What would you change on your favorite Traditional, if you could?

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WoodManGM

Joined
May 24, 2017
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My current go to is the #35 Churchill in Maroon Linen Micarta. I love nearly everything about this knife. The size is perfect. The clip and sheepsfoot blades are unbeatable. The fit and finish is excellent. The walk and talk are absurdly great. The action is so smooooth. It feels awesome in hand.

Still…

The Hot Dog shield is not my favorite, to say the least. Plus, if I’m stuck with it, a shield of this type should be centered on the handle IMO.

I want half-stops. If GEC can put them on the Calf Pen Jack and the Northwoods Delta Jack (Derrick Bohn was the Man!) they can put them on the rest of the 35s.

Stainless Steel.

So, you probably have a traditional that is your favorite, at least at this moment in time. Today, a Genie has granted you three wishes. Or maybe you found a Monkey’s Paw while digging around in some Antique Shop looking for knives. What are the things that you would change on your most-loved knife if you could?
 
First, I'll need to figure out which of my knives is my "favorite" ...

For now, I'll just go with on any of my traditional knives:
Color case hardened steel bolsters and liners, 5160 blades, and backsprings, blades with full flat grind, and maybe a long pull on the main blade. Backsprings (or lockbar as applicable) blued ... I suppose the lockbar on a Buck 110 or 112 could be color case hardened, too, bronze pins and pivots, 18 or 20 LPI checkered Wildebeest Ivory covers (much more affordable than antique Elephant and/or prehistoric Mastodon/Mammoth Ivory), pinned bronze acorn shield.
 
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In general I wish all my knives were carbon steel, and Im sure whichever is my favorite isn't carbon steel so that's what I'd change about it.

For my Buck 119 which is one of my favorites I'd change the handle to a KA-BAR style grip profile.
It works as it is, but I like the most neutral grip possible.
 
I wish I'd bought this knife years ago. I might have saved myself a small fortune.
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WoodManGM said:
So, you probably have a traditional that is your favorite, at least at this moment in time.
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That's some where between my Case Trapper with spay blade removed or my infamous Boker Stockman in Deep Red Smooth Bone.

Same answer for both : M4 tool steel blades with the Spyderco heat treat !
yeah . . . like that's gonna happen.
Yes I would use them on work that actually makes quite a difference in how often I sharpen. The stock steel a couple of days. M4 weeks.
Other than that I'm happy.
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I wish I could install some sort of tracking devise on my opinels so I would be able to find them after setting them down. Otherwise I have found that they are as close to perfect(from a design standpoint) as I have found.
 
As of right now, my fav edc is the CSC 2015 forum knife. But I'd like it better at 3.5" closed. Shortening it by 1/2 an inch would make it pretty much perfect for me.

Otherwise, let's see.... I'd change all my carbon GECs to stainless.
 
I have an all time favorite knife and I have a favorite user knife so I'll comment on each one I guess.

My all time favorite is the Case/Bose Norfolk. The only thing that I would change if I could is to have integral liners and bolsters but it's such a small preference that it's almost not worth mentioning. In fact, it never even occurred to me until I saw this thread and started thinking about it. Aside from that it has everything I like in a knife which is why it's my all time favorite.

Good stainless steel, good grinds, good blades, nice bone and jigging, mill relieved liners, pivot bushings, pinned shield, crisp half stops with superb walk and talk, stainless liners and bolsters, no blade rap or blade play, an aesthetically pleasing shape, and designed and endorsed by Tony Bose. I almost feel guilty for trying to find something I would change.

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My favorite user is the GEC #35 Churchill and I would change the shield if I could. I like the centered placement of the shield on my user Rust Red variant but if I had my way I would replace it with an Ace of Spades shield like the one on the knife in this picture.

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Wurrwulf said:
I wish my Case Peanut had a full-size wharncliffe secondary.
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Shawn, have you ever looked at Case's tiny trapper? You can get them with clip/wharncliffe blade combo. I know you like smaller knives, but the tiny trapper is .5" shorter than a peanut - that may be too small even for you! ;)

- GT
 
That’s a tough one. First, I’m not sure I could narrow it down to a favorite. Second, even if I could, or even if I could design and own a “grail” knife to meet my own expectations, that alone may make my other knives even less necessary than they already are.

I guess I kind of like variety, and the little imperfections either in design or execution are part of what makes any given knife attractive in the first place. So I guess I didn’t really add to the conversation other than to take a different stance, that I’ll keep my knives as they are, warts and all.
 
5K Qs said:
Shawn, have you ever looked at Case's tiny trapper? You can get them with clip/wharncliffe blade combo. I know you like smaller knives, but the tiny trapper is .5" shorter than a peanut - that may be too small even for you! ;)

- GT
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I've actually got a "Saved Search" on eBay for Tiny Trappers. I've yet to see a cover material that grabs my eye with a wharncliffe blade, though. I'm curious to see how the model fits my hands.

I, briefly, owned a "Gray" Sawcut Trappernut, a Peanut with a full-size Spey, that was more blue-and-white than gray. That model really gave me hope that a wharncliffe Peanut would come to fruition, but it hasn't yet, sadly.
 
Not sure.....perhaps (sometimes...) that there weren't other different knives that subvert or tempt me away from it? :D

It's a bit like saying you wish there weren't other breathtaking landscapes, fabulous museums, works of art, culture, outstanding cuisine, fantastic cars, beautiful people, special moments etc etc...You don't! Except that my Cat IS the most fantastic on earth:D everybody knows their cat or dog is the finest, otherwise there's something badly wrong with you:eek::cool:
 
The Lionsteel Shuffler is my favorite traditional but there is nothing to change there.
I wouldn't change anything on the #35 Churchill, except the steel 154CM would make it perfect. Even AUS-8.
 
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