What is your idea of the most practical edc slippy?

BJE

BJE

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Apr 12, 2006
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I have been accumulating many new and old slip-joints lately and it got me thinking about why I carry what I do. I have a hard time choosing which knife I will carry everyday, I try to pick the one I like best or have the most want to carry, but I am often torn between several choices, I usually pick one that I trust can handle the days chores best or most efficiently. This led to me me wondering which of the commonly available I find most practical.

Here is the question,
Which of the most commonly available slip-joints do you think is the most practical for your everyday chores?

I know opinions will vary widely but it will be interesting to compare answers and reasons for choosing that knife. It doesn't have to be your favorite knife, just the one you logically think would best suit your needs based on size, materials, blade selection, ect.

I would like to exclude SAK's for now, as they are going to be most practical for the majority, I myself carry a classic everyday for times when I need to snip, pry, scrape, or screw something. I would like to focus on traditional patterns and styles.

I think the Case medium stockman is the most practical for me even though I don't often carry it. It has a wide selection of blade sizes and styles, it is very comfortable to hold and carry, and it is about the perfect size to handle anything I need to cut on a daily basis.

While I prefer two blade patterns such as pens, jacks, and barlows, I think for a similar size and weight the medium stockman is more versatile. My Great Grandfather and his son and his son after him(my dad) all carried stockman so it is a pattern I feel very comfortable with, I know what it is capable of.

Which would you nominate and why? Any particular reason you carry what you do today?
 
I personally like having something with three blades, so a medium or large stockman for me. Got the general utility blade for cutting up fruit, scraping wire, cutting thread. Then you have the next blade over which can be sharpened up like a razor blade and only used for a certain occasion or maybe a food prep blade if you don't carry more than one blade on you. Last, but not least is the small blade, usually a spey, but can be different I guess. You can choke up on this blade for a more detailed job or simply use it as a screw driver like I have seen many people do. You just made me go get my favorite schrade large stockman. I am gonna sharpen it up and carry it for the next couple days.
 
I can't answer that because I carry at least 2 if not 3 knives. The lunacy of it all, is that I may not even use one that day, it happens occaisionally. I do however enjoy just making up my mind what I will carry that day. I put a small peanut, whittler or stockman in my watch pocket, and a slim trapper, moose or large stockman in my back pocket. If I get stuck in traffic, I pass the time and clean my finger nails just so I can open one. If I need to strip wire or bore a hole in some thick plastic (for irrigation wire in plastic controller boxes), then I make sure I use my leatherman blade or a beater knife. If I am opening boxes, packages or breaking down cardboard, then I can use my more favorites.
 
I am very partial to the Barlow. I think it is a great all around EDC. I sharpen the pen blade to a more obtuse angle for the abusive jobs.My choice is a Case in tangerine bone.
 
I think Case's Mini Trapper is about as good as it gets for me. 3 1/2 inches, clip and spey blades in cv. The longer blades of the trapper are great for cutting fruit, you get the largest blade length, because it utilizes the full length of the knife frame.
 
I would say a Large Stockman because I love the design, but the knife that has seen more pocket time, hands down, is my Case Canoe. It's slim, short and the blades are a perfect size for me.

I now have an AG Russell that I'm trying to make my EDC, but it is just a tad large for EDC, IMO. It would be perfect if the change pocket in all jeans was just a little longer....
 
I know you said SAKs wouldn't count but a SAK like the Cadet is the ultimate in EDC. It doesn't have all the tools like many SAKs do and is very thin.I have several and seldom leave the house without one. Because of that I normally carry a large slip joint like a Hunter or Trapper in a belt sheath in case I do need a larger blade for some reason. Doesn't happen often but occasionally I do need to cut something that I want a stouter blade for than my Cadet has. The Cadet gets all the social chores however and never raises eyebrows. (tho where I live the larger folders wouldn't either)
 
Excluding SAK's, I carry the most identical thing in a traditional, a scout pattern. I find the four tools in a basic scout very practical. Currently I am carrying the A.G. Russell model.
 
I really beleive that most practical edc changes with the different stages of your life.

Once I thought the stockman was it, then I went to a two blade design. Now, looking back on the sum total of where I've been, and what I've done, I think a simple two blade knife with one backspring would have been the most practical edc for me, outside of a scout knife or sak.

Exluding the scout/sak pattern, I thik most of what I really needed in the way of a cutting tool, was a smaller pocket knife, like a Case pen or a canoe. If I take the single backspring out of the formula, a barlow or small Texas jack, or the beloved peanut would have done well.

Almost in a tie, would be my choice of simple single blade knives. The sodbuster, Dou-Douk, Opinel, Mercator, Lagoule, may have been my pick. A sodbuster will come very close to a do-it-all knife.

The most practical is what fits your individual life style.
 
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For the real life cutting I have needed aprox 6,5 - 7,5 cm of cutting steel.
In a scout I have prying ability and screwing ability witch i like.
Its nice with more than one blade, preferably a sheepfoot witch makes a stockman a good choice but its the long blade that has been needed, the other ones was not unnessisarry but not absolutly nessisarry eather.
I dont want a frame over 10 cm and not under 8,5 cm. I want it thin and unhevy.
I like the blade to be clippoint and flatgrind.
Very seldom I needed a lock.
I like exclusive steels and blued carbon but most every steel should have been ok. A good stone nereby is more needed actually.

Conclusion. My Puma prospector Is all EDC I ever needed for day to day cutting. Probobly why I like that knife so much. A scout in the same size has the advantage of more tools and my other knifes makes sense just because Im a knifenut enjoying variation.

Bosse
 
I aggree with you JK, I know my knives have gotten smaller as I get older. I still like to carry a large stockman like an 8OT or my Case Trapper, but those occasions are rare now. I most often carry my Boker Barlow or Case Pen knife, but I will try to carry my medium stockman more.

I find multibladed slip-joints most practical because they cover all the size bases and you never run out of a sharp blade that way. I like to whittle sometimes and larger single blades like sodbusters aren't very good for this task, plus I like the beauty of a nice bone or stag handle. If I was say a construction worker or farmer, I would probably get the most use out of a larger single blade folder, but the hardest thing I have to cut during my day is very thick carboard and even my pen knife can handle that. I still throw a soddie or opinel in my pocket even though I have more expensive knives that I like better overall, I am a knife addict and I like it.
 
Stockman, whittler (Case 6380 style or the comparable Schrade) and four blade congress (with non-redundant blades) would be my choices for outstanding utility as an EDC.
 
In general, I like a 2-blade pattern. This gives you a bit of flexibility, without the greater bulk and weight of the same sized 3 and 4-blade patterns.

Of the 2-blade patterns, my current personal favorite is the wharncliff blade trapper. The large trapper just fits my hand nicely, and the blades are long enough to handle most jobs. I also find the wharncliff blade a bit more useful than the standard spey blade.
 
I find a large stockman or sowbelly with a clip,spay & sheepfoot blade to be the most useful. I've been carrying a medium sowbelly to work for the last 3 or 4 months.

On weekends, when I do outside work around the house I find the choice of three blades to be practical.

I carried a larger sowbelly all weekend.
 
My ideal EDC slippy is whatever I fancy that day (Case Sway Back today), backed up by a solid 2"-3" locking folder for grunt work.
 
I prefer one bladed slippies myself. I EDC an Alsdorf Interframe Jack. IT is perfect for me. If I wish to go bigger, I carry the Vining Bullet. Both are perfect for me.
 
For me it was the smaller single blade Hunter...specifically the Schrade Old Timer #123OT Pioneer; 4"; clip;
 
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Right now I reckon a scout or a TL-29 is what I consider the most practical EDC.
But sometimes I do think that I'd like to try a texas jack or a harness jack, but then again I find myself thinking that I have all the blades I'll ever need.

Peter
 
Three blade stockman. The sheepsfoot is the general utility blade for opening boxes, cutting rope, scraping, opening mail, etc. It is short and straight edge so very easy to sharpen. The main clip is for cutting meat, fruit, and similar. The short spey is there to have a sharp blade available at all times plus it comes in handy for cutting out things that require control where the sheepsfoot and clip aren't the best choice. I like a stockman from 3 3/4" to 4 1/4" and the sowbelly has been a recent preference due to the way it fits in the hand so well.
 
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