut bone/CV swayback jack. Here it is shown with its cousin a Case desk knife.

Ed J

 

[supratentorial]

All of my knives are the best made. But if I had to pick one modern production knife based on the criteria mentioned in the original post, I'd probably also pick the Case Swayback Jack. This one was "pimped" by Kerry but it was well made from the beginning.

But if you can't find an imperfection in a knife, you probably aren't looking hard enough. I think that the important thing is what criteria are important to you. One of the top custom knife makers, Ryuichi Kawamura, consistently underblades his knives. His knives are among the best that I have seen and I don't consider it a flaw.

Although I agree with Elliot about the consistency of Victorinox Swiss army knives, I find it surprising that some people picked a Victorinox Swiss army knife as their best made knife. I have at least a couple dozen Victorinox Swiss army knives for every knife from another brand and I have never seen a modern Swiss army knife that was not underbladed and did not have proud or sunk liners or backsprings. The one hand opening lockblades (which look more like a Spyderco than a traditional knife) all have vertical play in the open position. They are nice knives though and an especially good value in the $10-20 price range.

Case Swayback Jack on the left, Victorinox Swiss army knives on the right.

The vintage Victorinox Swiss army knives were more comparable to other traditional knives in construction. This one with pearl handles is quite nice. The backsprings are mostly flush and the grinds on the blades are excellent... but the knife is under bladed. GASP!! In the end, what is much more important than "flaws" is my enjoyment of the knives.

Case Swayback Jack on the left, vintage Victorinox Swiss army knife on the right.

 

[Cisco Kid]

Unfortunately, I don't have old knives, but I hear they can be fantastic. Not counting Case Bose collabs, the best made and finished traditional folders I have are an AG Russell curved regular jack and a sowbelly trapper (also by AG Russell).

 

[HAKnPocket]

This one is pretty easy for me. GEC Conductor. Great size, pull, springs all sit right, the stag and the ebony are top notch. I would have said my YR Furtaker Trapper but the pull was a 10 at first and a solid 7 now. Every GEC I have handled has been amazing. Most disappointing was my Queen D. Burke Small Barlow, but they made it right and it went right to the top of my list of favorites but there are still flaws so I rank the Conductor #1. Just remember the quote in my signature, and


"Do it, do it" ~ Ben Stiller as David Starsky

 

[L. Richard]

I don't see how a slippie could get any more perfect than this humble Case A6235½.