What's a good slipjoint for a newbie like me?

BJE said:
If you don't mind taking a little extra care of the blades to keep them from rusting (it isn't as bad as it sounds, you have to sharpen it anyway), then a 4in. Carbon steel Stockman is king in my book. You might opt for the medium stockman though, still a very capable knife. I reccomend Boker, Eye Brand, Case, Camillus (you can still find them at pretty good deals on the bay), and Old Timer (one of my favorites. Queen makes great knives, but D2 isn't all that fun to sharpen and I have had bad luck with the factory edges in the past. Good luck.
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Ill second on that.
Theres just no way, you can go wrong with a stockman, try to get one thats carbon steel, since its easier to sharpen, and it just looks better on a traditional knife.

Peter
 
Radioactive said:
I'm just starting to get interested in traditional folders like slipjoints. So what's a good knife to start my collection with. I'm most likely going to want to EDC it. Thanks.
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I got my first Case knife to carry as my "dress-up" or "Sunday go-to-meeting" knife. Since my criteria were pretty much the same as yours I bought a Tiny TX Toothpick. The are numerous choices in handle materials and they are just a simply beautiful design. But I'm a sucker for a single blade knife.
 
You have started down a slippery slope my friend. Find something you like, and I'll bet it won't be your last. Case has some cv stockmans that patina out pretty good, or maybe a slimline trapper.
 
Case Medium Stockman in CV (carbon) steel - - traditional and is a nice sharp cutter. Won't set you back a ton of money and is easy to keep sharp. - - -
 
Of all the patterns that I have I always go back to carrying my saddlehorn and a canoe along for the ride. My two favs. Go somewhere that you can handle all the slips you want, take your time, look at them, hold them for a while, compare all the blade patterns. You'll find one for sure, maybe two or three or four. Like alot of others have already said, find one that suits you.
 
Case Peanut and SAK Pocket Pal blades are darn near the same size.
Peanut main clip blade a smidgen shorten than the Pal spear.
Peanut Pen is bigger than the Pal's pen.
Both knives about the same thickness, Case is only 2 7/8" closed and Pocket Pal is 3 1/4" closed.

I would get both of these and here is why.
It will depend on where you buy these, still

Case Peanut with Yellow Handles and CV blades ~ $30
Pocket Pal with the red handles and steel blades ~ $12.

With these two knifes you can compare CV with a SAK steel
Pocket comfort for you, with two popular closed knife lenghts.

Compare main blade being clip or spear.
See a single back spring with two blades on a Pocket pal with blades at each end (equal end and compare with two back -spring design of the Peanut being a serpentine jack and bladed on same side.

Now some sites have free shipping, and if you got a Old Hickory paring knife in the 3 1/4 " size of 1095 carbon steel and a Norton IB6 , India, coarse fine...
You can learn to sharpen on that stone freehand, with the Old Hickory to learn how to take care of the Peanut and SAK.

New to knives, learning...this is what I do with a number of folks.

Some may want a larger Case like the Peanut, with CV, Case makes one.
Stockman is akin to a Peanut, without the sheeps-foot blade.
Pocket Pal with only one main spear blade is the Sentry.
Pocket Pal with a can/bottle/screwdriver/wire stripper is the Bantam.


So for ~ $60, one can get a Peanut, Pocket Pal, Paring Knife and Stone...
to get some great new to knife education, and get a great foundation built.

Traditional foundations have stood the test of time.
 
jvong said:
if you wear dress slacks to work, i would recommend a Swiss Army knife "pocket pal". Its the lightest, thinnest knife i have found. Peanuts are also good, but a little heavier and thicker. I wanted to carry one knife edc, but now have 6 that i pick from. :)
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As much as I enjoy owning, carrying, and using traditional slipjoints (and, I would only have to live three lifetimes in order to properly use all that I have!) I would stongly consider starting with some kind of SAK. "Fully loaded" SAKs tend to be the most generally useful of all pocket knives and they also seem to be the best candidates to be at least tolerated by non-knife using people.

If a traditional pattern is desired I would have "the newbie" consider a Canoe. This full-size knife has a very modest "pocket signature" yet it is large enough and sturdy enough to do actual work. The Canoe's spear and pen blades tend to adapt themselves reasonably well to most situations and this blade combination is the one that is most commonly found on SAKs.
 
The Queen 1095 Canoes are nice with carbon blades and not too big. I love SAK alox knives like the Soldier and Cadet, or Cadet II (2nd small blade instead of nail file) if you can find one. SAK's are inexpensive and quality is good and very consistant. I generally EDC a SAK Cadet II at work.
 
gotta go with either a case stockman, cv, yellow scales or a case peanut, cv, yellow scales. i can't help it i just love this combo. but any case stockman or peanut would serve you well. you might also look at the trapper but they are addictive as well.
 
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