Which Stockman?

Which one?

  • Böker 4” Stag Stockman

  • Katz Executive Stockman

  • Old Case 6375

  • GEC #66 Calf Roper Hemlock bone

Results are only viewable after voting.
sXePhenomenal

sXePhenomenal

Joined
Mar 8, 2018
Messages
1,169
Howdy Porch goers as always fun to have something to talk about and see what you guys would pick. Feel like adding another Stockman to the rotation. I will get a Case Bose Stockman eventually so I won’t include it.

GEC #66. Like it even tho it’s a smaller stockman. Pull is said to be a 4 but I don’t mind that much. The Hemlock or the Ebony would be nice
FFB45998-75CC-493F-8496-8BB618810513.jpeg

Böker Stag Stockman love their knives
D33FFCB4-C0CB-4686-AA86-DE6FE3802F1B.jpeg
An older Case 6375 of some kind 95474D7A-1ED5-4A8B-9766-B26D64C5EAA0.jpeg
Something you may or may not have heard of the Katz executive Stockman
EAD71910-C5B2-4F0D-AE18-5C9197C7BFBD.jpeg
It’s very nice I think the steel is something like Aus 8? Its pretty much the same price as the GEC 66. Check out this video it’s how I found out about it looks very high quality. The amber stag bone and bolsters really stand out.

Have feeling the GEC will win but we’ll see. (Forgot to add I don’t own any GECs bc the only patterns I’d like enough to buy are the 66 as long as it’s not too small and #81 Abilene which are hard to come by)
Thanks for reading and the input.
 
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Of the ones you’ve chosen to narrow to, I would go with the GEC or case. Voted GEC cause it’s a great knife, but I’m also not fond of round end stockman.

Is there a reason these are the ones you’ve selected? I can think of a few other examples that might appeal to you. Moore maker has a fine one still easily available. An old fightin rooster in bone or stag make a find knife also, again not too hard to track those down. S&M has some recent stockman patterns that come in just under 4” available out there, but I find the pull on those to be a bit stiff. As far as the 81 Abilene, yes they are chickens teeth now, but if you can snag one without a big premium, they are worth owning and a pleasure to use. Almost the perfect stockman, honestly.
 
I voted for the Case because it's closest to the size of the Case/Bose knife you are wanting.

I'm not familiar with the Katz but it does look nice.

A pattern that often gets overlooked when discussing the Stockman pattern is the Queen or Schatt & Morgan Railsplitter. There are different versions but the one that seems to be the most popular has the three blade Stockman blade arrangement. The Queen has a nice Pen blade in place of the Spey blade. It also has D2 blades and Amber Carved Stag Bone similar to the handles on that Katz knife. Also available in a few other handle materials.
 
Where’s the all of the above choice?
I have an example of all but the Katz (I have been tempted) I’ll give you my thoughts.

The Böker I recently purchased is very fine, though not the stag and 440c(on my short list for sure, stag and 440c!). Clip blade will rap the backspring if your rough with it.

I had 3 GEC 66’s (now 2, eventually maybe 1). The hemlock bone is a looker for sure but they are just shy of 3-1/2” and I just haven’t really warmed up to them in hand. “Weak” pull on secondaries? Sure but that’s relatively subjective and they give me no pause for use.

Case large stockman? Well... it’s iconic. Big in the pocket but great in the hand. I have had no issues with the few I have.

So I can’t decide on a vote for one of those over the other. Well.... I do love stag.
 
I voted Boker, cause the 66 is a little small and thick for me. I did not hold on to the one I had. Boker makes a pretty good stockman. I currently have two Boker stockmen in carbon. One getting gassy celluloid replaced with wood (Boker United).
 
I voted for the Boker because the GEC is too small for me and Case runs their steel too soft for me. I'd get carbon steel, I like what Boker does with it and I prefer the fine edge I get over the toothy edge I get on 440C. The Katz is interesting, but expensive. I looked up XT-80 and it's an ingot steel similar to 440C. So no big whoop there. Had it been a fancy PM steel, or even Super Blue, I might have voted for the Katz.
 
I don’t think you could go wrong with any of them, but I voted for the stag Boker. I have a smaller Boker Medium Stockman and it is a fine knife for all around carry.
If choosing the GEC, I think when they came out some folks seemed to feel that out of all the choices, the Ebony had the best pull and snap. I don’t have the Ebony, but I have two other covers and the springs are pretty soft on the secondary blades.
 
I had a Katz, but returned it due to the extremely weak pull/no snap on the secondaries (worse than the #66) on the example I received.

I have one Frank Buster Fightn Rooster. It’s like a 7/8 size GEC #81, only better (and I’m a big fan of the #81).
 
Another vote for the #66.

I love, carry and typically prefer a 4" stockman w/ square ends (when not carrying a #35).

I have no experience w/ Case.

The #66 is just a great size and the rounded bolsters work on this..it is a little wide in the hips, probably exaggerated by the approx. 3.5" length...but it is an easy carry and prefer the clip shape, grind and long pull of the GEC. And the Hemlock bone us fantastic.


Very dramatic intro on the video..Wagner?

The Katz looks very similar to the #66. I like the wider flutes and the build quality looks top, top. With the choices given, I'd go w/ the 66..again, blade shape/pull and the Hemlock bone being the deciding factors, along w/ being of a USA build.

I've owned many Japanese and Taiwanese builds of very fine quality.

XrlaQ7F.jpg


I actually walked away from the video now wanting and searching for a...? Looked like Jim Bowie..? On the stag...what the host described as a Gunstock, stockman of German manufacture ..couldnt quite make out the tang stamps..:)
 
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I like and own gec 66's and case 6375's. I also own a boker like that but in bone and carbon steel. It's a hard choice but I went with the 66. The 66 is a little fat for the size, but it's not a huge deal.

I prefer a 4" size stockman like the boker but the 66 is not lacking at 3 1/2". I have such a fondness for the 66 because it's very reminiscent of a schrade walden 890. The hemlock "green" bone looks similar to schrade peachseed and the color is similar to the red tinted peachseed used in the 50's like many S-W 890's. The 66 is just a great choice, even if you aren't schrade biased and it doesn't personally remind you of a nice old schrade pattern that is one of your favorite patterns.

Edit to add:
I have two hemlock 66's and the snap on the secondary blades is good. The tidioutes are slightly lighter than the NF's in my experience. The only one I had an actual problem with the snap was a tidioute antique bone or whatever it's called, that one is long gone.
 
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That Katz is a looker in stag. I'm also in the stockman market. That case bose is tempting i just can't justify it.

I'm leaning towards boker and Katz. I'd prefer the 440c over 1095.
 
Txjohn said:
I'd be toting that one too. Covers are outstanding
Click to expand...

Thank you very much.

My big regret when I was at the rendezvous at Great Eastern was not picking up a #66 in the hemlock bone. I think I’ll be stopping by in September so if it’s there I might try to grab it. I’ve always liked stag, but the bone is really nice on those.
 
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